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Today's News - Monday, March 3, 2008

ArcSpace shows us a porous Holl in China, and Denari's High Line tower. -- Rochon pays eloquent tribute to two architects who "operated with lightness and grace." -- Ouroussoff evaluates Koolhaas plans in Dubai: "a hybrid of the generic and the fantastic." -- Hume on suburbia: is it the next slum? -- Hopeful plans for Baltimore's Old Town makeover. -- Transportation planners facing up to climate change "may fundamentally change the field of transportation." -- James Lovelock says "catastrophe is inevitable" (so forget recycling and enjoy life while you can). -- Two very different takes on the Newseum: Lewis finds it "extraordinary work of architecture" and a "magical place." -- Kennicott thinks its good intentions are in need of some "architectural editing" (though it works on the inside). -- Filler tries to figure out what went wrong at LACMA: was it insufficient budget or what Piano had to work with? -- Rose on Gazprom tower: "a tale of Russian rule-bending." -- Kamin on over-Zell-ous developers and the dangers of relaxing landmark restrictions. -- Mid-century Modern mode: Bayley says saving Smithson's Robin Hood Gardens "could act as a model for benign redevelopment in every city in Britain." -- Trying to figure out what to do with sprawling postwar corporate complexes. -- Is a 1962 Honolulu icon by Ossipoff doomed? -- On a lighter note: Gough in praise of tower blocks. -- Boddy on a revamp of a 1956 home that he hopes will inspire others. -- Something that made us laugh out loud: Highlights from the Back-of-the-Envelope Bush Library Design Contest (vote for your favorite, too).

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-- Steven Holl Architects: Sliced Porosity Block, Chengdu, China
-- Neil Denari Architects: HL23, New York City

Hard architecture and urban grit will be missed: The work of Jeff Stinson and Adrian DiCastri...stands as a testament to their imagination, their urban grit and their tenacity...understood the heaviness of setting down acts of permanence. Still, they operated with lightness and grace. By Lisa Rochon- Globe and Mail (Canada)

City on the Gulf: Koolhaas Lays Out a Grand Urban Experiment in Dubai: ...master plan for the proposed 1.5-billion-square-foot Waterfront City...would simulate the density of Manhattan on an artificial island...a hybrid of the generic and the fantastic. By Nicolai Ouroussoff -- Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) [images]- New York Times

Downtown density will prevail over slums of suburbia: At the moment of its triumph, suburbia is starting to show signs of collapse...the suburbs could well be on their way to becoming America's "next slum." By Christopher Hume- Toronto Star

Planning under way for Old Town makeover: ...a master plan to guide redevelopment of 400 acres ...area has become a repository for some of the harsher elements of urban life, including prisons, way stations for the homeless and abandoned buildings surrounded by barbed wire. By Edward Gunts -- Urban Design Associates; Marks Thomas Architects; RK&K- Baltimore Sun

Transportation Planning Warms Up to Climate Change: Strategies Sweeping and Small Being Formed to Face Global Emergency...a particular challenge, which transportation planners and planning agencies have only recently begun to address but which may fundamentally change the field of transportation. By Josh Stephens- InTransition Magazine

'Enjoy life while you can': Climate science maverick James Lovelock believes catastrophe is inevitable, carbon offsetting is a joke and ethical living a scam. So what would he do?- Guardian (UK)

A Marvel of a Museum and Newsworthy, Too: When the Newseum opens April 11, visitors will see an extraordinary work of architecture housing extraordinary exhibits...a magical place...Rarely will you see a museum where exhibit design and building design are so intimately interwoven. By Roger K. Lewis -- Polshek Partnership; Ralph Appelbaum Associates- Washington Post

Extra! Extra! Indeed: Newseum Shows a Pressing Need for Architectural Editing: The building does everything it is supposed to do...But it's hard to find an angle from which the building is beautiful...On the inside, the building works better. By Philip Kennicott -- Polshek Partnership [slide show]- Washington Post

Broad-Minded Museum: On paper, Piano's rethinking of LACMA seemed so logical as to be irrefutable, and sensible enough for the most conservative trustee...It may be hard to determine whether things went wrong at the Broad because of an insufficient budget or the use of what Piano had to work with. By Martin Filler -- Renzo Piano- New York Review of Books

A shard on the skyline: It is one of the world's most glorious cities. But is St Petersburg about to be ruined by a skyscraper designed by a UK firm? ...a tale of Russian rule-bending...Probably the most controversial construction project on the planet, the Okhta tower... By Steve Rose -- RMJM- Guardian (UK)

Why Wrigley Field's landmark status should be preserved: By arguing that the City of Chicago should "relax" landmark restrictions on the ballpark...would undermine decades of carefully structured protection for Chicago's architectural treasures. By Blair Kamin- Chicago Tribune

You want the brutal truth? Concrete can be beautiful: ...Robin Hood Gardens has been a social calamity. But the architecture alone is not to blame...a test for taste, for intellect and vision. And a test for the government's ability to seize an interesting opportunity which could act as a model for benign redevelopment in every city in Britain. By Stephen Bayley -- Peter and Alison Smithson- Guardian (UK)

The Office as Architectural Touchstone: Sprawling postwar complexes in the region are attracting the interest of preservationists... -- Eero Saarinen; Sasaki, Walker & Associates; Edward Durell Stone; Docomomo; Gordon Bunshaft /Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Pei Cobb Freed; Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF); Gwathmey Siegel; Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo [audio slide show]- New York Times

IBM Building’s fate draws preservationists: Is the iconic Honolulu landmark doomed for demolition? -- Ossipoff Snyder & Rowland Architects (1962) [images]- Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Retro delights: Tower blocks: Soulless and depressing or lively and active? Piers Gough looks at the history of the tower block...about urbanity but got a bad reputation for being badly urban, because they didn't relate to the ground, the street, or anyone really.- Independent (UK)

Modernist home gets a 21st century update: A thorough revamp of a 1956 home holds true to its heritage while re-energizing a beautiful space...Maybe the Stuarts inspired renovation will spark the desire in other homeowners to conserve and extend modernist homes, rather than throw them away. By Trevor Boddy -- R.R. McKee (1956); Cornelia Oberlander; Nick Milkovich Architects [images]- Globe and Mail (Canada)

The Envelope Please: Highlights from the Back-of-the-Envelope Bush Library Design Contest. [link to images - and vote for your favorite!]- The Chronicle of Higher Education

INSIGHT: Art in Learning: Bringing the Tradition of Sculpture in Architecture to Education: Art incorporated into school architecture can enliven the educational process in unexpected ways. By Barry Svigals, FAIA [images]- ArchNewsNow

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