Amongst the great many delights of the exchange, the interplay, between German and English is the word 'Gift': German English Gift Poison Geschenk Gift An interplay that, apart from all the other joys it brings, allows one to rephrase Virgil's "timeō Danaōs et dōna ferentēs" 'Beware Greeks bearing gifts' as 'Beware Germans bearing Gift'.🤣 With the exhibition The Gift. Stories of Generosity and Violence in Architecture the Architekturmuseum der TU München explore architecture as a
read more"One day in the midst of a burning July, When meadows were parched and the rivulets dry, A cluster of Bees in extreme....... anticipation, Flew towards...... a design exhibition"1 (With apologies to Sara Coleridge) Our five welcoming, stimulating, retreats for bees, or anyone or anything, from the parching burning of July 2022 can be found in Munich, Metz, Tulsa, Vienna and Bordeaux....... "The Olympic City of Munich. Retrospect and Outlook" at the Architekturmuseum der TU München, Germany
read more"November's night is dark and drear, The dullest month of all the year", opined Letitia Elizabeth Landon in 1836, however, 'twas not all doom and gloom, for, as she continues, "the November evening now closing in round Mrs. Cameron's house was of a very cheerful nature."* A cheerfulness in Mrs. Cameron's house/school occasioned by the gaiety associated with the rapidly approaching annual school prize-giving and ball; and a cheerfulness to banish the dreary darkness of a November evening that
read more"How far can we entrust the machine to design?" asked the American architect Louis I. Kahn in context of the 1968 conference Computer Graphics in Architecture and Design. In his opinion, not much. "The machine can communicate measure, but the machine cannot create, cannot judge, cannot design. This belongs to the mind".1 And today? With the exhibition The Architecture Machine. The Role of Computers in Architecture, the Architekturmuseum der TU München explore the (hi)story of the computer
read more"Last night the waiter put the celery on with the cheese, and I knew that summer was indeed dead", opined once A.A. Milne, continuing that, while there may be other indications of autumn's arrival, "it is only with the first celery that summer is over." And the first celery appears, or at least appeared in early 20th century England, in October. Not that one should fear the celery, for in its crispness, freshness, tenderness, sweetness celery, so A.A. Milne, reminds us that winter isn't only
read moreAccording to the old saying "Human spirit and the June wind often change swiftly", and while we can undertake only little to influence the wind, a visit to an architecture or design exhibition should help strengthen, enhance, embolden and thus stabilise the human spirit. In June, or at any time of the year. Our five recommendations for new exhibitions opening in June 2019 can be found in Ulm, Hornu, Munich, Gothenburg and Boston...... "bauhaus ulm: From Peterhans to Maldonado" at the
read moreHow do we ensure there is sufficient, affordable, healthy, practical, accommodation for our contemporary population and their needs? Not just a question for today's society but arguably one that has been posed, considered and approached by architects and urban planners since the late 19th century. If, admittedly, without anyone ever solving the conundrum. Or at least not unequivocally. Or sustainably. With the exhibition Die Neue Heimat (1950–1982). A Social Democratic Utopia and Its
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