Project
AP148.S1.1972.PR01
Description:
Project series documents Poli's research and design work on his major project about a peasant farmer named Zeno from Riparbella. This project, entitled "Zeno, una cultura autosufficiente," was presented at the 1978 Venice Biennale with Superstudio as "La Coscienza di Zeno (Zeno's consciousness)". The project also appears to have some overlap with another research project in which Poli and other members of Superstudio were involved: Culture materiale extraurbane. This involved research and the development of a course in the architecture programme at the University of Florence on research into traditional tools and other aspects of rural material culture. The research work on rural culture was published in the magazine Modo (no.7) in March 1978. The Zeno project reflects a major project in Poli's output, with work beginning on it in 1972 and into 1980. There are numerous narratives at work in this project. There is the narrative of Zeno's relationship to the small house built by his grandfather and in which he was born, and has always lived. Alongside this, is Poli's interest in Zeno's relationship to his tools, his clothes, all the material elements of his life in the only house he has ever known. The fictional narrative that Poli weaves into this project involves an imagined encounter between Zeno and astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Poli's fascination with Zeno's material culture extends into a comparison of these two men and their physical interactions with their worlds: both self-sufficient capsules of a kind. Material in this project includes a large number of drawings and collages depicting different domestic and working spaces and tools in Zeno's life. A number of these drawings feature artefacts, such as cloth pillowcases, metal pieces, and a rope. In addition, the project series includes a number of physical artefacts, such as tools and even Zeno's door. A notable element in this series is an artist book by Poli which features a catalogue or register of elements in Zeno's life, detailing everything about his spaces, his working days, and even the food he eats.
1972-1980
Zeno, una cultura autosufficiente [Zeno, a self-sufficient culture] (1972-1980)
Actions:
AP148.S1.1972.PR01
Description:
Project series documents Poli's research and design work on his major project about a peasant farmer named Zeno from Riparbella. This project, entitled "Zeno, una cultura autosufficiente," was presented at the 1978 Venice Biennale with Superstudio as "La Coscienza di Zeno (Zeno's consciousness)". The project also appears to have some overlap with another research project in which Poli and other members of Superstudio were involved: Culture materiale extraurbane. This involved research and the development of a course in the architecture programme at the University of Florence on research into traditional tools and other aspects of rural material culture. The research work on rural culture was published in the magazine Modo (no.7) in March 1978. The Zeno project reflects a major project in Poli's output, with work beginning on it in 1972 and into 1980. There are numerous narratives at work in this project. There is the narrative of Zeno's relationship to the small house built by his grandfather and in which he was born, and has always lived. Alongside this, is Poli's interest in Zeno's relationship to his tools, his clothes, all the material elements of his life in the only house he has ever known. The fictional narrative that Poli weaves into this project involves an imagined encounter between Zeno and astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Poli's fascination with Zeno's material culture extends into a comparison of these two men and their physical interactions with their worlds: both self-sufficient capsules of a kind. Material in this project includes a large number of drawings and collages depicting different domestic and working spaces and tools in Zeno's life. A number of these drawings feature artefacts, such as cloth pillowcases, metal pieces, and a rope. In addition, the project series includes a number of physical artefacts, such as tools and even Zeno's door. A notable element in this series is an artist book by Poli which features a catalogue or register of elements in Zeno's life, detailing everything about his spaces, his working days, and even the food he eats.
Project
1972-1980
drawings
Design for a city-park gate
DR1981:0034
Description:
- A rendered elevation (and a plan in the upper left corner) of a city-park gate comprised of a monumental central arch and lower lateral wings with fountains. The style of the architecture is Neo-Baroque. Set in a monochrome, wash-rendered park landscape with a vignette of an 18th-century horse-and-carriage in the left foreground, the line drawing of the gate is competent, although the shadow projections are incorrectly drawn.
architecture, landscape architecture
late 19th century ?
Design for a city-park gate
Actions:
DR1981:0034
Description:
- A rendered elevation (and a plan in the upper left corner) of a city-park gate comprised of a monumental central arch and lower lateral wings with fountains. The style of the architecture is Neo-Baroque. Set in a monochrome, wash-rendered park landscape with a vignette of an 18th-century horse-and-carriage in the left foreground, the line drawing of the gate is competent, although the shadow projections are incorrectly drawn.
drawings
late 19th century ?
architecture, landscape architecture
Project
AP207.S1.1971.PR04
Description:
This project series documents Pettena's performance "Vestirsi Di Siede", also know in English as "Wearable Chairs". The performance was carried out between 3 pm and 5 pm on February 12, 1971, in the streets of Minneapolis by ten students of Pettena at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The students, each wearing a portable chair harnessed on their back, wandered around the city, either by foot or by bus, and than returned to the college. "In this performance, it was the body that activated and gave meaning to the object: the chair only taking on meaning when carried, otherwise, it became disjointed." [1] The chairs were then put on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. A second edition of the performance was also carried out with the students from Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Milan, 2011, and an installation of the chairs was presented at the exhibition "Un art pauvre" at the Centre Pompidou in 2016. The project series contains photographs of the performance by the students of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and photographs of the exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 1971. It also contains three sketches for the chairs, a drawing of the performance and a statement about the perfomance. The project series also includes photographs of the performance of the NABA students in 2011. Source: [1] FRAC Centre-Val de Loire, http://www.frac-centre.fr/_en/art-and-architecture-collection/pettena-gianni/wearable-chairs-verstirsi-siede-317.html?authID=148&ensembleID=1286 (last accessed 11 November 2019)
1971-2017
Vestirsi Di Siede [Wearable Chairs] (1971)
Actions:
AP207.S1.1971.PR04
Description:
This project series documents Pettena's performance "Vestirsi Di Siede", also know in English as "Wearable Chairs". The performance was carried out between 3 pm and 5 pm on February 12, 1971, in the streets of Minneapolis by ten students of Pettena at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The students, each wearing a portable chair harnessed on their back, wandered around the city, either by foot or by bus, and than returned to the college. "In this performance, it was the body that activated and gave meaning to the object: the chair only taking on meaning when carried, otherwise, it became disjointed." [1] The chairs were then put on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. A second edition of the performance was also carried out with the students from Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Milan, 2011, and an installation of the chairs was presented at the exhibition "Un art pauvre" at the Centre Pompidou in 2016. The project series contains photographs of the performance by the students of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and photographs of the exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 1971. It also contains three sketches for the chairs, a drawing of the performance and a statement about the perfomance. The project series also includes photographs of the performance of the NABA students in 2011. Source: [1] FRAC Centre-Val de Loire, http://www.frac-centre.fr/_en/art-and-architecture-collection/pettena-gianni/wearable-chairs-verstirsi-siede-317.html?authID=148&ensembleID=1286 (last accessed 11 November 2019)
Project
1971-2017
Mies in America
A profound thinker, painstaking artist, and one of the greatest architects in history, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1938, when he was already in his fifties and one of the recognized masters of his profession. Transplanted from the Bauhaus (of which he was the last director) to a technical institute in Chicago, from the European(...)
Main galleries
17 October 2001 to 20 January 2002
Mies in America
Actions:
Description:
A profound thinker, painstaking artist, and one of the greatest architects in history, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1938, when he was already in his fifties and one of the recognized masters of his profession. Transplanted from the Bauhaus (of which he was the last director) to a technical institute in Chicago, from the European(...)
Main galleries
Project
AP056.S1.1999.PR01
Description:
This project series documents the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, Germany from 1999-2005. The office identified the project number as 9903. This project consisted of a new embassy building for Canada in the reunified German capital located at the junction of Leipziger Platz and Potsdamer Platz. The embassy was built in joint venture with Gagnon Letellier Cyr Architects and Smith Carter Architects and Engineers. The firms were selected for the project by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade after a national competition was held. The competition jury had chosen a different design, by architecture firm Saucier + Perrotte.[1] The embassy, built to follow the original octagonal wall of Leipziger Platz, had a stone exterior punched with windows, as dictated by the District Office of Central Berlin's guidelines.[2] It occupied the first four floors of the Leipziger Platz block and all floors of the Ebertstrasse block. Inside, the Focus Canada Centre off the Ebertstrasse entrance served as the central government information centre and included interactive kiosks. The Embassy Reception Hall, complete was an Inuksuk at its entrance, was a space that greeted guests and provided consular services. The Canada Lounge defined the ground floor and provided a space where visitors could engage with Canadian news through newspapers, radios and televisions. The cylindrical Great Timber Hall pierced through the embassy. This wood-lined space had a sky-light ceiling to allow natural light to flow inside and served as an executive meeting room and a space for special guests, entertainment, events and exhibits. Retail spaces were also provided along Vossstrasse and a residential component made up the upper floors of Leipziger Platz. The project is recorded through a model and drawings dating from 1998-2000. The large part of these drawings are sketches, but plans, elevations, sections, perspectives and details are also included. [1] Adele Weder, "A Berlin Chronicle," The Canadian Architect, June 20, 1999, 20-21. [2] "Canadian Embassy Berlin." KPMB. Accessed April 18, 2019. http://www.kpmb.com/project/canadian-embassy-berlin/
1998-2000
Canadian Embassy, Berlin, Germany (1999-2005)
Actions:
AP056.S1.1999.PR01
Description:
This project series documents the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, Germany from 1999-2005. The office identified the project number as 9903. This project consisted of a new embassy building for Canada in the reunified German capital located at the junction of Leipziger Platz and Potsdamer Platz. The embassy was built in joint venture with Gagnon Letellier Cyr Architects and Smith Carter Architects and Engineers. The firms were selected for the project by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade after a national competition was held. The competition jury had chosen a different design, by architecture firm Saucier + Perrotte.[1] The embassy, built to follow the original octagonal wall of Leipziger Platz, had a stone exterior punched with windows, as dictated by the District Office of Central Berlin's guidelines.[2] It occupied the first four floors of the Leipziger Platz block and all floors of the Ebertstrasse block. Inside, the Focus Canada Centre off the Ebertstrasse entrance served as the central government information centre and included interactive kiosks. The Embassy Reception Hall, complete was an Inuksuk at its entrance, was a space that greeted guests and provided consular services. The Canada Lounge defined the ground floor and provided a space where visitors could engage with Canadian news through newspapers, radios and televisions. The cylindrical Great Timber Hall pierced through the embassy. This wood-lined space had a sky-light ceiling to allow natural light to flow inside and served as an executive meeting room and a space for special guests, entertainment, events and exhibits. Retail spaces were also provided along Vossstrasse and a residential component made up the upper floors of Leipziger Platz. The project is recorded through a model and drawings dating from 1998-2000. The large part of these drawings are sketches, but plans, elevations, sections, perspectives and details are also included. [1] Adele Weder, "A Berlin Chronicle," The Canadian Architect, June 20, 1999, 20-21. [2] "Canadian Embassy Berlin." KPMB. Accessed April 18, 2019. http://www.kpmb.com/project/canadian-embassy-berlin/
Project
1998-2000
Project
AP206.S1.1975.PR01
Description:
This project series documents Aditya Prakash's proposal for an alternative plan for Chandigarh, India, which came to be known as the Linear City. Prakash began developing and advocating for this idea around the early 1970s. The Linear City had two fundamental ideas at its core. The first was to raise the roadways in Chandigarh (or any future city) 10-12 feet from ground level. This, he proposed, would separate vehicular traffic from pedestrians, eliminating all the hazardous impacts of traffic on daily life. The large part of the drawings for this project show sector plans and city blocks with evenly dispersed roundabout roadways as major transit hubs, wrapping around but high above centres of pedestrian activity that included shops, markets and green spaces. The sale of the land below the roadways would pay for the upheaval. He also recommended building this city only a few sectors deep, but endlessly expanding it length-wise, with a raised canal along one side to provide an additional transpiration network and irrigation. The second fundamental idea of this city was the creation of self-sustaining sectors in the city plan, advocating that each neighbourhood should have the infrastructure to provide food and recycling for its residents. He fervently argued for the reimagination of modernist Chandigarh by incorporating sustainable, local traditions - the rural should exist in harmony with the urban. In opposition to Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, he believed areas for recycling, animal husbandry, and growing food should be incorporated into the fabric of the city.[1] This project is recorded largely through original drawings of city plans, perspectives and axonometric views detailing Prakash's new vision for the city. It seems that many of the perspectives were drawn by family friend Sandeep Virmani, after listening to Prakash's ideas.[2] The project is also recorded through photographs, negatives and slides showing plans and the project model. A small amount of notes and an article on the project are also included. [1]Vikramaditya Prakash, One Continuous Line: Art, Architecture and Urbanism of Aditya Prakash (Ahmedabad, India: Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 2019), 164-181. [2]Prakash, One Continuous Line, 169.
circa 1975-2003
Linear city, Chandigarh, India (circa 1975-1987)
Actions:
AP206.S1.1975.PR01
Description:
This project series documents Aditya Prakash's proposal for an alternative plan for Chandigarh, India, which came to be known as the Linear City. Prakash began developing and advocating for this idea around the early 1970s. The Linear City had two fundamental ideas at its core. The first was to raise the roadways in Chandigarh (or any future city) 10-12 feet from ground level. This, he proposed, would separate vehicular traffic from pedestrians, eliminating all the hazardous impacts of traffic on daily life. The large part of the drawings for this project show sector plans and city blocks with evenly dispersed roundabout roadways as major transit hubs, wrapping around but high above centres of pedestrian activity that included shops, markets and green spaces. The sale of the land below the roadways would pay for the upheaval. He also recommended building this city only a few sectors deep, but endlessly expanding it length-wise, with a raised canal along one side to provide an additional transpiration network and irrigation. The second fundamental idea of this city was the creation of self-sustaining sectors in the city plan, advocating that each neighbourhood should have the infrastructure to provide food and recycling for its residents. He fervently argued for the reimagination of modernist Chandigarh by incorporating sustainable, local traditions - the rural should exist in harmony with the urban. In opposition to Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, he believed areas for recycling, animal husbandry, and growing food should be incorporated into the fabric of the city.[1] This project is recorded largely through original drawings of city plans, perspectives and axonometric views detailing Prakash's new vision for the city. It seems that many of the perspectives were drawn by family friend Sandeep Virmani, after listening to Prakash's ideas.[2] The project is also recorded through photographs, negatives and slides showing plans and the project model. A small amount of notes and an article on the project are also included. [1]Vikramaditya Prakash, One Continuous Line: Art, Architecture and Urbanism of Aditya Prakash (Ahmedabad, India: Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 2019), 164-181. [2]Prakash, One Continuous Line, 169.
Project
circa 1975-2003
As the Earth’s climate reaches a state of constant instability, there is growing awareness of how global warming can affect human rights and increase social strife. Less attention has been paid to the ways in which political violence and human rights abuses, from past and present, constitute driving factors in the transformations of the global environment and climate.(...)
Paul Demarais Theatre
1 December 2016, 6pm
In the Frontiers of Climate Change (Toward a Politics of Nonhuman Rights)
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Description:
As the Earth’s climate reaches a state of constant instability, there is growing awareness of how global warming can affect human rights and increase social strife. Less attention has been paid to the ways in which political violence and human rights abuses, from past and present, constitute driving factors in the transformations of the global environment and climate.(...)
Paul Demarais Theatre
Project
AP075.S1.2006.PR01
Description:
Project series documents Cornelia Hahn Oberlander's landscape project for the restauration of the Evergreen Building, a ten-story office tower on West Pender Street, in Vancouver, British Columbia. The building was previously known as the Laxton Building. The project consisted in renovations work to the building, design by architect Arthur Erickson in the 1980. Oberlander herself worked with Erickson at the time. After helping to save the building from demolition in the early 2000s, Oberlander worked as a landscape consultant for Omicron Architecture Engineering Construction Co. in 2006-2007. She was consulted for the restoration of the landscaping at the street level and the replanting of the planted balconies she had created while working with Erickson. As the building facade consisted in a stepped facade with an alternance of zigzag floor plates and straight floor plates, Oberlander chose cascading plants for the zigzag floors and upright planting for the straight floors. "Since the plants were brought to the structure's edges, the geometries of the building were dramatically amplified." [1] The Evergreen Building received a heritage status in the mid-2000s. This project series contains only materials related to the 2006-2007 renovations project. The project series comprises sketches, design development drawings, including site plans, plantings plans and landscape elevations, and buildings plans used as reference. The project series is also documented through corrsepondence, including correspondence with architects and contractors, specifications, plant lists, digital files of a presentation on the existing site condition, financial material, and research material for the project. Source: [1] Herrington, Susan. Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Making the Modern Landscape, University of Virginia Press, 2014, 304 pages, p. 139.
2006-2007
Evergreen Building restoration, Vancouver, British Columbia (2006)
Actions:
AP075.S1.2006.PR01
Description:
Project series documents Cornelia Hahn Oberlander's landscape project for the restauration of the Evergreen Building, a ten-story office tower on West Pender Street, in Vancouver, British Columbia. The building was previously known as the Laxton Building. The project consisted in renovations work to the building, design by architect Arthur Erickson in the 1980. Oberlander herself worked with Erickson at the time. After helping to save the building from demolition in the early 2000s, Oberlander worked as a landscape consultant for Omicron Architecture Engineering Construction Co. in 2006-2007. She was consulted for the restoration of the landscaping at the street level and the replanting of the planted balconies she had created while working with Erickson. As the building facade consisted in a stepped facade with an alternance of zigzag floor plates and straight floor plates, Oberlander chose cascading plants for the zigzag floors and upright planting for the straight floors. "Since the plants were brought to the structure's edges, the geometries of the building were dramatically amplified." [1] The Evergreen Building received a heritage status in the mid-2000s. This project series contains only materials related to the 2006-2007 renovations project. The project series comprises sketches, design development drawings, including site plans, plantings plans and landscape elevations, and buildings plans used as reference. The project series is also documented through corrsepondence, including correspondence with architects and contractors, specifications, plant lists, digital files of a presentation on the existing site condition, financial material, and research material for the project. Source: [1] Herrington, Susan. Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Making the Modern Landscape, University of Virginia Press, 2014, 304 pages, p. 139.
Project
2006-2007
archives
Level of archival description:
Collection
Eero Saarinen collection
AP159
Synopsis:
The Eero Saarinen Collection documents eight built projects undertaken between 1956 and 1964. The IBM Exhibition Pavilion for the New York World's Fair was undertaken in association with Charles Eames. Eero Saarinen died before this project got underway and was carried out by his successor firm, led by Kevin Roche.
1956-1964
Eero Saarinen collection
Actions:
AP159
Synopsis:
The Eero Saarinen Collection documents eight built projects undertaken between 1956 and 1964. The IBM Exhibition Pavilion for the New York World's Fair was undertaken in association with Charles Eames. Eero Saarinen died before this project got underway and was carried out by his successor firm, led by Kevin Roche.
archives
Level of archival description:
Collection
1956-1964
textual records
Graphic reference material
ARCH273358
Description:
Includes magazine clippings (art and architecture), an unsigned watercolour and ink painting, an unsigned graphite on paper drawing, blank postcards, a copy of Saturday Night magazine (24 December 1955), a monograph on Leonardo da Vinci from the Collections of the Fine Arts Department, International Business Machines Corporation (1951) and various reproductive prints, from the National Gallery, London and Alinari, Firenze. Material is assembled in a Ross Brothers, Limited cloth bound folder.
ca. 1950-ca. 1960
Graphic reference material
Actions:
ARCH273358
Description:
Includes magazine clippings (art and architecture), an unsigned watercolour and ink painting, an unsigned graphite on paper drawing, blank postcards, a copy of Saturday Night magazine (24 December 1955), a monograph on Leonardo da Vinci from the Collections of the Fine Arts Department, International Business Machines Corporation (1951) and various reproductive prints, from the National Gallery, London and Alinari, Firenze. Material is assembled in a Ross Brothers, Limited cloth bound folder.
textual records
ca. 1950-ca. 1960