Today’s News - Friday, September 11, 2009
• 9/11: Goldberger reflects on broken promises.
• Why it's taking so long: infighting "has obscured the original promise to make use of this vital and iconic space."
• The WTC site itself "tells a lot about progress there."
• Some good new about - and images of - the underground 9/11 memorial museum.
• Curtis reflects on remembering and forgetting: "beautiful forms and private grief should not become substitutes for a critical reflection upon political reality...The best memorial would be the truth."
• RIBA warns "architects could see major schemes thrown out at the 11th hour on the say-so of under-trained counterterrorism advisers" - the Home Office begs to differ.
• Cannell on NYC's newest "instant" landmark: "At least something's getting built at the lower tip of Manhattan."
• Barber on the city's new pedestrian plazas: "Getting rid of the traffic was the easy part. Now comes the hard part&hellipfilling the residual void."
• Who needs the old Times Square when the new Standard Hotel often offers visions of vice to High Line visitors (we couldn't resist).
• Hawthorne finds new Atlantic Yards arena design has a bit of the ghost of Gehry (and the new design team is an "odd" pairing).
• A good reason to head to Syracuse 9/13: the 9th International Healthy Buildings Conference and Exhibition.
• Weekend diversions: A "Dutch Design utopia" curated by Droog takes over NYC's Governor's Island for the next two weekends.
• Kamin finds "more chaff than wheat" in "Big. Bold. Visionary. Chicago Architects Consider the Next Century," but still thinks it's worth seeing "if only for the sheer fun (or dread) of contemplating some truly out-of-the-box visions of the future."
• Some visions of the ideal Windy City of the future are creative, some whimsical, and others actually practical (great pix in both reviews).
• "Bauhaus: A Conceptual Model" inspires artist Jonathon Keats to offer one of the most interesting takes we've seen on the movement's impact on today's architects.
• Berlin's DAZ presents "Living in the Future: The Impact of Post-War Urban Development on our Cities."
• "Reinventing Ritual" at NYC's Jewish Museum redefines the ritual object - many that "would look at home in MoMA's collection."
• Page turners: "Architecture of Change" takes a look at projects that "combine creativity, technical knowledge, and scientific expertise to take on environmental challenges."
• In these times, "Tiny Houses" and the notion of downsizing "resonates loudly."
• "The BLDGBLOG Book" hopes to shake things up - and succeeds - sort of.
• "Unfolded: Paper in Art, Design Science and Industry" presents "a genuine enthusiasm for paper's practical applications" - including as a building material - and its more whimsical ones.
• The National Building Museum seeks videos of your favorite green places.
• Cast your vote for People's Prize in Guggenheim/Google Design It: Shelter Competition.
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Broken Promises at Ground Zero: Maybe the best news about Ground Zero on this September 11th...is that the world no longer seems to rise and fall on what happens there. That’s good, because eight years later, so few of the promises made for the redevelopment of the site have been kept. By Paul Goldberger -- David Childs/Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Maki; Rogers; Foster; Calatrava; Gehry; Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF)- New Yorker |
Eight Years Later: Why is it taking so long? That is a question that has been asked every Sept. 11. For the first few years, there were too many feuds...All this infighting...has obscured the original promise to make use of this vital and iconic space...there should be more than skyscrapers that grow dark at night. -- Michael Arad; Calatrava; Daniel Libeskind; David Childs- New York Times |
A Tale of Two Rebuilding Efforts at Ground Zero: A glance at the World Trade Center site...tells a lot about progress there...Squabbles over designs and funding have caused severe construction delays...the only discernible progress has happened below street level, on a museum and memorial... -- Michael Arad; Peter Walker; Davis Brody Bond Aedas; Snøhetta; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)- Architectural Record |
Filling the Void: Officials detail Davis Brody Bond Aedas' underground memorial museum...creates a dramatic procession from the memorial plaza and the Snohetta-designed pavilion down to bedrock... [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Remembering and forgetting: Memorials to deaths from combat and ‘terrorism’ make a poor substitute for uncovering the truth...beautiful forms and private grief should not become substitutes for a critical reflection upon political reality...The best memorial would be the truth. By William J R Curtis- BD/Building Design (UK) |
RIBA raises alarm over designing out terrorism: Security chief voices dismay at institute’s criticism of Home Office guidance. Architects could see major schemes thrown out at the 11th hour on the say-so of undertrained counterterrorism advisers, the RIBA has warned.- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Instant Landmark: New Amsterdam Pavilion: To mark the 400th anniversary of the Dutch arrival, New York unveils a gift from the Netherlands--a spiral-shaped visitor's center...At least something's getting built at the lower tip of Manhattan. By Michael Cannell -- Ben Van Berkel/UNStudio- Fast Company |
The Art of Public Space: The pedestrian piazzas being carved out from vehicular thruways at Times Square and Herald Square in New York City are testimony to the critical need for public space in our cluttered mega-cities...Getting rid of the traffic was the easy part. Now comes the real work: to secure adequate funding, to enlist artists, to fill in the newly created residual void. By Benjamin R. Barber- The Nation |
Zoo York: Times Square...pedestrian plaza, stocked with pinkening Brits and pooped grandmothers...feels inert...There is solace for modern-day handwringers in the High Line...emerging as an unlikely redoubt of vice...guests have been putting on amateur skin shows in the floor-to-ceiling windows of the new Standard Hotel...- New York Magazine |
Ghost of Gehry: Third try for Brooklyn arena design: ...rather than banish the ghosts of Gehry's design seems in part to revive them...The new architect pairing is, no matter how you slice it, an odd one... By Christopher Hawthorne -- Ellerbe Becket; SHoP [images, links]- Los Angeles Times |
HB2009: 9th International Healthy Buildings Conference and Exhibition, Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE), Syracuse, NY, September 13-17- International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) |
A Dutch Design Utopia Convenes in New York: Over two weekends, New York's Governor's Island will host "Pioneers of Chang," a design bonanza curated by Droog, the grande-dame of high-concept design. -- Droog [images, links]- Fast Company |
Visions of Chicago's future, from 'Blade Runner' to George Jetson; an engaging but uneven exhibit marks the Burnham Plan centennial..."Big. Bold. Visionary. Chicago Architects Consider the Next Century"...There's more chaff than wheat...but I still recommend that you see it, if only for the sheer fun (or dread) of contemplating some truly out-of-the-box visions of the future. By Blair Kamin -- Brininstool + Lynch; Valerio Dewalt Train; Edward Keegan; Stanley Tigerman; Searl Lamaster Howe; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); RTKL; 4240 Architecture; etc. [slide show]- Chicago Tribune |
Broad Shoulders, Big Ideas: "Big. Bold. Visionary: Chicago Considers the Next Century," another event commemorating the Burnham Plan Centennial, taps local architects, planners, and landscape architects to envision the ideal Windy City of the future. Some designers took a creative and sometimes whimsical approach, while others offered up more practical concepts. -- Brinistool + Lynch; Searl Lamaster Howe; 4240 Architecture; Adrian Smith; Ralph Johnson/Perkins+Will; Studio Gang [images, links]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Haus Proud: Paying tribute on the 90th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement...Thom Mayne say: "It demands that we question the status quo...commit to research and to continual innovation, but most importantly to a social idealism that provides integrity and relevancy in our work." By Jonathon Keats- Forbes |
In Der Zukunft Leben // Living in the future: The Impact of Post-War Urban Development on our Cities; An exhibtion of the Association of German Architects BDA; DAZ, Berlin, September 11 - November 15- Deutsches Architektur Zentrum (DAZ) |
Object Lesson: "Reinventing Ritual" at New York’s Jewish Museum redefines the ritual object...The green theme extends to the exhibition design and installation...an “eco-Bauhaus"...Also on view are ritual objects that conform to the principles of “good design,” and would look at home in MoMA’s collection. [images]- Tablet Magazine |
Book review: In "Architecture of Change," editors Kristen and Lukas Feireiss take a look at architecture projects around the world that combine creativity, technical knowledge, and scientific expertise to take on environmental challenges.- Fast Company |
'Tiny Houses': Mimi Zeiger's new book features houses that are 1,000 square feet or smaller... couldn't ask for better timing...the notion of downsizing - getting more out of living with less - resonates loudly. -- Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen; BILD Design; Ivan Kroupa Architects; Andreas Wenning; Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec; Gerold Peham; Atelier Tekuto; Nils Holger Moormann; Michael Jantzen [slide show, links]- Los Angeles Times |
Book review: Fantasy Lands: "The BLDGBLOG Book" by Geoff Manaugh...The images tell the narratives that seem to elude Manaugh...He’s convinced that architecture needs to be more exciting, and that liberal poaching from other, more imaginative genres will shake things up. But...science fiction is at its most chilling when it expands on conditions already at hand. By:Mimi Zeiger- Architect Magazine |
Book review: Paper World: "Unfolded: Paper in Art, Design Science and Industry" by Peter Schmidt and Nicola Stattmann...in the 100 projects...paper is cut, stacked, folded, treated, shredded, worn, hung, lit, cooked, carried, and otherwise manipulated, always with unexpected results...impart a genuine enthusiasm for paper’s practical applications (including its increased structural capacity as a building material), and its more whimsical ones.- Metropolis Magazine |
It’s Your Turn — Tell Us About Your Great Green Place! [images, videos]- National Building Museum |
Cast your vote for People’s Prize in Guggenheim/Google Design It: Shelter Competition; deadline: October 10 [images]- Guggenheim Museum |
WORDS THAT BUILD Tip #18: Introduce Words that "Float" into the Flow of Communications with Clients: Replace prescriptive words and phrases "etched in stone" with language reflecting a collaborative project in flux. By Norman Weinstein- ArchNewsNow |
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-- Steven Holl Architects: HEART, Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Herning, Denmark
-- Renzo Piano Building Workshop: La Rocca winery, Gavorrano (Grosseto), Italy |
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