http://www.para-project.org PARA Project: Architecture, Research, Ideas Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:34:17 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Located near the Melrose shopping neighborhood, the new 3.1 Phillip Lim store and showroom announces the designer’s west coast debut with the transformation of 5000 square foot auto body shop into a flowing interior. The experience is a curious indulgence taking clients from the sunny LA sky into the intimate ... http://www.para-project.org/2008/01/28/31-phillip-lim-los-angeles/ In 2006 we were approached by the US Defense Department to propose an alternative to the existing Recruitment Center at Times Square. The predicament was one of image: The military sought to re-present itself in the context of Times Square; how could the American public readily relate to the Military ... http://www.para-project.org/2007/03/24/times-sq-recruiting-center/ While architecture's relevance relies on the recognition of what is familiar, architecture's survival relies on what will always be foreign The Rorschach Test is a method of psychological evaluation, not so much for seeking objective meaning, but to interpret the psychosis of both the patient and observer. The Rorschach test is ... http://www.para-project.org/2007/03/23/rorschach-tests/ Wandering through the city or a city wandering? The Roosevelt Island Universal Arts Center is conceived of as a network of floating barges. Inheriting the island's history of landfill, the barges gather together to form a Mobile Art Park, filling the site with a vibrant community of artists and art enthusiasts. A ... http://www.para-project.org/2007/03/21/roosevelt-island-mobile-art-park/ Current trajectories in architectural design research In February 2006 PARA organized Paratheses, a symposium held at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture. Paratheses addressed the emerging shift in architectural pedagogy on collaborative forms of research. While the independent thesis project exemplifies the image and model of the heroic independent architect, ... http://www.para-project.org/2007/03/20/para-theses/ There are two types of parks: public and private. Macri Park aims to combine the two into one, creating a loop of public circulation through private space.                                    Large custom glass doors are designed to recess within the walls, defining the space as a large breezeway. The small rear yard ... http://www.para-project.org/2007/03/19/macri-park/ A post-Fordist nip-and-tuck rejuvinates the aging prom-queen It is said that Architecture moves too slowly. Perhaps the lagging profession has something to learn from the overnight identity transforming procedures of plastic surgery. Mies van der Rohe's Seagrams Building, epitomising late Modernism's embrace of Fordist repetition, is taken as a case study. ... http://www.para-project.org/2007/03/18/this-is-a-new-post/ Loopholes: within Discourse and Practice was held at Harvard's Graduate School of Design over two days in April 2005 and was organized in collaboration with Ashley Schafer. The loophole is a model of opportunistic deviance. Like lawyers exploiting contract ambiguities, financiers engaging in arbitrage, or accountants seeking tax shelters, the loophole ... http://www.para-project.org/2007/03/17/loopholes/