Tuesday 10.01.13
At home with Felix Burrichter
We recently visited Felix Burrichter‘s place in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Felix is the creator of PIN-UP which he describes as “a magazine for architectural entertainment.” We had a chance to take some pictures of Felix while he was packing to go to Europe. We chatted about all sorts of things from ugly buildings, to alcohol, to Brazilian men to his brand new book PIN-UP Interviews (published by PowerHouse Books).
Where were you born? Düsseldorf, Germany.
Did you study architecture? Yes. First in Paris at ESA, then at Columbia University in New York.
How was PIN–UP born? After graduating from Columbia I was working at a corporate New York architecture firm. I was miserable drawing curtain walls for large casinos in Macau. In order to keep myself entertained I started thinking about what the ideal architecture magazine would look like, with its most voracious reader being me.
Why do you define the magazine as “architectural entertainment”? I chose “architectural entertainment” as PIN–UP’s subtitle as a way to differentiate it from most other, “serious” architecture trade magazines, with whom PIN–UP never set out to compete. If anything I like to think of PIN–UP as a guilty pleasure for architects, and as the initiation drug for those who never thought they’d be interested in it.
On wall: “Erotic Decorative Objects” by Dean Sameshima.
Do you get lots of free furniture? No.
You used to also edit BUTT magazine. What was the transition to creating a magazine about architecture like? …
Wednesday 01.30.13
Architecture: Making Room
Here’s something you might not be shocked to learn about me but my apartment’s pretty small. Like the millions of other suckers in NY, NY, I’m more than willing to pay a pretty penny for the privilege of living here. Which is why the market can’t meet the demand for single occupancy apartments. Last year Bloomberg set about to change this (god bless him). He created a competition for architects to design a micro-studio apartment of just 325 square feet – a size prohibited in most areas of the city. The space had to be fully furnished and completely functional. In other words no mini fridges and showers over the toilet. The winning proposal is now being made, and is a pretty clever use of space. It’s on display at the Museum of the City of New York alongside a “different 325-square-foot micro-unit model that features an electric toilet that doubles as a bidet; Italian shower fixtures; a Murphy bed that pulls down over a hot-pink sofa, a flat-screen TV that slides to reveal extra shelving and a coffee table-cum-ottoman that deconstructs into four stools.” Sounds fancy. It’s the perfect opportunity to get a glimpse of how we’ll live in the coming future — like Japanese Salary men crammed into little boxes not much bigger than the coffins we’ll eventually be buried in.
