Hasta La Ideas

by Anna Carnick

Opening today and capping off a year-long 50th anniversary celebration, the Guggenheim presents Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum. For this salon-style installation, the museum invited nearly 200 artists, designers and architects to submit their dream proposals for interacting with the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building’s central rotunda, or “void.” The central space, famously encompassed by the circular exhibit hallways, gave these world-renowned and up-and-coming and creatives plenty of space for interpretation, and the resulting exhibit features renderings of their visionary solutions.

Recurring themes include a return to nature, the relationship between light and space, aspirations of climbing the building, and the interplay of diaphanous elements with the concrete structure. The impressive list of contributors includes everyone from architects Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn FORM, MVRDV and N55; to artists Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread and Doris Salcedo and designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, Joris Laarman Studio, Studio Job and Dror Benshetrit.

Describing his contribution, “Redlining the Guggenheim,” a watercolor painting that depicts a red wall following the building’s circular path, Dror explains, “This was my first request from the Guggenheim, which for me is one of the most special museums in the world. As I am an artist by heart, I couldn’t imagine doing anything other than a hand-painted piece that communicates my vision to erect a wall that spirals in the middle of the climbing floor.”

Ultimately, these eclectic approaches to the space reinforce the potency of the Guggenheim’s organic architecture. Over the years, the building has inspired amazing site-specific installations and exhibition designs by the likes of Matthew Barney, Frank Gehry, Jenny Holzer and others. Considering these latest inventions, the inspirational nature of Wright’s 1959 building seems, if anything, to grow stronger with time.

A complementary exhibition website accompanies the show, documenting each submission and featuring introductory essays by Guggenheim curators Nancy Spector and David van der Leer.

Contemplating the Void runs through 28 April 2010.

Singapore studio Ministry of Design have completed a single-storey house that zig-zags across its triangular site in Singapore. (more…)

This giant wall was built in Berlin for the annual Bread and Butter trade show (which closed late last month).

System 180 is best known for its cutting-edge steel tube furniture, however they’ve been able to apply the same technology to build this 380 meter long wall. The project utilized 12,500 meters of steel tube and 5,000 square meters of tarpaulin to enclose the large arching face of the former Berlin Central Airport. More of their interior projects can be seen on their site.

© Mila Hacke, Berlin

© Mila Hacke, Berlin

© System 180

Architectural photographer Roland Halbe has sent us his photographs of a conference centre in Offenburg, Germany, designed by Freiburg architects Hetzel & Ortholf. (more…)

Although people like Norman Foster and his fellow Yalies might be filled with fond feelings for legendary architect Paul Rudolph, his work around the country continues to find itself in jeopardy. By way of Archinect, we’ve learned that Rudolph’s John W. Chorley Elementary School in Middletown, NY is in danger of being demolished and replaced with a parking lot, which will serve the new elementary school built to replace the original. If this sounds familiar, it’s a very similar situation to what happened in Sarasota, Florida in 2008 with Rudolph’s Riverview High School, which, despite architecture activist’s push to save it, was ultimately voted to be demolished because the city couldn’t afford to restore it. Chorley Elementary now faces destruction as early as next year, but the New York State Preservation League is already trying to fight for its survival. Here’s a quick description of the beautiful modern building and a certainly uncomfortable quote from back on its opening day:

Built of fluted concrete block, and designed to reflect the limitless potential of its pupils, each class room has its own door to the exterior, and is open within the wing, allowing teachers the capacity to teach up to eight classes at once. At its dedication, on May 18, 1969, then Superintendent of schools John L. Krause wrote “let us hope that forty years hence people will be commenting favorably on the foresight of this community during the ’60’s”.

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