MINECRAFT THIS:
New Museum
Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA
2006
So if you follow architecture news, or tech news, you may have heard about Apple’s new proposed facilities.
It raises some questions about the architecture of technology, as well as the design of the consumer electronic products we interact with everyday.
A dwelling by Gropius at the Weissenhofsiedlung
The lesser known Villa Savoye Gatehouse by Le Corbusier
Clusters in the Air | Arata Isozaki
To kick off the second edition of MINECRAFT THIS, we bring you Sol Lewitt’s Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes. This is just one drawing of a plethora of very cool documentation of this project that we encourage you to at least google. Not a building, we are aware, but still, Minecraft worthy.
View Larger This almost utopian monument to modernism is often criticized for its inhuman scale, as the complex seems to have been designed to be viewed from a distance and experienced mainly through photograph rather than in person. However, since Minecraftian architecture isn’t really meant to cater to individual inhabitants, it’s Brasília’s otherworldly scale that makes it a perfect candidate for Minecraft.
Minecraft buildings can only exist in the same sense: as decoration of the landscape or an embodiment of an idea (as monument, or sculpture). Their primary functions — be they parking lots or hospitals, or capitol buildings — are all stripped, leaving only the experience of looking at these structures from afar. Minecrafters can learn quite a bit from Brasilia’s existence as a photo-opportunity.
Galeria Adriana Varejão designed by Rodrigo Cerviño López.
The Continuous Monument: On The River, 1969
by Superstudio, a collective founded by five architects in Florence in 1966
I find it interesting that most monuments in Minecraft are statues of creepers or characters (namely Notch). As much as I appreciate the effort and idolization of said entities, I feel monuments to the game itself should emphasize the block-like nature of the game. Here is a rendering of a monument by Superstudio (who are worth checking out for their rad minecraft-like plans), it not simply as a means of idolzing the depicted form, but instead as a stance. This monument in particular is commenting on the ever-present spread of globalization—it was true in the 60’s and holds true to this day. I say Minecraft monuments should talk about digitization of dwellings and migration to virtual spaces rather than paying homage to giant green exploding phalluses.
