- A powerful, eloquently-argued essay by Tim Abrahams. that takes apart the Stadium for London 2012 piece by piece, providing fascinating insight into the process by which this strange structure was designed and built. Drawings by the excellent illustrator and architect Nigel Peake.
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Author Archives: cosmopolitanscum
Las Vegas: Where Architecture Goes to Die.
What is unique about the casinos and hotels of Las Vegas is not their gaudiness of that they have stories attached to them. No, the unique thing about them is the huge difference between the story that was planned for … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture
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Taste And The Tower
I want to say something about the history of the relationship between towers and the Olympic Games, leading to a few comments on the outpourings of disgust around the ArcelorMittal Orbit. It is often forgotten that this began with the … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art, Engineering, Interview
Tagged anish kapoor, arcelormittal, boris johnson, cecil balmond, eiffel, Olympics, orbit, tower
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A Very British Torch Relay.
As the organisers of the London Olympics propose ever more stupid stunts that the Olympic Torch must perform during the Olympic torch relay – zip-wire over the Tyne, abseiled down a tower in Grimbsy, taken in a steamer across Lake Windemere, … Continue reading
Posted in 2012, Pageantry
Tagged athletics, britain, kevan gosper, London, Olympics, torch, torch relay
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Interview: Michael Webb
Michael Webb was born in Henley-on-Thames in England. Along with his fellow members of the Archigram Group, Webb has contributed more than any other British architect to the wholesale revolution in architectural drawing that took place in the 1960s. Co-opting techniques and … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Design, Interview
Tagged archigram, cedric price, konrad wachsmann, maxfield parrish, michael webb, peter cook, reyner banham, richard hamilton
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Occupation should be a right rather than a form of protest.
During the recent protests in Greece there was a moment in which the struggle against impending privatisation became concrete. In Thessaloniki, protesters hung a large banner from the city’s main landmark, the White Tower, which said “for sale” as a … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Interview: Cecil Balmond
Cecil Balmond is a Sri Lankan born, British designer, engineer, artist, architect, and writer. Known for his close collaborations with architects, such as Toyo Ito on the Serpentine Pavilion and Rem Koolhaas on the Casa da Musica in Porto and … Continue reading
Posted in 2012, Design, Engineering, Interview
Tagged AGU, arcelormittal, arup, cecil balmod, james stirling, london 2012, non-linear, orbit, rem koolhaas
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Interview: Jaime Lerner
Jaime Lerner is the celebrated thrice Mayor of the Brazilian city of Curitiba and twice governor of the state of Parana. Trained as an architect and then planner, he is famous for his acts of urban acupuncture, swift, decisive moves … Continue reading
Posted in Interview, Urbanism
Tagged brazil, bus, curitiba, institute of urban research and planning, jaime lerner, mayor, partido democratica trabalhista, planning, recycling
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The Limits of Europe: Nuclear City
The Limits of Europe is a new series of special reports from the outer reaches of Europe. In these wastelands and the structures they contain: from space stations in the Arctic regions to modern ruins on the Mediterranean rim, we … Continue reading
Postmodernism: It’s History
It is entirely possible to love the current exhibition Postmodernism: Style and Subversion at the V&A and find in it a sign of why Post-Modernism is at a dead end.
Posted in Architecture, Art, Design
Tagged aldo rossi, arata isozaki, blade runner, brad cloepfil, charles jencks, charles moore, laurie anderson, modena, modernism, new order, peter saville, postmodernism, san cataldo, V&A, vaughn oliver, zhora
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Interview: Yona Friedman
What are your views on planning? I am very much against planning. We are now in a worldwide crisis due to overplanning. I am against overplanning. Planning means that you consider every event possible. Except an event which is unexpected … Continue reading
Posted in Engineering, Interview, Urbanism
Tagged archigram, cedric price, getty, high-speed rail, los angeles, sarkozy, transrapid, unesco, yona friedman
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