16 July 2008

Marieanne Khoury Vogt

New apartment building in New Jersey. I don't know much about the architect or this project, but from the photo it strikes me as very urban, timeless, non-modern:


After some googling, I found this, an interview with the architect, Marieanne Khoury-Vogt in her role as town architect, Alys Beach, FL.

And here is a night photo of the swimming pool that she did at Alys Beach:

13 comments:

VisuaLingual said...

I don't know that this building is non-modern; some of the detailing recalls streamlined Moderne. I really wish that architectural photography would include more of the surroundings rather than focusing solely on the project itself. Context is so important but, unless you're familiar with this community [or with East Cambridge in my example], how can you really begin to evaluate this structure?

CityKin said...

I can't find any more info on this project, which I think speaks to the architectural press' obsession with a different kind of architecture. The pic is from the architect herself via an email listserve.

Moderne, as in the Chrysler building, is a style much beloved by the hoi polloi, and is derided by most serious architectural critics. That is part of my point. People are so afraid to do what feels right, homey or even beautiful, because it is not intellectual or cutting edge. In this building, I think Ms. Vogt shows some courage in this regard.

I will be in Cambridge next week, maybe I'll check out some context...

VisuaLingual said...

Agreed; my point is simply that architecture doesn't, and doesn't have to, discount its entire history OR conform to any narrow idea of neo-traditionalism. Your example is a more unusual nod to history, and yet it looks honestly new as well.

As for Cambridge, I'm sure you already have your tour of the usual suspects all mapped out, but I hope you'll take the time to get off the Green Line at Lechmere and check out East Cambridge. In a metro area that's full of high-profile buildings and neighborhoods [both old and new], East Cambridge is a low-key, historically working-class Portuguese neighborhood. Jane Jacobs might have mentioned it, if she hadn't been so enamored of the North End.

dew said...

Amazing. I may even live there, if it wouldn't be for my freakiness for older buildings.

Great brick detail, great windows, great elevation of first floor, great curves, great color. I could live without the stars though...

I only hope we can design and develop such projects here.

Great post.

Christine Celsor said...

Beautiful!

Christine Celsor said...

Some expanded comments here:

http://christinecelsor.wordpress.com/blog/

Thanks for the inspiration.

CityKin said...

You're welcome.

and DEW, I like the stars.

Anonymous said...

I think it's a great building -- and something they ought to take a serious look at before any residential structures are built at the Banks project. Alot more character than the ugly boxes they're proposing...

5chw4r7z said...

Maybe its post-modern ish, which is more ornate then modern but sensitive to its surroundings.

Randy Simes said...

I really like that building...perfect for a little infill spot.

Dan said...

I like it.

Jimmy_James said...

Wow. That building is amazing. I generally like housing that is 75-150 years old, but I could be happy with a unit in a building like this.

Anonymous said...

Well, I "like" the form but is this housing? The reference for the decorative form and glass expanse speaks of early 20th artdeco factory or office space, not housing. So it presumably forces a 21st century programme into a form that in the past was for "commercial production". I do not find this particularly courageous. The articulation is pleasing but ordinary. This is another sweetly made "look" in search of a function to contain. Buildings need to be more than this now. daedalo__ma@hotmail.com