Aaah: Sweet, Sweet Disapointment
Last November SLAB Magazine covered the tantalising developments on Gormannstraße 8/9. We had a good look at the hole, scrutinized the rendering, and postulated about possible ground-floor retail. «Escheresque», we called it.
And lo; what doth December 2007 reveal? A different story. Where the rendering had filigree window frames, the reality has chunky pre-fab aluminium standards; where the rendering showed a chalky white façade, the reality has baby-blue off-the-shelf panelling. It’s flat-pack avant-garde. Rem Koolhass Lite.
But maybe that’s the idea. How about a pre-fab-housing super store? Just drop by on a friday after work and pick up an easy-to-assemble flat-pack home in any architectural style you want. Without getting tangled up in any legal issues, famous architects names could be mangled into product ranges, reducing their entire eouvre to a lifestyle choice. How about combining building types: choose something out of the Coopy range of cottages, and if your garden needs a shed, about about a Remko?
December 10th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
dear blurbanism-team -you judge very superficial - it´s not only about the facade, it´s about the 3-d space, around and behind the suit. if you like to find out more what you´re writing about let me know and i show you whats all behind it. best, harald
December 11th, 2007 at 12:11 am
Dear Heinz, you do have a point: this was a very superficial judgement. But it was a judgement on the façade. A little honest dissapointment in the surface of things has a legitimacy of it’s own because an emotional (non-intellectual) reaction can be very revealing. Why does my preconception of the avante-garde, or the experimental go hand-in-hand with a perceived sense of ‘goodnees’ in certain materials and not in others? If you’d like to show us around the back, please do! Thanks.
December 23rd, 2007 at 9:52 am
I have arrived here while doing research into architectural rendering and 3d architecture. I’m not finding much information here though.
Can anyone here, I ask because it does seem you are in the know, direct me to further reading / research / study?
Thanks in advance for your help.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:10 am
I’d be disappointed too, material is everything!