THE ARCHIVE

Library at the Ivar Aasen Centre (2000), architect Sverre Fehn.

This is the archive of  Kristian Hoff-Andersen's blog about architecture, life and art. Here the reader will find pictures, text and videos concerning architecture, gathered and produced throughout four years of architecture school, travels, research and everyday life. The posts are a mixture between updates from school, theoretical musings and the everyday architecture I've encountered, with a particular emphasis on architecture in popular culture, fictional or otherwise. They are for the most part not very connected to the point in time in which they were written, and should be worth looking at still.

I encourage you to make use of the labels found in the word cloud at the bottom of the page, or just browse through the dates, search for specific terms and look into whatever might evoke interest. The pictures are taken by yours truly, and can be used freely with credit. Enjoy!

My word cloud, to be found at the bottom of this page. I'm quite proud of it.

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As my readers, may have noticed, this blog has remained quiet for some time now. Although I've loved working on it, I find that it's time to try out new channels and formats. For example, Norwegian readers may want to have a look at my little piece about the Deichman library, published in the latest edition of the magazine Minerva, which was released three days ago, on 21st September 2015. I will continue writing articles, essays and other kinds of text, and try to decide on a way of publisihing.

A big thanks is in order when something like this ends. Thank you to all my friends, acquaintaces and strangers who've followed me, thank you for your comments and feedback, and for reading my simple thoughts on this enormous and microscopical field of society. Thank you to everyone who inspires me, to architects still present and long gone, and most importantly, to the people who want to make architecture that engages with society. You bring us forward.

FICTIONAL FRIDAY: APOKALYPSE DA

Photo by Morgan Flament

This great picture suddenly showed up on my Facebook news feed this morning, and I immediately decided I had to put it on the blog. It's taken from a new theatre play called "Apokalypse da" (Engl: "Apocalypse then") by the duo REBEKKA/HUY at Black Box Theatre in Oslo, which deals with the Vietnam war, seen from present day by a generation of actors born in the eighties. (Norwegian description on the theatre's website.) Unfortunately, I did not see it, so I don't know exactly what kind of scene is depicted here.

Lighting design was done by the brilliant (heh) (no, but seriously) Norunn Standal, and reveals two important points to me: The first, of course, is how light in itself can create a feeling of space. The entire "room" visible in this picture is defined by the reach of the lamps, with blurry, bulging edges, but still well-defined. I'm a lover of shadow in architecture, and she uses it masterly. The second thing to notice here, is how amazing artificial light can be. Using the "fog effect", dispersion of white light in smoke makes the whole scene and people glow, and lets us see things in new ways.

I love natural light as much as the next architect, but many people around the world, especially in Northern areas, spend large parts of their lives under dark skies. In this situation, it is the role of the architect and designer to recognize the fact that windows look more or less like large black squares for most of the time we see them.

Therefore, it must be one of the basic tasks of our professions to think new thoughts about how to create artificial lighting which helps bring about environments of high quality, a necessity in replacing the function of natural light when that is absent.

DANCE THE ROOM

What is the relationship between the body and architecture? Are rooms all about seeing, or should designers also take in account sensory experiences such as touch, sound, smell, temperature and balance?  And do we use the whole space of the rooms we are in, or do we simply stick to restricted movements through restricted zones?

Picture credits: Not me. Sia, I suppose?

In this rather amazing music video, 11 year old Maddie Ziegler performs a choreography that to an (to my eyes) unusual degree, engages with the room in which it is performed. Sia's rihannesque (they've collaborated earlier) song is complemented by Siegler's moves through what looks like an early 20th century apartment, with rough and stained surfaces. She moves from room to room, playing with light and shadow, as well as constantly interacting physically with the shapes and borders of the spaces in new ways.

Although I unfortunately can't use or experience a room this way myself, due to my being a well below average dancer, I think this video serves as a reminder of the possibilities that lie in the meeting between bodies and rooms, possibilities that perhaps should be more explored by both designers, dancers and daily users of architecture.

P.S. If you (as I) were truly fascinated, have a look at the one-take version of the video at The Guardian. A bit rougher than the official video, it's perhaps even more captivating in the unrefined honesty of what was happening on the set.

NUDE CLASSICISM

No, it's not a library from Fascist Italy. Behold the Leisner Auditorium of the George Washington Univeristy in Washington DC! When everyone else was doing "stripped-down" classicism in DC in the 40s, architects Faulkner and Kingsbury decided to go completely naked with the Auditorium, named after a donor and finished in 1943.

A symmetric building clad in limestone, it only hints at classical roots, with a level of detail some might find to be a bit harsh, while others may think the structure to be strikingly modern and intense in its austerity. I'd call it a guilty pleasure, I suppose. Inhuman and amazingly ruthless though it is, the shadows cast by its narrow porch, the dynamic of the three entrances invisible from each other, and the soft patina of the stone walls in my opinion makes it good enough to deserve its place. If I could make one wish, it would have been for the pillars to be of massive limestone, or at least not as obviously clad in rather thin plates of it.

At night, 1946

The building has been used both for concerts, movie screenings, lectures and debates throughout the years, and continues to function as a gathering place in modern day DC.

River Horse, 1996

In front of the building stands the sculpture called River Horse (artist unknown), given as a gift in 1996. A plaque on the base reads

Legend has it that the Potomac was once home to these wondrous beasts.

George & Martha Washington are even said to have watched them cavort in

the river shallows from the porch of their beloved Mount Vernon on summer evenings.

Credited with enhancing the fertility of the plantation, the Washingtons believed

the hippopatamus brought them good luck & children on the estate often attempted

to lure the creatures close enough to the shore to touch a nose for good luck.

So, too, may generations of students of the George Washington University.

Art for wisdom,

Science for joy,

Politics for beauty,

And a Hippo for hope.

The George Washington University Class of 2000

August 28, 1996

FICTIONAL FRIDAY: THE THIRD AND THE SEVENTH

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Please watch this beautiful little film of architecture real, imagined and re-imagined (in fullscreen); it's a nice reminder of how architecture sometimes can be an art.

One of the most important buildings featured in the film is Louis Kahn's Exeter library. The more I learn about Kahn, the more I come to love his work. There's a rather huge Kahn exhibition at the Oslo Museum of Architecture right now. Anyone who hasn't seen it, really should go. Last day of the exhibition is 26th January 2014.

Finally, thanks to Joan, who made me aware of the film a long time ago. I love it.

PS. TOEFL test tomorrow, needed for my applications to the schools I want to get in to in the US. Wish me luck!

LEAF CEILING

This amazing ceiling made of linden trees can be found at Blindernveien in Oslo, and creates a room as good as any.

The technique is called pollarding in English, and is an excellent way of renewing trees.

KOWLOON WALLED CITY SECTION DRAWING

It seems most people have heard about Kowloon Walled City by now, except me. However, you may not have seen this drawing yet, so please enjoy.

Also, have a look at this great blog post and this series of pictures from the Daily Mail, and maybe even this documentary.

THE MAN IN THE WINDOW

Walking home from a great day spent with my friend Aina (Remember the girl with all the talent and charm?) and her cool little brother, I had to take a picture when I passed this great sight: An elderly man, just hanging out of his window in the sunshine, looking at people and cars passing by. I don't think he talked to the girls, but it seems he at least made eye contact with one of them.

I believe good architecture will do this to a city. Windows which open up wide encourages people to look out unto the outside and get some real sunshine on their skin. The wall is pierced by the sudden gap in the facade, and a potent meeting between private and public takes place. A road without too many cars is nice to look at, while the trees across tha road cast an interesting shadow. The street becomes a nicer and more interesting place to walk, and so a few people might choose to not take the car. Urban magic.

FLAMING BRICK WALLS

What can shadows do to buildings? Here's one example. A brick wall, simple on the verge of being boring, suddenly looks almost like it's burning, just from the shadow of some nearby trees. The photo was taken in a student village where the office is currently doing some redesign work.

JENNY BEVAN AND THE SHADOW OF ARCHITECTURE

Here's a photo taken some time ago in Charleston, South Carolina, by the brilliant young architect Jenny Bevan.

So, consider this: How interesting are the shadows cast by the architecture you make?