Contemporary architecture in San Francisco is certainly on the conservative side, but the Chronicle's top 10 list for the decade highlights a few buildings of some interest, if not innovation.

architectural form

Chip was right... it is quite telling that amongst the renderings and floor plans for the Eastman Theatre addition (still questionably called "completing George Eastman's vision"), a full photo of Doug Lowry takes center stage. A highly architectural photo, I might add.

Why I love Berlin.

New York Times, why do you tempt me with two of my favorite aspects of Berlin, cycling and architecture, and finally clear up the question of the name of my favorite building along the Spree? I know I have a "Take me to California" shirt, but really I'd rather be enjoying all that this article reminds me of!

Is it not bizarre that CNN.com is using some pedestrianized sort of 1337?

Rotterdam 2007: City of Architecture

I love Rotterdam. After quite a costly ticket and lots of hurrying, I made it to the Netherlands Photomuseum and didn't regret a single cent or drop of sweat. And the Nederlands Architectuur Institut finally brought Le Corbusier's posthumous Eglise Saint-Pierre in Firminy, France to my attention. Not quite on the posthumous scale of the Sagrada Familia, but still damn cool. Anyone want to make a pilgrimage with me? Or a Paul Rudolph road trip?

I took home a new favorite Dutch photographer from the Fotomuseum, Aart Klein. Yet another reason to avoid the photography shelves at De Slegte... this could be very dangerous.

the best buildings you'll ever hear

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
Originally uploaded by carillonista

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." So Elvis Costello or some other fellow quipped. But what if architecture is one of the keys to the future of music?

I finally understand the subject of one of my favorite photos from Germany. Herzog & De Meuron (one of my favorite architectural firms) is turning this building on the perimeter of the industrial harbour of Hamburg into a rather monolithic concert hall. A recent NY Times article describes the exciting marriages of innovative architecture and symphonies taking place today. The dreamlike ballpark interior of this hall will certainly draw me back to Hamburg to attend a performance. I just hope all these new halls incorporate really good organs. At least the organ still seems like a requisite piece of the pie, even if few composers actually use it in their concert hall pieces.

liberty kingdom hundred waters rainy day

I had totally forgotten Scully's approving commentaries about Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Regentag) until the NYT wrote about his posthumously completed Napa Valley winery. I had nearly forgotten about Anselm Kiefer, whose work blew me away at SFMOMA over winter break, until I came across a book on him on an orange reshelving shelf in the Art Library after playing the carillon for senior tower tours this afternoon. But I had no idea until I visited the site of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill that they were responsible for the new international terminal at SFO as well as several other buildings I've admired around San Francisco (as well as one I'm not as fond of, the 60's Bank of America world HQ) and have developed a wonderful proposal for the redevelopment of Treasure Island into a haven of sustainable living. Save a unit for me, guys!

Through a thought-provoking article on reviving urban centers through innovative architecture, I finally discovered Giorgio de Chirico.

The Warners' Architecture in Rochester

Call me an architecture geek. Go ahead, do it. I can't help it if I'm super excited by this page about the architect whose work I first noticed in the form of an English church at at the end of Park Avenue during on of my Thanksgiving bike tours. The work of the Warners spans a delightful range of American architectural styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and J. Foster Warner even collaborated with McKim, Mead & White at least twice, once on the George Eastman House. How is it that I've been to the Eastman House twice and never been informed of the architects? Rochester needs to do a better job promoting its architectural heritage. The Warners are also responsible for old Sibley's, the Rochester Savings Banks that apparently is well worth entering, the city hall, Downtown Presbyterian with its Tiffany windows and out-of-place Italianate towers...

It's good to have reasons to look forward to returning to Rochacha.