Wednesday, May 26, 2010

10.367 BILL GATES




BILL GATES. AMERICAN CHAIRMAN OF MICROSOFT, THE SOFTWARE COMPANY HE FOUNDED WITH PAUL ALLEN. DURING HIS CAREER AT MICROSOFT, GATES HELD THE POSITIONS OF CEO AND CHIEF SOFTWARE ARCHITECT. HE HAS ALSO AUTHORED OR CO-AUTHORED SEVERAL BOOKS. WITH PAUL ALLEN HE DEVELOPED AN ALTAIR EMULATOR THAT RAN ON A MINICOMPUTER, AND THEN THE BASIC INTERPRETER. IT RESULTED IN A DEAL WITH MIT TO DISTRIBUTE THE INTERPRETER AS ALTAIR BASIC. AFTER THAT THEY NAMED THEIR PARTNERSHIP "MICRO-SOFT" AND GATES NEVER RETURNED TO HARVARD TO COMPLETE HIS STUDIES. WIKI. VIEW HISTORY.

Friday, May 21, 2010

10.366 NORMAN FOSTER



NORMAN FOSTER. BRITISH ARCHITECT WHOSE COMPANY MAINTAINS AN INTERNATIONAL DESIGN PRACTICE. AT YALE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, HE MET FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER RICHARD ROGERS. 1968 SAW THE BEGINNING OF A LONG PERIOD OF COLLABORATION WITH AMERICAN ARCHITECT RICHARD BUCKMINSTER FULLER, WHICH CONTINUED UNTIL FULLER'S DEATH IN 1983, CATALYSTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE APPROACH TO DESIGN - FOSTER CREATED OPEN-PLAN OFFICE FLOORS LONG BEFORE OPEN-PLAN BECAME THE NORM. IN A TOWN NOT OVER-ENDOWED WITH PUBLIC FACILITIES, THE ROOF GARDENS, 25M SWIMMING POOL AND GYMNASIUM GREATLY ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE COMPANY'S 1200 EMPLOYEES. WIKI. VIEW HISTORY.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

10.363 FRANK GEHRY



FRANK GHERY CANADIAN-AMERICAN PRITZKER PRIZE-WINNING ARCHITECT. HIS BUILDINGS, INCLUDING HIS PRIVATE RESIDENCE, HAVE BECOME TOURIST ATTRACTIONS. MUSEUMS, COMPANIES, AND CITIES SEEK GEHRY'S SERVICES AS A BADGE OF DISTINCTION, BEYOND THE PRODUCT HE DELIVERS. DECONSTRUCTIVISM IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS POST STRUCTURALIST. IN NATURE FOR ITS ABILITY TO GO BEYOND CURRENT MODALITIES OF STRUCTURAL DEFINITION. GEHRY CAME TO THE ATTENTION OF THE PUBLIC IN 1972 WITH HIS "EASY EDGES" CARDBOARD FURNITURE. WIKI. VIEW HISTORY.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

10.361 RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER




RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER. MEXICAN-CANADIAN ELECTRONIC ARTIST WHO WORKS WITH IDEAS FROM ARCHITECTURE, TECHNOLOGICAL THEATER AND PERFORMANCE. RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER IS BEST KNOWN FOR CREATING THEATRICAL INTERACTIVE INSTALLATIONS IN PUBLIC SPACES. USING ROBOTICS, REAL-TIME COMPUTER GRAPHICS, FILM PROJECTIONS, POSITIONAL SOUND, INTERNET LINKS, CELL PHONE INTERFACES, VIDEO AND ULTRASONIC SENSORS, LED SCREENS AND OTHER DEVICES, HIS INSTALLATIONS SEEK TO INTERRUPT THE INCREASINGLY HOMOGENIZED URBAN CONDITION BY PROVIDING CRITICAL PLATFORMS FOR PARTICIPATION. WIKI. VIEW HISTORY.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

I.M. PEI


I.M. PEI CHINESE-BORN AMERICAN ARCHITECT. IN 1935, PEI MOVED TO THE UNITED STATES. SPENT HIS FREE TIME RESEARCHING THE EMERGING MASTERS OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE, ESPECIALLY LE CORBUSIER. HE JOINED THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN (GSD) AND BECAME FRIENDS WITH THE BAUHAUS ARCHITECTS WALTER GROPIUS AND MARCEL BREUER. IN THE LATE 1980S, PEI WAS THE FOCUS OF A HUGE CONTROVERSY WHEN HE DESIGNED A GLASS-AND-STEEL PYRAMID FOR THE LOUVRE MUSEUM IN PARIS. PEI WAS INSPIRED BY THE INNOVATIVE DESIGNS OF THE NEW INTERNATIONAL STYLE, CHARACTERIZED BY SIMPLIFIED FORM AND THE USE OF CONCRETE, STEEL AND GLASS MATERIALS. PRITZKER PRIZE, 1983. WIKI HISTORY. 


Monday, May 3, 2010

10.356 LOUISE NEVELSON




http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=PL441BB7F036D37CD1&v=DJ8zcXmVwqo


LOUISE NEVELSON. AMERICAN ARTIST. NEVELSON IS KNOWN FOR HER ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST “CRATES” GROUPED TOGETHER TO FORM A NEW CREATION. SHE USED FOUND OBJECTS OR EVERYDAY DISCARDED THINGS IN ER “ASSEMBLAGES” OR ASSEMBLIES, ONE OF WHICH WAS THREE STORIES HIGH: "WHEN YOU PUT TOGETHER THINGS THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THROWN OUT, YOU’RE REALLY BRINGING THEM TO LIFE – A SPIRITUAL LIFE THAT SURPASSES THE LIFE FOR WHICH THEY WERE ORIGINALLY CREATED." NEVELSON'S WORK HAS BEEN LINKED TO CUBISM, DADA, SURREALISM, ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM, MINIMALISM, FEMINISM, AND INSTALLATION ART. WIKI. VIEW HISTORY.