Tag Archives: architects
Prada Building in Aoyama, Tokyo
Design … The NYC Subway Map by the Late Great Massimo Vignelli, R.I.P.
A giant of the design world passed away earlier this week. The New York City-based Italian designer Massimo Vignelli died in New York Tuesday morning at age 83.
Vignelli was one of the world’s foremost designers, and in a career that started in Italy, where he was educated, and saw him immigrate to New York and start his own firm, Vignelli created an enduring vision and legacy of work that influenced several generations of leading designers, architects and creators.
The New York City subway map below is a design classic and a testament to his vision and style. Created by Vignelli in 1973, it became an iconic example of information design that would be copied the world over.
Over on Design Observer, the Pentagram founder Michael Beirut has written a personal tribute to Vignelli and shares some of his experiences and what he learned working for Vignelli Associates in the 1980s.
New York Street Art … “Snow White” by Invader
This street art mosaic image of “Snow White” is by the French artist Invader (a.k.a., “Space Invader”) on the wall of a diner in New York City. The artwork is made up of small tiles like all of Invader’s street art pieces, but the use of the animated Disney character Snow White represents a sharp departure in the pop-culture imagery the artist is famous for referencing, namely the iconic graphics of 1980s videogame Space Invader. The “Snow White” artwork pictured above is at the corner of Delancey and Essex streets in New York’s Lower East Side and near the famous “blue” condo building (left) by architect Bernard Tschumi.
The Buildings of Japanese Architect Tadao Ando
Our “Visual Culture of Japan Series” continues with this post on famed Osaka-based Japanese architect Tadao Ando and some images of his buildings, including the the “4×4 Houses,” “Church of Light” and Awaji Yumebatai in Japan. Ando is one of the world’s leading architects. His Osaka firm has designed buildings through Japan and around the globe. Among his recent landmark building is the 21_21 Design Site in Tokyo.
Related to Japanese Architecture: Shigeru Ban’s Nomadic Museum
4×4 Houses photo and copyright: Hiromitsu Morimoto / HET Gallery
“Church of Light” photo and copyright Buou / Chris He
Nomadic Museum by Shigeru Ban, New York City 10
NYC was recently treated to the work of experimental Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, who is known for his use of low-cost, re-purposed and recycled materials to create stunning cleverly designed structures. These buildings can be built and torn down quickly. Pictured above and below in this Global Graphica series, is Ban’s Nomadic Museum on Pier 54 in lower Manhattan. The Nomadic Museum was designed for a massive exhbition of photos and film by the artist Gregory Colbert. The structure is a long cathedral-like building that fills the full length of what was disused pier on the Hudson River. The museum’s walls are made of box-car-sized shipping containers, which still bear the colors and logos of the shipping companies that once used them to ferry goods across the world’s oceans and seas.
Ivan Corsa Photo
Nomadic Museum by Shigeru Ban, New York City 09
A closer view of the Nomadic Museum by architect Shigeru Ban at Pier 54 on the Hudson River, New York City.
Ivan Corsa Photo
Nomadic Museum by Shigeru Ban, New York City 04
In this image, the ticket office to the Nomadic Museum, in New York City, is seen tucked in a space between shipping containers on the right flank of the structure.
Ivan Corsa Photo
Chatham Towers
Many of the residential buildings in Chinatown are old low-rise tenement buildings tightly crammed next each other along narrow traffic-choked streets. That makes the Chatham Towers apartment complex pictured here a stand-out in the neighborhood. The architectural design, with its concrete facade and alternating balcony scheme, is a sophisticated example of the 1960’s international Brutalist style. The 25-storey Towers are surrounded by a landscaped plaza and leafy park grounds that make the complex seem like it’s a world away from Chinatown’s cramped chaos a few meters away. Chatham Towers were built in 1964 and each building has 120 apartments. The design was by Kelly & Gruzen. Since 9/11, the area surrounding (and including) the Towers has been barricaded and closed to non-residents due to the proximity of the structures to New York City Police headquarters and heightened security concerns.
Ivan Corsa Photo