ArchNewsNow

Home Yesterday's News Calendar Contact Us Subscribe

Today's News - November 20, 2006

ArcSpace brings us more architectural adventures from Tokyo. -- Ouroussoff wonders what's behind New Orleans's rush to demolish "some of the best public housing built in the United States." -- The rebirth of once infamous public housing project in San Francisco. -- For a neophyte with big plans to build a suburb wants to give people "a taste of real architecture" and affordable, eco-friendly homes. -- Columbia University's big plans for West Harlem have some residents worried about eminent domain issues. -- L.A.'s Cornfield Park competition picks a winner. -- A competition expert explains what's wrong with some competition methods. -- Santa Fe picks winning team for courthouse design. -- Hume gives landscape architects deserving praise - and bemoans bean counters that made new Toronto tower less than it could have been. -- Denver's Union Station re-do will pay attention to the street, and the city's first high-rise since the 1980s will be very green. -- Lowry praises Buffalo for daring "to think the unthinkable and do the undoable" in restoring Wright. -- Driving a "Chelsea Tractor" in London could cost you £25 a day (will other cities follow suit?). -- A small, green show in Chicago Kamin says should not be overlooked. -- Q&A with Chicago green-maker Jeanne Gang. -- In Honolulu, Hara is first architect to be honored with the Governor's Award. An eloquent tribute to Sam Stephenson, the Irish "'starchitect' who fell to earth."

To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here

-- Gluckman Mayner Architects: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
-- kk Letter: “Shopping” in Tokyo ( Part 2): Architectural as well as fashion destinations

All Fall Down: In New Orleans, a plan to demolish prewar housing for the poor may be misconceived. Modestly scaled, they include some of the best public housing built in the United States. By Nicolai Ouroussoff [audio slide show]- New York Times

Infamous projects are rebuilt and reborn: ...the rebirth of Valencia Gardens -- the public housing development in San Francisco's Mission District once infamous for its decrepit block structure... -- Van Meter Williams Pollack [images]- San Francisco Chronicle

I’m building a suburb: Can good design create a community? Kevin McCloud plans to find out...There are exemplary developments, such as BedZED...and the Lower Mill Estate...where sustainable construction, ecology and design come together in one feel-good eco-cuddle. But what about everywhere else? Am I supposed to go out and build such homes myself? Well, apparently, yes, I am.- The Times (UK)

In West Harlem Land Dispute, It’s Columbia vs. Residents: The low-rise neighborhood of apartment buildings, warehouses and auto-repair shops would be replaced by a cityscape designed by Renzo Piano and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, in which glass-walled buildings would rise as high as 25 stories.- New York Times

A Cornfield Park Winner: Hargreaves Team Gets Bid for Los Angeles State Historic Park, the 32-acre site adjacent to Chinatown. -- Hargreaves Associates/Michael Maltzan; Mia Lehrer + Associates; Field Operations/Thom Mayne- LA Downtown News

Op-Ed: Build a better downtown: Design competitions leave too many good ideas out of the mix...what the Cornfield competition really points out is how infrequently we are choosing from the best available options, some of which may lie outside the limits of a narrowly conceived exercise. By Richard Weinstein -- Hargreaves Associates; Mayne/Field Operations; Gehry; Koolhaas- Los Angeles Times

Courthouse: Santa Fe County names design finalists -- HDR Architecture/Conrad and Woods Architects; NCA Architects/Durrant Architects; Studio Southwest Architects/Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum- The New Mexican

Plucking a jewel from lakefront drab: It's the architects who get all the attention, but more than ever it's the landscape architects who deserve it. Nowhere more so than on Toronto's sleeping beauty of a waterfront. By Christopher Hume -- West 8; Field Operations; Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes; Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates- Toronto Star

City settles for good in place of great: ...new office tower designed byTom Payne of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg. By most standards, it is a triumph. Indeed, it represents a new approach to the tall building. But as even Payne admits, it could have been better...once federal bean counters were done, many of the building's most interesting features had been eliminated. By Christopher Hume- Toronto Star

Union Station will focus on ground-level revival: Rather than feeding Denver's impressive skyline, the redeveloped Union Station will keep our eyes on the ground...It's the streets, not the buildings, that define a city. -- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Ronald A. Straka Urban Design; David Owen Tryba Architects; Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum; Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn- Denver Post

Structure to tower over LoDo: Developers of 1800 Larimer tout energy-efficient design of $150 million, 22-story office high-rise...the first new high-rise office building downtown since the mid-1980s...expected to receive a silver LEED... -- RNL Design [slide show]- Rocky Mountain News (Denver)

Restoring a Wright: Buffalo resurrects its architectural heritage: Against all odds...this lakeside city 14 years ago dared to think the unthinkable and do the undoable. By Patricia Lowry -- Hamilton, Houston & Lownie Architects; Toshiko Mori [side show]- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Driving a 4x4 [so-called Chelsea Tractors]? That'll be £25 a day, please: Councils around the country are expected to monitor the London charging and could follow suit if it is deemed to be a success.- Telegraph (UK)

"Sustainable Architecture in Chicago: Works in Progress" exhibit gives rise to a greener Chicago: ...exclusive emphasis on works in progress is at once adventurous and regrettable...reveal an intriguing variety of approaches. By Blair Kamin -- Studio Gang; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Helmut Jahn; Gensler; Farr Associates/Christy Webber Landscapes; UrbanLab- Chicago Tribune

Q&A: Rising up to new heights: Jeanne Gang making name in architecture with unique designs -- Studio/Gang/Architects- Chicago Tribune

Natural Elements: Honored isle architect incorporates the environment in his designs...recently became the first architect to be honored with the Governor's Award for Distinguished Achievement in Culture, Arts, and Humanities... -- John Hara [images]- Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Sam Stephenson was no friend of Georgian Dublin, but his legacy of building a modern city was very positive...He would remain forever the “starchitect” who fell to earth...[his] posthumous reputation is ripe for reassessment. By Shane O’Toole -- James Gandon (1743-1823); Michael Scott (1905-1989); Arthur Gibney; Kevin Roche- The Times (UK)

EPA 2006 National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement: Winners offer lessons for us all [images]- ArchNewsNow

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center: In Cincinnati, A riverfront museum embodies the geography of escape. By John Meadows, AIA -- Blackburn Architects; BOORA Architects [images]- ArchNewsNow

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window.
External news links are not endorsed by ArchNewsNow.com.
Free registration may be required on some sites.
Some pages may expire after a few days.

Yesterday's News