Today’s News - Thursday, February 19, 2009
• We are truly saddened by the loss of Max Bond - a master, mentor, and "a prickly voice of conscience within his profession"; a gentleman-architect, his "personal commitment to social responsibility was never at odds with a devotion to excellence in architecture."
• Some savvy tips (and links) to landing government contracts.
• Queensland Design Strategy 2020 intends to "promote the economic, social and environmental value of design," i.e. to mainstream design-led thinking.
• RIBA with Places Matter! have high hopes that renamed Liverpool gallery will entice the public to get involved.
• An eyeful of the burgeoning Dallas Arts District and its new buildings by architectural heavyweights.
• Oedipus Bush: Presidential library plans get bigger, "akin to an average Wal-Mart Super Center" - twice as large as his father's.
• SOM's Oakland cathedral is a "brilliant 21st-century interpretation of an 11th-century act of faith" (great slide show, too!).
• Radio Free Europe's new HQ in Prague will be heavy on security (but you can watch a brief drive-by video).
• Winning design in London's Elephant and Castle competition will encourage the local community to grow its own food.
• A very amusing Q&A with Eisenman: he's still not into green architecture; he doesn't want to design chairs; he'd rather talk about football - "At 75 it's hard to be an enfant terrible."
• At 78, Toronto architect Joan Burt still fighting a good fight.
• Gallagher sees the retirement of shopping mall master Jim Ryan as a good time "to question the accepted hierarchy in architecture."
• The battle to save dark skies continues as light pollution threatens our sleeping patterns, animals, and even entire ecosystems.
• Why does every status-conscious city seem to want a Ferris wheel? "They are must-haves for any city with more ambition than imagination."
• London's monument to the Great Fire re-opens after much-need refurbishment.
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Obituary: J. Max Bond Jr., 73: ...long the most influential African-American architect in New York and one of a few black architects of national prominence...reputation did not rest solely — or even principally — on design. He was known as an educator...an exemplar to younger minority architects; and a prickly voice of conscience within his profession on issues of racial and economic justice. [images, links]- New York Times |
Max Bond, 1935-2009: Revered Davis Brody Bond Aedas partner was pathbreaking African-American architect ...educator, and role model to generations of architects...showed that a personal commitment to social responsibility was never at odds with a devotion to excellence in architecture. By Julie V. Iovine [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
How Architects Can Land a Government Contract: ...landing public contracts can be a challenge for the uninitiated without smart strategies...there are savvy ways to approach the process. -- SmithGroup; PageSoutherlandPage [links]- Architectural Record |
Queensland Design Strategy 2020 to establish Queensland as centre of design excellence: ...strives to make design-led thinking mainstream in the wider business community and public sector..."will promote the economic, social and environmental value of design and encourage us all to use design-led thinking."- Australia.TO |
New name heralds new role for Liverpool gallery: The space formerly known as the Renew Rooms has become milkandsugar...gallery, event space and bookshop is a partnership between the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and regional built environment programme Places Matter!...it is hoped more members of the public will be able to get involved.- Liverpool Daily Post (UK) |
In Texas, Even Arts Districts are Supersize: Dallas Arts District...about to get a few more buildings by architectural heavyweights. -- Renzo Piano'; I.M. Pei; Foster + Partners; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Koolhaas/Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA); Prince-Ramus/Ella/REX; Cloepfil/Allied Works [slide show]- Architectural Record |
Details emerge about Bush library, policy center: ...has grown to an estimated 207,000 square feet – akin to an average Wal-Mart Super Center – making it more than twice as large as his father's... -- Robert A.M. Stern Architects- Dallas Morning News |
The Light of Christ Abounds in Oakland's New Cathedral: ...brilliant 21st-century interpretation of an 11th-century act of faith. -- Craig Hartman/Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) [slide show]- Wall Street Journal |
Barricading Radio Free Europe: US radio service's new Prague headquarters will have tight security. -- Barbara A. Nadel; Cigler Marani Architects [video clip]- GlobalPost |
Kings of the Castle: dallaspierce+quintero win design competition for public realm in London's Elephant and Castle..."Abundant Amelia"...designed to encourage the local community to grow all of its own food produce. [images]- World Architecture News (UK) |
It Ain't a Walk in the Park: Q&A with Peter Eisenman: The perenially hard-to-define architect spoke about everything from football in Arizona to why the media loves him..."At 75 it’s hard to be an enfant terrible."- Cornell Daily Sun |
Old buildings given new life: Architect Joan Burt spent decades fighting to leave her stamp on Toronto's landscape...She fought her way into the male-dominated profession of architecture in the 1950s. She stood up to city hall...battling to save Toronto's historic row houses- Toronto Star |
Mall master Jim Ryan gets too little regard from peers: Given his retirement, it seems like a good time not only to acknowledge Ryan's work as a designer but to question the accepted hierarchy in architecture. By John Gallagher -- JPRA Architects- Detroit Free Press |
The Death of Night: Astronomers and Environmentalists Fight to Save Dark Skies: In the era of 24/7 artificial light, real darkness is hard to find. But not only stargazers are affected -- light pollution also threatens animals and even entire ecosystems. -- International Dark-Sky Association [images, links]- Der Spiegel (Germany) |
The age of the wheel: The first rose above Chicago in 1893. Now every status-conscious city, from Beijing to Baghdad, either has or wants one. What's the big attraction of the ferris wheel? ...they are must-haves for any city with more ambition than imagination. [slide show]- Guardian (UK) |
London's Monument reopens after £4.5m restoration: Repair and upgrading work on Great Fire memorial includes new viewing platform by Julian Harrap Architects and real-time website views [images]- Building (UK) |
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-- BIG: Zira Island Master Plan, Baku, Azerbaijan
-- Under construction: Gehry Partners: Counseling Center, Danish Cancer Society, Aarhus, Denmark |
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