Style is a way of seeing

Interview with Michel Houellebecq in: R.A.M (6 november 2005), aflevering 8, VPRO

Q: Is stijl een manier van zien?

House with no style

A teacher once advised me to look at the results of the 1992 competition 'House with no style', held by the Japan Architect. Rem Koolhaas acted as the only member of the jury.

The winning entry by Yosuke Fujiki is a catalogue of houses with inthinkable shortcomings. Fujiki states that this will allow us to develop new life styles and reconsider the preoccupations we have when it comes to living. According to Koolhaas, 'the first prize represents a 'brain' with a better understanding of the issue than the person who set it'.

Published in: Yasuhiro Teramatsu (red, 1993) The Japan Architect 1992 Annual. Shinkenchiku-Sha, Tokyo.

Semiotics of the Kitchen

Links: Jacques Tati - Mon Oncle (1958). Rechts: Frankfurter Küche in huidige toestand (1991). Uit: Schutte-Lihotzky, M 1992, ' Die Frankfurter Kuche', Ernst & Sohn, Berlin (dank aan Marlon Jonkers).

Lacaton & Vassal

The heart of the Neue Wache

The trees of Versailles

Statistical Information on the gardens of Versailles
Size: 800 ha.
Number of trees: 200,000
Flowers planted annually: 210,000
Number of fountains: 50
Number of jets of water: 620
Surface area of the Grand Canal: 23 ha.
Perimeter of the Grand Canal: 5.57 km
Amount of piping to feed the fountains: 35 km.
Amount of water consumed by the fountains
during the ‘‘Grandes Eaux’’: 3,600 m3
Source: Official site of the Château de Versailles: [1]