Michelle at Work - TTT goes to Paris

Submitted by Michelle Plett, Account Executive, PR at The Think Tank  

On October 6-7th I had the privilege of attending Architect@Work, Paris, one in a series of eponymous architecture fairs throughout Europe.

The Architect@Work (A@W) concept travels through Germany, France, The Netherlands and Belgium. Unlike typical trade fairs A@W focuses on creating opportunity for building business relationships in a less commercial environment, without bright lights, big stands and music filling the halls.

When I first walked in it was apparent that this fair was purpose built, darker than normal, the atmosphere screamed serious design. Located in one large hall visitors immediately came across the curated exhibition "Made in Light." Hosted by Innovatheque, the exhibition explored the use of innovative materials and how they are lit.

Below the exhibit delegates could attend a series of lectures on everything from materials to lighting. I chose one entitled "lumieres and luminaires; architectural lighting". It was fascinating, even though it was all in French, and the seats were comfortable too!

To the right and left were two hallways flanked by high black curtains. Nestled in groups of four company stands faced each other, triangular in shape, sharing a desk in the middle with only room enough to have a look at the product and then ideally, be taken off stand for a chat.

Note: I became incredibly adept at saying "Sorry, I am in PR and I'm here to view new products. I'm not looking for anything" in French... 

The model behind A@W is to spark interest through your stand and then take the potential client out to the halls where food and drink are provided throughout the day. Here a chat and refreshments allowed companies to dig deeper into client needs without distracting new visitors on stand.

The atmosphere was great; professional and focused. The delegates were right on target and my clients came out with great results. I would recommend this fair to anyone interested in reaching the European market.

Thanks Architect@Work for bringing it back to business.

The Bloomsbury Festival

Store Street's South Crescent - home to NLA and The Building Centre - will be transformed this weekend into a hive of creative activity as part of the Bloomsbury Festival.

On offer will be family-friendly, free workshops in which visitors can draw, build, sculpt and photograph Bloomsbury. They can help build a giant 3D masterplan and capture views of the area with a super-sized pinhole camera pod, while listening to vinyl classics from a mobile 'disco trike' built from recycled scrap materials.

WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE SAT 22 AND SUN 23 OCTOBER, 12NOON - 5.00PM

Re-Drawing Bloomsbury (Saturday only)
 Participate in an interactive drawing workshop which re-interprets Bloomsbury from a bird's eye perspective, forming part of a collaborative and temporary installation on the windows of The Building Centre on Store Street, run by Mobile Studio (Art + Architecture) and students from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

Making Masterplans (Saturday only)
Collaborate with Mobile Studio (Art + Architecture) and students from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL on a giant 3D model which will re-build Bloomsbury as an alternative and temporary masterplan in the centre of the South Crescent.

Pinhole Picture Pod (Sunday only)
Make like Vermeer and Canaletto and use the Pinhole Picture Pod - a 21st Century camera obscura designed by students from the Architectural Association - to view a live 'photograph' of Bloomsbury and perfect your own sketching skills. Climb inside the pod to sketch your own view of Bloomsbury and then work up your drawing with the help of architectural students, or help use the device to take a giant permanent photograph of the scene unfolding outside.

Other workshops include ‘Faces of Bloomsbury’ in which guests can create a photographic installation with images of locals, a ‘Lower Carbon Drive Talk’ from Andrew Scoones, Director at The Building Centre and the ‘Contemporary Architecture Walk’ led by Peter Murray, Chairman of NLA.  There is also ‘Make your own Jewellery and Storage Solutions’ where artists Isabelle Bricknall, Stacy Darling and Lydia Smith-Aouane will be hosting a workshop creating fun storage solutions from discarded cardboard boxes donated by The Co-Operative Food.

The Bloomsbury Festival is an entirely free cultural Festival, taking place across the whole of this wonderful part of central London. There are over one hundred local organizations involved in making the Festival happen.

For more information visit www.bloomsburyfestival.org.uk or to read more about the festival and the NLA visit www.newlondonarchitecture.org

Terry Farrell: Postmodernism and its Legacy

“Postmodernism was all-encompassing, not a style but an era, and as a phenomenon it was about holistic connectivity, the broadening of all viewpoints.” Terry Farrell, 2011.

Coinciding with the Victoria and Albert Museum’s major Postmodernism exhibition will be a discussion at the RIBA about the legacy of postmodernism; amongst the speakers representing some of the movement’s protagonists will be architect Terry Farrell. But, has enough time lapsed since the end of the movement to assess or even appreciate its legacy? Some of its greatest examples in architecture are still considered controversial. Many postmodernist buildings – even the most well-known – are not protected, and the consequences can be currently witnessed in Camden where the Hawley Crescent façade of the former TV-am studios, designed by Farrell in the early 1980s, is being torn down. A model of its façade forms part of the V&A’s exhibition, one exhibit amongst many that together analyses the wide spectrum of material and cultural outputs of postmodernism, including: architecture, music, cinema, fashion and dance.

The upcoming talk, ‘The Legacy of Postmodernism’, will see Sir Terry Farrell, Nigel Coates, Piers Gough, Sean Griffiths, Kester Rattenbury and Jane Pavitt discuss the legacy of the movement on architecture and design in the UK. 6.30pm – 8pm, 25 October 2011.

To book tickets or to find out more visit RIBA Blogs

Photograph: Alban Gate, 125 London Wall, City of London (© Kathy de Witt / RIBA Library Photographs Collection)

Visiting the Venice Biennale

A few weeks ago it was the contemporary art world’s ultimate exhibition, La Biennale, which takes place in Venice every two years (hence the name). Foscarini, the Italian lighting company, and a sponsor of the festival, hosted the 30 permanent national pavilions in the city’s Giardini (public gardens) as well as a the “ILLUMInations” exhibit in the Venetian Arsenal. The exhibition featured 83 artists from around the world. Read more at Design Milk.

Photograph of installation by Monica Bonvicini (Born in Italy; works in Germany)

High Line: The Inside Story

The road to creating one of New York's most beloved parks was sometimes just as tough as the unruly terrain that Friends of the High Line co-founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond were determined to transform. Stretching from the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, the mile-and-a-half-long elevated park represents the extraordinary rescue of an abandoned eyesore by two inexperienced but dedicated individuals, and the rally of strong community involvement. A new book, "High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky," chronicles the behind-the-scenes of the epic ten-year restoration project.

In overcoming all the adversity which faced them, David and Hammond have created a park that stands for so much more than a respite from the urban jungle. Today, the High Line is home to more than 200 species of grasses, wildflowers, shrubs and trees, hosts more than 300 public programs each year, from stargazing sessions to yoga classes, provides a setting for site-specific art installations and receives at times 100,000 visitors in a single weekend.

With the forthcoming relocation of the Whitney Museum to the park's southern terminus and the adjacent Hudson Yards development on the horizon, the High Line engages with an important area of NYC's rapidly evolving urban environment. "High Line" is a thorough and enlightening read for any park enthusiast or 'yet-to-be-known-nobody' seeking a little inspiration. Hammond sums up the project quite simply in the book - "I hope the High Line will encourage people to pursue all sorts of crazy projects, even if they seem, as the High Line once did, the most unlikely of dreams."

To find out where you can purchase High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky or to find out more, visit Cool Hunting.

Installation for California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Exhibition

On view until March 25th at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the installation for California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way” Exhibition has been created by the Hodgetts + Fung Design and Architecture Studio. These are the names behind a number of Los Angeles landmarks, including the renovated Hollywood Bowl and Egyptian Theater. The design for the exhibition is inspired by California’s unique style, with lithe, sensuous lines carried throughout the installation, including the display cases and a helical construction that soars through the center of the exhibition.

This is the first major study of modern California design which really examines the state’s key role in shaping the material culture of the country at mid-century. California Design features more than 350 objects in wide ranging media, including furniture, textiles, fashion, graphic and industrial design, ceramics, jewelry, metalwork, architectural drawings, and film, as well as two period re-creations—most notably the living room from the home of renowned designers Charles and Ray Eames.

Photography courtesy of Hodgetts + Fung Design and Architecture.

To find out more about the designers and the exhibition visit Arch Daily.

Inftatable Mobile Architecture Competition PFFF

CityVision has collaborate with FARM to announce a new international competition called PFFF. This is an architecture competition focused upon the design and realization of an inflatable mobile pavilion to embody the spirit of the FARM project.

The pavilion will be used many times and it will have to be easily transportable and installable in squares, parks, meeting places of different cities and FARM Cultural Camp tour’s stops.

Find out more on Arch Daily