Benjamin Flowers
@benjy-flowers
Professor of Architecture, Knowlton School, The Ohio State University. Research and write about stadiums, sport architecture, and skyscrapers. Fmr. Exec. Board member IAKS. Arsenal supporter/sufferer. Opinions mine.
Scale model of the O2 arena in the Populous box at the O2, from 10 years ago. The show that night was a holographic Elvis “performing” with a live orchestra. Top, top stuff.
I'm sure you know it well, and CLT and glu-lam are everywhere now, but I still enjoy Jeanne Gang's pavilion at Lincoln Park Zoo (which felt very fresh in 2010). In a city full of big and heavy, small and lightweight can be nice. studiogang.com/projects/nat...
A lot of people have been texting me congrats on this news today…it’s been a whirlwind, I’ll say for this lifelong Arsenal supporter.
An email from my alarm company informs me I need to order a new system battery. I follow the prompt in the email to "chat" with a live agent to order said battery. In the midst of a discussion of battery types, the "live" agent tells me:
Maxims from architectural history that are spot on comments about right wing classicism, ca. 2026, part 2: Auguste Perret: One must never allow into a building any element destined solely for ornament, but rather turn to ornament all the parts necessary for the support
Maxims from architectural history that are spot on comments about right wing classicism, ca. 2026: Eugène Viollet-le-Duc: In architecture, there are two necessary ways of being true. It must be true according to the program and true according to the methods of construction.
Another nice one by a Steve. Steve Shore, West 9th Avenue, Amarillo, Texas, October 2, 1974
Here's one from a men's room in Seattle from 2019, which was the first time I spotted a sign like this in the wild.
Update: Markets "recoil" after suggestions earlier claims about the existence of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy were false.
This banner fluttered in the breeze outside Knowlton Hall (MSME, 2004) for a few minutes today before campus facilities took it down claiming it was, and I am not kidding, "vandalism." It's hung from the oculus in the ceiling/overhang. I think Mack and Merrill (bldg architects) would approve.
Also, the kids have taken note on Rate My Professor: www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/25...
Scaffold-heavy facade reads more like a lot of not-so-lovely American collegiate football stadiums from the 1960s. It has a nice move at the front stair (thin, undulating slab), but you can only see it from one perspective:
“Meddlesome” used like this is some real Bartles and James-level hokum.
Andre the Giant Has a Posse spotted in the wild (Concourse A Sky Club, ATL).
Also, this building has a top-ten staircase, which if you are ever in the area, you should go see:
When I talk about the De La Warr pavilion in my History of Arch II class, I always include this important recent news about it:
Small bits of St. Augustine where the land is not yet required to become real estate.
One of the middle books! Football, capitalism, but also sport architecture! Also sportwashing and why tyrants of all stripes like a new stadium! www.routledge.com/Sport-and-Ar...
The most recent book! Stadiums! Good looking ones! Big ones, but also small ones! Lesser known venues with nice detailing tucked into the landscape and all that. www.lundhumphries.com/products/bea...