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Today's News - Wednesday, June 25, 2008

-- Glancey and Greer mince no words about what's wrong with U.K.'s eco-town plans: "will end up more of a rural ghetto than some 21st-century Florentine dream."
-- Jacobs at Ground Zero: "as the concrete hardens, I can almost see the banality setting in."
-- The demise of suburbia and a re-focus on reviving downtowns as energy costs rise.
-- Holl's Beijing Linked Hybrid: an "architectural maverick has certainly pushed the design envelope to its very limit," but carries "isolationist overtones."
-- Big plans for the spinning, green "Dynamic Tower" in Dubai and Moscow (and NYC?) by an architect with a "meager" design portfolio.
-- Speaking of spinning, 55°Time Dubai will be a "precision 'timepiece building' powered by the sun," turning 360-degrees in seven days.
-- Another look at landmark architecture under flood waters in Iowa.
-- Nashville picks team for new $595 million convention center.
-- Redrawn plans for NYC's Domino Sugar plant is "rougher around the edges" - and that pleases landmarks commission.
-- A Russian "gingerbread village" defends its architectural heritage that is "as charming as it is unexpected."
-- A lively conversation with "the falls guy" Olafur Eliasson.
-- Translating Vancouverism for Londoners was no mean feat.
-- Starck takes on reality TV for BBC.
-- Eames stamps delight design junkies.

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The great ecotown land grab: The government wants to turn an idyllic stretch of Oxfordshire into a 'sustainable' car-free town. What's wrong with that? Absolutely everything, says Jonathan Glancey -- "An utter failure of imagination": Germaine Greer on why her local ecotown is doomed to fail- Guardian (UK)

Normalizing Ground Zero? What’s now under construction is looking like a fairly typical 21st-century business district...as the concrete hardens, I can almost see the banality setting in. By Karrie Jacobs -- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Norman Foster; Richard Rogers; Fumihiko Maki; Daniel Libeskind; Michael Arad; Peter Walker; Snøhetta; Gehry; Calatrava; Grimshaw- Metropolis Magazine

Rethinking the Country Life as Energy Costs Rise: ...homes beyond the urban core have been falling in value faster than those within...Some now proclaim the unfolding demise of suburbia...Many governments now focus on reviving their downtowns.- New York Times

Beijing embraces Brave New World of buildings: Dubbed the Beijing Linked Hybrid, this architectural maverick has certainly pushed the design envelope to its very limit...widely praised for its forward thinking sustainable design...Critics also argue its city within a city element has isolationist overtones... -- Steven Holl [images, links]- CNN

In Jerusalem, even a bridge divides: Reception mixed for Calatrava's soaring landmark of steel and glass...Some critics say the Bridge of Strings, six years in the making at a cost of over $70 million, is lost in the clutter of buildings...- Chicago Tribune

'Dynamic tower' to be built in Dubai and Moscow: For all the ambition, David Fisher comes across as an unlikely character....his design portfolio is rather meagre..."Architects are all about design. I am interested in concepts."- The National (Abu Dhabi)

Rotating skyscraper plans for Moscow, Dubai and maybe NYC? -- David Fisher; Leslie E. Robertson [video]- Reuters

The world's first turning timepiece building in Dubai: 360°Time World announced it will break ground on the world’s first turning timepiece building, the 55°Time Dubai on 8 August...a precision 'timepiece building' powered by the sun and scientific imagination, turning 360-degrees in seven days... -- Bennetts Associates; Glenn Howells; P&T [image]- BusinessIntelligence-Middle East (BI-ME)

Architecture Landmarks in Iowa Flooded: Buildings by Sullivan, Wright, Gehry, and Holl impacted. By Paul Makovsky & Marya Spence [images]- Metropolis Magazine

Music City Center designer chosen -- Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback (TVS); Tuck Hinton; Moody Nolan- The Tennessean

Sweet & Lower: Landmarks Preservation Commission approves latest designs for Domino project...new plan for Williamsburg's Domino Sugar plant is rougher around the edges, in keeping with the site's industrial history...iconic sign will be saved. -- Beyer Blinder Belle [images]- The Architect's Newspaper (NYC)

A Fresh Take on a 19th-Century Gingerbread Village: Nikolai Zakotnov vowed to rescue Tomsk and help the city defend an architectural heritage that is as charming as it is unexpected. [images]- New York Times

The falls guy: Why is Olafur Eliasson installing four giant waterfalls in the middle of New York's East River? The body-popping master of architectural illusion...looks like an architect...he drops in words such as 'socio-ethical' to describe his work. He's so measured that you feel he's designed, blueprinted and built all of his thoughts before he vocalises them.- Telegraph (UK)

Will Vancouverism take root in downtown London? "Vancouverism: West Coast Architecture and City Building"...part of the Embassies Project, organized by the British Council and the London Festival of Architecture...translating Vancouverism for Londoners proved to be no mean feat. -- Bing Thom; Trevor Boddy; Arthur Erickson; Dennis Sharp- Globe and Mail (Canada)

Philippe Starck: French designer to front BBC2 reality series: ...he will attempt to discover the next generation of British design talent..."this show can be a wake-up machine. It will also show that no one needs to be a genius to be creative. Creativity is accessible"...- Guardian (UK)

Charles and Ray Eames stamps issued by U.S. Postal Service: ...design junkies and the public at large should be pleased... By Blair Kamin [image]- Chicago Tribune

INSIGHT: Bowling Alone in Urbanistaville: Is living in suburbia the social antidote? By Richard Carson- ArchNewsNow

-- Foster + Partners: Elephant House, Copenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, Denmark
-- Zaha Hadid Architects: Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania

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