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Today's News - April 24, 2006

ArcSpace brings us Lab in Riyadh and Møller in London. -- We lose a master of 1960's Modernism. -- The "Picasso of architecture" making his mark across Canada. -- Gehry on Grand Avenue: designs will be released today, but Hawthorne fears it will be "a good deal less public-minded than many of us had hoped." -- Gehry hopes to foster a vibrant urban scene. -- Nearby, Classical-style condo towers to rise 50 and 60 stories. -- Also on Grand Avenue, an arts campus by Prix obliterates the box. -- Miles of museum news: High praise for Prix in Akron as well. -- Pelli's perfect fit in Madison. -- Piano re-commissioned for Harvard museum overhaul, and more high praise for his Morgan expansion. -- "Art-starved Central Texans" finally bathed in art at the Blanton in Austin. -- Meier's Roman treasure opens, "rescued from its Fascist association, if not from politics." -- Glancey pays homage to media-shy and barely-remembered engineers behind great architecture. -- The corner gas station re-invented for hydrogen. -- In Japan, "fairy tale buildings" only 30 years old are showing their age. -- California senior housing offers places to age gracefully in vibrant urban settings. -- In Phoenix, "too much modern architecture seems to revel in ugliness." -- Young architects offer imaginative solutions for cultural center on the tip of an island in New York.

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-- Competition Winner: Lab architecture studio: Riyadh Business Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
-- C.F. Møller Architects: Darwin Centre Phase Two, London, UK

Obituary: Warren Platner, 86: ...an architect and designer who created a furniture collection that has proved to be an enduring icon of 1960's Modernism...- New York Times

Fostering great buildings: Thanks to some smart clients, the Picasso of architecture is making his mark in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. By Lisa Rochon -- Foster and Partners; Jeremy Sturgess; Gensler; Zeidler Partnership; Robert Lemon; Walter Francl Architect- Globe and Mail (Canada)

Grand, Yes, but Public Expects More: $750-million first phase of [Related Cos.] huge mixed-use project along Grand Avenue...the deal immediately raised eyebrows — and more than a few architectural questions...Its attitude toward the city is laid bare...stripped of architectural flourish, they reveal a project a good deal less public-minded than many of us had hoped. By Christopher Hawthorne -- Frank Gehry; Craig Webb- Los Angeles Times

Gehry Sees His Glass Towers Transforming Downtown L.A.: He Hopes to Foster a Vibrant Urban Scene- Los Angeles Times

Developer Proposes Two Condo High-Rises Nearby: The project, not tied to Gehry's Grand Avenue plan, would include 330 luxury units...would be reminiscent of the Classical-style buildings that rose in Los Angeles during the early 20th century. -- Richardson Robertson III/Robertson Partners- Los Angeles Times

Schooled in iconoclasm: As architect of the Grand Avenue arts campus, Wolf Prix is obliterating the box to let inspiration flow from the outside in. -- Coop Himmelb(l)au- Los Angeles Times

Museum project uplifting already: It's rare in Northeast Ohio - or anywhere else for that matter - that you get all the main ingredients necessary for great architecture in one project... The Akron Art Museum...is shaping up as an exception to the rule. By Steven Litt -- Wolf Prix/Coop Himmelb(l)au- Cleveland Plain Dealer

Understated design of Madison museum fits State St. perfectly: ...there is a countertrend in museum-building that emphasizes restraint... Pelli has embraced this marriage of old and new with panache and obvious affection. By Whitney Gould -- Pelli & Associates; Potter Lawson & Flad [slide show]- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Harvard to overhaul its museums and build a new facility for modern and contemporary art: ...Renzo Piano...been re-commissioned to renovate the Fogg... -- Gwathmey Siegel (1991); James Stirling (1984)- The Art Newspaper

The house of Morgan: An expansion reinvigorates the legendary financier's famous library...Renzo Piano's gorgeous expansion, which opens Saturday, places that history under glass. By Ariella Budick and Justin Davidson -- McKim, Mead and White- NY Newsday

Journey into Light: ...after some master strokes and a brush with disaster, Austin's Blanton Museum of Art has opened its doors to share its works with art-starved Central Texans. -- Herzog & de Meuron; Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Architects- Star-Telegram (Dallas/Ft. Worth)

Richard Meier's New Home for the Ara Pacis, a Roman Treasure, Opens: ...has now been rescued from its Fascist association, if not from politics. [images]- New York Times

Naked ambition: It took the genius of Isambard Kingdom Brunel to show us that pure, unadorned engineering can be beautiful. Give the man a cigar. By Jonathan Glancey -- Foster; Michel Virlogeux; Chris Wise; John Fowler/Benjamin Baker; Eiffel; Stephen Sauvestre; Peter Rice; Cecil Balmond; Arup; Piano; Rogers; Koolhaas- Guardian (UK)

Hydrogen Fuels Architects’ Plans: Station prototype reinvents corner gas station -- Alan Eliot Goldberg/AG/ENA; ARRC/H2 [images]- AIArchitect

Fanciful architecture vs. user-friendly design: ...bizarre sight of 35 public facilities...nicknamed meruhen kenchiku (fairy-tale buildings)...now showing their age in various stages of disrepair. -- Oyabe; Kenzo Tange- Asahi Shimbun (Japan)

A place to age in grace: Elder-care innovators make senior citizens a vital part of the urban experience...AgeSong's business model is...when elder-care communities are designed to be good architectural neighbors, they will be readily welcomed into mixed-use urban settings. -- Leila Bijan- San Francisco Chronicle

Beauty as a public service: Dreary, sun-baked spaces leave citizens of Phoenix with no place to escape daily burdens...Unfortunately, it lacks many urban solutions, such as great public spaces...Too much modern architecture seems to revel in ugliness.- Arizona Republic

Young Architects from Across the World Ponder a Question: Given Carte Blanche, What Would We Do With Southpoint Park [on Roosevelt Island]?- The Wire (NYC)

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