Today’s News - Tuesday, May 12, 2009
• We lose a master of urban renewal.
• Hadid's Guangzhou Opera House (still under construction) goes up in flames ("Why is Chinese starchitecture so damn flammable?" ponders our friends at TAN).
• Dyckhoff offers some stark advice for the architects in anticipation of Prince Charles's RIBA speech tonight: "it's time to be bold or go under... Your architecture isn't too radical; it's far, far too boring."
• Robert Adam condemns call for boycott of Prince's lecture (and we're looking forward to piles of punditry that's sure to follow tomorrow).
• A call for the world to follow Ecuador's example of a constitution granting rights to nature.
• Coming soon: a Green Classroom Toolbox for greening school renovations.
• A German suburb proves life can be good without cars.
• A battle brews over Edinburgh's skyline; will it chase away much-needed potential investment?
• Glancey thinks Foster and Rogers "are the first to suffer as redevelopment of Ground Zero hits hard times" - because "they're Limeys" (c'mon, isn't that stretching things a bit?).
• New life for Chicago architecture using new tools, new materials, and a renewed focus on issues like density - discussed by those in the know.
• Kamin on Trump tower spire (finally in place): "a Kmart accessory for an Hermes suit...the sky-gazing public has not won."
• King clips: reminder that registration deadline looms for Rising Tides competition; SFMoMA's rooftop garden "nudges us to take a fresh look around"; and cheers for local talent who garnered ASLA Awards.
• Battle shapes up over possible licensing changes for interior designers.
• Q&A with vertical farm guru Despommier.
• Brisbane's striking, new pedestrian bridge expected to be a global drawing card.
• Planned Denmark-Germany bridge called "a money pit worth billions" that would be less used "than a country road."
• Another take on Chicago Art Institute's Modern Wing (with some amusing/insightful input by Piano).
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Obituary: Angelos C. Demetriou, 79, Architect and Planner Worked on Georgetown Waterfront Renewal: In the 1970s, he helped develop urban renewal plans for Atlantic City [and] designed a new town near Vienna for the Austrian government...designed a university in Pakistan and had a major role in planning the city of Islamabad. -- Angelos Demetriou and Associates; Architects International; Constantinos A. Doxiadis- Washington Post |
Hadid Guangzhou Opera House Burns: ...blaze has been extinguished but that the extent of the damage has not been determined. [images, links]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Architects, it’s time to be bold or go under: As the Prince of Wales, foe of modern architecture, addresses architects, our critic has stark advice for the profession...be bold again, collectively. Stop 25 years of defensiveness. Reform RIBA into a lean, savvy organisation connected to politics. By Tom Dyckhoff- The Times (UK) |
Robert Adam condemns RIBA boycott of Prince Charles lecture at the Royal Institute of Architects (RIBA) tonight..."Do intelligent people refuse to listen to someone who disagrees with them? Of course not...Is this the way to present a liberal profession to the public?...the architectural establishment seems to be determined to shoot itself in the foot."- Country Life (UK) |
The Emancipated Earth: Ecuador’s constitution grants rights to nature. It’s time for the world to follow suit.- Utne Reader |
How About Green Renovations In Existing US Schools? Going green with new construction is a good idea, but what about renovating existing structures? Like, say, the 20 billion square feet...Ihab M.K. Elzeyadi...has completed the first stage of creating a Green Classroom Toolbox for architects and planners to use in their energy retrofits and modernization plans. -- University of Oregon; MulvannyG2- ScienceDaily |
In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars: A young development in Vauban illustrates a trend of planning communities to thrive without automobiles...a component of a movement called “smart planning.” [slide show]- New York Times |
Development row brewing over Edinburgh's skyline: Conservation bodies and supporters are trying to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the new drive, amid fears the capital's historic city centre will become dwarfed by "inappropriate tower blocks"...risks chasing away potential investors and developers when they are most needed in the current climate. -- Cockburn Association- The Scotsman (UK) |
Can English architects survive in New York? Norman Foster and Richard Rogers are the first to suffer as redevelopment of Ground Zero hits hard times. Hardly surprising - they're Limeys...now that push comes to shove, it's time for a lower-budget, all-American development. By Jonathan Glancey- Guardian (UK) |
Architecture in Chicago Gains New Life: Chicago’s famous for its architecture. But in the 1980s and early 90s...Critics wondered if architecture was dead. Now, though, architects are playing with new tools – and a new focus on issues like the environment and urban density. -- Robert Bruegmann; Lee Bey; Donna Robertson; Jeanne Gang; Martin Felsen/Sarah Dunn/Urban Lab; Bob Somol- WBEZ Chicago Public Radio |
Trump's towering toothpick; The Donald's too-skinny, prominent spire calls to mind a plastic toy...a one-star piece of skyline stagecraft, a Kmart accessory for an Hermes suit..."value engineering" engineered the aesthetic value right out of the spire. By Blair Kamin -- Adrian Smith/Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) [image, links]- Chicago Tribune |
Design teams can enter Rising Tides contest - registration closes Friday; The new sculpture garden at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art...creates a tranquil counterpoint to the clutter of towers beyond the walls...inducing a sense of heightened awareness that nudges us to take a fresh look around; ASLA award winners; and more. By John King -- Jensen Architects; CMG Landscape Architecture; SWA Group; Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture; Lutsko Associates Landscape; Blasen Landscape Architecture; Tom Leader Studio- San Francisco Chronicle |
Battle shapes up over "Who's a designer?" Interior designers, other groups at odds over possible licensing changes: Interior design groups are fighting to gain status as a licensed profession...But other construction trade professions aren’t on board.- Nashville Business Journal |
Q&A: Dickson Despommier, Professor of Public Health in Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, on his vertical farm concepts (Verticalfarm.com), the need for a building prototype, and new energy and building technologies. [images, links]- American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) |
Brisbane's new 'global drawcard': The brand new Kurilpa Bridge...with its striking, totally unique design featuring tall masts and wires...part of the City Centre Master Plan 2006, which anticipated an increasing demand for pedestrian areas...has been touted as a future engineering landmark and a structure that will draw ‘bridge-lovers' from all over the globe. -- Cox Rayner Architects [image, links]- The Move Channel (UK) |
"A Money Pit Worth Billions": Is the Planned Denmark-Germany Bridge Worth It? Danish taxpayers don't want to foot the bill; German taxpayers might pay a lot more than they've bargained for; and some say the bridge would see less traffic than a country road. [images]- Der Spiegel (Germany) |
Growing in style: Art Institute's Modern Wing: When the $300 million expansion opens this week, visitors will find the museum easier to navigate and see 20th century masterpieces in a whole new light -- from the sun. -- Renzo Piano [slide show]- Chicago Sun Times |
WORDS THAT BUILD: Tip #14: Cluster symbolic and mythically-charged keywords in communication with clients. By Norman Weinstein- ArchNewsNow |
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-- Michael Maltzan Architecture: Inner-City Arts, Los Angeles
-- Building in a Virtual World: Scope Cleaver: MaxMoney Building, Second Life |
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