Today’s News - Thursday, November 11, 2010
• New plan to reduce the mass of Rogers Stirk Harbour's first of three giant office towers in Sydney's Barangaroo is "a bid to defuse opposition," but is "unlikely to satisfy critics."
• H&deM's 30- to 64-story "Shardettes" towers in south London could head back to the drawing board to be made shorter (the architects will "stay on the job whatever the outcome").
• Vice chair of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland says Edinburgh's post-war architecture is "getting a raw deal": "Post-war planners and architects made many mistakes but this is not a reason to call for the demolition of all of their work."
• Litt sees little to praise in design for new Cleveland hotel: "When a local firm can't overcome the challenges posed by a client with an apparently constrained budget...it's a poor reflection on the local design community."
• AN gets the scoop on the renovation shortlist for Craig Ellwood 1976 Art Center College in Pasadena (great archival pix, too).
• Tehran hopes to make a big splash by creating the Middle East's largest artificial lake, expecting it to help clean the city's extremely polluted air while being "eye-catching and photo-worthy"; developers are chomping at the bit, but environmentalists are not convinced.
• It seems Chandigarh is missing more than Corbu's signed original master plan (who knew it included elements from an earlier plan by Americans).
• In Australia, the 2010 Western Architecture Awards reflect current economic conditions: "There has been some really good and interesting architecture created on humble budgets."
• Architects, architects everywhere: Calatrava talks about "finding architecture's soul," while his designs "provoke strong reactions; they are either loved or loathed."
• Slevin queries Kaplan about what it's like to have a hand in designing four Times Square skyscrapers when so many architects "dream of designing a single skyscraper in their lifetime."
• Szenasy sits down with Ranalli to discuss "his ethics, his interest in history, his love of craft, and his attachment to New York City."
• Seoul-based Minsuk's architecture "can baffle, delight and dazzle": "sometimes you get impatient with limitations but limitations can be a leverage...it just takes more patience and intelligent investigation about these limits."
• Mahmoud returns to his childhood home "eager to contribute to the shaping of a new Lebanon" with a human touch, but "we do need iconic architecture to push the limits."
• Finnish architect Toivonen forgoes laser pointers and slides when he lectures, preferring rap songs to give "the burbs a really bad rap" (vinyl record available).
• Kerala, India, moves architecture out of engineering colleges and opens the College of Architecture - Trivandrum.
• Texas A&M architecture students design a medical center in Tanzania.
• Philly's ACE Mentor Program teens tackle an imaginary Envision Peace museum.
| |
|
|
|
To subscribe to the free daily newsletter
click here
|
Barangaroo developer unveils plan: Lend Lease has reduced the mass of the first of three giant office towers...in a bid to defuse opposition to the controversial development...would be the ''greenest business address in the world''...Despite such credentials and design changes, the plans are unlikely to satisfy critics... -- Rogers Stirk Harbour [images]- Sydney Morning Herald |
Herzog & de Meuron's 'Shardettes' towers face the chop: controversial Three Spires skyscraper scheme in Southwark, south London, is facing a huge redesign following plans to overhaul the area’s strategy for tall buildings...yet-to-be-revealed proposal...could be sent back to the drawing board and drastically reduced in height...Swiss-practice would stay on the job whatever the outcome.- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Op-Ed: Edinburgh's post-war architecture should be cherished: ...getting a raw deal...Post-war planners and architects made many mistakes but this is not a reason to call for the demolition of all of their work...The Architecture and Built Environment Centre in Belfast...exhibition "Brutal, Bold and Brilliant" encouraging a fresh exploration of Brutalist architecture in Ireland. By Euan Leitch/Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland- Guardian (UK) |
Marriott Courtyard hotel design approved without enthusiasm: ...a poor reflection on the claims of local practitioners...who insist that local architects ought to get more prestigious jobs...When a local firm can't overcome the challenges posed by a client...it's a poor reflection on the local design community. By Steven Litt -- Braun & Steidl [images]- Cleveland Plain Dealer |
Exclusive: Art Center College Renovation Shortlist: ...Craig Ellwood 1976 building in the hills of Pasadena...with its expressive exposed steel frame and amazing glass and steel bridges...certainly needs a facelift. -- Michael Maltzan;, Behnisch Architekten; Barton Myers Associates; Krueck + Sexton [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Iran to Construct Middle East’s Largest Artificial Lake in Tehran: Environmentalists...haven’t decided how Chitgar Lake will impact their city. Developers already have their plans...authorities...announced that building the artificial lake will refresh the city’s terrible air pollution and will improve the underground water supply....improve tourism...create jobs...Plus they expect it to be eye-catching and photo-worthy. But will it be like Lake Geneva? [images, links]- Green Prophet (Middle East) |
Chandigarh's original masterplan missing: ...signed by Le Corbusier himself, is still untraceable...In fact, the first Chandigarh masterplan was made by an American architect, Albert Mayer who was earlier engaged to develop Chandigarh city in the 1950s [with Matthew Nowicki]...Corbusier and his team retained many aspects of the original concept and its components...- Times of India |
Beauty on a budget for 2010 Western Architecture Awards: ...the impact of the recession had been clear. “There has been some really good and interesting architecture created on humble budgets"... -- New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA); Architex New Zealand; Tse Architects; Void Architecture Research Urbanism; BSM Group Architects; Boon Goldsmith Bhaskar Brebner Team Architecture; Designgroup Stapleton Elliott; Dalgleish Architects; Elliott Architects; Pelorus Architecture; Chapman Oulsnam Speirs- Scoop (New Zealand) |
Santiago Calatrava: finding architecture's soul : His designs - which take their inspiration from nature - provoke strong reactions; they are either loved or loathed...if architecture is the most tangible sign of a civilisation how then to preserve the sacred nature of a location? [video]- Euronews |
Times Square's Newest Skyscraper: An Interview with Dan Kaplan of FXFOWLE Architects: Many architects dream of designing a single skyscraper in their lifetime. Kaplan...has led the design of four skyscrapers at Times Square alone, so he's living the dream and then some. 11 Times Square is the newest addition..."Sustainable city building is my passion and preoccupation"... By Jacob Slevin [images, links]- Huffington Post |
Q&A: George Ranalli: About to be celebrated [with Sidney L. Strauss Memorial Award] for his contributions to architecture, the dean at City College reflects on his work, his city, and his inspiring students..."I continuously think about balancing innovation and stability..." By Susan S. Szenasy- Metropolis Magazine |
Cho Minsuk's dramatic architecture: Contemporary and often abstract, his buildings can baffle, delight and dazzle...drawing upon different ideas while trying to convey a modern form of Korean architecture...His time working with Koolhaas/OMA...had a great affect..."I think that what I learnt from him is that sometimes you get impatient with limitations but limitations can be a leverage... it just takes more patience and intelligent investigation about these limits" -- Mass Studies [slide show]- CNN |
The human touch: In 1996, Galal Mahmoud returned to Lebanon, after 20 years away...but his childhood home was calling him back...eager to contribute to the shaping of a new Lebanon..."You have to worry about the human element first...we do need iconic architecture to push the limits...Look at the Yas Hotel, for example. It’s a spectacular building. Is it user friendly? No. Is it easy to maintain? No. But you have to have buildings like that." -- GM Architects [slide show]- ConstructionWeekOnline (Dubai, UAE) |
In This Music, It's All About the Structure: Finnish Architect Gives the Burbs a Really Bad Rap: His new album, "Urbanism in the House," is a seven-song vinyl record with lyrics that jump from architectural history to policy prescriptions, all laid over heavy percussion and electronic beats..."He's just got too much to say." -- Tuomas Toivonen/NOW [video link]- Wall Street Journal |
Kerala's first private architecture college to open: College of Architecture - Trivandrum (CAT)...in association with the Indian Green Building Council, will facilitate students to obtain necessary professional expertise in sustainable architecture...Currently, there are just four engineering colleges in Kerala that offer the architecture branch.- Sify (India) |
Texas A&M architecture students design medical center in Tanzania: ...College of Architecture's program, Architecture-for-Health...has done similar projects all over the world since 1966...- The Battalion (Texas A&M University) |
Teen program offers fast track to careers in building: The assignment to design the imaginary Envision Peace museum is the latest project for a group of 22 teenagers taking part in the ACE Mentor Program, a 15-year-old initiative to introduce students to careers in architecture, construction, and engineering.- Philadelphia Inquirer |
Call for entries: PROJECT: Green: sustainable projects featuring tile + stone from the past two years; winners will be featured at Coverings 2011, March 14-17 in Las Vegas and featured in ED+C Magazine; deadline: January 14, 2011- Coverings |
9/11 memorial's fountains flow: Waterfalls cascade in first moving tribute to WTC victims...trial run went very well. The two fountains together make up the nation's largest manmade waterfalls, and are at the heart of the design of the memorial, called Reflecting Absence. -- Michael Arad; Peter Walker [images]- New York Post |
|
Toyo Ito & Associates: Za-Koenji Public Theatre, Suginami-ku,Tokyo, Japan |
|
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window.
External news links are not endorsed by ArchNewsNow.com.
Free registration may be required on some sites.
Some pages may expire after a few days.
© 2010 ArchNewsNow.com