Mobius House [Villa NM] burnt down.
"Times Herald-Record
February 07, 2008
BETHEL - Fire investigators yesterday sifted through the remains of a modern mansion off Burr Road that was recently featured in The New York Times and burned to the ground Tuesday night.The cause of the fire is still unknown, according to George Slater, the Kenoza Lake assistant fire chief.
In October, the Times ran an architectural feature about the building, which was a second home owned by Leo Tsimmer.
Designed by Dutch architects, the house had tinted glass for many of its outside walls and LED-lit polycarbonate panels in the kitchen.
It was perched atop a Bethel hill with a commanding view of the surrounding area.
Tsimmer was in New York City at the time of the fire; a passer-by called in to report the blaze.
Crews from Kenoza Lake, Jeffersonville, Lake Huntington and White Lake battled the fire for three hours."
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I used to get angry when some lives were given more value than others. It drives me nuts when a big shot gets blown up, and her/his bodyguards are left to rare mention.
Today we commemorate the death of this-big-dude! grieve with us oh-you-brainwashed-masses.
Who do you think the families of their fallen companions will be remembering on that same day? What about the families of those innocents who just happened to be there? For them D-days don't mean shit no more. Fate taught them a lesson, and they now know, that "Days" are overrated, and for the chosen ones only.
It is moments we should seek.
moments and memories.
remember your dead...
This moment of delirium today, was triggered by the death of an architectural monument.
Following up on the previous thought, one also should not value a building over the other. In the end, all buildings are homes. And one should never underestimate the pain, when your home is no more...
But this one was a masterpiece.
On Feb 6, 2008 remember The Mobius House, by Architect Ben Van Berkel - UN Studio.
more links:
a daily dose of architecture (Here)
noticias architectura (Here)
the herald record (Here)
architectural record (Here)
the new york times slide show (Here)
Labels: architecture, everyday life
posted by _z. @ 2:40 PM
7 Comments:
Holy shit - I can feel your outrage!
That was a pretty well designed building from what I can see.
Why would someone put fire on it ... envy?
You are an architect and I can sense your pain. I am a sculptor and builder, and I feel the same.
Really sad thing is that such highly creative architectural pieces in Lebanon are shrugged off by the "oldies"(I like to call them so), as being "from another planet".. Maybe thats why we don't have modern buildings that are "monumental"...
What loss!
zerolando many buildings in Lebanon were lost due to weak legislative measures and capitalist ventures... I can tell you of many cases.
zee_
I am not sure, I hope the owner will rebuild it as it was... It was a pretty cool building indeed.
zerolando_
well oldies are fun. I like vernacular architecture. and you can actually marry the old with the modern in a beautiful and subtle manner... there is no such thing as bad architecture zerolando... there are just bad architects.
Now sometimes and in terms of good urban design, you have to follow certain rules, certain guidelines, certain colors and certain heights. this is why not anything that comes "from another planet" is valid. it should integrate with the surrounding.
architecture is not only about the masterpiece and the architectural chef d'oeuvre.. it has a big social and environmental role.
posh_
right you are. this is why we need responsible and smart urban design guidelines. it will make way for the cool new, and respect and indulge the old and the architectural memory and heritage.
Hey . I know its a bit late to be answering, totally forgot about this post. Z_ what I meant by oldies was not the architectural style, I was rather talking about old architects. cause its one thing to like a certain style and stick for it cause it reflects your own taste, and another thing to be shrugging off as useless and crap everything else that is presented your way, especially modern stuff and ultimately labeling them "from another planet". thats all what I meant
that's part of a process of globalization in architecture though.
It is completely devastating that the VilLA NM lived such a short life. It was an incredible building that broke ground between the "box" and the "blob" of architecture to create something truly unique and ephemeral.
I just wanted to point out, however, that the Mobius House is not the same building as the VilLA NM. Designed by the same architects, UNStudio, but two different buildings. As far as I know, the Mobius House still stands in the Netherlands.
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