MATTER AND MIND IN ARCHITECTURE

The 7th International Alvar Aalto Symposium

Pirkko Tuukkanen

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Meet the Nelsons

Wes Jones

Meet the Nelsons, the sixth volume of the Forum Pamphlet Series, documents Wes Jones’ notorious comic strip that appeared in ANY Magazine (Architecture New York) from 1994 to 2001. At once a critical send-up of 1990s architectural discourse and a masterfully executed homage to the traditions and techniques of comic book art, “The Nelsons” addresses themes ranging from the legacy of the machine aesthetic to the challenges of virtuality to key disciplinary personalities such as Buckminster Fuller and Manfredo Tafuri. Each strip combines insider knowledge and healthy skepticism with a sly wit rarely encountered in serious architectural discourse. This book brings together every frame of “The Nelsons” in a single volume and features bonus texts by Jones himself, ANY editor Cynthia Davidson and LA Forum president Mohamed Sharif.

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Paulo Mendes da Rocha

Annette Spiro

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MINISTRY OF HIGHWAYS

A Guide to the Performative Architecture of Tbilisi

Joanna Warsza (Ed.)

Once described as “Italy gone Marxist,” Georgia, located on the Black Sea, enjoys a sun-soaked Mediterranean climate in combination with a community-oriented and self-determined spirit. Its recent architectural history—both informal and vernacular but also sanguinely futurist— reveals the uncanny progressive potential of a place where the past is neither monumentalized nor destroyed, but built upon. This palimpsestic legacy—embodied in the stunning Ministry of Highways (1975) government complex in Tbilisi—is explored in this whimsical guidebook to the hilly Georgian capital. With contributions from Ruben Arevshatyan, Didier Faustino, Yona Friedman, Lali Pertenava, Marjetica Potrcˇ, Richard Reynolds, Slavs and Tatars, Jan Verwoert and others.

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MOTEL TROGIR

it is not future that always comes after

Nataša Bodrožic & Saša Šimpraga (Eds.)

Opening a long-closed window into the 1960s Communist Eastern Bloc, Motel Trogir explores the history and planning culture that produced a modernist utopian architecture in Yugoslavia. Conceived and built in 1965 by renowned architect Ivan Vitić during a period of increased transit tourism, the motel stands by a highway on the Dalmatian coast. A fine example of 20th-century modernism, the motel is in a derelict state today due to unresolved property issues, and stands as a reminder of the former political economy. In 2013, to help rescue the buildings from development, Loose Associations, an association for contemporary artistic practices, argued for protection of the motel as a valuable architectural work. In this modest publication, ample historical images and informative texts tell the story of 1960s socialist Yugoslavia, its tourist architecture and planning as reflected in Vitic’s Adriatic motels, and the turbulent decades that have followed as the architectural culture is caught between the socialist agenda and market forces. Contributions by Tvrtko Jakovina, Dafne Berc, Melita Čavlovic, Lidija Butković Mićin, Tamara Bjažić Klarin, Sandra Uskoković, Zrinka Paladino, Saša Šimpraga, Nataša Bodrožić, Maroje Mrduljaš, Ruben Arevshatyan, Levan Asabashvili, Silva Kalčić, Idis Turato and Ekaterina Shapiro-Obermair.

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THE NEW DELTA

Bianca de Vlieger

Hans-Meyer & Joost Schrijnen (Eds.)

Among the Dutch-Flemish Deltas of the Rhine, the Meuse and Scheldt with their strong, defining image of dams and dikes, are two of the most iconic waterways of Holland. Particularly striking is the Eastern Scheldt Barrier, created to make the Delta safe after the massive North Sea flooding of 1953. This new publication sponsored by the Delft University investigates, questions and challenges current issues emerging from the pressure applied to these structures by massive new development and expansion. The research, spearheaded by Bianca de Vlieger includes seventeen projects along with selected specialists in the field explores the urgency of the investigation and presents a closer examination of the spatial, scenic, ecological, economic, civil and technical changes of these projects. The catalog includes essays and conversations from Han Meyer, Joost Schrijnen, Bas Jonkman, Gigi van Rhee, Jandirk Hoekstra, Jitske van Popering—Verkerk, and Patrick Meire.

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Nils Norman

The Contemporary Picturesque

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NOSSO LAR, BRASÍLIA

Spiritism, Modernism, Architecture

Jonah Staal

How does the ideology of modernism relate to other mystical paradigms? Dutch artist Jonas Staal’s newest book explores the relationship between Spiritism—a popular 19th-century religious doctrine involving séances and assorted paranormal phenomena—and modernism in Brazilian architecture. Central to this book is a systematic comparison between the fictive Spiritist city of Nosso Lar, as described by well-known medium Chico Xavier, and the country’s real-life capital Brasília, designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer in 1956. Brazilian psychic Xavier receives his messages from the other side in the form of best-selling novels, one of which describes the spirit colony of Nosso Lar. Written in 1944, Xavier’s book Astral City includes detailed drawings and guides to the built environment of the city that artist Jonah Staal uses as his rubric to examine just how similar the idealized Nosso Lar and the utopian Brasília actually are.

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Jim Olson: Art in Architecture

Jim Olson (author)

For over five decades, Seattle architect Jim Olson has cultivated an international following through his exploration of the relationships between art, architecture, and nature. Best-known for his residences for art collectors, Olson’s attention to craft and the experience of space have led to this global appeal. Drawing upon Olson’s years of practice, Jim Olson: Art in Architecture reveals his many sources of inspiration and how the power of material and sensorial exploration have shaped his approach to design. Through journal sketches, personal observations, and images of built projects ranging from his own intimate cabin in Washington State to grand residences around the world, the reader gains deep insight into Olson’s architecture and its artistry.

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Optrek In Transvaal.

On the Role of Public Art in Urban Development. Interventions and Research

Veronica Hekking, Sabrina Lindemann and Annechien Meier

This lively book documents a huge public art project using as its “gallery” the redevelopment of the rundown, multi-ethnic Transvaal district in The Hague. Hundreds of artist interventions have taken place in the district as 3000 outmoded rental units are being replaced with 1,600 new owner-occupied dwellings, transforming the neighborhood from downscale to mixed-income. The artists collective’s goal was to “make visible the transformation process” and involve the residents through a variety of mostly temporary projects, including the Restaurant Gratis (Free Restaurant), the Hotel Transvaal (creating hotel rooms in soon-to-be-demolished buildings), and video and television work.

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