20061231

s t y l e

"style is the expression of the overcoming of difficulty, of making the difficult appear easy"

the absolute definition by reiser + umemoto, as the best quote before 2007.
out of context, originally referring to architecture; i think it applies to everything.

HAPPY NY [+ NYE]!

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20061226

merry christmas

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20061222

fugue



now i am looking forward to receive "american fugue" by alexis stamatis!
alexis stamatis has promised me a whole chapter of C H I C A G O !

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20061221

buy it





buy this or any other book of petros tatsopoulos.
not very patient readers like me... would love his books.
suggested also by alexis stamatis!

i need to re-read it at least once.


FYI [greek]:

1
2
3

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books





every photo/book should be a seperate post, but there is no time.
with few words::
1.toyo ito's text
2.about los angeles - - - old but interesting
2.currently reading - - - s o o c o o l
3.contemporary discussions under one very loaded word


1+3= ideal [for me] balance between text + image quantities
sometimes i wish my commuting time in the train was little bit longer!

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20061220

heretopia


ben nicholson is an amazing writer, inspiring professor and great speaker.
i really enjoyed reading his text about new harmony - the utopian small town of indiana although i may disagree with his small manifesto.
doug garofalo's text* reminds me the important role of architects that are not building, of not even paper architects.
maybe now i can also remember rem's words about the need for critics to work together with architects.link.

* doug garofalo, page 105:
"in all these years i have never considered nicholson's "bedtime stories"[1] to be anything but serious.it is not that they are without humor [there is plenty], only that the ideas contained within them are serious and possible, radical and necessary departures from conventional thinking directed at both current and ongoing critical issues. he envisions and constructs possible scenarios that address our thoughtfulness rather than our tendency toward consumption, places where our "imagination longs to be", political spaces that allow us to understand various ways of being. the concept of heretopia is relevant here, as both a real and imagined place. heretopias are capable of "juxtaposing in a single real place several spaces, several sites that are themselves incompatible"[2]"...
[1] by ben nicholson
[2] by michel foucault

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air show




air show happens in chicago every august.
*photo not by me

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20061218

sofitel no 2610 [view]: I




i have never seen such an "elevation" view of the hancock skyscraper!
if you want to see it as well, book room 2610 in sofitel ;]

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sofitel no 2610 [view]: II




that is a pleasant worksite!

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20061212

FYI*

in his text about herzog+demeuron, toyo ito proposes the proposal for bibliotheque de france by oma and the signal box by h+dem as 2 of the most important buildings of the last years of architecture. the first, innovative in terms of program and the second in terms of surface. in this short list i would add the sendai mediatheque by toyo ito in terms of structure.

toyo ito also includes a short story about the collaboration of the 2 [rem and herzog] for an unrealized hotel in ny where according to the story rem proposed to the 2 parts to work with their strengths, so himself with plan and herzog with facade.

sometimes i use this joke in the office: today rem, this week herzog ... and so on!!!
links + credits to be added later.

*for your information

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20061206

soo cool!

after the humble scanned photo of the beijing stadium, i found these spectacular ones!!!

E N J O Y ::










via gtroza, via pushpullbar.

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20061205

nostalgia


another lunchtime lecture today downtown:
presentation of the above book by its authors.

it is amazing that richard nickel's obsession to photograph sullivan's buildings started with a school assignment!!!
but unfortunately lead to his tragic death where the chicago stock exchange building collapse on him.

*post title borrowed by a new citizen of chicago coming from los angeles.
photo no1 taken from here.
the title of the book might be commercial but the photos are not.
according to the writers the architectural firms wanted his photos of their buildings for the atmosphere he could create [VS glorified buildings].
there are some really nice ones of impotant worksites.
his favorite topic though was people!
photo no2 taken from here.

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block 37




these days[-10 C] that i feel comfortable with the clothes i wear outside when i am inside [the warm office] i definetely admire the strenght of these people!
this the worksite block 37: one of the 3[at least] worksites in the loop!

photoS taken during lunchtime at macy's 7th floor! the view was perfect!

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20061204

la[x]







lax airport._

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last blog-walk to la






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skid row [la]







skid row and little tokyo were the only areas downtown los angeles to remind me the amazing book "beyond blade runner*" [skid row] and the unforgettable movie "blade runner" [little tokyo] itself.

* by mike davis

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random photos at downtown la







1:: sister cities
2:: the hollywood[land] sign
3:: a block of appartments
4:: a tree
5:: toy district
6:: fashion district

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[a] saturday night at la!

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20061203

la :: 3 houses






los angeles is known for residential architecture [greece as well].
here are 3 houses that i bumbed into in los angeles in the middle of the night.

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