Tag Archives: periodicals

Piano’s Kimbell Museum Addition: Architectural Record’s Glimpse

As an architecture enthusiast, I have more than just a calendar to remind myself that it’s the beginning of a new month: my subscriptions to design magazines! Some of my favorites that I receive monthly are Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, and Interior Design. The beautiful photography that adorns the covers are a welcome sight amongst my cable and gas bills, that’s for sure.

This month’s Architectural Record cover caught my eye immediately upon reading “Piano’s Kimbell Museum Addition” as one of the main articles. Though I haven’t been to the famed Ft. Worth museum myself, I’ve heard a lot about the new addition, especially being exposed to both Renzo Piano and Louis Kahn’s work in my classes this semester.

The author of the article, Sarah Williams Goldhagen, is the architecture critic for The New Republic and authored Louis Kahn’s Situated Modernism, so her perspective on the contested addition is both informed and compelling. Her words bring the addition to life, almost personifying it, and gives the reader a palpable visual with regards to how it works with Kahn’s original building (like the two structures are having a conversation, as she so elegantly puts it). Her words are framed with site plans, floor plans, sections, and large, vivid images of both the Kahn original and the Piano addition. For those of you that are native Texans and are heading home for winter break, this article is a great precursor to a potential visit to the Kimbell! As someone who will be jetting up north to Wisconsin next week and will be unable to check out the museum until I find myself in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area sometime in the future, I highly suggest paying a visit if you can (and then finding me and telling me about it, because I want to live vicariously through you).

In addition to the Kimbell article, this month’s Building Types Study is museums, so the designs of a few more galleries from across the world are explored in depth (and even more are featured on their website). Because of the upcoming break, I think the focus on museums is especially appropriate, because it’s definitely given me inspiration to visit some of those in the cities I live near!

The December issue of Architectural Record will hit our Reading Room shelf soon, if you’re up for some reading that’s NOT assigned or required. We will be open until December 20th, but we’ll be spreading Christmas cheer with our ample holiday decorations until then.

Happy studying, Longhorns!

Austin in the Architectural Press

Throughout the semester, we’ve featured some of our periodical subscriptions that are available in the Reading Room and in our stacks. Two of our selections, Architectural Record and Interiors & Sources, highlighted some awesome elements of Austin in their October 2013 issues, so we were EXTRA excited to read through them this month!

Architectural Record narrows its focus to technology and the city for their most recent publication. Austin – along with Chattanooga, Detroit, and San Francisco – is one of their mini-case study cities undergoing a rapid change at the hands of a technology boom. Noting a steady rise in population, Google Fiber’s arrival next year, and an emerging startup culture that’s permeating the city, the article discusses ways in which Austin is addressing a unique and complex change to their built fabric. Key players such as Jim Robertson, the manager of the city planning department’s Urban Design Division, and Barbara Brown Wilson, Director of UT’s Center for Sustainable Development, weigh in on rapidly-transitioning cultural districts, urban sprawl, and how Imagine Austin was created to help address these housing market changes. Joshua Baer, managing director of Capital Factory, concisely states the issue at hand today: “how do we keep our spirit while we cultivate our entrepreneurial attitude?”. This article exposes the inner-workings of a rapidly-growing city, and as both residents of Austin and enthusiasts of architecture, it’s a fascinating read that truly hits home. Realizing that we’re living amidst a major cultural, economic, and technological transition is a fascinating revelation!

This month’s issue also features a building types study of the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), the United States’ only facility built to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix race that will take place this weekend. Designed in part by Austin-based Miró Rivera Architects, this massive 1,200 acre venue also houses the city’s largest outdoor music venue at 14,000 max capacity. This dual-purpose site is anchored by a dynamic Observation Tower, a stunning feat of modern engineering, built to evoke the “blur of light that trails cars racing in the night”. Rising 251 feet, the Observation Tower is sure to become a recognizable staple in Austin’s more rural acreage. This venue reflects Austin’s rapid growth and, with SXSW, Austin City Limits, and the X-Games calling Austin home, also solidifies it as a true destination city.

Shifting the theme from technology to the environment, Interiors & Sources October issue ranks the Top 10 LEED Projects of 2013. Coming in at #10 is UT’s very own Student Activity Center, obtaining LEED Gold by optimizing energy performance, utilizing recycled content materials from the region, and maximizing daylight. The article divulges key factors in the design process behind Overland Partners‘ final product, and stands out as a wonderful contribution UT’s campus.

Want to read through these featured articles on our great city? Both periodicals are currently located in the Reading Room, and our archive of bound volumes can be found in our stacks. Love the educational design showcased in the Interiors & Sources issue? Keep an eye out for Architectural Record’s November 2013 publication, which showcases higher education projects in their building types study of the month.

As always, we’re huge advocates for periodicals here at the Architecture & Planning Library. They’re an indispensable resource for what’s going on in the design world today, highlight a great range and depth of projects, and offer an incredible source of inspiration for your own design efforts. And we’re even bigger advocates when they highlight our beloved city. Come check ’em out today!

Architectural Record Call No: NA 1 A6
Interiors & Sources Call No:  NK 1700 I64

Journal Feature: Interiors & Sources

In honor of Open Access Week, this week’s journal feature ties in our October-long celebration of interior design with the aspect of community. Our past journal features have largely focused on periodicals that highlight the holistic finished product of a design, including project summaries and architectural drawings. This week’s feature, however, zooms into the pieces that make a cohesive design happen: its materials.

Interiors & Sources, a monthly American publication, puts the spotlight on manufacturers and how their products are applied to interior projects. In the September 2013 issue, Interiors & Sources highlights pro-bono work around the country, nonprofit companies that are creating real change, and designs that have the ability to pull people away from their smartphone-ridden lives.

One of the September features is on Connie Duckworth’s Azru Studio Hope, a textile company that employs women in rural Afghanistan. Azru Studio Hope provides women with looms in their homes to create hand-woven rugs for both residential and commercial use, designed by notable figures such as Frank Gehry and Michael Graves. In a tumultuous country that struggles with gender equality, these women are now viewed as viable economic units to their families, and are reviving native craft techniques in the process. In addition to a stabilizing income, Azru Studio Hope’s social contract with its employees helps educate their children, gives pregnant mothers-to-be access to medical assistance, and, above all, creates a stable, centric community.

In addition to incredible nonprofit ventures in the design sector, Interiors & Sources highlights materials and their creative application to interiors. Flooring, unique ceramic tiles, wall coverings, technology, and more are explored, giving insight into new styles, trends, and case studies, including Harlem’s Hamilton Grange Teen Center. Each section finds unique ways to tie product and design goals back to the overarching theme: community.

Interiors & Sources journals are typically less than 100 pages and give a great month-by-month assessment of what’s happening in the world of design materials today. Though each spread was incredibly informative and full of sage advice for designers, perhaps our favorite quote came directly from the editor herself, Erika Templeton:

“…designers spend most of their time working through the chaos of day-to-day life, affecting real change and facing challenges that ultimately lead to a better way of living.”

And we couldn’t agree more! From one community to the next, designers – functioning as a tight-knit community themselves – are making real change in ways that resonate beyond material selection and a set of drawings.

What an incredible industry to be a part of!

Explore our selection of the most recent issues of Interiors & Sources in Battle Hall’s Reading Room.
Call Number: NK 1700 I64 September 2013 v. 29 no. 9

Journal Feature: Frame

This week’s journal feature highlights Frame, a European bi-monthly design periodical. The most recent September/October 2013 issue offers two-page quick-spreads of noteworthy designs from around the world, ranging from an illuminated night club in Portugal, a historic hotel in Malaysia, and the transformation of a power station to a cultural center in the Netherlands. In addition, Frame’s pages are studded with competitions and installations, often documenting the creative process behind unveiled designs with pictures, sketches, and models.

In the Features section, selected projects of specific architects and design firms are explored in depth, delving into the design process and project goals through interviews with the designers themselves, including two separate teams of brothers located in New York City. A portion of this issue’s Features section is dedicated to design in Brooklyn, showcasing projects that adhere to local roots and pay special attention to where their materials are sourced from. This spread brings forth the reclaim and reuse trend that has taken hold in recent years, and gives spectacular depth into the ethos of designers who value quality in modern craft.

Frame also showcases pioneers of eclectic design in their Portrait section, or those that don’t fit easily into one broad category of creative ingenuity. Paying tribute to the London-based designer Faye Toogood, the inspiration behind the “Get Raw” cover of this issue, Frame explores the diverse skill set and dynamic design ideas behind those who practice in a cross-discpline environment. Once again, through interviews, stunning photography, and vital artist quotes, Frame offers invaluable insight into the minds of those who have made design their livelihood.

The Reports section offers the same depth and insight as the designer interviews, but with product manufacturers and craftsmen that are so key to the realization of designs. Cotton, handcrafted wood, acoustic panelling, and more are brought to focus, their innovative design applications exposed. For designers, keeping up to speed with the most cutting-edge products available is essential, and Frame offers a behind-the-scenes insight into what drives the creativity of those in the manufacturing realm.

The 224-page issue of Frame is full of captivating curiosities and a wealth of design inspiration. Each page is inviting and educational; even the advertisements take you on a miniature design journey that often left me subconsciously envisioning the perfect space for a product to shine. Frame‘s unusual depth into the diverse world of design practitioners, transcending the realms of interior design and architecture into industrial design and installation art, is showcase of the beauty behind myriad creative individuals working towards a common goal: great design.

The September/October issue of Frame, along with four more of the most recent bi-monthly issues, are available for use in our Reading Room. There’s a good chance you might find me sitting at a nearby table, still flipping through each page… if that’s the case, just ask me to share – I promise I will!

Call Number: NK 1700 F73 no. 94

For more of everything Frame, keep up with them on Facebook or Twitter.

Journal Feature: Architectural Record

To continue our interior design focus throughout October, we’ve selected Architectural Record as this week’s journal feature. Though likely more widely recognized in the American design world versus those we highlighted in last week’s post, we felt Architectural Record was a great periodical to feature this week because of their most recent issue: Record Interiors 2013.

This issue embraces all things interior, ranging from studies on 2013 restaurants, offices, and residences to product briefs on kitchen and bath tiles. Regardless of the issue, Architectural Record always does a fantastic job of integrating drawings, costs, product specifications, and exceptional photography into the summary of each space they feature.

We highly recommend looking through September’s issue, as well as keeping up with the subscription we receive in the Reading Room for detailed articles on beautiful spaces, design trends, and building technology. We’re always happy to continuously offer our journal subscriptions to our students as resources – free of cost!

Call Number: NA 1 A6 v.201 No.9

Happy reading!