November 25th: Students speak out on Eloquence - Part II

In this continuation of our conversations with students from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, our students spoke their minds on Eloquence in Architecture - Part II.

First up: a discussion of the Dr Farnsworth's house, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe:















Next up, we talk about the Schröder house, designed by Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder in Utrecht, Netherlands. If you follow the link (just above) you'll learn that Mrs Schröder lived in the house through the 1980s, as did Rietveld - with whom she developed a relationship. This is somewhat surpressed information, 'though hardly surprising!

















And then, for something completely different we spoke about the Temple of Dendur, now installed in the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum, here in New York.














And our conclusion was yet more discussion of 41 Cooper Square, designed by Thom Mayne of the architectural firm Morphosis, which I liken to rock & roll - rude, ostentatious, occasionally voluptuous, always self-referential, intended to shock and disturb:














I rest my case.

Our musical selections were:

Opening music - Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOsFoy6u1TA

Farnsworth House - Coldplay Clocks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbI1FpLd4Vk

Schroeder House - Igor Stravinsky Firebird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk0I4XRc92k&feature=related

Temple of Dendur - The Bangles' Walk like an Egyptian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IACiTz59w54

Thom Mayne's Cooper Building - T Rex Bang a gong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzvW0bZmTzM

Thanks for listening. Talk with you again soon.