Ever since I photographed Spaceport America in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico in 2016, I have wanted to visit the Eero Saarinen designed TWA Terminal at JFK In New York. It reopened in 2019 as the TWA Hotel and as the year came to a close, I found an opportunity to photograph the design-heavy iconic building.
The reviews are in for the recently released Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture, 21st Edition by Bloomsbury Press in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the University of London.
Pleased and proud that my documentation of Bruno Taut’s historic Kyu Hyuga Bettei in Atami, Japan was selected for inclusion in this monumental book released in 2019.
What the critics are saying:
“Book of the Century” – The American Institute of Architects
“Half the pleasure, as half the volume, of Banister Fletcher is its pictures. The thousands of photographs are, as always in Banister Fletcher, unimprovably fine.” – The Times Educational Supplement
“…the bible of architectural history… Banister Fletcher remains a potted history with remarkably pithy writing.” – Building Magazine
“The tome has been bought for 100 years by every architectural student who could possibly scrape together the shillings.” – Architectural Review
“A thundering classic … No serious fan of architecture should be without it” – The American Institute of Architects
“It will continue its usefulness beyond the years of study and become an additional aid to everyday practice.” – Times Higher Education Supplement
“It will remain one of the most thumbed tomes in Building Design’s office library” – Building Design
“It is such a remarkable book, containing so much detail and so skilfully illustrated, that it is a must for all architectural and surveying offices” – ASI Journal
“An easy-to-use reference book with all the world’s major architecture described, explained and, in many cases, fully illustrated.” – B & M Architecture & Design
For details on the 21st edition, view RIBA’s press release here.
Other links to explore if interested:
More from the road trip that was…
Forty-five years after our first cross country road trip, my sister, Kate, and I headed out on our second trip. Three weeks and eight thousand miles later we returned home after seeing and photographing amazing vistas, natural wonders, and multiple locations of intrigue. Enjoy the ride through the plains, canyons, badlands, prairies, gypsum desert…indeed, a very large array, and more…
As 2018 came to a close, it was enlightening to spend time in the Bay area exploring both the natural and man-made wonders in the vicinity. Sometimes a personal project is all that it takes to feel inspired.
I first met Yoshihiro Takishita in 2010 when I visited his mountain-top minka in Kamakura. I was impressed with the commanding view of Sagami Bay and was immediately moved by his work. I was deeply honored when he asked that I document his Shiguchi exhibit at the Gamble House. I suspect it is most every architectural photographer’s dream to photograph this archetypical example of the Arts and Crafts movement…it was certainly mine, and it was only through an invisible thread that brought me there and made it possible.
I cannot imagine a more perfect setting for Takishita-san’s Shiguchi to be displayed and viewed than the Gamble House as it provided a monumental setting for his joinery artistry. I was charged with documenting the entire process of the exhibit. I witnessed and was moved by the total commitment of the entire Gamble House staff to this effort. I was impressed by the painstaking process that took place so that each of the forty Shiguchi look their best to allow for their story to be visually told. I believe the success of the exhibit was inherent in the relationship of the Shiguchi pieces shining in their placement in the ever-inspiring Gamble House. To capture the respective beauty of both components was my aim, so that all those who attended, as well as those unable to attend, would know just what a stunning triumph had occurred at 4 Westmoreland Place. I wish to thank all involved for their support to make this collaboration possible. The above montage video is an overview of my five days photographing the exhibit.
Notes from The Gamble House:
Since in the 1970s, Yoshihiro Takishita has successfully rescued dozens of Japanese farm houses, or minka, from the increasing threat of development, particularly in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture. By carefully disassembling the houses, timber by timber, and reassembling them in new locations, many of these historic houses have been able to enjoy a second life. Not all of the constituent parts have been able to be re-purposed in the new locations, however. Not wanting to discard any remnant examples of Shiguchi, Mr. Takishita carefully stored the structural “orphans” of unused timber joints. He soon realized that these objects could stand on their own, literally and figuratively, as individual works of art. Over time, Takishita rescued enough structural fragments that a coherent collection of remarkable aesthetic value emerged. Both art and craft, these examples of traditional joinery are now exhibited for the first time in America at The Gamble House, itself a masterpiece of architectural wood craft. Shiguchi joinery, though centuries old, survives as a precise and elegant tribute to a Japanese traditional of building once common throughout the land.
“Shiguchi: The Hidden Art of Japanese Joinery” is an exhibit of 40 examples of timber-frame joinery that formerly fastened massive farm-house posts, beams, rafters and ridges to make up Japanese minka, or farm house, construction. While the original makers’ identities are lost to history, curator Yoshihiro Takishita offers a fresh perspective on their craft, naming the works, if not the workers. In doing so, Takishita has envisioned a new art form, revealed by hidden craft.
The Gamble House is a National Historic Landmark in Pasadena CA designed by architects Charles and Henry Greene in 1908. It is open for public touring Thursday through Sunday, noon to 3:00 pm. Additional exhibition details, tour information, lecture and event dates are available on our website
There is a bilingual website for Shiguchi here.
For an alternate version with the Bach Cello Suites by Alain Meunier, please view:
On assignment at the Gamble House in Pasadena, California. Documenting the Japanese joinery Shiguchi exhibit by noted Japanese architect, Yoshihiro Takishita.
I have spent a lifetime dreaming of visiting the homeland of my maternal grandparents, Lithuania. It was an incredible feeling to step foot on the soil and breathe the air…and take the country (and it’s varied and beautiful architecture) in. From Vinius to Anykščiai to Kaunas to Trakai and then to Vilnius again. Centuries old medieval architecture to Soviet era relics to cool contemporary…all were impressive in their own unique way.
A special and heartfelt thank you to my hosts Ruta, Vaiva, and Aida, I could not have done it without you.
While in Stockholm for the West of Japan, East of Norway exhibit at the Norwegian Embassy, I had time to go out and about in Stockholm… Södermalm…Gamla Stan…Djurgården. The city, architecture, and light amazed me.
A grateful thank you to my host Alex, you made it all possible.
The exhibit video is ready for viewing.
Kyu Hyuga Bettei photographs by Dave Clough.
Norwegian Embassy in Stockholm photographs by Luca Ferrario.
Architectural drawings by Marco Capitanio
Thank you to Marco Capitanio and Luca Ferrario for the video production.
