Favorite Buildings..

[Jds03]

The Milwaukee Art Museum,

Everything about this building is magnificent:

 

 

Also, The Shanghai World Financial Center is incredibly sexy:

 

[Bryce232]

Self explanatory

[thrillerman1]

I've always clicked with the quirks of Charles Moore.

 

I had no idea Charles Moore is still relevant. It's been a while, but has Zaha Hadid done anything interesting lately?

[jmicha]

^Same old boring swoops. Being an architect and living right down the road from one of her best buildings (the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati) I just don't understand why she has type-cast her work. There is most certainly no need for random swoopiness in the world beyond Gehry (and I really don't respect him or his work much as it is) and she seems to only want to work in that style these days.

It's such a great building (with the exception of the stair ramps which were ruined due to code restrictions). It's a shame she doesn't do more work in this style.

 

Giving a shoutout to my campus and current hometown, I've got to say that the Morphosis-designed Campus Recreation Center at the University of Cincinnati is absolutely fantastic to look at, live in, eat in, and workout in. I find very few flaws with it. If anyone is interested in architecture, check out UC's campus. It has been completely overhauled and is a who's who of modern architecture. The Rec Center is also part of the biggest change to campus, Main Street, a pedestrian pathway that is framed by the rec center and the student life center curving up the hillside to the oldest part of campus. It also serves as the gateway to Nippert Stadium and forms the northern border of the stadium which is sunken from ground level meaning it is visible from many places on campus. I absolutely love the urban places created by the interaction of old and new buildings on campus.

 

As for older architecture, Cincinnati's Music Hall is a fantastic example of late 1800s venetian gothic architecture. It has seen some pretty rough times, but a massive renovation is underway to restore it to its former glory as well as Washington Park, the park located across the street from the building.

 

There are thousands of buildings I love that I could post pictures of, but flooding this forum with stark white architecture would ruin its already great diversity So I will leave you all with these gems.

[ginzo]

^Wow, I haven't been to the CAC in years. It's definitely a polarizing building here. I like it well enough, but I know some people who hate and think it's not human-friendly. If nothing else, it has a nice gift shop that you can easily hit without having to go into the exhibits.

[jmicha]

^It's definitely polarizing in terms of aesthetics which is completely understandable since that all comes down to personal taste. But what it has done for that section of downtown would be hard to argue against. It was the catalyst for some great new development and is a great asset to downtown. As are most of the new buildings/developments going up around the city. I absolutely love Cincinnati and am so excited to see it progressing and transforming every day as more and more people make the central core home. It is unfortunate that the city lost population in the most recent census, but the riverfront, downtown, Over the Rhine, Clifton, Fariview, and Clifton Heights all gained a significant population. It is really going to be great in ten years when a lot of the current projects are finished/well underway. The only thing needed to be truly successful is for Cincinnatians to realize what a great city they have and support these projects instead of blindly following the misinformed stories in the Enquirer.

[BenFreeze]

The AT&T building in Nashville, Tennessee.

[MeMeMe]

I don't really like buildings I've never been to/in. I just feel I can't claim they're my favorite buildings if I don't know them.

 

Here are some I do know:

 

Habitat 67 in the one and only Montréal! I've always been fascinated by it; and we pass by it every time we drive/bike to La Ronde (the building is at the foot of a bridge that leads to the park).

 

The Eiffel tower... It's so beautiful and so ugly at the same time. My mom and I walked up every step to the second deck and gazed upon the city; it's so magnificent. I also got ice cream. Good times.

 

Caerphilly castle is such a lovely place; never mind the lack of a roof.

 

Another Montreal building from the 60's. It's the Olympic Stadium, or, as it's known in Montreal, the giant toilet bowl.

 

Another "building" (I'm not sure if it qualifies) in Montreal I am in love with is the Underground City (RÉSO). Some cities have an underground city, but none as large as this one. It connects all the skyscrapers to all the malls to all the metro stations to all the rail stations to all the squares. Speaking of metro stations, all of those are works of art too; forget the drab, boring tube or the subway, the metro is fantastic.

 

^That one is my station!

[Real]

Frank Lloyd Wright - Fallingwater

 

http://blog.modernica.net/?p=5053

 

 

[thrillerman1]

The AT&T building in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

Ah you mean the Batman building as it's commonly referred to around here and less so as the Metal \m/ building as well.

 

^Same old boring swoops. Being an architect and living right down the road from one of her best buildings (the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati) I just don't understand why she has type-cast her work. There is most certainly no need for random swoopiness in the world beyond Gehry (and I really don't respect him or his work much as it is) and she seems to only want to work in that style these days.]...but flooding this forum with stark white architecture would ruin its already great diversity So I will leave you all with these gems.

 

I really haven't studied Hadid in a long time and last I knew she was all deconstructivist, jagged, and pointy. Perhaps she's discovered a softer more feminine side? Stark white architecture...Richard Meier fan, Apple products, or both/neither? Oh and wish I had known about U of Cinci's campus when I was up there during Labor Day weekend.

[jmicha]

^Of all the starchitects, Richard Meier is my favorite. Although I do have some issues with some of his work and the reasoning he states behind his buildings, I love how they look.

 

And yes, Apple products are fantastically designed in my opinion. They don't have a product out right now that I would consider unattractive in the slightest.

 

As for UC's campus, yeah it is fantastic. I love being able to experience it on a daily basis. It's a who's who of the modern architectural world. And it's only getting better as the years go on and the greenery matures an the number of students keeps exploding. It felt quite urban when I started and there were 36,000 students enrolled at the time. Now with just under 43,000 students, it's even more so than ever. That along with proposals for an addition to the stadium, a new basketball arena, new law building, nearly completed practice football/polo field, and various other smaller projects helps make nearly every spot on campus inviting and well-designed.

[thrillerman1]

^Is there a list of all the architects and their works at the U of Cinci? Also, have you visited Columbus, Indiana? It's a town with an impressive collection of works by famous architects (including Meier): http://www.columbus.in.us/listings/index.cfm?catId=336

[Jds03]

Frank Lloyd Wright - Fallingwater

 

http://blog.modernica.net/?p=5053

 

 

 

Quoted for epic win. Fallingwater is a masterpiece by every meaning of the word.

[imagenius128]

I am in love with this thread...

 

Shanghai Tower: I love how fluid the structure is on this one.

 

Abu Dhabi Capital Gate: Again very fluid and very cool.

 

St. Mary Axe: Awesome missile-like design

 

I know I'm forgetting a ton of pretty buildings but oh well. These are probably my favorites

 

Wait wait wait, I almost forgot the Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi, located very close to Ferrari World, with its beautiful light-up shell:

Edited January 18, 2012 by imagenius128

[Real]

St Mary Axe looks more like an elongated faberge egg than a missle. Just because of the patterns/colors and general bulging shape. Its cool but thats about where it stops for me.

 

FLW has always intrigued me for slightly older designs. But for the newer designs, there are so many incredible designs. Technology has allowed that field to produce some spectacular buildings. Hard to pick favourites from the new stuff.

[BigDipper 80]

Terminal Tower, Cleveland

As a native Clevelander, I've always had a soft spot for the Terminal Tower. It's wonderful, and it serves as the perfect backdrop for the Cleveland Orchestra's annual Fourth of July concert on Public Square. But my favorite buildings tend to be Art Deco, and there's another Terminal at the other end of the state that I like as well. Oddly enough, I haven't had a chance to actually get over to Union Terminal even though it's not that far away from campus. There are a number of other buildings that haven't been mentioned here yet that I adore, but for the life of me I just can't think of any of them today.

Union Terminal, Cincinnati

[jmicha]

^Go to it, you won't be disappointed. And do the behind the scenes tour they offer every year. It shows the epic structure that was quite advanced for its time to hold up the first half-dome structure on earth.

 

^Is there a list of all the architects and their works at the U of Cinci? Also, have you visited Columbus, Indiana? It's a town with an impressive collection of works by famous architects (including Meier):

 

The university's website has a pretty good list of the projects and their architects/designers.

http://www.uc.edu/News/NR.aspx?ID=3884

Keep in mind this is slightly outdated though and all three of the 'upcoming projects' are actually finished, and a few smaller projects have been completed since then and aren't included anywhere on that list.

 

Next time you are in the area, try to hit the campus up. Preferably on a nice, warm weekday at around noon. The campus is so full of life and activity at those times, it's great.

 

As for Columbus, IN, I have indeed been. it was quite impressive. The list of architects who have done work there is great and for such a small town it really has a great urban fabric to it. The city obviously cares about how it looks which is always a huge plus, especially in this day of suburban and exurban sprawl.

 

To continue this great thread, I will post a link to my favorite Richard Meier project. The Douglas House. It's so beautiful in the way it is sited on Lake Michigan.

http://www.archdaily.com/61276/ad-classics-douglas-house-richard-meier/

 

[tiger01]

A nice topic...

 

The Gherkin. Such a beautiful building that we all take advantage of.

Burj arab. Another beautiful building.

Atlantis Hotel.

The Taj mahal.

Burj Khalifa

 

Theres many more but thats all I could think of.

[Jds03]

I dont know why, but seeing the Taj Mahal in the middle of all those modern buildings made me laugh.

[ScottBrown]

My favorite building is the Fox Theater in San Francisco sadly I never got to see in person as it was torn down before I was born

[thrillerman1]

Ah yes the Douglas House...I've wanted to visit it in person for years now and not had the chance yet. It really is quite a striking house in pictures!

 

Oh and that really is an impressive list of architects who've designed buildings at UC. Morphosis...always wanted to experience one of their buildings so now it's cool to find that there's one within driving distance of me. The Tschumi building looks interesting too.

[jmicha]

The Rec Center is great. The megatrusses spanning the depth of the building are extremely impressive, especially when viewed from the suspended running track.

 

As for the Lindner Center, it is also quite the interesting building. In case you didn't see pictures of the EPIC interior stair, here is one to whet your appetite.

Probably my favorite stair on campus, with the stair leading from the outside up into the Rec Center classrooms in a close second.

That's the best photo of the Rec Center stair I could find in a quick search. I'm sure there are better ones out there, but it's a pretty cool stair.

 

Stairs are like porn for me by the way Nothing like a good set of steps.

[cal1br3tto]

^Do you happen to have the pop-up book "Stairs" by Rein Jansma? I suppose it might qualify as "stair porn".

[BigDipper 80]

With all the love for UC, I figured I'd throw out a few shots I took a few months back.

In all honesty, I've never been a huge fan of Michael Graves (or postmodernism in general), but I guess when you can see the Engineering Research Center from your window, it grows on you a bit.

 

And although I can't necessarily claim that it's one of my "favorite" buildings, per se, there is a house in Walton Hills near Cleveland that my grandmother's uncle used to own. It was designed by Richard Neutra (I didn't even know who he was until recently), and my uncle saved all of the letters that he sent to and received from Neutra, so it was interesting getting to read into the conversation that went on between the client and the architect and seeing the house develop. Unfortunately, the house wasn't taken care of for many years, but it's been purchased by a lover of Neutra and it's getting fixed up.

 

Edit: And one more that I can't believe I forgot: The Cleveland Arcade. Wonderful interior.

[no_brain_er]

I've been really interested in architecture as of late, specifically the mid-century modern and the postmodern styles. I don't think I could ever design buildings outside of The Sims, so instead I follow a bunch of architecture Tumblrs and this awesome blog site called Contemporist. They mostly post buildings and interiors, but they also do stuff about lighting, furniture, etc. I happened to find two of my favorite buildings in the world on that site, and they're both residences:

 

Rechter House, in Tel Aviv, Israel:

 

And, a loft apartment in Kiev, Ukraine: