The New York Times
February 6, 1995,
Arts and Leisure, p. 36.
Architecture View / Herbert Duchamp
Pumping Energy Into Urban Spaces
It is thrilling to see the work of Haha Howdoody that just
went on view at Grand Central Terminal. Part of the
pleasure comes from knowing that the many homeless
inhabiting the station will come to appreciate what they are
missing by not owning an architect-designed home.
Ms. Howdoody, who is 43 and lives in London, was first
introduced to New York audiences in 1988 at the Museum of
Modern Art's show "Dysfunctionalist Architecture," where
she was represented by her design for the Twin Peaks
athletic club. Two years ago, she created the
superb exhibition design for "The Great Dystopia," the
Guggenheim's monumental survey of the Russian avant-garde.
"Haha Howdoody: Projects," which is on view this month in
the terminal's main waiting room, allows the Iraqi-born
architect to shine on her own. She frazzles.
Installed within a lunging 72-foot-long four-dimensional
pavilion designed by Ms. Howdoody, the show presents three
major projects, or rather representations of them.
Representations, of course, because none of them have ever
been built. Or are likely to be. To subject Ms Howdoody's
sublime creations to the depredations of builders could only
demean the splendour of her vision. No architect since
Mendelsohn has practiced a more compelling graphic
technique. No architect since Mr Ed's companion Wilbur Post
has built less.
This gift is most strikingly evident in the 50-odd
paintings that depict the three projects. If you can
imagine the kitchen of Jerry Seinfeld magically transformed
from a place of low farce to a setting of high drama,
you'll have some idea of the esthetic conveyed by these
theatrical images. In the paintings, the thrusting planes
and volumes are dramatically silhouetted against black
backdrops, like intergalactic travelers moving toward a
rendezvous in deep space. Klingons maybe. Could be Romulans,
I'm not sure.
The Vitra Fire Station in Weil-am-Rein, Germany, the only
major building Ms. Howdoody has completed, recalls the
architecture of Eero Saarinen. But the Vitra design
also highlights a pivotal difference between these two
architects. Saarinen, working at a time when architects
knew something about structure, contrived to
make his dramatic forms structurally sound. Ms.
Hadid seems to feel no such obligation.
Saarinen-without-sense is one way to look at it, though some
may discern an Islamic dimension within Ms. Hadid's
geometric explorations.
The high point of the show is Ms. Howdoody's winning entry
in last year's competition to design a new opera house for
Cardiff, Wales. Ms. Hadid has described her design as an
"inverted jewel."
In the 1,800-seat auditorium, Ms. Howdoody solves one of the
major challenges of modern performance halls: how to create
a room which looks good in architecture magazines while
being completely useless for its intended function. Forget
the diamond horseshoe: in Cardiff, the whole opera house
will be a sparkling gem -- if it is built. The design won
the contest, but because of negative public reaction is
being reappraised by the building committee. Can there be a
better argument for keeping the public out of matters that
are none of its business?
Do we need to see this kind of curvature represented on
planet Earth? Again, perhaps because of her Middle
Eastern roots, this work reminds me that the function of
Operation Desert Storm was precisely to keep pretentious
lunatics who think they know best from imposing themselves
on the rest of us.
END
Garry Stevens
Dept of Architectural and Design Science
University of Sydney
NSW 2006
AUSTRALIA
February 6, 1995,
Arts and Leisure, p. 36.
Architecture View / Herbert Duchamp
Pumping Energy Into Urban Spaces
It is thrilling to see the work of Haha Howdoody that just
went on view at Grand Central Terminal. Part of the
pleasure comes from knowing that the many homeless
inhabiting the station will come to appreciate what they are
missing by not owning an architect-designed home.
Ms. Howdoody, who is 43 and lives in London, was first
introduced to New York audiences in 1988 at the Museum of
Modern Art's show "Dysfunctionalist Architecture," where
she was represented by her design for the Twin Peaks
athletic club. Two years ago, she created the
superb exhibition design for "The Great Dystopia," the
Guggenheim's monumental survey of the Russian avant-garde.
"Haha Howdoody: Projects," which is on view this month in
the terminal's main waiting room, allows the Iraqi-born
architect to shine on her own. She frazzles.
Installed within a lunging 72-foot-long four-dimensional
pavilion designed by Ms. Howdoody, the show presents three
major projects, or rather representations of them.
Representations, of course, because none of them have ever
been built. Or are likely to be. To subject Ms Howdoody's
sublime creations to the depredations of builders could only
demean the splendour of her vision. No architect since
Mendelsohn has practiced a more compelling graphic
technique. No architect since Mr Ed's companion Wilbur Post
has built less.
This gift is most strikingly evident in the 50-odd
paintings that depict the three projects. If you can
imagine the kitchen of Jerry Seinfeld magically transformed
from a place of low farce to a setting of high drama,
you'll have some idea of the esthetic conveyed by these
theatrical images. In the paintings, the thrusting planes
and volumes are dramatically silhouetted against black
backdrops, like intergalactic travelers moving toward a
rendezvous in deep space. Klingons maybe. Could be Romulans,
I'm not sure.
The Vitra Fire Station in Weil-am-Rein, Germany, the only
major building Ms. Howdoody has completed, recalls the
architecture of Eero Saarinen. But the Vitra design
also highlights a pivotal difference between these two
architects. Saarinen, working at a time when architects
knew something about structure, contrived to
make his dramatic forms structurally sound. Ms.
Hadid seems to feel no such obligation.
Saarinen-without-sense is one way to look at it, though some
may discern an Islamic dimension within Ms. Hadid's
geometric explorations.
The high point of the show is Ms. Howdoody's winning entry
in last year's competition to design a new opera house for
Cardiff, Wales. Ms. Hadid has described her design as an
"inverted jewel."
In the 1,800-seat auditorium, Ms. Howdoody solves one of the
major challenges of modern performance halls: how to create
a room which looks good in architecture magazines while
being completely useless for its intended function. Forget
the diamond horseshoe: in Cardiff, the whole opera house
will be a sparkling gem -- if it is built. The design won
the contest, but because of negative public reaction is
being reappraised by the building committee. Can there be a
better argument for keeping the public out of matters that
are none of its business?
Do we need to see this kind of curvature represented on
planet Earth? Again, perhaps because of her Middle
Eastern roots, this work reminds me that the function of
Operation Desert Storm was precisely to keep pretentious
lunatics who think they know best from imposing themselves
on the rest of us.
END
Garry Stevens
Dept of Architectural and Design Science
University of Sydney
NSW 2006
AUSTRALIA