Revolutionary idea in Architecture......
"Blob Architecture"....
Architecture's Claim on the Future: The Blob
by Herbert Muschamp, New York Times
"The Venice Biennale's Seventh International Architecture Exhibition, which opened last month and runs through Oct. 29... features the latest strain to emerge in architecture in recent years: "blob" design... Biomorphic and invertebrate, with seldom a trace of the T-squares most architects long ago abandoned, blobs look like things you would expect to see rising from an electronic version of the primordial ooze. As if to signal the origin of a species, previously lurking in the depths of the Lagoon, the Biennale rounds up blob projects by Greg Lynn, Lars Spuybroek, Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, Jesse Reiser and Uneko Umamoto, Hani Rashid and Lise Ann Couture, and other pixel prodigies..." read on - ny times - requires free registration
Hmm....Last weekend when I spent 24 hours at the office finishing up drawings....I was greeted by "uh!oh! poor you!" by my friends and alike.
Well it is paradoxical! Architects start off as 'poor' ones, in sense of wisdom, architectural capabilities(no matter which school one went to) and the precision for detailing. Its one hard and a long way.....Those nights of burning the mid-night oil, not seeming to get enough of your input, at times your 'innovative' idea being rebuked. It makes you tough and cold maybe....
Let me start with the very beginning. After getting a degree in architecture from an accredited school in the US, one has to gather 700 units from different categories to satisfy the
IDP training requirement. Best part is one training unit equals eight hours of work in one particular category;-)
So that makes 5600 hours in total. Going by the assumption that you are 'always' employed fulltime which is 2000 hours per year; one would need 2.8 years approximately 3 years to get the architecture license. Whoah!
For people like me there might be glitch which may be beneficial, it says that "maximum credit allowed for foreign experience in architecture is 235 trainings units if under the supervision of an architect not registered in the U.S. or Canada." So that means 1880 hours of work from a foreign country (ie approx a year's experience from one's home-country if applicable). Also, for people who are more experienced there could be an alternative to the IDP Training Requirement.
So this is about long way....now about the hard one....
Frank O' Gehry derives his building concepts from 'Carp-Fish'. Well, realization of that concept, into a sketch, then a model and a building is something that is rare and he is blessed with it.
Many such pioneers of one or the other style of architecture are made of sheer and utmost dedication to their work. Work for them literally comes before them before anything or anyone else does. They know their pulse and they know what keeps it alive. This is the hard part I was talking about. Pursuit of that dedication and that desire to find the pulse and keep it alive is something which takes it toll on many mortals.
Came across this article....Celebrating one more addition to the concrete jungle of Chicago. Nevertheless the structure never ceases to amaze me:-)
Daily News
FordhamÂ’s new twist nationÂ’s tallest proposal
By Ebony Horton
A developerÂ’s latest proposal could make Chicago the site of the nationÂ’s two tallest buildings.
The $500 million
Fordham Spire, a twisted, 115-story building that would be 2,000-feet high, could be built by 2009, according to Fordham Co. chief executive Christopher Carley, who unveiled his plans July 27. The structure would be built along the cityÂ’s lakefront near Navy Pier, northeast of the loop.
Santiago Calavatra, the architect and engineer known for his design of the Athens Olympics Sports Complex, designed the hotel and condo building to resemble a drill in order to deflect wind. The design calls for concrete to be the primary building material.
According to Chicago Architecture, an information website for projects in the city, the skyscraperÂ’s main obstacle will be zoning. The land selected is zoned for a 540-foot-tall building and 350-foot building.
Carley said construction would start when there were sales agreements for at least 40 percent of the skyscraperÂ’s units. No financing has been arranged yet.
Donald Trump, who is constructing a 92-floor, 1,360-foot skyscraper in Chicago for luxury condominium buyers, told reporters Carley's proposed building would not be economically viable in the post-September 11 climate. TrumpÂ’s building would be a little less than 200 feet shorter than the Fordham Spire.
Connie Buscemi, a spokeswoman for the Chicago's Department of Planning and Development, said the city has not received any formal plan from Carley yet. “When we receive the plans, we’ll move forward,” she said.
The Fordham Spire would be eight feet taller than the 110-floor Sears Tower, currently the tallest building in the country. If completed, the skyscraper's height would also top that of New York's planned Freedom Tower, which would be 1,362 feet tall, plus a spire to stretch it to 1,776 feet. The Freedom TowerÂ’s expected completion date is in 2010.
