We finally launched the website of our Architectural Guide Yangon. Herewith some notes on the production process and ideas behind it.
Category Archives: Architecture
Yangon in November
I ventured on a short trip to Yangon last week to launch the website to our book, now online at www.yangongui.de. Manu lovingly and painstakingly put it together over the last couple of months. Go check it out, it’s beautiful (and worthy a separate forthcoming post). Herewith a quick write-up for my records.
The Japanese House after 1945
A major exhibition on Japanese single family homes is still on for a few days here in Tokyo. I did not manage to see the same show’s version on in London (nor Rome) a few months back, but bought both catalogues to compare.
Inside shot from the MOMAT exhibition
What is wrong with our real estate obsession?
We are obsessed with real estate. Dinner parties in big cities in the West are often dominated by talk of a new house, an old one that was just sold, or another one that somehow, sadly, fell through.
UR Research Institute
My university, as part of their fantastic summer program, kindly organized a tour to the Urban Renaissance Agency Technology Research Institute the other day. The most relevant aspect to my research was the Housing Apartment History Hall. Here, some landmark apartments from what to most appear like faceless concrete blocks have been lovingly rebuilt.
Inside Maekawa’s Harumi Apartments
Chiyoda Life Insurance Co. HQ
Togo Murano’s extensive 1966 building complex today is Meguro’s city ward office. The Meguro Museum of Art organized a fantastic tour yesterday.
Tripitaka Library
Originally published on uncube magazine: More than 50 years after it was built, this Buddhist library building in Yangon in Myanmar continues to exude the modern aspirations of its early days, while fulfilling its role as a site for traditional, spiritual learning. For Ben Bansal, one of the authors of a new guide to the architecture of Yangon, it is a building that like its American architect, Benjamin Polk, deserves more recognition.
The front of Tripitaka Library, shortly after its opening in the early 1960s. The landscaped garden, centred around the artificial lake, give the building a more stately impression than today. (Archival photos © Abhinav Publications)
Hong Kong
We spent some days in Hong Kong recently. The city is certainly as photogenic as one would expect. Below some impressions taken with my phone camera.
A panorama shot from Star Ferry Pier, with People’s Liberation Army Building in centre-right
Shigeru Ban – Works in Progress
A small but insightful exhibition currently on show at the Toto Gallery Ma introduced me to the works of the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. His innovative use of wood and paper as well as his humanitarian engagement make his works accessible to a much wider audience than just architects.
Shigeru Ban – interior panel of La Seine Musicale
