STUDIO KAPELLER: NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER DESIGN

2008-04-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

DETAIL DESIGN MODELS

2008-04-14T11:12:00.001-07:00

DETAIL DESIGN PROGRESS

2008-04-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Panama pictures

2008-04-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

view of panama canal from airplane

big tree in the rainforest

mopeds on the coast

this is the view from a spot right next to our hotel

the entrance to the batcave we had to explore

random beach

this was our dock that lead into our hotel just past the trees

T H E R E I C H S T A G ~ Berlin, Gemany

2008-03-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

DETAIL MODEL EXAMPLES (Cal Poly Pomona)

2008-03-14T10:38:00.001-07:00

REDNECK ARCHITECTURE: SOMETHING TO ASPIRE TO

2008-03-11T22:45:00.001-07:00

TOO MANY OPTIONS ARE HOLDING US BACK

2008-02-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Adavantages of Closing Doors:

Read this fascinating story on how experiments reveal that our efforts to hold on to too many options may hinder our way forward. This may have something to do with the design process.

Read John Tierney's story here

PUTTING AN END TO EXTINCTION ----------- GLOBAL SEED VAULT OPENS IN SVALBARD, NORWAY

2008-02-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

Read Gwladys Fouche's story and watch movie at the Guardian here:

AN ONLINE CATALOG OF BIODIVERSITY

2008-02-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

All species listed and described online:

starting this Thursday at a computer near you
read here
watch TED talk here

CARBON FOOTPRINT

2008-02-24T10:39:00.001-08:00

Read this story of science and morality in the latest edition of The New Yorker by Michael Specter:
link

Precedent Study: Finnish Chancellery

2008-02-18T01:54:00.000-08:00

Finnish Chancellery
Heikkinen + Komonen
Washington, DC
1989-1993

The Finnish Embassy in Washington, DC, is built on a site on Massachusetts Avenue, adjacent to the chancelleries of Belgium and the Vatican, and across the street from the Vice President’s residence (note the pixelization on the Google map). Despite being on Embassy Row, the site maintains a sense of isolation; dense trees and steep topography insulate the structure from the pomp of the city. Designed to reflect a particularly Finnish connection to nature and the trees of the site, the building was carefully positioned to minimize the number of trees that had to be removed for construction. The material choices reflect this connection: copper screens skin both the south and north elevations, allowing rose and clematis vines to grow up the façades and create a natural envelope; bands of clear glass and glass block bring the light and color of the forest into the interior space, and green granite reflects the foliage, filtered light and shadows of the site.

The form of the building is simple, characteristic of Mikko Heikkinen and Markku Komonen’s work, relying on combinations of fundamental geometric forms. It is based on a grid, which is expressed on the interior as columns and, continuing beyond the confines of the building mass, extends into the landscape as light: recessed lights in the granite paving in the front, and lights on poles extending into the forest. The building mass itself is basically a cube with a wide longitudial cut through the center. This void, nicknamed the “grand canyon,” runs north-south and fills the interior with light.

The front façade, with its metal screen and glass blocks, mimics the scale of the neighboring embassies while expressing the deep-rooted modernism of Finnish architecture.

The interior combines the minimalist aesthetics of Scandinavian and Japanese design with a high-tech complexity which is not seen from the guardedly transparent exterior, which is typical of Heikkinen+Komonen’s work. The detailing is a careful balance of technological influences and connection to nature, so that polished metal and rich wood tones are in harmony. While the shapes of the rooms themselves suggest a static, rectilinear space, the subtle angles of the walls and the bold curves of the stairways and light fixtures add motion in the center. From the entry level, the main stairs sweep down into the grand canyon, dropping visitors off in Finlandia Hall, with a wall of north-facing glass looking into the forest.

Six feet away from this wall of glass is another skin, which creates an interstitial zone between the indoors and the hall, which is the principal gathering space of the embassy.

Above are two floors of offices for the staff of fifty, a multipurpose room, and a small library, all reached by a winding central stair in the center of the ‘canyon’ and series of steel bridges across the void. The conference rooms, clad in metal panels, are suspended in the center of the space, hovering above the hall below. Outside, the staff café juts into the woods beneath a tensile canopy structure, another Heikkinen+Komonen trademark.

Echo Park Lotus Festival Pictures

2008-02-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

2008-02-15T15:26:00.000-08:00

New York Times Reviews BCAM at LACMA

2008-02-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

ART MUSEUM MIXES POMP AND A HINT OF POP
read here

VENICE SITE 1936

2008-02-12T16:54:00.001-08:00

PLEASE POST REMAINING VIDEOS , SITE PICTURES, PRECEDENT STUDIES

2008-02-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks,
Christoph

cool firm website

2008-02-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

ecospace-architecture firm website

Jean Nouvel's New Tower For Los Angeles

2008-02-09T18:17:00.001-08:00

No, he did not come all the way to Ellay for the lecture, he was presenting his new "sustainable" tower for Century City. Now after Gehry, Moneo, Piano, Coop Himmelblau, we shall soon have a Nouvel in town. More locations for field trips.

read Curbed here
read comments by Christopher Hawthorne here
read Roger Vincent in the LA Times here

Torre Agbar, Jean Nouvel

Check out Jeanne Gang's Lecture

2008-02-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

link

Check out Studiogang from Chicaago

2008-02-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

link

Check out the Website of BIG from Denmark

2008-02-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

link

Check out Masdar City in Abu Dhabi

2008-02-05T10:11:00.002-08:00

Check out today's story in the New York Times here
or go on a virtual tour of Masdar City here

K-Town

2008-02-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

I posted the video on youtube. Search USC Architecture: Kapeller's Studio, Spring 2008. Or click this link.

Korea Town Site

2008-02-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hey all. I uploaded the Korea Town video to youtube. Search USC Architecture, Kapellers Studio, Spring 2008

Korea Town Video

2008-02-01T20:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COrP3vxJc6U

Boyle Heights Article...Civic Involvement

2008-01-29T20:37:00.001-08:00

This article discusses some aspects of civic involvement in areas filled with Mexican immigrants

interesting websites for your brain

2008-01-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

population phenomenon and supercities web info show

los angeles real estate and architecture current events website

Boyle Heights Images

2008-01-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

Echo Park Site images

2008-01-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

Aerial of Echo Park

2008-01-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

Message from Joe

2008-01-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, I am on
link

Message from Alice

2008-01-28T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys, check this out: link

More Boyle Heights Pics

2008-01-28T11:23:00.001-08:00

Boyle Heights Site Pictures

2008-01-28T10:53:00.000-08:00

Shopdropping = Reverse Shoplifting

2008-01-26T09:56:00.001-08:00

Artist Ryan Watkins-Hughes talks with Brian Lehrer about his adventures in shopdropping - the act of covertly placing altered merchandise on display in a store. So listeners, be on the lookout: that can of chick peas in aisle 5 might actually be a work of art. Listen @ WNYC

Venice Site Photos

2008-01-25T10:41:00.001-08:00

I'm sure you guys have some already but here is a select few that i have. If anyone needs to see what other ones I have i can post more if you need me to.

Evolution of Abbot Kinney Boulevard

2008-01-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.smmirror.com/volume3/issue43/the_evolution_of.asp

Genrification for Boyle Heights

2008-01-25T01:35:00.000-08:00

This is the Roosevelt High School Newspaper blog....it might be interesting to read about what they have to say about Boyle Heights. The link is about the future gentrification of Boyle Heights. An interesting fact....the current Mayor went to Roosevelt High and obviously wants to see Boyle Heights improve

Virtual Boyle Heights

2008-01-25T01:13:00.000-08:00

Virtual Boyle Heights.

Huizar already doing studio project, Boyle Heights team can focus on other things

2008-01-25T00:18:00.000-08:00

Anyone interested in Boyle Heights....councilman Jose Huizar whose office is a block west from the site has gotten approval to put in a civic center very similar to our project. The proposed site is home to his office right now, just south of the new police station. It will cost around 20 million dollars.

Boyle Heights development

2008-01-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

Looks like this huge development project in Boyle Heights is back on track. It's a bit south of our site, but 20,000(!) new residents is going to make quite an impact on the neighborhood.

"The $900-million Gold Line light rail under construction in the area is causing hardships for local merchants now but is expected to attract millions of dollars' worth of investment from real estate developers who want to build housing and shops around its stations."

And kick-ass community centers, too.

PHOTOSYNTH

2008-01-24T10:17:00.000-08:00

Check out Photosynth at TED: link

Photo to Movie

2008-01-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

Check out photo-to -movie software here

Eco-Cities

2008-01-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

New and old eco-city plans are discussed here by Hugh Pearman: link

Microsoft Surface

2008-01-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

For more on Microsoft Surface watch this

Interactive Surfaces

2008-01-24T01:03:00.001-08:00

More on what we talked about today during pin-up: that wall from Minority Report is an actual product now. I saw it at NextFest last year. What's best is that it is able to respond to multiple users, meaning it can become a tool of collaborative work or communication.

Multi-Touch Wall by Perceptive Pixel

Pretty exciting stuff, in light of recent developments like the iPhone's screen or Microsoft Surface.

Review of BMW World in Munich

2008-01-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

by Nicolai Ouroussoff

read

Neighborhood Council Meetings Tonight

2008-01-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

Please take pics or videos at the meetings for our blog

2008-01-23T11:16:00.000-08:00

LA County Considers Plastic-bag Ban, Fee

2008-01-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

Daily News

Monsanto House of the Future

2008-01-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

AMERICA AT ITS BEST
read story

2008-01-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

check out this website...

www.192021.org

LA OBSERVED

2008-01-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

Check out LA Observed, an online journal of Los Angeles media, news and sense of place.

link

New Solar Powered Parking Garage for Santa Monica

2008-01-19T17:31:00.000-08:00

The six-story, 882 space parking garage is designed by Moore , Ruble , Yudell and features photovoltaic Roof panels, a storm water tratment system, recycled construction materials and an energy efficient mechanical system according to Jorge Casuso at the LookOut news.

read story