NEIL M

DENARI ARCHITECTS

CONTENT:
WHO IS HE?
HOW DID HIS ARCHITECTURE JOURNEY
BEGAN?
HIS MAJOR INSPIRATION IMPACT ON
HIS WORK
TO QUOTE FROM HIS INTERVIEWS
ARTLESS DRAWINGS
PROJECTS
HIGH LINE 23
NEW KEELUNG HARBOUR SERVICE
BUILDING

WHOS HE?
Neil Denari is an American architect, professor, and
author.
Based since 1988 in Los Angeles, Denari emerged in
New York during the 1980s with a series of theoretical
projects and texts based on the collapse of the
machine aesthetic of Modernism.
His office, Neil M. Denari Architects (NMDA) is
dedicated to exploring the realms of architecture,
design, urbanism, and all aspects of contemporary life.
As a teacher for more than 20 years, Denari has held
visiting professorships at UC Berkeley, Columba,
Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and the
University of Texas at Arlington. Since 2002, he has

HOW DID HIS ARCHITECRURE JOURNEY

BEGAN??

Denari received a Bachelor's degree in Architecture in

1980 from the University of Houston and in 1982,
He earned a Master's degree from Harvard University.
While at Harvard, he studied the philosophy of science
and also art theory with the expatriate Austrian artist
Paul Rotterdam, whom Denari has cited as his most
influential teacher
After graduate studies, Denari worked for five months
as an intern in Paris for Aerospatiale now Airbus one
of Europes largest aviation contractors.
Following this, Denari lived and worked in New York
from 1983 to 1988, first at James Stewart Polshek &

HOW DID HIS ARCHITECRURE JOURNEY

BEGAN??
Denari founded his firm in Los Angeles in 1988.
Denari has used the city of Los Angeles as a resource and
laboratory for urban and cultural experiments.
In 1990 and 1991, he worked on several small projects
and taught architecture in Tokyo.
This period of time, prior to the collapse of the Japanese
bubble economy, gave Denari the opportunity to study
both the historical and contemporary aspects of Japanese
culture. These experiences have had a continued impact
on his work.
Gyroscopic Horizons, a book written by Denari
documenting his architectural projects as well as his
ideas and theories on contemporary culture, was jointly
published in September 1999 by Princeton Architectural

HIS MAJOR INSPIRATION

IMPACT ON WORK:
Art theory paul rotterdam

Japanese culture and archite

Culture and
language of
architecture at los
angeles

Monochromatic
paintings
Abstraction
Three-dimensionality is
an important feature in
his work with forms
often protruding from
the pictorial plane into
actual space

Aviation

TO QUOTE FROM HIS

INTERVIEWS
Your buildings have been described as
"graphic," "contoured" and "aerodynamic."
What term or phrase do you think best
describes your work?
ND: Formagraphic is a term I invented that
attempts to place in close proximity to one
another the depth and fullness of form and the
immediacy and vividness of the graphic. Our
work is a unique merger between 2D and 3D, so
really the term tries to capture the essence of
that world

TO QUOTE FROM HIS

INTERVIEWS
I think every architect deals with abstraction
at one level. Even though my work looks
more complicated, its deeply simple. Its a
pretty sophisticated form of simple geometry
in a way. I learned to edit and to have the
simplicity of color field painting find its way
into my work.
Theres something deep down thats
disciplining about architecture. I like to think
abstraction and scale allow you to be
rigorous and open-ended at the same time.
You can do it with hunches and guesses but
at least youre governed by something. I
Theres a very graphic, abstract element to
know I have that kind of spirit with how I
all your work.
approach work. I try to be free but I also work

TO QUOTE FROM HIS

INTERVIEWS
What are the values that inform your practice?

The context of a site is very important when designing

large buildings. You need to know the context well when
generating ideas and processes for the site. When I take
on a project, I try to find out more about the site, its
history and the activities that have taken place there,
which will influence the final design. In this way, people
dont feel that this is just a generic development that you
can find anywhere. Using this approach, we won the
Keelung Harbor Building Competition because we came
up a design that responded well to the site context.

- See more at:

http://www.aude.sg/features_Neil_Denari.htm#sthash.qDk
qsrSY.dpuf

ARTLESS
DRAWINGS

The Artless Drawing

focuses on the graphic
work
of
Neil
Denari
produced between 1982
and 1996, just before
digital
design
became
ubiquitous.
Although
painstakingly
made
by
hand,
the
perfectly
rendered drawings appear
to have been generated by
a machine rather than by
an
architect
seeking
artistic expression.

ARTLESS
DRAWINGS

The
exhibition
showcases
the
extraordinary range of
manual
techniques
Denari used to create
what
is
now
his
signature style and
reveals that Denari
made these drawings
less in the manner of
an
artist
or
draughtsman than in
that of a human
computer.

NEW KEELUNG HARBOUR SERVICE BUILDING TAIWAN

NEW KEELUNG HARBOUR SERVICE BUILDING TAIWAN

OVERVIEW:

A multi-functional port
facility harmonious with
the
city
and
the
regional environment
Comprises
of
a
passenger and cargo
terminal and a joint
office building
Taiwan's largest port of
entry serving peak hour
flow of 1,500 cruise ship
passengers
Up to International Air
Transport
Association

Architects: Neil M.
Denari Architects
Location: Port of
Keelung, Zhongzheng
District, Keelung City,
Taiwan 202
Principal: Neil Denari,
AIA
Project Architects: James
Black, Frank Weeks

Denari'slong heldfascination with the streamlined

forms of mid-century automobile design and chromedipped Americana in general here find resonance in
the abstract steel basins, wind-swept protuberances,
and angled windows which all cast the complex in
forward motion.
Various
structures,
each
containing
different
programs are linked by soaring skybridges and
vertiginous ramps--broad circulation bands that are
weaved throughout the dense collection of buildings.
A long horizontal wing will house the train terminal
while the main building will contain office and hotel
spaces. A smaller, pavilion-like tower at the water

MORPHOSIS AND A HALF

HIGH LINE 23
Architect: Neil M. Denari
Architects
Location: New York, USA
Principal in charge: Neil Denari
Project Architect: Duks Koschitz
Project Designer: Stefano
Paiocchi
Project team: Carmen Cham, Alex
Janowsky, Philipp Traexler,
David Aguilo, Steven Epley,
Paola Vezzulli, Joe Willendra
Land area: 352.5 sqm
Constructed area: 3,642 sqm

The best part may be the archibabble that

results from a question about building luxury
residences: "Okay, this is a very high-end
building, it's very expensive, but I think for me,
I just sort of think it's for the city. And the
people who live in this building, I think they
know the building is for the city. They're
participating in the symbiosis of the High Line
and the shift in design culture
Its design involved a broad knowledge
of the site, great understanding of
construction details and expansion of
space. The building stand out in the
surrounding area, attract audience with
its exposed steel frames and create a
great illusion of height.

The building's east facade will

have the appearance of a
monumental public sculpture
clad with a system of customdesigned, three-dimensionally
curving stainless steel panels.
The pattern will move along
the dramatically shaped skin
in much the same way a
printed pattern moves across
an
avant-garde
garment,
slipping into different visual
effects with the change of the
body
beneath.
The steel surface will also
read differently throughout
the day and during different

This interest manifests in the form and articulation

of HL23, which seems more machine than multi-unit
dwelling. Contrary to the typical high-rise form,
which tapers from a wide base to a narrower
summit, HL23s form swells upward and outward in
response to the zoning envelope and looms above
the High Line.
In order to preserve open interiors free from the
interruption of columns, Denari designed the
concrete and steel structure with perimeter crossbracing.
The north and south facades feature an aluminum
curtain wall with ultra-clear glass, revealing the
structural latticework and capturing coveted High
Line and Hudson River views.