{"id":7675,"date":"2015-06-19T19:06:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T19:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/daily-digest-150619\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T10:52:29","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T14:52:29","slug":"daily-digest-150619","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/daily-digest-150619\/","title":{"rendered":"On Starchitecture and Star Destroyers: Your Weekend Must-Reads"},"content":{"rendered":"
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L: 8600 Wilshire<\/a> by MAD<\/a>; R: EM Quartier<\/a> by Leeser Architects.<\/i><\/p>\n

L.A. Unconfidential<\/b>: Ma Yansong<\/a> has revealed \u201ca new model for West Coast Vernacular,\u201d his first residential project in the States, in California, proposing an apartment building akin to a hilltop village in Los Angeles. 8600 Wilshire<\/a> incorporates a mixture of townhouses, villas, studios, and condominium-style units around an elevated \u201csecret garden.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building up Bangkok<\/b>: Across the Pacific in Thailand, Leeser Architecture have taken a very different approach to integrating nature with urban design with the completion of the EM Quartier<\/a> in Bangkok. The high-end retail outlet is a combination of new build and renovation and is defined by its distinctive offset floor plates, which incorporate \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 outdoor terraces and roof gardens.<\/p>\n

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L: Robin Hood Gardens, via Dezeen<\/a>; R: Flint House by Skene Catling de la Pe\u00f1a, via the Guardian<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Smithsonian Institution<\/b>: Richard Rogers has joined the ranks of the big-name architects calling for East London\u2019s iconic and infamous Robin Hood Gardens housing estate to be saved from demolition<\/a>. Alison and Peter Smithson\u2019s complex has been in peril since it was denied listed status six years ago; longstanding preservation campaigners include Dame Zaha Hadid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Residential Recognition<\/b>: While the fate of Robin Hood Gardens remains hotly debated, this week also sees the celebration of 37 residential projects in the U.K.<\/a>, which have received a national prize from RIBA, including Brentford Lock West by Duggan Morris Architects<\/a> and the stunning Flint House by Skene Catling de la Pe\u00f1a.<\/p>\n

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L: Frank Gehry\u2019s Serpentine Pavilion in the French countryside, via the Guardian<\/a>; R: Nicolas Amiard\u2019s Parisian Star Destroyer, via Designboom<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Point and Counterpoint<\/h4>\n

Serpentine or Palpatine?<\/b>: With SelgasCano\u2019s colorful structure nearing completion in Kensington Gardens, the Guardian<\/i>\u2019s Oliver Wainwright investigates the fate of previous Serpentine Pavilions<\/a>. Their afterlives vary, some ending up in the proverbial architectural scrapheap while others have been reincarnated as nomadic icons. Meanwhile, Artsy explores the trend, via Design Miami\/ Basel, of collecting houses<\/a>, as with Jean Prouv\u00e9\u2019s prefab houses. But considering that these pieces remain out of most of our reaches, we\u2019ll content ourselves with graphic designer Nicolas Amiard\u2019s wonderful visualizations, in anticipation of Episode VII: The Force Awakens<\/i>, of Star Wars spacecraft crash-landed in terrestrial cities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eye Candy<\/h4>\n
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L: Federico Babina\u2019s house for Tim Burton, via Archdaily<\/a>; R: One of Cinta Vidal Agull\u00f3\u2019s \u201cUngravity Constructions,\u201d via the Architect\u2019s Newspaper<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Lights, Camera, Architecture!<\/b>: Federico Babina is back with another series of much-beloved architectural \u201cportraits.\u201d This time around, he has produced a fresh set of eerie elevations<\/a> depicting famous filmmakers as houses after their own auteuristic style.<\/p>\n

Escher 2.0<\/b>: Another illustrator with a brilliantly distinctive graphic style has produced some truly mind-bending architectural enigmas. Cinta Vidal Agull\u00f3 paints \u201cUn-gravity Constructions<\/a>\u201d with acrylics on wooden boards, creating fictional 3D worlds with a surreal, Escher-esque sensibility.<\/p>\n

Kickstart This<\/h4>\n

Arbitrary Arbor<\/b>: Following the success of the pop-up Hayam Sun Temple at last year\u2019s Burning Man festival, designer Josh Haywood is looking to crowd-fund<\/a> another pop-up pavilion in Black Rock Desert come August.<\/p>\n