KЛИHOM

One of the few gothic architects known to us by name, Parler was one of the great masters of late gothic.  Here is a non-exhaustive tour of his work for Prauge Cathedral:

St. Vitus Cathedral:

Parler’s choir vault. One of the most origninal aspects of Parler’s work was the use of net vauts like this.

Another interesting vault, this one in the “Golden Gate”.

St. Wencelaus Chapel in Prague Cathedral

Parler was also a sculptor, and he caved this self portrait as part of a series for the triforum. It quite likely that this is the oldest surviving  self-portrait in the history of western art.

I’m going to profile a few deconstructivist architects now, starting this week with Rem Koolhaas.  Koolhaas is fairly well-known, and won the Pritzker Prize in 2000.  Deconstructivism generally involves complicated, intricate buildings with unique designs, unlike the clean, perhaps boring lines of modernism and postmodernism.  Consider Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: all of his buildings are just rectangles.  Some deconstructivists that I won’t be profiling include Vlado Milunic, Thom Mayne, and Gunter Behnisch, so you can look those guys up if you crave more before next week.

Now, Koolhaas.  He’s been in the news a lot recently because of the fire at the China Central Television Headquarters complex.  The Television Cultural Center, a large building next to the main building, burned down due to a fireworks-induced blaze on the Chinese New Year.  The main building here is the real attraction, though the TVCC was an unfortunate loss and of interest in its own right.  The main CCTV HQ building has been appropriately nicknamed “the giant pants” thanks to the unique design.

The China Central TV Headquarters main building in Beijing, as seen in a rendering

A fairly recent photo of the CCTV complex main building, Beijing

Here’s the TV Cultural Center, before and after the fire:

The TV Cultural Center building, Beijing, before the fire

The TV Cultural Center building, Beijing, after the recent fire

The Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal is another of Koolhaas’s designs.  As you surely have guessed, it’s a concert hall.

Exterior of the Casa da Musica, Porto

Exterior of the Casa da Musica, Porto

Interior of the Casa da Musica, Porto

Finally, let’s look at my favorite Koolhaas building: the Seattle Central Library.  People have described it as having “Willy-Wonka-like” qualities, and I can’t blame them.  The exterior is unique, and the interior is packed with bright colors and innovative designs.  One of the design elements I can’t picture here is a continuous spiral in the upper floors containing the non-fiction section; the Dewey Decimal system runs continuously from 000 to 999 with no gaps and no switching sides of the shelf.  I’ll leave you with the pictures so you can see for yourself just how awesome this building is.

Facade of the Seattle Central Library

Another external shot of the Seattle Central Library

Interior of the Seattle Central Library

One of the brightly-colored escalators found in the Seattle Central Library

A bright red hallway at the Seattle Central Library

Looking down from an upper level of the Seattle Central Library

I’m rather busy trying to catch up on a few things, so enjoy a brief post with some Russian architecture in the form of onion domes.  Onion domes are a common church element which seemingly first appeared in the 1500s.

As a change of pace, I’ll give a short overview of Sikh architecture and the Harmandir Sahib, perhaps better known as the Golden Temple of Amritsar.  Sikh architecture centers around the gurdwara, where a guru lives, and the Sahib or temple.  Domes are a recurring element, as are pointed arches; unlike De Stijl or many other modernist groups, curves and intricate designs are valued, as is evidenced by the Harmandir Sahib.  This is a trait shared with other styles of Indian architecture.  What we would now call city planning is also a key component of the Sikh style; the Golden Temple compound includes some 28 structures.  On to the pictures (make sure you view the full size version of each picture).