Though most architects can provide “constructive criticism” on many topics, ask an architect about the last three Super Bowl championships. Rem Koolhaas looking fashionable on the cover of Vogue the specs of an espresso machine, to the latest documentary on documentaries. Why do some people like having architects around as conversation pieces, while simultaneously accuse us of unbearable pretentiousness?Īrguably impressive and both cultured and irksome, architects have the ability to speak about almost anything, to pontificate, to provide diatribes on nearly any topic-from why Apple will fail or succeed, to the specs of a car vs. Architecture must stay in pace with life and how it evolves.ġ940’s architects (public domain, photo from ) Whether suggesting motion or truly in motion, keep in mind the notion of progress-that good architecture is always moving the world forward. Aqua Tower, Chicago, Illinois, by Studio Gang (left photo from, right photo by James Howe) Not kinetic, but the tower’s ever changing balconies give the impression that the 850-foot tall facades are rippling in the Chicago wind. The 82-story Aqua Tower is static, unmoving like 99% of buildings. Late 19th century Impressionist artist such as Degas or Manet attempted to capture movement in time, as one might experience it in reality. Three Ballet Dancers, by Edgar Degas, 1878Įven if architecture is a fixed and inanimate object, it can still express motion, merely through its artistry. At the boutique, applying the shimmering plastic discs to the entire building transforms the cute reflective circles into a powerful urban scale design of kinetic architecture and sculpture. The exterior is composed of nothing more than the shiny things on the back of a Sparkletts water truck. One of my favorite retail facades in Beverly Hills is this small fashion boutique, Maison Martin Margiela. Maison Martin Margiela, Beverly Hills, California, by Johnston Marklee & Associates (left photo from, right photo from ) Constantly changing like the glistening sign of the Sparkletts truck, this building’s façade ripples in the wind. Architecture has made visible what is typically invisible: the movement of air. The exhibited facade captures the movement of the wind. Some architecture has been designed to be as striking as the art and sculpture movement known as Kinetic Art, an exploration that started in the early 1900’s. Brisbane Airport Parking Garage with kinetic aluminum façade by installation artist Ned Kahn, Australia (photo from ) Unlike a stadium’s roof retracting in a banal utilitarian way, this theater’s roof opens like an unfolding piece of paper, similarly to a fortune teller’s origami contrivance-letting in the sky and the stars, as if the building itself is part of the performance. Bengt Sjostrom Starlight Theatre, Rockford, Illinois, by Studio Gang (photos from ) Being that the above example is a project in Japan, I see the inspiration as the popular Transformer toys.
Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan Aecom, left: (photo from ) right: (photo from )įor example, a sports building can be designed to transform for basketball vs. Whether the intimate scale of a home or of a massive public building, the architectural environment can be designed to move, to change throughout the day according to the user’s needs. Note: I am not referring to a house that has a prosaic automatic garage door. But why not? Sharifi-ha House, Theran, Russia, by Nextoffice (photos from )Ī small segment of our design industry explores architecture as a kinetic thing, a building that moves. Architecture is mostly a building made of sticks and stones, steel and glass. Similarly, architecture is not performing arts, but the theater that houses the performing arts. Rather, architecture is thought of as the neighborhood street. Generally speaking, architecture is the design of a fixed object, not of something that moves-such as a car speeding down the neighborhood street. It is uncommon to think of buildings as anything other than static. Kiefer Technic Showroom, Gleichenberg, Austria, by Ernst Giselbrecht + Partner (photos by Ernst Giselbrecht + Partner)
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