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Today's News - Thursday, June 5, 2008

-- Prince Charles takes on Beijing to turn historic hutongs into eco-homes instead of replacing with "concrete carbuncles."
-- Calls to not maul the pedestrian malls in Charlottesville and Denver.
-- A tour of Abu Dhabi with an architect who wants to see his city more pedestrian friendly.
-- A historic Tel Aviv neighborhood under siege from towers, but the architect says without them, "the neighborhood has no justification to exist - it has to be demolished" (oh, really?).
-- Nadel looks at the "marked contrast" between how the U.S. and U.K. approach security in the built environment and urban centers.
-- Chicago makes 2016 Olympics shortlist, but "has some heavy barbells to hoist if it is to capture the gold."
-- Hawthorne gives two thumbs-ups to home projects beginning to emerge from L.A.'s small-lot ordinance.
-- Are architectural landmarks a good real-estate investment? (the answer might be no.)
-- More on Gehry's Beekman Tower (this time with a great slide show).
-- Another take on the Newsuem: "the architects have summoned more heroic optimism than you'll find in any newsroom today."
-- Design schools teaching business basics (some educators remain skeptical).
-- A small German town takes geothermal energy seriously.
-- Alsop heading a new direction?
-- NYC's former building commissioner (and architect) digs in with developer Durst.
-- Shortlists for RIBA's Lubetkin Prize, and AJ/Urban Splash Tribeca Infobox.
-- Time to dust off the passport and head for Torino.
-- Call for entries: AIAS 2008 Library for the 21st Century Design Competition.

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Charles takes on China to save Ming dynasty houses from Beijing's concrete carbuncles: Prince urges authorities to turn historic hutongs into low-carbon eco homes...Prince's Foundation for Architecture and Urbanism working with Chinese businessmen and academics at Beijing's Tsing Hua University to save what remains of Da Shi Lan. By Robert Booth [slide show, audio]- Guardian (UK)

Mauling the Mall? Don't change the bricks: Lawrence Halprin: ...MMM Design Group...have repeatedly vowed to remain faithful to the original design. Interestingly, no one bothered to consult Halprin himself...92-year-old landscape architect says he was unaware of the current plan to update his 1976 Charlottesville Mall design.- The Hook (Virginia)

Don't realign city's spine, panel says: The 16th Street Mall...Now that it is 25 years old, it's also become fair game for those who like to "remake" things...advisers from the Urban Land Institute [ULI]...offered a series of surprises...The bottom line: Fix things, don't just change them..."Honor the original design and its civic significance to Denver"... By Mary Voelz Chandler -- Henry Cobb/I.M. Pei/Pei Cobb Freed (1982); Ray Brown/Self Tucker; Paul Chapel/BOKA Powell- Rocky Mountain News (Denver)

Tales of the city: Riyad Albuhlaiga wants to help make the city a better place..."It’s worth changing Abu Dhabi to a pedestrian city. It would make it a better place to live." -- RiyadYassinAlbuhlaiga Consulting- The National (Abu Dhabi)

Cast a giant shadow: There is something disturbing about the sequence of decisions that gave rise to the skyscraper in this colorful section of the city..."Within a few years Neve Tzedek will be a neighborhood under siege, a traffic island between major traffic arteries." ..."If towers like the Nechushtan are not built...the neighborhood has no justification to exist - it has to be demolished." -- Zvi Gabai- Ha`aretz (Israel)

Retooling Homeland Security Grants for IEDs: Enlist the Building Industry: ...there is a marked contrast in how the federal governments in the United States and the U.K. approach public programs that emphasize security in the built environment and urban centers. By Barbara A. Nadel, FAIA- Buildings.com

Chicago makes cut, has Olympic-size to-do list: ...made it into the final phase of the competition to host the 2016 Olympics...Tokyo was judged to be the leader on technical issues, followed by Madrid. Rio de Janeiro followed Chicago.- Chicago Tribune

Fledgling home projects emerge from L.A.'s small-lot ordinance: A set of Silver Lake bungalows is one of the first success stories of a law that allows several single-family homes on a lot, adding more affordable housing to the market. By Christopher Hawthorne -- Drisko Studio Architects; John Kaliski/Urban Studio; Mass Architecture & Design; Heyday Partnership [slide show]- Los Angeles Times

People Who Buy Glass Houses: Are architectural landmarks a good real-estate investment? Can historic Modernist homes be treasured, shown, and monetized like Warhols and Gauguins? A recent visit to...Philip Johnson's Glass House, and a look at its business model, suggests the answer might be no. By Daniel Gross -- Richard Neutra- Slate

Gehry Designs NYC's Tallest Residential Tower: ...76-story exuberant skyscraper that will add flair to the respected downtown landscape. -- Swanke Hayden Connell; Field Operations; Piet Oudolf [slide show]- Architectural Record

This Just In: With newspapers becoming relics, can a museum about journalism be anything more than a tomb? ...in packaging the Newseum, the architects...have summoned more heroic optimism than you’ll find in any newsroom today... By Bradford McKee -- Polshek Partnership; Ralph Appelbaum Associates- I.D. magazine

It’s Not Business as Usual: Design schools are recalibrating to teach students the principles of commerce...Some design educators remain skeptical...For better or worse, this is where design education is headed, with designers-in-training adopting the habits, ethos, and language of the business world.- Metropolis Magazine

Pioneering Power From Geothermal Energy: In a small town outside of Munich, a major investment in a pioneering new type of geothermal energy looks like it may pay off sooner than expected. With oil prices on the rise, Unterhaching's plant could be a model for others worldwide.- Der Spiegel (Germany)

Alsop to separate from SMC pack: ...board is considering the separation of Will Alsop's practice from the rest of the group under a proposal which could also see the remaining architects relinquish their identities under one brand name.- The Architects' Journal (UK)

Ex-commish who quit after 1st crane horror takes job with huge developer: Former buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster...was hired Monday as a consultant for the Durst Organization "...to help us understand the new city building code"...licensed architect...received an award Tuesday from the AIA New York Chapter...- NY Daily News

Three shortlisted for RIBA's Lubetkin Prize for the most outstanding work of architecture outside the UK and the European Union -- Gianni Botsford Architects; Cullum & Nightingale Architects; Coop Himmelb(l)au [images]- BD/Building Design (UK)

AJ/Urban Splash Tribeca Infobox shortlist unveiled: ...exhibition of all 112 submissions will run from 5-27 June at Novas Contemporary Urban Centre, Liverpool -- Alan Huang/Basic Architecture Design; Robert Jamison Architects; APE; Bell Phillips + Kimble Architects; Black Architecture; Foster Lomas [images]- The Architects' Journal (UK)

June 29 – July 3: XXIII World Congress of Architecture Torino 2008: "Transmitting Architecture" -- Mario Bellini; Gary Chang; Michele De Lucchi; Peter Eisenman; Massimiliano Fuksas; Thomas Herzog; Knafo and Klimor; Kengo Kuma; Dominique Perrault; Renzo Piano; Hani Rashid; John Rykwert; Alvaro Siza; Paolo Soleri; Muhammad Yunus; etc.- International Union of Architects (UIA)

Call for entries: 2008 Library for the 21st Century Design Competition, sponsored by AIAS/Kawneer; registration deadline: November 3- American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS)

Nearing completion: Coop Himmelb(l)au: Central Los Angeles Area High School #9, Los Angeles

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