My New York: Bernard Tschumi: short documentary on architect describing city phenomena

video topic: architect describing city phenomena
video type: documentary
video no: 09

architect featured: Bernard Tschumi
video title: My New York: Bernard Tschumi
Presenter: Bernard Tschumi
Directed by:
Studio: Architectural Record
Original run: 12:45 min
screen time:
file size:

courtesy: http://construction.comvideo?fr_chl=1dc7d30afbbb325646652c3069749c70875a9e28&rf=bm

description and preview:



this is part of the " My New York building tours" video project that Architectural Record recored. this time it was Bernard Tschumi who hosted on his architectural tour. it has three parts.

first part:
My New York: Bernard Tschumi, Pt. 1
Blue Condominium
time: 5:38

One of Tschumi's intentions with his design of this project: To "prove you could with the simplest $55 a square foot curtainwall" build something "architecturally significant."

Tschumi, much in the news for his Acropolis Museum, also forcefully responds to criticism that Blue is not in context with its neighborhood. he says the project engages in a dislogue with its environs.Tschumi, dean of Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture from 1988 to 2003, also reveals much of his design philosophy, including his total avoidance of "overly talkative" details.



Second part:

My New York: Bernard Tschumi, Pt. 2
Grand Central Terminal
time: 3:50

Grand Central was way ahead of its time in its use of a double-envelope design. Tschumi takes us on a very rare visit inside the walls--to a glass catwalk that has inspired his own work.

Tschumi also tells us that he admires how Grand Central functions both as a monument--and as a living piece of architecture--the "archetype of the city building... the epitome of urbanity."And lessons for today's architects? The building serves as a prime lesson, says Tschumi, that architecture is "not only about what it looks like, but really about what it does."



Third part:

My New York: Bernard Tschumi, Pt. 3
The Riverside Viaduct
time: 3:17

Watch as Tschumi takes us on a tour of this turn-of-the-last-century bridge, whose "hypnotic repetition" of forms and "relentless scale" make it an "infrastructure cathedral".

His favorite detail? How the juxtaposition of scales between major infrstructure and everyday architecture coexist beautifully--just as they did in Roman times.Tschumi also uses the bridge, which makes an extraordinary urban space, as an example of why it's often unnecessary to make any distinction between engineering and architectural projects.