check out this post on 101 cookbooks ... yes, we have a destination in rotterdam. it's called the sonneveld house, and is part of the netherlands architecture institute, which i'd also like to explore. yup, add it to the list of places to go! i especially love 101's picture of the master bedroom, above. i hope she doesn't mind me posting it here... it's such an elegant shot. i have to see the house for myself, though... will it live up to those carefully cropped images?
...and that makes me think of a great book about mies van der rohe's krefeld villas, which until recently were two of mies' most ignored works. located in germany, they currently serve as a museum for modern and contemporary art projects, and have hosted installations and performances by so many amazing artists - including yves klein, sol lewitt, and richard serra. and if you are on your way to check out haus esters and haus lange, as they are named, here's the 411 on the towns of north rhine and westphalia, neighboring cities that may also be worth a visit.
while we're at it, did you know charlotte, NC is krefeld's sister city??? well, ya gotta love the internets....
...both of these buildings vaguely remind me of a 1958 movie by the great french director, jacques tati - mon oncle - a humorous, satirical, and almost-slapstick (in a french way) take on "modern" architecture and technology. make sure you see the criterion collection version - because criterion does re-releases like nobody else.
....and someday i will make a pilgrimage to see russel wright's delicious home, dragon rock at manitoga, located in garrison, new york, in the hudson river valley. talk about communing with nature.... i was captivated by this place when i saw pictures and pieces of it at the superb russel wright exhibition at the cooper-hewitt design museum in NYC back in 2002. the catalog is still around if you are interested, and this is a charming title written by russel and his wife, mary, as well.
isn't it fun to live vicariously?
Shout out for the Krefeld Villas! Love that book.
Besides Serra and Klein and LeWitt in that book, there's also an Eric Fischl book out there somewhere called "The Krefeld Project." Kinda interesting.
Posted by: pgwp | March 22, 2006 at 09:41 AM