Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
selected sketchbook pages
various aspects of Mexico City, Mexicomy hut in San Blas, Panamavarious views of Machu Picchu, PeruMaison Curutchet in La Plata, ArgentinaCopan Building's parking garage in Sao Paulo and two roomsNational Sculpture Museum in Sao Paulo, Brazilsoccer court and street stair in Rio de Janeiro, BrazilNational Gallery art and rooms in Washington, D.C.
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 10:46 PM
Monday, October 29, 2007
charlotte, ballard boys
For two weeks or so, I’m back in
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 9:44 AM
Sunday, October 21, 2007
rio de janeiro, aqueduto da carioca
(for the video, just view it without the sound for now....I'll work on that...thanks)
Originally intended for water conveyance, since the turn of the 20th century this hefty white arcade, also known as the Arcos da Lapa, has supported a streetcar (or bonde) which descends from the Santa Teresa neighborhood and crosses over to its downtown terminus. With the once-dense city fabric scraped from its flanks, today the aqueduct looks a bit out of place. Older photographs show structures clamoring up to the level of its lower arch. The aqueduct picks its way neatly across Lapa—which has seen safer days—to join the conical cathedral and the Petrobras cube (both visible in the center image) in the center city's curious scattering of monumental forms.
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 4:26 AM
Saturday, October 20, 2007
rio de janeiro, pedregulho housing
Designed by Affonso Eduardo Reidy and built between 1949 and 1951, the Pedregulho housing development was intended as a model for subsidized lower-class housing. The 850 foot-long building, with its 272 apartments, met with effluent critical approval from such international figures as Max Bill, Walter Gropius, and Siegfried Giedion. It takes center stage in a broader development scheme consisting of four apartment blocks, an elementary school, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a health center, playgrounds, a laundry, and a daycare center.
Pedregulho’s third floor open corridor—the building’s main entry via bridges—provides communal space while allowing the building’s full seven stories to function without the aid of elevators. The building shares an intimate and sophisticated relationship with its sloping site. Perched on sturdy pillars, the building approximates a contour line with its floorplate and allows the ground to flow fluidly beneath it.
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 7:25 AM
Sunday, October 14, 2007
rio de janeiro, ipanema sugar loaf and christ
(View the video without sound to avoid the wrath of the evil chipmunks....I'll get them under control shortly)
Rio is a can of
The beach at Ipanema (image at left) wasn’t quite what I thought it would be. I think I had in my head something more intimate; coves and palms and old men playing cards and drinking from coconuts, perhaps. And that untouchable girl walking to the grocery store or whatever. But in reality Ipanema is a substantial stretch of sand. It’s a sunbathing institution.
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 7:32 AM
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
são paulo, branner colleagues
Please excuse this harmless bit of ecstatic self-indulgence and gosh-look-how-special-we-are-this-year-ness.
*images courtesy of Ivan Valin and Yuki Bowman
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 8:11 PM
são paulo, layers
The two differences between the cities (and look, I realize full well that there are about a million and a half differences between these two cities but I’m talking about experiences and impressions here so just come with me on this one) are (1) the modes in which the city accrues its layers and (2) the means by which the city supersaturates one’s senses.
In
In the images above, note how this spatial sensibility plays out at progressively smaller scales.
At left, superimposed traffic lanes configure not unlike Park Avenue behind Grand Central in
At center, a multilevel metro station (Estacio Se) endows the transit connection with generous monumentality and yawning efficiency.
At right, a multi-floor galleria gives the same priority to multi-level unification at much more intimate commercial dimension. Small shops, each one bay wide and more often than not packed with alternative lifestyle paraphernalia, line the promenade.
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 5:22 AM
são paulo, copan building
Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and completed in 1953, the
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 5:18 AM
buenos aires, la recoleta cemetery
Posted by Andrew_Ballard at 5:15 AM