Today’s News - Wednesday, January 7, 2009
• Pearman on how recessions can bring architecture back to its senses.
• Blum and Lehrer talk about the aching brains of urban dwellers and rethinking how to integrate nature into urban life.
• Building codes going green, but it's not always an easy task.
• Obama's promises for a new era of eco-awareness in the U.S.; environmentalists are optimistic.
• Wilson on what the Administration should focus on in greening the country's infrastructure: shift away from automobile dependence.
• Cities may sprout vertical farms, but critics are far from convinced.
• Whether dying malls can be reborn as successful mixed-use developments remains to be seen (but it's looking good).
• Bayley on the U.K.'s original new towns movement: "It was flawed, it largely failed, but it was a noble experiment."
• An in-depth look at what the Dutch are doing to climate-proof the country for the next 200 years.
• Plans for a mega green movie studio take root in Massachusetts.
• An eyeful of Madrid's starchitect-studded City of Justice.
• Crinière wins competition to design exhibitions for Nouvel's Louvre Abu Dhabi.
• Washington, DC moves ahead with ambitious public library expansion plans - with design as a priority (what a concept!).
• In Iraq, hopeful plans to transform a Basra palace into a museum.
• King on the "steady procession of smaller projects, completed without commotion or crowds" in San Francisco's Presidio.
• Worsening economy = sweeping layoffs.
• One architect's novel approach to find work.
• Revisiting a masterpiece: Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo's Ford Foundation "remains a remarkably prescient piece of civic architecture."
• Calls for entries: Temporary Outdoor Gallery Space in Austin, and DWA Architects Caring for Older People International Student Design Competition.
• Chicago Athenaeum's 2008 Good Design Awards.
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From Empire State to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre: how recessions produce fine architecture...we may be in for quite a bout of pattern-making in the next wave of buildings. But they're more likely to be a sensible shape. By Hugh Pearman -- Bennetts Associates; Rogers; Piano; Vinoly; KPF; Nouvel; Grimshaw; Robbrecht en Daem; McAslan; Foreign Office Architects (FOA)- HughPearman.com (UK) |
The Aching Brains of Urban Dwellers: ...scientists are looking at how that urban landscape affects our brains...Attempting to make cities greener is not a new trend...but leaders in the field are now rethinking how to integrate nature into urban life, not simply create it as a refuge. -- Jonah Lehrer; Andrew Blum [audio, links]- New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) |
Green building sets the code: Building codes across the country are undergoing a sea change...But updating building codes is not an easy task.- Sustainable Industries Journal |
How Green Is The White House? The election of Barack Obama promises a new era of eco-awareness in the US- CNBC European Business |
Greening Our Infrastructure: ...we need to think about what we’re fixing. Our hope is that the Obama Administration will craft such improvements in a way that reduces reliance on automobiles and encourages more responsible patterns of development. By Alex Wilson- BuildingGreen.com |
Cities may sprout vertical farms: Proposed high-rise greenhouses could help solve a looming food crisis, professor says...Critics remain far from convinced. -- Dickson Despommier/The Vertical Farm Project [images, links]- Christian Science Monitor |
Malls, the Future of Housing? ...mixed use is clearly a smarter direction for developers now...Whether it will revive ailing malls and help realize the vision Victor Gruen presented some 50 years ago remains to be seen. By Lisa Selin Davis- HousingWire Magazine |
How Harlow offers a very English image of Platonic perfection: The 21 new towns built in England between 1946 and 1970 are the end of a process that began with Plato's academy...The origins...lay with Ebenezer Howard's Garden Cities (1902)...By 1970, the original new towns movement was over. It was flawed, it largely failed, but it was a noble experiment. By Stephen Bayley- Observer (UK) |
Before the Levees Break: A Plan to Save the Netherlands: The Dutch aren't waiting for a catastrophe; they're taking measures to solve the problem now...New projections of sea-level rise...coupled with the aftershock from Hurricane Katrina, have prompted Dutch officials to ask a very big question: What would it take to climate-proof our country for the next 200 years? -- Marcel Stive/Delta Committee [images, videos, links]- Wired magazine |
Plymouth Rocks the Movie Industry: A Mega Green Movie Studio in Massachusetts Aims to Be “Hollywood East”...$400 million Plymouth Rock Studios, slated to open in 2010, will be the world’s first totally green movie studio...former 240-acre golf course will feature 14 sound stages, a multipurpose theater, a hotel and office buildings. -- Gensler- E/The Environmental Magazine |
Madrid’s City of Justice Starts to Take Shape -- Javier Frechilla/José Manuel López-Peláez; Foster + Partners; Zaha Hadid; Foreign Office Architect (FOA); Rogers Stirk Harbour; Paredes Pino; Rafael De La-Hoz; Jaime Duro; Ángel Borrego; Pei Cobb Freed; Rubén Picado/Maria José De Blas; ICA Architects; Luis Enguita/Paloma Lasso/Enrique Azpilicueta; Cano Lasso Studio; etc. [slide show]- Architectural Record |
Nathalie Crinière Wins Louvre Abu Dhabi Design Competition: ...selected to create the exhibition design...will develop a graphic identityand design the lighting, curatorial and directional signage, and multimedia elements. -- Jean Nouvel- Contract magazine |
Check It Out: DC moves ahead with ambitious public library expansion...has placed a priority on design, even at the risk of higher costs. -- David Adjaye; Davis Brody Bond Aedas; Freelon Group; Wiencek+Associates [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Murder, mayhem and museums: While Iraq struggles to return to peaceful normality, the British have been working to restore some of the country's pride in its past...From oil baron's mansion, to palace, to garrison to museum in Basra. [image]- BBC News |
Small projects enriching San Francisco's historic Presidio: ...as we warily await Fisher's next proposal...Lost in the debate over the 100,000-square-foot box of white concrete and glass was the steady procession of smaller projects, completed without commotion or crowds. By John King -- Andy Goldsworthy; Gluckman Mayner; WRNS Studio [images]- San Francisco Chronicle |
Layoffs Sweep Architecture Profession as Economy Worsens: ...architectural and engineering sector lost 10,000 jobs in November while the construction industry lost 82,000.- Architectural Record |
Building a foundation for future work: Architect John Morefield, laid off twice in the past year, took a novel approach to find work...decided to set up a booth, offer cheap advice on home remodeling -- and hope the contacts would turn into design jobs...Old colleagues stop by with a mixture of pity and envy.- Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
Rediscovered Masterpiece: The Ford Foundation: Anticipating many of today’s environmental and workplace issues, the 41-year-old Ford Foundation Building, by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, remains a remarkably prescient piece of civic architecture. [images]- Metropolis Magazine |
Call for entries: Temporary Outdoor Gallery Space 2 (TOGS 2) International Ideas Competition; registration deadline: March 23- Art Alliance Austin/AIA New York Chapter |
Call for entries: DWA Architects Caring for Older People International Student Design Competition; cash prizes; registration deadline: March 2 [pdf]- RIBA Competitions Office |
Chicago Athenaeum Announces 2008 Good Design Awards: ...58th annual awards program, a nod to innovation and cutting-edge creativity, includes winners in 23 categories this year, among them furniture, textiles, the environment... [images, links]- Interior Design magazine |
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-- Expansion and renovation: Gehry Partners: Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), Toronto, Canada
-- Robert Wilson: VOOM Portraits and Chairs |
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