Today’s News - Monday, April 19, 2010
• ArcSpace brings us an eye-popping eyeful of SANAA's Rolex Learning Center.
• Details are thin (and it's sad news to us): Gordon Murray + Alan Dunlop have dissolved their partnership.
• Merrick on RIBA's new guidelines for architects on building bomb-proof structures: will it contribute to a "Fortress Britain" mentality, or just let "convivial landmarks" double as lines of defense?
• A former mayor/architect is leading the effort to get an Oregon town to build an evacuation tower as a shelter from "the Big One" (be it tsunami or earthquake): "It's going to be distinctive, so people will know what it's for."
• Talk about a bunker mentality: if you have $48,000+, you, too, could buy into one of 20 underground "assurance of life" resorts planned across the U.S.
• Moore on British architecture and politics, and questions whether New Labor has "delivered on its promises of a bright new dawn for architecture" (a little political will from any party would be welcome at this point).
• Can Ban's Pompidou-Metz become the next Bilbao? (it depends on who you ask.)
• LAX's Theme Building saucer is ready for take-off (after some very inventive engineering).
• Norten switches gears - and campuses - at Rutgers.
• Grumbling continues re: University of South Carolina's architect selection process: was it absolutely unethical, or just crossed "a fuzzy gray line" (it depends on who you talk to).
• Rochon, at her most eloquent, honors Raymond Moriyama and his "epic tale of a life devoted to driving 'a nail of gold'" (an epic tale, indeed, and a must-read).
• Landscape architecture at Harvard's GSD steps out of its "fiefdom" to reinvent roles and link disciplines.
• Q&A with Mia Lehrer on revitalizing communities, the Great Orange Park, and the L.A. River project.
• Q&A with Lawrence Scarpa re: his aim to find the "extraordinary within the ordinary," the relationship between design and policy - and how to get them to work together, and his next big "adventure."
• A series re: shipping containers holding "the potential to revolutionize urban housing" (great info, images; sadly, not all architects credited - tsk tsk).
• A Brazilian architect imagines towers of stacked shipping-container apartments that owners could take on the road.
• A proposal to turn the Great Pacific Garbage Patch into a habitable "Recycled Island."
• Architectural vigilance pays off in Palm Springs, but "why do preservationists...have to continue to fight for each and every building?"
• The Shanghai Pavilion at World Expo designed by an American - and built with used CD cases (talk about "extreme upcycling").
• We couldn't resist: Glancey is amused by Brit election manifestos: "Soviet chic and austere hymn book...both are very funny indeed, and even funnier taken as a pair."
• Call for entries: A Place to Flourish - The "Generative Space" Health Improvement Award (international).
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SANAA: Rolex Learning Center, Lausanne, Switzerland |
gm+ad, architects Partnership Dissolved: Gordon Murray + Alan Dunlop...one of the most celebrated architects practices in the UK...- e-architect (UK) |
How benches and public art became first line of defence against terrorists: Official advice issued to architects on building the bomb-proof structures of the future...some are already worried it will contribute to a "Fortress Britain" mentality... By Jay Merrick -- RIBA; John McAslan; Foster & Partners; Rogers Stirk Harbour; KieranTimberlake- Independent (UK) |
Cannon Beach in Oregon Considers Beacon for ‘the Big One’: ...wants to build an evacuation tower to shelter residents and visitors from a tsunami or an earthquake...“It’s going to be distinctive,” said Jay Raskin, a former mayor and an architect who is leading the effort to get the tower built. “So people will know what it’s for.”- New York Times |
Bunker mentality: the ultimate underground shelter: Come the end of the world, you might like to sit it out in style. All you need is money and a few DIY skills...Vivos is building 20 underground "assurance of life" resorts across the US, capable of sustaining up to 4,000 people for a year when the earth no longer can.- Observer (UK) |
Labour's castles in the air: As Britain prepares for possible political change, we ask whether New Labour delivered on its promises of a bright new dawn for architecture...Ambitious targets are set. The private sector is entrusted...which, as it will, put its own interests first. So the worthy aims are compromised...What is lacking is the belief that public authority can state clearly and firmly what it thinks is the public good and then see that it is achieved. By Rowan Moore- Observer (UK) |
‘Smurf House’? ‘Chinese Hat’? Museum Intrigues: With its futuristic design, the Pompidou-Metz is many things to many people, but can it become the next Bilbao? ...flamboyantly modern building...was initially perceived as out of place, even a little bizarre. -- Shigeru Ban [images]- New York Times |
In Los Angeles, the Saucer Is Ready to Land Again: Since a chunk fell off three years ago, the futuristic Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport has been renovated to face the future. -- William Pereira/Charles Luckman/Welton Becket/Paul R. Williams (1961); Gin Wong Associates [images]- New York Times |
Rutgers Continues Investment in the Future of the University with Approval of New Business School Building on the New Brunswick Campus -- Enrique Norten/TEN Arquitectos- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |
University of South Carolina blurs line in choosing architect: In maneuver to get around state bidding, university turned to foundation: USC acted unethically in throwing out architectural bids for its new $90 million business school when it became apparent a donor's choice was not going to win, experts said...called that "a fuzzy gray line." -- Raphael Vinoly- The State (South Carolina) |
Honouring a revered Canadian architect: Presented with the Sakura Award, Raymond Moriyama tells an epic tale of a life devoted to driving ‘a nail of gold.’ By Lisa Rochon- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
At Harvard, landscape architects reinvent roles, link disciplines: ...used to be called in to plant a few trees or add a bench after a building was constructed. Now, they are winning the development jobs and hiring architects themselves. Until recently, the landscape architecture department at...Graduate School of Design was its own fiefdom... -- Charles Waldheim; Pierre Belanger; Anita Berrizbeitia; Chris Reed; Michael Van Valkenburgh- Boston Globe |
Q&A with Mia Lehrer on Revitalizing Communities: Do you agree that there can never be too much planning if your aim is to create a sustainable community? "It’s about planning, but it’s really important for there to be good collaboration and communication...People are starting to understand smart growth, but there’s always some mid-level politician or bureaucrat who make things hard to get accomplished."- The Dirt/American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) |
Q&A with Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA: Revealing the Ordinary Extraordinary: Pugh+Scarpa describes “investigation” as a foundation for its practice. What motivates this approach to design?..."In some ways, it’s a personal fear...careers of architects I admired...progressively plagiarized themselves...I am always concerned of falling into that same trap. I strive to remain fresh, to never be afraid to do things differently or to take risk[s]. -- Livable Places [images]- National Building Museum |
Green and Affordable Homes, Out of the Box: Shipping containers hold the potential to revolutionize urban housing + Homeless Housing For Less: Proposals to build free or low-cost homeless housing said to be 'stalled' by the province. -- Adam Kalkin; LOT-EK; Keith Dewey; Gordon MacKenzie; Architecture For Humanity Vancouver [images, links]- The Tyee (Vancouver) |
Stackable, portable concept homes offer mobile living - with a view: Brazilian architect has designed a concept for a residential tower comprised of portable, stackable apartment units...would allow owners to take their home with them when they travel...would offer an innovative and eco-friendly solution to living in urban areas. -- Felipe Campolina [images]- CNN |
Paradise Recycled: Architects Dream of Turning Great Pacific Garbage Patch Into Habitable Island -- WHIM Architecture [images, links]- Fast Company |
Architectural Vigilance Pays Off for Palm Springs Preservationists: ...is essential to understanding the city's heritage and increasing economic development through architectural tourism..."Why do preservationists...have to continue to fight for each and every building?" -- Richard Neutra; Donald Wexler; Albert Frey; William Cody; A. Quincy Jones, Jr.; Paul R. Williams; E. Stewart Williams; Marmol Radizner [images]- AIArchitect |
American-Designed Shanghai Pavilion at World Expo Built With Old CD Cases, Rainwater:...will dazzle fair goers with a building that changes color based on visitors' activity...in an example of extreme upcycling, its 4,949 square meter exterior is made from used CD cases while the interior is cooled using filtered rainwater. -- Edwin Schlossberg/ESI Design; Atelier FCIZ Architects [images, slide show]- Fast Company |
Election manifestos: Tale of two covers: Soviet chic and austere hymn book – the looks Labour and Conservatives have picked for their manifestos...at heart these are two parish magazines...trying – a little too hard – to persuade us of the righteousness of two unholy political parties. In brief, both are very funny indeed, and even funnier taken as a pair. By Jonathan Glancey [images]- Guardian (UK) |
Call for entries: A Place to Flourish – The 'Generative Space' Health Improvement Award (international); deadline: May 15- The CARITAS Project |
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