Today’s News - Tuesday, September 15, 2009
• Carson ponders the great divide in sustainability efforts: Do we nationalize and centralize sustainable policies or do we individualize and decentralize them?
• Campbell pays tribute to Joan Goody, as we lose "an important public advocate for good design."
• An intriguing list of the 100 Top Urban Thinkers, "some of the brightest, most influential and most controversial figures in the development of cities and places" (bios included).
• Hume cheers on a Torontonian appointed to CABE, and bemoans Canada's inability (or lack of will) to make urban design a national priority.
• RIBA launches a manifesto for architecture and urges political parties to adopt it in policies in the upcoming general election.
• Q&A with social ecologist Stephen Kellert, who explains what we can learn from cathedrals, why flowers in a hospital can heal, and how green design can boost a business's bottom line.
• The New Acropolis Museum "pays subtle homage to the Doric landmark and landscape through a monolithic minimalism" (with only a few caveats).
• Davidson x 3: two thumbs-up's for Cooper Union's new academic building that "merges showmanship with sensitivity"; and the New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion - the architect "delivered on his profession's promise to ennoble a patch of public space."
• He strikes a very different tone for new Atlantic Yards arena design: wrapping it in steel basketry "is just another way to dress up a turkey... architectural flimflam" (ouch!).
• The arena designers faced a skeptical crowd at their presentation yesterday.
• For the new Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the architects gave the patients and their families seats at the drafting table + great slide show.
• Designs for new libraries in New Orleans find inspiration in the city's history, with hopes they "will help spark optimism and new life in their respective neighborhoods."
• A sporting kind of day: University of Minnesota's new stadium succeeds on all counts; and University of Texas picks design team for a new athletics complex in San Antonio.
• Critics and supporters argue whether Bethlehem Steel building should be torn down to make way for SteelStacks arts center (it's pretty clear who will win).
• Call for entries: Peace Pentagon International Competition: re-imagine a hub of peace-promoting activism in NYC.
• Call for speakers: LIGHTFAIR 2010 in Las Vegas next May.
• A good reason to be in NYC 9/17-20: Conflux Festival 2009: a festival for contemporary psychogeography and the creative exploration of urban public space.
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INSIGHT: Sustainability -- The Great Divide: Do we nationalize and centralize sustainable policies or do we individualize and decentralize them? By Richard Carson- ArchNewsNow |
Obituary: Joan Goody, 73, noted architect, cultural leader in Boston...an important public advocate for good design...“she championed humanistic qualities in any new building...Civility was a word she liked.’’ By Robert Campbell- Boston Globe |
100 Top Urban Thinkers: ...list includes some of the brightest, most influential and most controversial figures in the development of cities and places. -- Jane Jacobs; Andres Duany; Christopher Alexander; Frederick Law Olmsted; Kevin A. Lynch; Daniel Burnham; Lewis Mumford; Leon Krier; William H. Whyte; Jan Gehl; Bruce Katz; Janette Sadik-Khan; Fred Kent; Roberta Brandes Gratz; etc.- PLANetizen |
When urban design is of national importance: ...Joe Berridge...has been appointed to the British government's Commission on Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE)..."It says something quite profound about the (British) government that it has decided this is a national priority. That's so far away from the discourse in Canada." By Christopher Hume -- Urban Strategies- Toronto Star |
RIBA launches its manifesto for architecture with demands for four million homes to be retrofitted, smart energy meters in every building and more support for local authorities...."urging the three main political parties to adopt our policies in their own manifestos for a general election."- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Reconnecting with Nature Through Green Architecture: Stephen Kellert, a social ecologist [co-author "Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science, and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life"]...explains what we can learn from cathedrals, why flowers in a hospital can heal, and how green design can boost a business’s bottom line.- Yale Environment 360 |
The New Acropolis Museum, a Minimalist Showcase for Ancient Greek Art: Greece displays remnants of its past — and bids to reclaim those it lost — all in the shadow of architecture’s most celebrated landmark...museum pays subtle homage to the Doric landmark and landscape through a monolithic minimalism. -- Bernard Tschumi; Michael Photiadis [slide show]- Architect Magazine |
Sterling Cooper: The new Cooper Union building has it all: drama, elegance, and the most inviting stairs in town...new academic building that merges showmanship with sensitivity...an East Village homage to the Left Bank; the New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion...where an architect delivered on his profession’s promise to ennoble a patch of public space. By Justin Davidson -- Morphosis; Gruzen Samton; van Berkel/UNstudio- New York Magazine |
Basket Case: Bruce Ratner SHoPs for respectability: ...developer has trotted out another fancy fantasy of the Barclays Center...Profound urbanistic issues...have given way to bickering over how to decorate a shed...Wrap it in steel basketry...It worked for China, but in Brooklyn, the bird’s nest is just another way to dress up a turkey. By Justin Davidson -- SHoP; Ellerbe Becket; Frank Gehry- New York Magazine |
Bait and switch? Designer admits that rendering will change: Enjoy the new renderings of the Barclays Center while you can — because if the economy gets back on track, the look of the rippling steel building will be altered radically to include new buildings... -- Bill Crockett/Ellerbe Becket; Greg Pasquarelli/SHoP- The Brooklyn Paper |
And a Little Child Shall Lead Them: What if the best hospital designers are the patients themselves? At the brand new Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the architects gave the patients and their families seats at the drafting table. -- Astorino [images, links]- Fast Company |
Patient Centered Design: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh: ...journey begins when a child leaves home, and this building tells her, from miles away, that this is a place for kids. -- Astorino [slide show essay]- Fast Company |
KC architectural firm plays role in rebirth of New Orleans: ..design team involved in the rebuilding of five libraries destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina found inspiration in the city’s history...the libraries, after so much of a rocky recovery, will help spark optimism and new life in their respective neighborhoods. By Steve Paul -- Gould Evans; Lee Ledbetter & Associates- Kansas City Star |
TCF Bank Stadium: This one's for U: When University of Minnesota officials brainstormed about what its new stadium should look like, a vision emerged: A mix of past and future, a look evoking a traditional college setting, a homage to its home state. They succeeded on all counts. -- Populous (formerly HOK Sport)- Minneapolis Star Tribune |
UTSA awards athletic complex design contract to San Antonio, Dallas firms: University of Texas at San Antonio is a step closer to breaking ground on the first phase of planned $84 million UTSA Competitive Athletics Complex. -- HKS; Overland Partners Architects- San Antonio Business Journal |
Critics, supporters argue whether Bethlehem Steel building should be torn down to make way for SteelStacks arts center: Three architects say the building...can't be converted into usable space...- The Morning Call (Pennsylvania) |
Call for entries: Peace Pentagon International Competition: A Call to Action: re-imagine and rebuild this hub of peace-promoting activism since the 1960s in New York City; cash prizes; registration deadline: November 1- Friends of 339 |
Call for Speakers: LIGHTFAIR 2010 in in Las Vegas next May; deadline: October 2- LIGHTFAIR International (LFI) |
Conflux Festival 2009: The art and technology festival for contemporary psychogeography and the creative exploration of urban public space; New York City, September 17-20- Glowlab |
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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-- Competition winner: BIG: National Library, Astana, Kazakhstan
-- Book: "Le Corbusier in His Own Words" - An introduction for children by Antoine Vigne |
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