More Fragments.

'Be not solitary, be not idle.' - Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy

'Habit is the ballast that chains the dog to his vomit.' - Beckett, Proust

Anywaaaaaay... here's some things to look at:

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I'm currently collaboratively working on a thing as part of the next Barbican Weekender on the weekend of the 5th & 6th of March. The piece is called 'Salvaged Sound' and is an installation to be played by members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Guildhall musicians. If you read this blog and have young children, there are many much worse things that you could be doing this weekend!
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Here is my Icon review of Patrik Schumacher's 'The Autopoiesis of Architecture'. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever get a chance to finish writing my guide/critique to his book, and of course whether or not I've just wasted my time worrying about it at all. Steve Parnell's review in the AJ was much much better than mine, although I am in broad agreement with him.
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Speaking of the AJ, I had a review of 'Neo-Avant-Garde and Postmodernism in Britain' in there a couple of weeks ago. It's a really fascinating book, adding more to the Stirling and Brutalomo resurgence.
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Carl reminded us of 'Vids' over on the amazing 90s blog.
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Some great stuff over on Fantastic Journal:
Digging out vintage books on London architecture...
And some fascinating photo essays, one of which provides the image above...
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Speaking of vintage architecture books, on a recent trip to 'Barter Books' in Alnwick (where that godawful 'Keep Calm and Carry On' thing was discovered) I got a hold of 'New Directions in British Architecture', 'New Directions in German Architecture', 'New Directions in Swiss Architecture', & 'New Directions in Japanese Architecture'. All of these were published in 1968. I'd love to show you some of the gorgeous things that are contained therein.
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'Utopia London' is playing on Friday the 4th March. As spotted on Infinite Thought
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Anyone fancy a shot on 'Waiting for Godot : The Video Game'?
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A Samuel Beckett documentary, which I haven't had a chance to look at myself. Maybe you can let me know if it's any good.
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Right, I'm off to bed, but for what it's worth:

LONG LIVE THE NORTH AFRICAN REVOLUTION!

Wanderlust & Modernist Reclusivity

Infinite Thought writes up a recent perambulation we undertook around some parts of London. Of course, I can never tire of the Barbican, and like one of those Victorian fictions where a race of people are discovered living under the city, one can imagine the life of a reclusive author, living in a flat in the Barbican, taking their meals at the canteen, visiting the library, the conservatory and the gym, having important things sent in, sending out manuscripts. Eventually the writer has a child, a daughter, who is sent to the City of London School for Girls (in the Barbican), where she shows a remarkable talent for the violin, eventually securing her a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (also at the Barbican), before moving out of the writer's flat and into her very own Barbican flat. I'm not sure whether this is a horror story or not, however...