FICTIONAL FRIDAY: OLYMPUS OF "IMMORTALS"

Fictional Friday is a series of posts on my blog, where I present fantastical and fictional architecture from books, television, films, computer games, art etc. every Friday.

This week, something for those of you who just can't have enough of inventive Classicism: In the otherwise unimpressive film 'Immortals', there was a rather beautiful set, designed for Olympus, the home of the gods. Imagined as a synthesis of unpolished marble, symmetry and geometry, this amazing piece of fictional architecture reminded me of the stark and beautiful Nordic Classicism (sometimes referred to as 'Swedish Grace') of the 1920s. Have a look, ignore the silly costumes, pay notice to the nice Lucie Fournier relief and make up your own opinion:

THE BEGINNING

Back in school. More than a year has passed and I really am a different person in more than one way. And ready.

The music is from the movie 'The Truman Show' from 1998, featuring some really cool sets, including the very real town of Seaside, a traditional-looking new town in Florida, and a place where I'd really like to go.

IAN BEGG AND THE SCOTTISH VERNACULAR

This is the Radisson BLU Hotel Edinburgh, on the famous Royal Mile in the middle of the city. It was designed by the Scottish architect Ian Begg, who has restored and built many beautiful buildings in Scotland. This hotel, which according to scottish-places.info filled anotorious gap site, was completed in 1990! It's a very traditional building, designed in a sort of local vernacular style, but it's not made to look old by applying fake ageing techniques or anything of the sort.

On the side of the main entrance, there is a plaque, inscribed with the words "AL THIS WARK WAS BEGUN DANCON ON 10-JANUARY-1989 AN ENDIT BE THEM ON 31-MARCH-1990", leaving no doubt as to the building's age. There's another plaque at the foot of the tower (covered up in the top picture, but normally visible), clearly stating the year the hotel was built "AD 1989". I did not get to see much of the interiors, but I did pay a visit to their elegant lobby, in which I found friendly staff, who unfortunately were not able to tell me the name of the architect. In my opinion, they should be informing their guests about this very special building and the architect behind it.

Ian Begg has a passion for everything Scottish, and is the architect behind many new buildings in this and related styles. On his excellent website you can read more about his work, and even see an excerpt from a series of BBC programmes on "The Scottish House" from the early 1970s (which, by the way, should be published online, on Youtube or elsewhere). An excerpt:

This very sincere and talented man is also the architect of another beautiful urban Scottish building, St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, in Glasgow.

Photo courtesy of visitscotland.com

Constructed in 1993, the building blends in with its surroundings while still retaining a character of its own. The design is intended to reflect the now lost medieval Glasgow Castle, which formerly occupied the site, but sadly was torn down at the end of the eighteenth century. Apart from exhibitions on religious life in Scotland, the building also features a Zen garden, a courtyard used for markets, festivals concerts, as well as stain More pictures of the exteriors, interiors and even a model of the building can seen at Undiscovered Scotland.

Zen garden

Playing Gamalan instruments and dancing in the courtyard

The courtyard during Merchant City Festival

This photo of St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art is courtesy of TripAdvisor


Discovering the work of Mr Begg has certainly motivated me to make more trips to Scotland, and learn more about this interesting designer and his thoughts on architecture. Wish me luck!

THE FUTURE ACCORDING TO TOR

Made by a friend of mine, I like how this video suggests that things are going in the right direction, and architects may have a role in finding the way.

KATY PERRY AND THE AESTHETICS OF SURREAL FANTASY

Yes, it's kitschy. Yes, it looks rather fake. But it's also imaginative and kinda cool.

Fictional Friday is a series of posts on my blog, where I present fantastical and fictional architecture from books, television, films, computer games, art etc. every Friday.

THE ERECHTEION

Today, I started reading about the Erechteion of Athens (ca. 405 BC), after being reminded of the existence of this strange and wonderful building just a few days ago.

Although mostly known for its caryatids, this structure in my opinion deserves just as much attention for it complex and non-symmetrical approach to the architectural language it works within, what we now call classicism.

After some quick googling, I found out that an amazing new digital reconstruction project is going on, which already has a very interesting website, where I stole these pictures (Thanks, guys!), and will be featured in a future documentary. The website has several trailers, pilots and 3D animations, which for some strange reason have not been published on neither Youtube nor Vimeo, but are very interesting and worth looking at nonetheless.

I'm looking forward to learning more about this interesting and, according to the people in it, potentially revolutionary project.

THE UNIVERSE AS SEEN FROM UTØYA ISLAND

If you look long enough, you'll see how the trees spell out the word 'love'.

PINE HORIZON

You might have heard of the pines of Rome, but what about the pines of Skjeberg?

As some old readers may have noticed, I'm very much concerned with how the architecture we create, meets the sky. In nature, the horizon is never boring, but in architecture, it often is. So maybe, the next time you're out there shaping a part of your fellow citizens' horizon, in the shape of a roofline, a garden or a tree-lined street, and you think it looks too simple, maybe you should consider using a pine? They grow into all kinds of shapes and sizes, smell nice, and produce cones than are fun to play with.

As for the picture, it looked better the way it was taken, a bit tilted, and depicts me and my friend Freja-Lina in between all the pines.

THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. LESSMORE

Watch this amazing short film about a man and the books he meets. The quality on Vimeo is ok, but I recommend downloading it cheaply at http://morrislessmore.com/. Have yourself a very Fictional Friday!

(Fictional Friday is a series of posts on my blog, where I present fantastical and fictional architecture from books, television, films, computer games, art etc. every Friday.)


("Less is more" - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe)


("Less is a bore" - Robert Venturi) 

THE ARCHITECTURE OF FRIENDS

My friends Terry and Maurice are currently visiting from Kenya, and on Tuesday our friend Heidi joined us for a day of hanging out in my hometown Drammen, having fun, eating food, taking pictures and looking at cool architecture.

This rather fabulous picture was taken in the garden of Gulskogen Manor, a wooden summer residence built for the Arbo family at the end of the 18th century. Designed to resemble European stone architecture and painted in a sand-beige colour, the house is set in a magnificent garden, with rows of trees, big lawns, duck ponds, small canals with bridges, granite stairs, herb gardens, a maze and dozens of birds, including peacocks.

Last image by Heidi Leona Norum.

SEQUEL

This thing is on the top of my wish list!

SOLID EARTH

Solid Earth from PassitOn on Vimeo.

A little film about a woman who loves to build houses out of earth. Almost too cute, but very appealing, at least to me.