The New Craft School

Susanne Pietsch, Eireen Schreurs, Sereh Mandias & Dolf Broekhuizen (Eds.)

The New Craft School investigates the architecture of the vocational school and its role in society. It does so by situating the school within larger cultures of craft and specific networks of people, places and knowledge, in which education forms a crucial link. Based on the notion of architecture as an environment in which social relations are negotiated, it emphasizes the importance of the building to create, foster and transmit these cultures. Architecture Theory Departing from the situation of the vocational school in the Netherlands, the book provides a reading of historical and contemporary contexts, examines the notion of cultures of craft, and the various ways in which the school can embody its position within society. Five scenarios present an architectural repertoire to reinforce connections between the vocational school and the neighbourhood, the city and society at large with cultures of making and with the identity of the school. Best practices from the Netherlands and northern Europe, complemented by a number of study projects, illustrate what these scenarios might look like. The result is a cross-cultural and cross-historical archive of projects and ideas that serve as models to inspire and to build upon, to create a new chapter in the history of the craft school. Contributors include, Susanne Pietsch, Eireen Schreurs, Sereh Mandias and Dolf Broekhuizen.

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THE OPEN HAND: LE CORBUSIER’S CHANDIGARH

A Photographic Essay By Yoshihiro Makino

Tamotsu Yagi (Ed.)

The modernist architect Le Corbusier’s Capitol Complex at Chandigarh, India, remains one of the major touchstones of 20th- century architecture. Commissioned by the government of India after gaining independence, the complex of brutalist concrete structures has become a pilgrimage site for architecture lovers and scholars for the past six decades. These structures have been photographed many times, but the Japanese photographer Yoshihiro Makino takes a different approach. Instead of documenting the buildings in typical fashion, the photographs become meditations on the intentions of the project, and of Le Corbusier’s architectural philosophy. Composed of two accordion-folded books in a cloth slipcase, Makino and revered art director Tamotu Yagi create a double-sided visual experience revealing on the front side of the accordion books an explosion of saturated color exteriors and interiors, then on the backsides details and rarely seen rooms in lush black & white. The combination is both refreshing and mesmerizing. Taking its name from Le Corbusier’s monument for the city—The Open Hand, which symbolizes a new cooperation of the newly formed government—this publication is a visual metaphor for the unfolding experience of the Chandigarh. Yoshihiro Makino, originally from Tokyo, is a photographer based in Los Angeles. He has photographed for many publications, including Architectural Digest, Casa Brutus, and Elle Décor Japan. A limited edition of 800.

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