tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081860597519983812024-02-08T00:12:30.537-05:00Cool Building of the WeekThis is a blog about architecture, past and present. Each week, I feature a particular building or structure. In addition, I have occasional links to articles, events, exhibits, and other items of architectural interest from around the web. I am always happy to hear from my readers. If you know of a cool building you'd like me to feature, please send a note.Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-64203020495079645432012-05-28T15:44:00.004-04:002013-08-11T10:31:49.544-04:00Let's Hear it for the Quonset Hut
Quonset hut unloaded during U.S. occupation of Japan, ca. 1945
On Memorial Day people throughout the United States gather at sites dedicated to our veterans. Most monuments to fallen soldiers are impressive and many are beautiful. Yet no structure says "military" more than the humble Quonset hut.
G.I's in with Bob Hope in Quonset Hut, ca. 1944
Small and squat or lean and mean, Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-64553989706583929722012-05-15T20:35:00.003-04:002012-05-15T20:41:32.567-04:00Lotus Temple, Baha'i House of Worship, New Delhi
Lotus Temple, New Delhi, India
Whether you count yourself as a believer or not, you'll probably admit that the world's great religions have given rise to some great buildings. If you had to name the most visited religious site in the world, what would it be? Mecca, the site of the annual Muslim hadj? The Western Wall, or Kotel, of Jerusalem? Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome?
&Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-60272046437810504962012-05-05T17:55:00.000-04:002012-05-05T17:55:04.656-04:00This Week in Architecture
Butterfly House, Thailand
Inexpensive, sustainable, architecture is more than a fad: It's a necessity in many countries. The Wall Street Journal addresses this issue in a review of the book Design Like You Give a Damn: Building From the Ground Up by Architecture for Humanity. Check out the Butterfly Houses in Thailand. Cool in every sense of the word.
We've always known that the Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-38966189362246598772012-04-29T19:49:00.001-04:002012-05-29T19:36:39.689-04:00The Spanish Steps, Rome, Italy
Can a flight of steps be considered a building? Yes, if you define "building" as part of the built environment and not just a structure with four walls and a roof. If bridges can be "buildings," steps can too. Especially when we're talking about the Scalla di Spagne, or Spanish Steps, of Rome, the widest staircase in Europe and a masterpiece of baroque design.
&Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-6344468784096876152012-04-15T18:35:00.000-04:002012-04-29T19:52:46.328-04:00Eldridge Street Synagogue and Museum, New York
Top of the Edridge Street Synagogue
From the late 19th through the early 20th century millions of East European Jews immigrated to the United States. Thousands of them congregated on New York's Lower East Side and among those who congregated on the Lower East Side, hundreds congregated (literally) under the roof of the Edridge Street Synagogue. Completed in 1887, the Eldridge StreetPat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-83748144644824329962012-04-02T14:12:00.001-04:002012-04-29T19:53:45.718-04:00Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The original Library of Alexandria was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Constructed around 300 B.C.E. under the rule of Ptolemy Sotar, it must have contained hundreds, possibly thousands, of scrolls in Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, and other languages. Unfortunately, the Library was burned to the ground during the Roman conquest of EgyptPat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-58638049116331070772012-03-25T00:07:00.000-04:002012-05-08T20:48:05.827-04:00Borobudur, Java, Indonesia
Borobudur, Java
There are few cultures on earth that seem to excite as much wonder in outsiders as that of Java. The Javanese are renowned for their haunting gamelon music, exquisite dancing, shadow puppets, fabrics, and other delicate crafts. Monumental architecture, though, does not seem to be on the list of things people praise when they speak of Java. Perhaps stone seemsPat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-31708968940468559722012-03-17T22:26:00.003-04:002012-05-08T20:45:07.290-04:00James Joyce and Sameul Beckett Bridges, Dublin, Ireland
James Joyce Bridge, Dublin, Ireland
What other country would name two bridges after famous authors? Some people like to call Ireland the "old sod," but there's plenty of new and innovative things to see there too. In honor of Saint Patrick's day (what else?) we're taking a look at two 21st century bridges spanning the River Liffey in Dublin. Both doricheads (which is Gaelic for Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-55200723396832560142012-03-13T21:35:00.000-04:002012-05-08T20:41:58.227-04:00Mary Colter Buildings, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Desert View Watchtower
She was a beautiful free spirit who wanted to be an artist. He was an ambitious immigrant who got his start washing dishes in New York City. Together they conquered the American West. Sounds like the plot of a romance novel? Yes, but their romance wasn't with each other. They were business partners. One was an Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-11036017142365158962012-03-10T20:28:00.000-05:002012-03-13T11:40:29.791-04:00This Week in Architecture
Tori Tori Restaurant, Mexico City
The voting is closed! ArchDaily has given its 2011 Building of the Year Awards. The winners include Tori Tori, at right, winner in the restaurant category. Designed by the team, Rojkind Arquitectos + ESRAWE Studio, Tori Tori is described as one of the best Japanese restaurant in Mexico City--a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.
Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-176787299179777062012-03-03T17:48:00.000-05:002012-05-08T20:33:45.023-04:00Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, India
Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, India
If you follow astronomy, you've probably been watching the planets Jupiter and Venus put on a spectacular light show in the night sky as they draw together for their once-in-a -life-time conjunction on March 15. What does that have to do with the collection of odd-looking structures to above? They look rather like a post-modern playground or the beginnings Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-77205886056745870982012-03-02T21:43:00.000-05:002012-03-13T11:41:31.770-04:00This Week in Architecture
Wang Shu Tiled Garden, 2010
The big news in architecture this week is the Pritzker Prize award to Wang Shu of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the first Pritzker to a Chinese citizen. (Earlier winner I.M. Pei was born in China but a long term resident of the U.S. when he won in 1983.) All of Wang's works cited by the Pritker committee are located in China, with the Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-72531111808503521752012-03-01T11:41:00.000-05:002012-03-13T12:04:07.161-04:00Cae Mabon, Wales, UK
Hogan, Cae Mabon, Snowdonia, Wales
Smoke Hole
Talk about a green house! How would you like grass growing right from your roof? The house, or rather hogan, at the left is part of Cae Mabon, a village of small eco-friendly structures in Wales. Most people know that hogans are the traditional homes built by the Navajos of the American Southwest. So how did a hogan end up in Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-36549130133735317172012-02-21T13:39:00.002-05:002012-03-13T11:45:00.567-04:00This week in architecture
Margaret Hill Hunt Bridge, Dallas, Texas
The city of Dallas is getting ready to celebrate the opening of the Margaret Hill Hunt Bridge. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, the bridge's parabolic arch stands some 400 feet high. It is Calatrava's first vehicular bridge in the U.S. and a handsome new landmark for a city that thinks big.
The National New Deal Preservation Association
I Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808186059751998381.post-86558303422622990372012-02-20T20:47:00.004-05:002012-04-29T19:57:09.418-04:00Aqua, Chicago, Illinois
Aqua, Chicago, IL.
Although, I'm usually drawn to older, historical buildings, I thought I'd start this blog with something contemporary, but also historical in its own right. Aqua, an almost brand new skyscraper in Chicago, has a lot going for it. Not surprisingly it gets its name from the rippling surface. How did architect Jeanne Gang do it? By using concrete plates of slightly Pat Shermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01002265392030177366noreply@blogger.com0