Foriegn Journals

Journal One.

Abitare was the first foreign website I visited and I was very impressed. It was well organized and I felt like was packed with design, however, I did not feel like it was overwhelming. It had great products on there, however it was of course hard to understand because it was all in Italian.It definitely shows up American design websites.

Journal Two.

Domus as well was very impressive. Yet another Italian website, greatly designed. It was very interactive and it gave an option to choose English or Italian. I thought this was nice because on Abitare there were so many products I wanted to read about but could not because it was in Italian.

Journal Three.

Azure magazine website was yet again awesome! It must be the Italian designers because I did not view any design websites in America like these. The graphics were inviting and changed to give the website dynamics. The title is bold to let the veiwer know where he/she is at and is very well organized.

Two New Technologies

Solar Power Energy

Solar energy is energy from the Sun. This energy drives the climate and weather and supports virtually all life on Earth. Heat and light from the sun, along with solar-based resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for over 99.9 percent of the available flow of renewable energy. Solar design can provide practical lighting, comfortable temperatures, and improved air quality by tailoring building orientation, proportion, window placement, and material components to the local climate and environment. As climate varies by region so too will the features of solar-designed buildings. It is being seen and used more and more often in today's designs and architecture.

Reben

Reben is an environmentally remediating paint made from 100 percent natural ingredients. Created as a response to sick-building syndrome and poor indoor-air quality, Reben emits no harmful volatile organic compounds and actually cleans the air. The environmentally friendly coating, which means “alive” in German, is comprised of powdered Japanese washi paper, seaweed glue, scallop-shell powder, titanium dioxide, and natural pigments. Washi naturally controls humidity, absorbing moisture during the summer and releasing it during the winter. Scallop-shell powder prevents mold and bacteria growth, as well as flame-spread. Titanium dioxide acts as a photocatalyst, deodorizing the air and absorbing pollution when the paint surface is illuminated. Despite its completely natural and edible composition, Reben is a durable coating that is preferable to wallpaper. Its textured surface conveys a plasterlike richness, and it is available in a variety of textures, colors, and integrated natural grasses. Reben has no chemical glues or dyes that would negate its positive effects.

Design Website Reviews

Journal One.

I reviewed the Architectural Digest website and I was sort of disappointed by it. I felt like the website was overwhelmed with ads. It has great graphics being displayed and the colors are very calming. The tabs organizing it are at the top and very easy to figure out, just the ads overwhelm the right and bottom of the site.

Journal Two.

The Architectural Record website was very disappointing. It was very bland and boring I felt, yet easy to access the tabs at the top. All over the website it is gridded with mini images of different categories and tabs.

Journal Three.

The Architectural Review website is quite different. I didn't feel like it was a real website, more like a random website you would find on Google reviewing the website. It was kind of boring, black background and no graphics. The writing was labeled down the page in different colors.

Journal Four.

The Contract website has a nice organization and color template. It is well designed and easily to find different sections. It has different sites referenced i.e. LEED. It seems to list different "design news" at the bottom as well.

Journal Five.

The Dwell website is very well organized and easy to navigate. It has nice graphics that intrigue the viewer to explore. It is the first thing you notice when you visit the site. The color palette chosen is great and not overwhelming.

Journal Six.

I would have to say the Graphis website has impressed me the most so far on the graphics and interaction of the website. However, once I get passed the intro the text is a bit overwhelming on the left side. It is a bit too big and the font is a bit harsh in that size. Other than that I'd have to say good job!

Journal Seven.

The GreenSource website had a great color palette, all the writing was in green! It seemed very informative with many different new and sustainable options for home and business. Nice interactive graphics that intrigue the viewer to click and read more about the sustainable buildings.

Journal Eight.

The ID website uses a good sense of type which gives a simple feel yet up to date style and organization. However, I feel like it is sort of bare and does not have much to view on the site itself.

Journal Nine.

Interior Design had a great use of graphics. It seemed like the website was full of information and warm colors used to invite the viewer in. The way the website is organized lets the viewer interact and is easily accessible.

Journal Ten.

Interior Sources website had a nice heading but I didn't get a very design website feel to it. I felt like it was a website designed more for a product and with the graphic in the middle I felt like I was on a television studio website. There was a use of graphics and noise yet they need to make sure what kind of image they portray when they use such things.

Buildings

Journal One.

The first underwater restaurant of its kind in the world! It has a contemporary design with a western Asian influenced cuisine. The Ithaa Restaurant sits 15 feet below the Indian Ocean, surrounded by the beautiful coral reef. It is encased in clear acrylic, offering diners 270 degrees of panoramic underwater views. The restaurant is reached by a wooden walkway from the nearby over-water Sunset Grill Restaurant, and seats just 14 people for an exclusive dining experience.

Journal Two.

This gorgeous underwater shot is the Red Sea Star Restaurant. It looks out in to the coral reef in the tropical resort city of Eilat, Israel. The reef-restaurant combination was actually established by the restaurant management. To get the reef started, they built an iron meshwork and translated many species of broken coral colonies to it. What an awesome place to go and have dinner when you just happen to be traveling through Isreal for the week.

Journal Three.

This is the Cathedral of Gaudi. I love how it resembles a sand castle you make at the beach with the wet sand and drizzle it into towers. Unfortunately as Gaudi was designing this he got run over and never was able to finish designing the back.

Journal Four.

On the southern stretch of the Amsterdam orbital motorway is ING House, head office of the ING Bank, built in 2000. The shoe-shaped building was designed by Robert Meyer and Jeroen van Schooten. The extensive use of glass means that everyone working there has an expansive view. Everyone gets a window seat! However, I would think that since there is so many windows that they would have a beautiful scenery to look at.

Journal Five.

This is the Nemo Building located in Amsterdam. It was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, it looks like a big green ship. It was not designed to look like a ship but the mirror image of the tunnel below it. I feel like it is a very interesting design however a very ugly color.

Journal Six.

The Groninger Museum is an extravagant building designed by the Italian architect Alessandro Mendini. The museum is located in the northern city of Groningen on the canal between the train station and the town centre. I love the abstract different shapes that combine together to form this great museum.

Journal Seven.

This is the cathedral church of Saint Peter in Exeter, UK. The Gothic architecture is beautiful! from the twin Norman towers and fan-vaulted roof. The choir stalls are so intricately carved and has the longest Gothic vault in Europe. I would love to walk through and experience it in real life.

Journal Eight.

This is the amazing Milwaukee Art Museum located on lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is a very dynamic piece of art in itself. What a great use of lighting and at night you are able to see the beautiful reflections upon the water. The top gives a bird-like wing feel to it and adds another sense of dimension.

Journal Nine.

This building was designed by MAD architectural design studio in Beijing. This was a competition entry to build a fifty story condominium in Mississauga, Ontario Canada. The construction will begin in 6 months and will be completed by 2010. This is a very unique and interesting design that many will love. The blue lighting adds a very clean and simple look to this dynamic piece.

Journal Ten.

Isn't it amazing how far we have come these days with technological advancements in architectural design. It is so amazing that we can bend metal and contort materials to knot buildings and such. However, I feel like it is very ugly in the spot it was placed. The color contrasts against the gray buildings in the background.

Interior Environments

Designers

Journal One.

Buckminster Fuller was an American Inventor, architect, philosopher and poet. He theorized Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science, delineating new global and environmental approaches. He experimented with new materials, anticipated and defended an eco-compatible conception of architecture; invented synergistic geometry; created the geodetic dome, the "Dymaxion Car" and the "Dymaxion House".

from left to right. Fuller with models of geodesic domes; sketch for 4-D towers; Fuller with model for the
Dymaxion House



from left to right: wooden framwork for the Dymaxion Car; Dymaxion Deployment Unit used as emergency accomodation for troops during World War II; Wichita House



from left to right: Autonomous living unit; the US Pavillion at EXPO 67 in Montreal

Journal Two.

The late Aldo Rossi has achieved distinction as a theorist, an author, an artist, a teacher and as a architect, in his native Italy as well as internationally. In Canada, the first Rossi project in the Western Hemisphere was completed in 1987 when the Toronto Lighthouse Theatre was built on the banks of Lake Ontario. At almost the same time period, Rossi's first housing complex was being built on the outskirts of Milan. The Pocono Pines Houses in Pocono, Pennsylvania represent one of his first completed buildings in the United States. In Galveston, Texas,a monumental arch for the city has been completed. In Coral Gables, Florida, the University of Miami has commissioned Rossi to design the new School of Architecture. Five important projects were completed in 1988: the Palazzo Regionale in Perugia (a civic center); a funerary chapel in Giussano built for the Molteni family; a town hall for Borgoricco; the Centro Torri Shopping Center in Parma; and in Turin, Casa Aurora, an office headquarters for GFT, parent company to the designer labels of Valentino, Emanuel Ungaro and Giorgio Armani.He was a very talented architect and is still remembered today.

Journal Three.

Antonio Citterio was born in meda (italy) in 1950. he has a degree in architecture from the polytechnic university in milan, and he opened his studio in 1972. He has collaborated with man italian and foreign firms in the design sector like Ansorg, B&B Italia, Flexform, Flos,Hackmann, Inda, Pozzi e Ginori, Kartell, Arclinea and Vitra. In 1981 he began designing architectural project. From 1987 to 1996 he was associated with Terry Dwan and together they designed many buildings in Europe and Japan. Some of their most important works: the headquarters in Amsterdam, Antwerp and Milan for Esprit, an industrial plant for Vitra in Germany and for Antonio Fusco in Milan. He has won many prizes, among which the compasso d’oro in 1987 and 1995. His products are part of the Moma permanent collection and the centre di pompidouin Paris. He lives and works in Milan.

Journal Three.

David Chipperfield, born in 1953, is an English architect, born in London. He has offices in London, Berlin and Milan, and a representative office in Shanhai. After recieving his diploma from the Architectural Association in London he worked at the practices of Douglas Stephen, Richard Rogers and Norman Foster and in 1984 established his own practice, David Chipperfield Architects. David Chipperfield was awarded the Tessenow Gold Medal. In 2000 he was one of the architects to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale of Architecture. Chipperfield is the architect for the reconstruction of the destroyed Neues Museum in Berlin, due to reopen in 2009.

Journal Four.

Not only did Charles Eames and his wife, Ray, design some of the most important examples of 20th century furnitre, they also applied their talents to children's toys, puzzles, films, exhibitions and such iconic mid-20th century Los Angeles buildings as the Eames House and Entenza House in Pacific Palisades. Below are some examples of some of the works they have designed and are seen in many places still today.

Plywood Chair, 1945-46

La Chaise, 1948

Wire Mesh Chair, 1951-53

Lounge Chair, 1956

Journal Five.

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. From his early Praire Style homes, to the sculptural curves of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. He was a founder of modern architecture in North America. He embraced the use of new technology, materials and engineering to create some of the twentieth century's most influential buildings. During his seventy year career span he designed over one thousand buildings of which over four-hundred were built. Below are some examples of work he has designed all over the world.

Interior, Unity Temple Oak Park, Chicago, Illinois

Frederick C. Robie House Chicago, Illinois

Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Japan

Hollyhock House Hollywood, California

Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum New York City

Interior of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Journal Six.

Antoni Gaudi, 1853-1926, was part of the Art Nouveau movement and was famous for his unique style and highly individualistic designs. Gaudi was an ardent Catholic, to the point that in his later years, he abandoned secular work and devoted his life to Catholicism and his Sagrada Familia. He designed it to have 18 towers, 12 for the 12 apostles, 4 for the 4 evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus. Soon after, his closest family and friends began to die. His works slowed to a halt, and his attitude changed. On June 7, 1926, Gaudí was run over by a tram.Because of his ragged attire and empty pockets, many cab drivers refused to pick him up for fear that he would be unable to pay the fare. He was eventually taken to a pauper's hospital in Barcelona. Nobody recognized the injured artist until his friends found him the next day. When they tried to move him into a nicer hospital, Gaudí refused, reportedly saying "I belong here among the poor." He died three days later on June 10, 1926, half of Barcelona mourning his death. He was buried in the midst of La Sagrada Familia although Gaudi was constantly changing his mind and recreating his blue prints. The only existing copy of his last recorded blue prints were destroyed by the anarchists in 1938 at the height of Franco's invasion of Barcelona. This has made it very difficult for his workers to complete the cathedral in the same fashion as Gaudí most likely would have wished. It is for this that Gaudí is known to many as "God's Architect". La Sagrada Familia is now being completed but differences between his work and the new additions can be seen.

Episcopal palace of Astorga in Leon

Casa Mila in Barcelona,Spain



Cathedral La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona,Spain

Journal Seven

Friendensreich Hundertwasser's original, shocking artistic vision expressed itself in art, environmentalism, and design of facades, postage stamps, flags, and clothing. The common themes in his work are a rejection of the straight line, bright colors, organic forms, a reconciliation of humans with nature, and a strong individualism. His work is comparable to Antoni Gaudi in his use of tile. He felt that standard architecture could not be called art, and declared that the design of any building should be influenced by the aesthetics of its eventual tenants.

Housing Complex "In the Meadows", Bad Soden, Taunus

Motorway Restauran, Bad Fischau



Living Beneath the Rain Tower, Plochingen



Integrative School, Heddernheim



Rogner-Bad Blumau, Hotel and Spa

Journal Eight.

In 1959 when Isaiah Zagar was 19 years old he was introduced to the folk art environment of Clarence Schmidt, My Mirrored Hope, Woodstock, NY USA. Soon after in 1960 there was a groundbreaking exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, NY USA. Because that exhibition included assemblages of artists like Pablo Picasso, Jean Dubuffet, Curt Schwitters, Antonio Gaudi along side of untrained brickaleurs Clarence Schmit, Simon Rodia and Joseph Ferdinand Cheval that gave Isaiah as a trained artist the rationale to include their concepts as manifestations of fine art. At a crucial time in my life it allowed me to begin what could be called a life's work making the city of Philadelphia PA USA into a labyrinthine mosaic museum that incorporates all his varied knowledge and skills.

West wall top of Waters Memorial Community Center



Carlos Carpets Facade



Detailed view

Journal Nine.

Foster was born in England and naturally gifted in architecture, particularly in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. He left school at age 16 to work in the Manchester City Treasurer's office before joining the Royal Air Force. After discharged, Foster attended the University of Manchester's School of Architecture. Later he won the Henry Fellowship to the Yale School of Architecture, where he met his former business partner Richard Rogers and earned his Master's. He traveled for about a year in America then returned to the UK where he set up an architectural practice as Team 4 with Rogers and their wives Wendy Cheesman and Sue Rogers. They soon earned a reputation for high-tech industrial design.

The Hearst Tower in New York City

The Expo MRT Station, part of the Mass Rapid Transit system in Singapore

30 St Mary Axe a.k.a. "The Gherkin" in London

Journal Ten.

Le Corbusier was a Swiss-born architect and writer, who is famous for his contributions to what now is called Modern Architecture. He was a pioneer in theoretical studies of modern design and was dedicated to providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities. His career spanned five decades, with buildings constructed throughout central Europe, India, Russia, and one structure each in North and South America. He was also an urban planner, painter, sculptor, writer, and modern furniture designer.

Chapel in Ronchamp, France

Key French Building in Paris