Oculus - Winter 2015 - (Page 36)
in print
Raves + Reviews
the mysteries of the mall and Other essays
By Witold Rybczynski
This collection of essays written between the early
1990s and the first decade of the 2000s deserves
our attention. Short, pithy, and insightful, the
essays represent Rybczynski's observations on
planning and design by category: how we live
now, the state of cities, the state of buildings, the
prospects and miseries of planning, and architects
he admires and doesn't.
The title essay, a discussion of the work of John
Brinckerhoff Jackson, focuses on vernacular spaces
that are routinely used but don't receive much
design attention or scrutiny (e.g., food courts).
The author also ruminates on how small buildings
(such as houses for parents) may have disproportionate effects on a young architect's reputation, but
be a poor predictor of one's ability to handle more
complicated projects.
Rybczynski admires balanced design that blends
a strong image with good functional design and
quality. In this age of excess, the Vitruvian virtues
are still his core beliefs. Although this collection
has a few observations I do not share, we could all
benefit from spending some time with this book.
the dakota: a history of the World's
Best-known apartment Building
By Andrew Halpern, with contributions by
Christopher S. Gray and photographs
by Kenneth C. Grant
The Dakota was the first true luxury apartment
house in New York, and even after 130 years it is
among the most desirable places to live. Alpern's
narrative explains how the Dakota came to be,
who made it happen, how it evolved from earlier
multi-dwelling types, its role in the evolution of the
Upper West Side, and its influence on the development of middle-class and luxury housing types.
The first true New York apartment house that
was not a tenement was the Stuyvesant House of
1869, designed by Richard Morris Hunt. This prototype had clearly defined living spaces separated
from servant spaces. During the 1870s, developers
and architects experimented with this new type
of socially acceptable dwelling unit for the upper
middle class.
r eviews BY s tA n LeY s tAr K, fAiA
Edward Clark, an attorney and later a partner
with Isaac Merritt Singer in his sewing machine
enterprise, developed the Dakota on Central Park
West between 72nd and 73rd Streets, creating an
essential element that has propelled New York's
real estate market ever since - the luxury apartment house. His architect, Henry J. Hardenbergh,
had previously worked with Clark on the Van Corlear apartment house on 7th Avenue between 55th
and 56th Streets, whose features would be further
developed in the Dakota. Constructed between
1880 and 1884, the 10-story Dakota, a hollow
square arranged around a courtyard, was designed
in the German Renaissance style and infused with
a palatial level of luxury.
The book is filled with plans, photos, original
documents, early reports and reviews, and photo
spreads of some of the most notable residents. Its
sumptuousness complements its subject.
New York: Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, 2015. 336 pp. $27
New York: Princeton
Architectural Press, 2015.
224 pp. $55
Noted but Not Reviewed
architecture from the Outside in:
selected essays by robert Gutman
Edited by Dana Cuff and John Wreidt
Sociologist Robert Gutman was one of the first
social scientists to examine architecture as a
discipline, a practice, and an enterprise as a social
system. He holds up a mirror we should all deeply
look into.
New York: Princeton
Architectural Press, 2010.
344 pp. $40
designed for the future: 80 Practical ideas
for a sustainable World
By Jared Green
This is a brainstorming session in book form, full
of useful and stimulating ideas.
New York: Princeton
Architectural Press, 2015.
176 pp. $24.95
hypernatural: architecture's new relationship
with nature
By Blaine Brownell and Mark Swackhamer
Forty-two case studies of the biomimicry design
movement, design methods, materials, and built
results.
Stanley Stark, FAIA, served as chair of the Oculus
Committee from 2005 to 2007.
New York: Princeton
Architectural Press, 2015.
176pp. $24.95
36
Oculus Winter 2015
Reinventing Architecture: Design in a Digital World
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Oculus - Winter 2015
First Words Letter from Two Presidents
Letter from the Editor
Center for Architecture
One Block Over
Opener: Practical Attitudes
ICE in the River: Cornell Tech’s Center of Connectivity
Restoring – At Least Virtually – One of England’s Greatest Lost Buildings
At the Corner of Past and Present
The Design-Fabrication Dynamic
How Big Data is Reshaping Architecture
Architecture at the Digital Edge
3D for the Defense
Thinking Beyond the Flat Page
In Print
51-Year Watch
Last Words
Index to Advertisers
Oculus - Winter 2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0317
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0217
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0117
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0416
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0316
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0216
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0116
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0415
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0315
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0215
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/ARCQ/ARCQ0115
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com