Small Axe, the Caribbean Journal of Criticism, gets a new online presence. Its aim "is to participate in the renewal, as well as in the expansion and revision, of practices of criticism in the Caribbean. "

U is for Utzon

Sydney Opera House

Perhaps more popularly known for his Sydney Opera House, Jorn Utzon has taken the modern principles of architecture to capture the imagination of a people. His work attempts to create architecture for living that adheres to a strict structural and constructive process yet strongly influenced by local traditions.

V is for Villanueva

Central University of Venezuela

The works of Venezuelan architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva trace the conceptual evolution of the Latin modernity that prevailed in South America during the 1950s & 60s. His work often played "homage to Le Corbusier's definition of architecture as circulation and as a play of forms in light," yet afforded a regional precedent to Latin American architects believing that architecture could be a apparatus for social betterment, cultural and urban rejuvenation.


Central University of Venezuela

T is for Tavora

Fernando Távora's buildings were critcal constructions of modernity where he sought to integrate local and traditional principles into an otherwise Modern aesthetic. Despite the similarities of traditional houses with the values shared by Modern architecture, there is a sense of identity in his works created by the use of local materials, the inclusion of verandas and the respect for the Portuguese climate. Dubbed the father of "Escola do Porto (Oporto school)," of which Siza & Souta de Moura are included, he was instrumental in the contemporary development of the architecture in Portugal.

sorry for the late post - had great difficult finding any images of Tavora's work

"...the architect provides the stage on which the dance occurs," MoCo Loco interviews John Brown of Housebrand, "a new kind of architectural firm that makes good design accessible to the public"

pop-ups...not just on your pc

Retail & food shops created from disused/reused shipping containers, dubbed pop-up shops "as the name suggests, these shops pop-up unannounced, do little advertising and a lot of business, and move on."



via butter

Architecture & Morality has added a rather parochial perception of the critical regionalism A to Z; but as the description of that blog goes it is the musings on architecture, et al.

S is for Siza

Santa Maria Church, Portugal

The work of Alvaro Siza establishes a dialogue with the site, through its placement and its sensitivity to the materials added with a profound social conscience. His can be defined as Modern architecture that is nourished by the poetry of society and the environment.


University of Oporto, Portugal

R is for Rewal

The work of Raj Rewal has simultaneously expressed both Modernity and regionalism, residing at the crossroad of the old and the new, blending traditional details with modern forms. The results are an oeuvre of contemporary architecture respectful of India's environment and history.


The World Bank, New Delhi

designpublic another design blog to the mix

P is for Prasad

Indian Modernism02
Originally uploaded by architechnophilia.

Like many young architects during India's independence, Shiv Nath Prasad was keen to change the language of architecture to reflect the emerging nation. Along with Le Corbusier's presence, Modernism manifested in India and the works of Prasad found centre stage. His work was climatically sympathetic with a strong Modern aesthetic of bare-faced concrete with deep recesses to handle the Indian environment.

Guiness

Happy Sint Paddy's Day tuh yooo
(Happy Patricks everyone)

take a pint of Guiness and call me in the morning...I know I am

O is for O'Gorman

Juan O'Gorman works were heavily influenced by European Modernists, especially Le Corbusier, his buildings are some of the first examples of functionalist architect in Mexico. Like his modernist mentors his work was not limited to architecture, embracing the fine arts as well particularly the painting of murals. His latter work however favored a heavier influence from Frank Lloyd Wright, producing a more organic form of architecture. He integrated vernacular forms with modern detailing creating a culturally, socially, and environmentally responsive architecture.



his murals were heavily influenced by Diego Rivero

N is for Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer was a contemporary of Le Corbusier, having collaborated on numerous projects in Brazil and France. His ouevre is modern in scope with its details have always been catered to the realities of its environment both naturally and socially. Niemeyer's work wonders with its concrete delight, despite emgerging from a communist aesthetic, always delivers the monumental.

M is for Murcutt

Glenn Murcutt's work is a mixture of pragmatism and lyricism, of contemporary forms, concern for landscape and respect for earlier civilizations. Murcutt's work synthesizes the high modernism of Mies van der Rohe and Alvar Aalto with such traditional precedents like the Australian wool shed creating architecture that is sensitive to their environments, and admired for being an identifiably Australian idiom in domestic architecture. In his words, "I've learned to be careful on the land, to respect the land, and to not allow the land, our mother, to be harmed."

L is for Le Corbusier

Palace of Justice, Chandigarh

Arguably the father of Critical Regionalism, Le Corbusier's seminal work in India and South America have served as precedent for a generation of architects seeking to reconcile contemporary notions of architecture with the growing need for social and environment responsibility.


Assembly Building, Chandigarh

see Le Corbusier and the Continual Revolution in Architecture

New Books

Perspecta 37 "Famous"

Latin American Architecture 1929 - 1960

Barragan - the complete works

Zaha Hadid's project at Spittelau, Vienna, is one of her most compelling yet. Too bad it has become possibly the most expensive and ill-conceived social housing in the world.



via BD

One Year On...

Its the first anniversary of architechnophilia and I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who links here. 28,000 visits so far, not bad seeing as I work from a desolate architectural wasteland

Apariencia Publica (Appearance Publishes)
Archidose
Archinect
Architectural Ruminations
Architectural Sketches
Architecture & Morality
A Tale of Two Architects
Bioclimatica2 (thanks Kisha)
BldgBlg
Building Big Easy
Do you want Coffee? (thanks Tommy)
Eye Candy
Field notes
Geosocial
Improvised Schema
Land+Living
Life Without Buildings (thanks Jimmy)
Miragestudio7
MocoLoco
Pen(-lex/-sieve) - An Archisophist
Polis
Refuge Welcome Centre
Strange Bungalow (thanks Yamani)
The Agora
Things Magazine
Treehugger
Tropolism (thanks Chad)

those that I've forgotten I love you too :)

A BIG thanks to Melon too - who kept asking to see the fetish

K is for Kalach

Mexican Architects Kalach & Alvarez derive their basic vocabulary from the Corbusian and Russian constructivist slabs but are infused with a sense of memory and influenced by Italian and Spanish traditions.


GGG house