Misfits’ travel guides to buildings around the world.
History, Location and Geography How old can a city be? Where Nantong is now was the site of neolithic settlements 5,000 years ago but they disappeared when the sea level rose 4,000 years ago. During the Han Dynasty (approx. 2,000 years ago) the land rose and continued to rise during the Song Dynasty and the […]
Shanghai is what it is not just because of its built environment but also because of some unique chemistry of culture, geography, history, politics and the people themselves and, as a recent visitor, I can’t pretend to understand any of it. If you want to learn more about the historic development of Shanghai, then I […]
I didn’t go out of my way to look for Otto Wagner’s Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station. I just got off the train and there it was. And I didn’t seek out Josef Maria Olbrich’s Secession Hall but there it was at the other end of Karsplatz. A few days later I encountered Otto Wagner’s Schützenhaus (1904-1908), […]
Let’s begin with the big ones. From the left, this photo shows Frei Otto’s Olympic Hall – one of the 1972 Olympic Park structures – Olympic Tower to the right, farther back on the right is Wolfgang Prix and Coop Himmelb(l)au’s BMW Visitor Centre, immediately to the right are the BMW Museum and BMW Headquarters. […]
I have architect Pierre Eyban to thank for most of the information in this post I’ve constructed from recollections of conversations we had while walking around Brussels. Any inaccuracies are mine not his. Big thanks are also due to Raphael without whom my visit would not have happened, and also to Fred, Kaja, Paul, Didier, […]
The previous post began with an exhibition about the Japanese house, architecture and life after 1945. This one begins with an exhibition about the Hong Kong apartment, buildings and living after 1945. Housing Authority Exhibition Centre 4F, Block 3, Housing Authority Headquarters, 80 Fat Kwong St, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon The exhibition deals with the story of public housing […]
1902 rue Franklin Apartments Auguste Perret rue Benjamin Franklin, Paris We all know about the concrete frame, its concealment and subsequent re-expression of its presence but the reason for the shape of this frontage tends to be neglected. Modernist space maybe, “inspired by statutory light courts” perhaps, but why would someone want to do that? […]
As an intermittent returnee to Perth I’m often asked “Hasn’t The City changed?” The question refers to the skyline and usually something is different but, every fifteen years or so, along comes a building that dramatically alters the shape and scale of the city in the same way Minoru Yamasaki’s World Trade Center did for New York in 1970 or Rafael Viñoly […]
The 20th century chronology of attention-getting buildings is over represented by America. It was only Le Corbusier who presented a sustained individual challenge to total American architectural dominance. Sustained national challenges were mounted by Scandinavia, Japan and Italy but, whether we were paying attention or not, Italy never ceased being a source of architectural intelligence and construction excellence. In Milan, I will look for evidence to back […]
First, make your way to Fondamenta Zattere and see Ignazio Gardella’s Casa alle Zattere built 1953–1958. To say it pre-empted post modernism is to do it and Gardella a disservice for, with this building, Gardella did nothing more (or less) than respond to what was already there, continuing a tradition rather than proposing something new. Better than intellectual, it’s intelligent […]
Following on from Misfits’ Guide to New York and Misfits’ Guide to Moscow, this third Misfits’ Guide takes a look around this city better known for some of its other buildings. First up is the tall building in the distance in this 1978 photo. Dubai World Trade Centre Completed that year, the Dubai World Trade Centre building is 39 storeys […]
Here’s some different things to check out next time you’re in New York or, if for those not that different, maybe a new way of looking at them. Cherokee Apartments The building is organised as four courtyard blocks with stairwells naturally lit and ventilated. All apartments are double sided for better light and ventilation. All windows are large and have […]
Moscow is a big and mighty city made up of a few big roads and many little corners. The Moskva River winds its way across. Moscow is not trying to look beautiful or even attractive to tourists. I saw no Я♥Москву t-shirts or St. Basil’s fridge magnets. It’s a place people go to to live and work and get on with […]
