ODD BITS: Architects unite in campaign to save "Russia's Eiffel Tower"

                  

Prominent architects from all over the world have joined in writing an open letter to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, asking him to prevent the scheduled demolition of a singular construction that's been dubbed "Russia's Eiffel Tower". The 160 meter-tall Shukhov communications tower in Moscow, a 50-story structure of steel latticework, is noted for its light weight relative to its height, and for its clever use of linear elements to create non-linear spaces. It is considered to be one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century. 

Completed in 1922, Shukhov Tower was designed to facilitate the spread of Soviet-era Communist propaganda. The historic structure is said to have inspired architects and designers from LeCorbusier to Sir Norman Foster.

Influential designers who have recently signed the petition include Tadao Ando and several other Pritzker Prize winners; Elisabeth Diller of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the firm that is currently undertaking the expansion of MOMA NY; and William Baker, the engineer of Burj Al Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest building. The group, led by Vladimir Shukov's great-grandson, is campaigning for the structure to be nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List.

To read more about this, link here to an article in the March 19 issue of the Guardian newspaper.

Mr. Putin, DON'T tear down this tower!

ODD BITS: Mad Men graphics going psychedelic for final season

Milton Glaser, the wildly popular American graphic designer best known for his I ♥ NY logo and iconic Bob Dylan poster, has been recruited by Mad Men's creator Matthew Weinstein to create advertising posters for the show's final season. This is a true case of art imitates life imitates art! According to a recent article in the NY Times: "Probably more than any graphic designer of his generation, Milton Glaser forged the sophisticated, exuberant advertising look of the late 1960s -- the time 'Mad Men' is now traversing." His work publicizing the show’s new season will soon begin appearing on buses and billboards around the country.

     

EXHIBITION: Light Fair International coming to Las Vegas

What better city could there be to host the 2014 Light Fair International expo -- the global stage for lighting, design and technology innovation -- than flashy Las Vegas? This year's show will run from June 3-5 at the Las Vegas Conference Center, with more than 500 exhibitors plying a huge variety of wares for residential and commercial buildings. Speakers representing the fields of architecture, design, engineering, government and energy conservation will lead workshops on a wide variety of subjects.

New to the conference this year will be forums focusing on healthcare and hospitality. The Hospitality Lighting Forum will address the relevance of lighting in lodging, restaurants, theme parks and convention facilities. The Healthcare Lighting Forum will explore the best of current and near-future lighting practice as it relates to high-quality patient care and the healthcare environment. Seminars will include discussions about collaborative design, story-telling through lighting, LED retrofit savings and state-of-the-art renovations. 

Check out some of the hotel deals available to people attending the expo!

BOOK NOTE: Coca-Cola as Design Icon

What do these odd couples have in common: Andy Warhol and Norman Rockwell, JFK and Richard Nixon, the Andrews Sisters and the Kinks? The answer: all were Coca-Cola enthusiasts!

Coca-Cola

Assouline Publishers, hard cover, 208 pages, 125 illustrations in color and black and white, $65

Billions of people worldwide, over generations, have been lured by the winning synthesis of content and packaging that has made Coca-Cola an icon of American popular culture. To celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary, Assouline has released a cheery new volume (with forward by Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent) abundantly illustrated with photos, posters, graphic and fine art; and punctuated by apt quotes from poets, songwriters and politicians (Averell Harriman: “Americans wanted to settle all our difficulties with Russia and then go to the movies and drink Coke.”) A fascinating timeline/epilogue chronicles the company’s enduring commitment to topnotch visual presentation: the mindful selection, in1886, of a signature typeface; a trademarked, instantly identifiable “contour bottle”; fulsome use of red – the color of power and passion; and employment of charismatic design. (Industrial design giant Raymond Loewy, for example, created the company’s sleek fountain dispenser in 1947.) Together, these elements have made Coke the most recognizable product on the planet, and – with 79 million Facebook friends to date – probably the most popular.

EXHIBITION: Art and Design in the Modern Age: Selections from The Wolfsonian Collection

I finally got to see the permanent collection of the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami, Art and Design in the Modern Age -- great fun to see all the tableware, radios, and furniture referencing the look of skyscrapers and ocean liners! The collection contains three hundred works spanning graphics (books, posters, and postcards) decorative arts, architectural models, paintings and sculptures. 

The big blue disc in the middle of the room is a radio;

on the far left is a snazzy vacuum cleaner.

   

                             Skyscraper bookshelf            Crazy toasters were all the rage in the 1930s

JEWEL BOXES: A house for Valentine's Day ♥

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone -- and special greetings to my followers from Ukraine, who have risen to the top of the charts in my audience stats! In honor of the day, I'm posting some photos of a Frank Lloyd Wright house I recently found out about. Sited on a heart-shaped island (!) it's called the Massaro House and is located in Mahopac, New York.

It was on the market recently, priced @$20 million. Rumor has it that Angelina Jolie bought it as a gift for her life partner Brad Pitt, for his 50th birthday. (He is a major architecture buff, so it wouldn't surprise me.)

The island (house at left edge) 

The house

EXHIBITION: London Design Museum offers something zany

By popular demand, the London Design Museum has extended its

Paul Smith exhibition through June 22.

There's an interesting article about this zany designer in the Guardian newspaper,

which you can read here.