A sneak preview of the next issue of Blueprint magazine


Blueprint assistant editor Shumi Bose on what to expect from the next issue, including OMA's De Rotterdam building


BP

The second issue in our bigger, better and brighter format for Blueprint magazine is bursting with gorgeous, exclusive and critical content: it should be hitting shelves and (for subscribers) doormats next week, but we can't wait to share what's in store:

Cover

The cover of Blueprint issue 331, featuring OMA's De Rotterdam building, shot by photographer Ossip van Duivenbode

Our cover feature looks at De Rotterdam, OMA's latest and gargantuan contribution to its hometown. The building with its ruthless gridded façade and shifting geometry graces the cover of Blueprint 331 to highly dramatic effect.

As the 'mixed use vertical city' finally completes some 16 years after the project began, Shumi Bose tries to make sense of 'the largest building in the Netherlands'.

Kubric

Early sketches for Clockwork Orange were made in this Basildon Bond writing pad - in the dark, as the film in rough was screened at Kubrick's home

We are really excited to present an exclusive interview with Philip Castle, the illustrator behind the poster for Stanley Kubrick's cult classic, A Clockwork Orange. Steve Mepsted interviewed Castle at his home, finding a cache of beautiful artwork -- including sketches by the great director himself.

KC

Exterior of the renovated Lewis Cubitt 1852 King's Cross Station (Grade I listed)

2013 marks the centenary year for English Heritage; as the year draws to a close, Blueprint's Herbert Wright interviewed EH's Simon Thurley and Emily Gee as well as a diverse group of practitioners to reflect on their important and often contentious mission, including Peter St John of Caruso St John, David Cash from BDP Patrick Pugh from John McAslan + Partners and more

And in parallel, on the occasion of what would have been his 100th birthday, the contribution of the prodigious Italian designer Piero Fornasetti is assessed by the critic, editor and publisher Patrick Mauries.

PS

Paul Smith by Ivan Jones

This month, a major retrospective opens on one of the living legends of British design: Paul Smith. Veronica Simpson speaks to the man, and those who have worked with him on the design of his retail stores worldwide.

DSC

Part of Jimmy Cauty's miniature dystopia. Photo Johnny Tucker

Ex KLF band-member -- and artist who notoriously burned a million quid on the Isle of Jura -- Jimmy Cauty shows Blueprint editor Johnny Tucker around his immaculate, strangely familiar dystopia-in-miniature.

Parodying China as the spiritual home of fake fashions and knock-off electronics items is, these days, a cliché - however, the copying of whole urban environments, historical buildings and cultural icons suggests a deeper, aspirational ambition that Alastair Donald -- as well as artists Jesper Just and researcher Bianca Bosker -- finds intriguing

Finally, the 'most mythical' of nightclubs in Paris, Les Bains Douche has seen more than its fair share of technicolour wildness. Just before the owners transform the notorious hotspot into a gallery, they opened the doors to a group of specially invited street artists, to spectacular effect - as Jean Grogan reports.

In our quick read section, meet Softroom; take a tour round the V&A Clothworkers' Centre; look at the designs for Tokyo Stadium, on the drawing boards at Zaha Hadid Architects and study an infographic of the mightiest and tiniest of the ubiquitous design biennales in Europe. Pithy opinion comes from Austin Williams, who explains the surprising Chinese take on sustainability, and Wouter Vanstiphout of Crimson Architectural Historians who laments the loss of Rotterdam's unique urban spirit.

And finally, in our Reviews section: Agata Pyzik enjoys The View from the Train by Patrick Keiller; Tom Brooks enters the uncanny world of Elmgreen & Dragset's installation Tomorrow at the V&A Museum; Corinne Julius is pleased to see classics and lesser known works at the Barbican's staging of Pop Art Design; we have an face-off between the soon-to-close Architecture Triennales in Lisbon and Oslo - and much more.

 








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