The Mall of the World, Dubai

Yesterday Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the UAE's next
unfathomably ambitious plans for Dubai (there's definitely an ambition
to have the world record for "most world records" here). 
The Mall of the World will be a 48 million sqft commercial development
in region of the Sheikh Zayed Road and is being dubbed as the "World's
first temperature controlled/Indoor City", and the icing on the cake,
it'll be a pedestrianised city (all trams no cars).

But perhaps disappointingly this for me is where the wonder ended. The
Mall of the World will have it's own theme park, hotels, London Oxford
Street, Broadway and Las Ramblas to name a few. Where I had imagined
quite a magnificent city, I find myself confronted with a Giant Epcot.

It's a part of the world renowned for it's unique futuristic architecture so why on their most adventurous project, have they
presented us with an overly themed & unoriginal Las Vegas on steroids?
I cant deny the rendered images are alluring, vibrant & colourful; they
inspire thoughts of a futuristic realm once confined to dreams & 1960's
space movies. Ignoring the actual planned aesthetics, the structure and
technology behind this idea is mind boggling & awe-inspiring. Imagine
the thought that will have to go into design the infrastructure of this
artificial world and the complexity of successfully climate-controlling
a space of this magnitude (which does raise question of how sustainable
such a space would be).
So yes, most certainly intriguing & technically inspiring, I just wish
(& hope) that they'll leave the themes to the theme park...

Images from: 
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/ju
l/09/worlds-first-indoor-city-dubai-mall-of-the-world#zoomed-picture

More Images & Info at
http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/dubai-to-host-the-earth-s-large

Discovery of the Day: Heathrow City

So my morning BBC News session uncovered the unveiling of the 'Heathrow
City' plans. (Shamefully) I had no idea about this, somehow managing to
miss any mention of it in the news previously (I'll blame not owning a
TV but it's a poor excuse I know). 

My prior ignorance aside, this sounds like a interesting concept;
converting an airport for alternative uses, the possibilities seem
endless yet limited at the same time. By using the existing structure
you are faced with various large -scale spaces which admittedly aren't
the most aesthetically pleasing. With the infrastructure on the site to
me the possibilities feel commercial, and in that realm it has the
possibility to become a fantastic public domain. With so much space
between the buildings imagine the possibilities for the open, green &
public space that exist here. With retail developments within the
buildings, the open space could host a plethora of pop-up pavilions,
delighting us with everything from cold drinks on summer days to
exhibitions. 

Pulling back to reality though, here are the designs unveiled today: 

All 3 propose a new and almost self-contained city however each of the 3
have placed emphasis on different aspects

Maccreanor Lavington architects: The Fully Functioning City 
The Selling Point: Large Tracts of Woodland

Verdict: I love the idea of a city intertwined with nature, what would
really elevate this for me would be a real effort to build complimentary
infrastructure that would make this a city without a need for cars so
that we could genuinely enjoy our burst of nature without fear of being
run over.

Hawkins Brown Architects: The Modular City 
The Selling Point: Customisable City

Verdict: A nice idea as modern day housing developments are all so
'samey' if you found yourself dropped in one you'd have no idea as to
where you were. This does however immediately say to me that this will
not be affordable housing (although is it ever affordable in London),
which to me make its miss the mark of the goal being to solve the
housing crisis, the wealthy don't need any more homes. 

Rick Mather Architects: The New Hub City
The Selling Point: Utilising the Existing context

Verdict: This feels closest to my own thoughts, I am intrigued as to how
the site could be developed using what's already there. Could it be made
to look like a city or would it just look like we decided to inhabit the
airport? 

My Choice: For me Maccreanor Lavington feels like my winner although,
I'd want to see more as I fear that this could be a wonderful idea (&
opportunity) ruined by a network of typically London style
over-populated roads. I cant imagine a green space being all to relaxing
when you cant hear birds sing for the noise of the traffic.

Find the story & the images at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-28320432

Discovery of the Day: The Inn at John O'Groats

Usually I get quite defensive about extensions onto historical buildings but every now then I'm pleasantly surprised by how a flair of creativity really can bring the old & the new together in wondrous harmony.

The Inn at John O'Groats in Inverness is a Victorian hotel that has recently been injected with a new lease of life courtesy of GLM Architects.

In addition to restoring the original Victorian Building, GLM have replaced existing extensions with a visually delighting row of colourful Nordic-inspired holiday housing apartments.

The brightly coloured timber blocks sit alongside their Victorian counterpart surprisingly well, the colours somehow complimenting and balancing the ornate form of the Victorian Architecture. Unlike most, It doesn't feel like the old & the new are competing for your attention here; each element "pops" in it's own right. The hotel's bright stonework makes it appear as through it was the next natural step on the colour scheme, perhaps helped by the single central block of the extension that has been left in its natural colouring.

Having not seen any images of the inside (yet, I plan to hunt them down) I can't say too much about the spaces themselves but on the outside viewing this is a marvellous bit of Architecture. If buildings were grown these would be the result of planting a bag of Skittles; bright & playfully coloured, they are just desperate to make you smile. Not such a bad thing for someone who's on a vacation…

Images from 

http://www.rias.org.uk/directory/practices/glm/the-inn-at-john-o-groats/

Architects of Man: Fashion vs Architecture - Jean Paul Gaultier

For my Architects of Man series so far (& for many more to come I suspect) I’ve had to rely on the internet to find images as sadly my invites to the top runway shows must be getting lost in the mail…

However, toward the end of May I was fortunate enough to finally see the work of one such designer up close and personal, and such an experience certainly enhances the appreciation of the architectural quality of his work.

Jean Paul Gaultier joins Alexander McQueen in the “Enfant Terrible” clan however, unlike McQueen and in the true spirit of the unconventional; Gauliter was never formally trained as a designer. It is his perseverance, experience & a rather unique view of the world has made Gaultier one of the most recognised names in the industry.

So what wondrous experience found me surrounded by the Gauliter back catalogue? Whilst on a trip to London coincidence granted me the gift of the Barbican’s “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk” Exhibition.

Putting aside (for now) the surreal and fascinating quality of the Barbican as a space itself, entering the exhibition must be the closest thing to like falling down the rabbit hole. It is the colour & magnitude of Gaultier's work that first strikes you, everywhere you look you are faced with humans complimented & contorted & bursting with brilliant shades of all colours imaginable.

Most interesting to me is Gaultier's materiality & form, Corsetry is a heavy influence and so there is a real sense of structure in his work. And like any Architect, he builds elaborate & delicate forms on this solid foundation to create truly remarkable shapes. Building on this, he has a fascinating approach to his materiality, using unconventional materials to create an entire different texture. Particularly memorable pieces for me was a corset covered in crystals that came to resemble a deformed skeleton & a leopard skin that upon closer inspection as created entirely from beads (my mind was blown at this point).

In a bid to prevent this turning into an essay (I could easily write about this all day, analysing each individual piece) I shall say the collection as a whole really strengthens the Architect-Designer relationship. Everything Gaultier does has an architectural quality to it. He plays with scale in an array of obscenely fantastic feathered headdresses & exaggerated hip/shoulder pieces. He uses materiality to manipulate texture & form, Feathered dresses take on a surface that could easily be mistaken for timber & another simple yet effective use of silk ties sewn together to create a dress that is the most complimentary counterpart I have ever seen for the female form (it just glided over every curve perfectly).

Perhaps it’s due to Gaultier never having been formally trained that makes his approach so transferrable between disciplines, to me it feels as though he has looked beyond the catwalk as he has grown. His work feels as though it fits better into the arts & cultural movements far better than historical fashion trends. This gives his work a ‘lasting’ quality, they will be difficult to align to any time period, always looking as good as they did on day they were made. This in fashion is a highly enviable skill & something that (by judging the external appearance of the Barbican) both Designers and Architects could learn from.

“The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk” runs in the Barbican until 25^th August, don’t miss it!http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=14772 

Happy Independence Day!

To celebrate our favourite American Holiday, here's a visual feast of the works
of my favourite American Architect, the one & only Frank Lloyd Wright!

http://www.fallingwater.org/

http://www.guggenheim.org/

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Rosenbaum_House.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robie_House_HABS1.jpg

http://www.peterbeers.net/interests/flw_rt/Missouri/Kraus/Kraus.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Hotel,_Tokyo

http://www.theschwartzhouse.com/Photos.html#19

See & learn more at http://www.franklloydwright.org/

Friday Doodle - Name that Building

I like to doodle random little things, so for some Friday amusement here's a little Architecture Doodle: can you guess the building he represents? 

Archi Dream House - House in LLavaneres

Residential Architecture has a certain allure; it’s a highly intimate & personal architecture and it’s small(ish) scale gives a real freedom to explore your creativity in a way that often just isn’t possible in large scale buildings.

For me, I’m uncertain where my style preference is in residential architecture, I like the sleek crisp look of modernity but I prefer traditional/natural materials (huge fan of stone). I loathe the clutter & fussy-ness of more traditional styles (country cottages fill me with an unfathomable dread) yet, I find the stark, minimal nature of contemporary too clinical.

So naturally I was surprised when I found myself so fond of a little white concrete haven in LLavaneres, Barcelona. 

Designed by MIRAG ArquitecturaiGestió, the polyhedral household explores and celebrates the delights to be found in split level architecture (a site with a 30% slope in this instance). The obscure shaping leads to a series of wonderfully weird angular openings, each one framing a rather spectacular view to the beautiful surroundings.

The upper (street) level as you would expect is where the main activities of the house are found while the lower level offers two additional spaces that link out to the garden and a rather enviable pool.

Within the space itself there is a starkness that is strangely appealing to me, where I would usually feel clinical I find the space feels calm. The house feels light as though it could easily float away. 

The exposed concrete surfaces are complimented with a muted colour scheme (its all greys & browns), which might just be why it works. Instead of gazing at an ultra-modern-retro bright red sofa in a big empty space, I’m looking past the silent furnishings to the outside & those incredible views, the large glazed openings tempting the visitor outside into the sunshine.

In contrast the exterior’s brilliant white surface shines, rather than hide itself within the land, it jumps out to draw you toward it, it wants you to know (without being garish or overbearing) that this land is it’s home & in this home you’ll get the best views for miles around.

(All images from ArchDailywww.archdaily.com/520809/house-in-llavaneres-mirag-arquitecturaigestio)

Archicraic in Edinburgh: Craighouse Asylum

"They told me this was a very nice place to live at...You may imagine my
horror when I found it was a lunatic house..." James L
(http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/letters-tell-of-life-inside-victorian
-mental-asylum-1-2811775)

Hidden within Edinburgh's southern boundaries is the architectural gem
known as Craighouse. The site has a varied history, playing host to
Architects Robert Reid, William Burn Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum (later
called the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Mental and Nervous Disorders) in
the late 1800's & more recently a Napier University Campus. 
As you would expect from a former Victorian hospital, this site is
abundant in breathtaking Victorian Architecture (& also one rather
unfortunate later edition that rings of 1960's brutality). 

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/73627/details/edinburgh+craighouse+
road+new+craig+house/

My first interaction with the site was on a walk, I had no idea it was
there until my attention was caught with tantalising glimpses of
Sandstone amidst the trees or the surrounding woodland. Then I turned a
corner in the path to find myself standing in an open space dominated by
the wonders of yesteryears. 
My first reaction is that you can immediately feel the history in the
site (the hospital more than the university). I was first confronted by
the site's largest building, the main hospital block. Standing before it
as minor speck in it's shadow, you can instantly feel the sinister
atmosphere around it. It's once spotless sandstone exterior blackened
with age adding to the uncomforted thoughts of what happened within its
imposing walls. 
But then as you drift back in to today, you are left gazing upon the
abandoned wonder, realising that those walls that no doubt the mere
sight of once struck fear in it's visitors (both willing & non), now
stands a space haunted by the loss of it's importance (a frightening
irony considering much of the same would have been inflicted upon its
former inhabitants). 

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/73627/details/edinburgh+craighouse+
road+new+craig+house/

To me nothing is sadder than a beautiful building neglected or
suffering, throughout history legacy was important, we needed something
to pass on to our future generations. So with this ethic Architecture of
the past was built to last, and in our modern throwaway world we've let
too many good things suffer & die in plain site. 

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2009657

And this is where the story almost had a happy ending...
Craighouse was recently sold to the Mountgrange Real Estate Opportunity
fund/Craighouse partnership, a development company with plans for
transforming the site into a residential redevelopment. This is no real
surprise or reason to panic really as this the general fate of historic
buildings and I would rather see historic architecture used than let to
rot. But upon hearing the development plans the joy very much ends
there... 
Putting aside the frightening lack of knowledge the developer has
displayed about the sites current state (initial site plans show the
buildings with some rather fantastical dimensions & an array of phantom
trees), it is the Craighouse Partnerships proposition of the insertion
of some new builds to "compliment" the context that have proven cause
for alarm. 
Should the plans go ahead no longer would I find my focus drawn to the
historic beauty of the site instead, I would find myself visually
assaulted by titanic sized bundles of "luxury modernity" spreading
across the wondrous open green space the site offers. 

www.friendsofcraighouse.com/

Here the greed of developers here becomes as evident as the garishness
of their proposed new builds, instead of investing all the money into
the existing buildings redevelopment (there is the potential for a large
number of flats/apartments here) they have chosen quantity over quality.
It's a saddening reality as we don't need more cheapened "trend"
residential architecture, the sites current buildings (minus 1) prove
that quality is what stands the test of time & can go on to be reused
over & over, building a rich & vibrant history along the way.

All is not yet lost though, The Friends of Craighouse are fighting the
good battle to preserve the site. While their reasons may be slightly
different from my own, our end goal feels the same, which makes theirs a
cause worth joining. 
For those who share this goal, if you live locally we have until 4th
July 2014 to object, so if you are local to Edinburgh you can object to
the planning authorities. Or if you just wish to help however you can
head over to www.friendsofcraighouse.com/  to find out more & how to
object
Also for some fantastic images & the original Architectural drawings for
the Royal Hospital check out
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/73627/details/edinburgh+craighouse+
road+new+craig+house/

(Also for some interesting reading, give the link at the top of the page a look!)