YEAR IN REVIEW 2001: ARCHITECTURE


Meaning of YEAR IN REVIEW 2001: ARCHITECTURE in English

Architecture Two broad architectural trends-Green Architecture and the growing role of computers-seemed more important in 2000 than any individual architect or new building. Green Architecture was a worldwide movement that was dedicated to constructing buildings that were designed to be kind to the environment. These environmentally friendly structures were sparing in their use of water and energy, and they emitted little of the greenhouse-gas emissions that contributed to global warming. Though the green movement was strongest in Europe, it had begun to gain advocates in the United States as well. In March the Architectural League of New York sponsored an exhibition that embodied the movement. "Ten Shades of Green" showcased eight European buildings, an Australian building, and four American houses. Through new technologies some of the buildings generated more energy than they consumed. Writing on the show, British critic Peter Buchanan remarked, "Soon no building will be considered first-rate if it is not also green." Green attitudes were also a factor in the revival of older cities, especially in the United States, owing to the fact that densely populated cities consumed less energy per capita than did suburban and rural areas. A standout among the many notable examples of green design in Europe was a building for the Dutch Institute for Forestry and Nature Research by architects Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner. In lieu of mechanical ventilation, a system of gardens, which was interwoven among the offices, provided fresh air and insulation. The other major architectural trend was the increasing use of computers to influence the appearance of buildings. By working with the aid of computers, architects and builders were able to create buildings of almost any shape. The result was a trend toward what some called biomorphic or Blob Design. The architects who embraced this new trend were nicknamed "Blobmeisters." An example of this conceptual phenomenon was the Experience Music Project (EMP), the new rock-and-roll museum in Seattle, Wash. Designed by American Frank O. Gehry, whom many considered the world's most influential architect, and funded by software billionaire Paul Allen, the EMP consisted of huge muffinlike shapes covered in reflective metal skin, some of which changed colour as museum patrons moved around them. The Venice Biennale of Architecture exhibit was dominated by biomorphs, including the U.S. pavilion designed by Blobmeister Greg Lynn of California and others. In Venice the natural shapelessness of this kind of architecture was emphasized by video projections on many of the surfaces, which suggested that the architecture of the future might be more virtual than solid.

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