Today’s News - Monday, July 18, 2011
• ArcSpace brings us an eyeful of 3XN's Museum of Liverpool.
• An in-depth look at how Lower Manhattan has morphed into "a version of what a 21st-century global metropolis should be" (in spite of the post-9/11 naysayers).
• Perhaps Panama City should pay heed as it pays "the consequences of building its first-world hopes on third-world infrastructure" (good thing Trump had a 4x4 to maneuver in what turned into a "swamp island").
• The Philippines is beginning to experience the pros - and cons - of transit-oriented developments; "dirt and dust can be an annoyance" (unless you live above the 7th floor).
• It's looking more and more like Foster's Harmon tower at CityCenter is "virtually unrepairable" and could face demolition without ever opening.
• Saffron cheers signs that Philly is attracting business again, but bemoans "another blingy Broad Street building" that raises questions about public land auctions: "Should victory go to the high bidder or the best design?"
• In Germany, Cologne's new mosque "is being hailed as a new artistic and social vision" for the city: whether visitors "will include a stream of non-Muslims is hard to tell. But the intention is there...mixed into the mortar."
• A report on Goldberger's review (alas, behind a paywall) of Hadid's Riverside Museum in Glasgow and the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton: "the British may lately have begin to realize that, like Lady Gaga, Hadid has rather more to her than a showy exterior."
• Rybczynski uses Gehry's Eisenhower Memorial as the start of a very interesting essay re: the evolution (or not) of memorials everywhere - and ponders whether will we even remember what's being memorialized 50 or 100 years from now.
• Balmond/Jencks team snags England/Scotland border competition with "Star of Caledonia" design.
• Bey and Roeper don't have a whole lot of good things to say about Chicago's newest (temporary) resident: a "beyond-kitschy" 26-foot-high Marilyn Monroe on the city's Magnificent Mile that is "visually interesting for the moment, but ultimately forgettable."
• Traditionalists rejoice! The RIBA-affiliated Traditional Architecture Group forges a formal alliance with U.S.-based Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.
• Bevan profiles Zulaikha, the new president of the Australian Institute of Architects, who "is a child of the 1960s in the best possible way" and wonders whether the government will "follow his lead in the interests of delivering a sustainable, humane and creative built environment."
• Philippine architect Jaime Silva lost his sight and "may not be designing houses or buildings right now, but he still contributes to the profession he is most passionate about."
• A truly amazing slide show of stunning images by German photographer Axel Hansmann who "has managed to coax a morbid charm out of decaying architecture."
• Call for entries: 2011-12 William Turnbull Competition: Drylands Design - An International Open Ideas Competition for Retrofitting the American West + International Venier Design Awards: "The Art of Enjoyablke Living."
• We couldn't resist: AIA Barbie Dream House Design Competition - you have until August 1 to vote for your fave (we've decided to remain neutral on this one).
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3XN: Museum of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK |
Lower Manhattan is surprising urban model: A decade after 9/11, area's new mix of homes, offices, stores and schools is redefining the sustainable community...a modern, dynamic urban center. With its dense concentration of smart, skilled people in an environmentally progressive live-work-play neighborhood, downtown offers a version of what a 21st-century global metropolis should be. -- Vishaan Chakrabarti; Calatrava- Crain's New York Business |
Panama's towering ambitions strain its infrastructure: "I would like to thank Donald Trump for coming to Panama and allowing this wonderful building to have his name," President Martinelli said...Yet outside, the torrential downpour flooded the streets' overworked drainage system, turning the peninsula into a swamp island...Panama City is feeling the consequences of building its first-world hopes on third-world infrastructure.- BBC |
The pros and cons of transit-oriented condos: “One good thing about it is that access is easy. However, the negatives will be noise not only coming from the trains but also from the public vehicles below the project. Also, the dirt and dust can be an annoyance.”- Philippine Daily Inquirer |
Engineering company finds Harmon tower construction defects 'pervasive': The unfinished tower at CityCenter is virtually unrepairable and could collapse in a "code-level" earthquake, according to a structural engineer...Weidlinger Associates... -- Foster + Partners; Perini Building Co.- Las Vegas Review-Journal |
Another blingy Broad St. building: Dranoff's winning bid for apartments at South St. again falls short on design...It's great that, after a long recession, Philadelphia is attracting business again. But that means it's also time to demand good design. By Inga Saffron -- Interface Studio Architects; JKR Partners [images]- Philadelphia Inquirer |
New German mosque a milestone in religious architecture: Cologne's central mosque suffered many critics before its construction began in 2009. It's now almost finished and is being hailed as a new artistic and social vision for the predominantly Christian city...Whether that traffic will include a stream of non-Muslims is hard to tell. But the intention is there - not quite written on the wall, but mixed into the mortar. -- Paul Böhm [images]- Deutsche Welle (Germany) |
Zaha Hadid: The Lady Gaga of Architecture: ...Paul Goldberger writes about...the Riverside Museum in Glasgow and the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton. Though based in London, Hadid has, until recently, had little success in the United Kingdom...“the British may lately have begin to realize that, like Lady Gaga, Hadid has rather more to her than a showy exterior.” [links]- New Yorker |
A Memorial for Ike: Eisenhower was a modern man, shouldn’t he be remembered in a modern way? And what would that way be? By Witold Rybczynski -- Milton Grenfell; Frank Gehry; Robert Adam/ADAM Architecture; Ivor Roberts-Jones [slide show essay]- Slate |
Cecil Balmond nabs England and Scotland border competition: Designer will work with Charles Jencks on Gretna sculpture..."Star of Caledonia"...is inspired by the scientific heritage of Scotland..."It is a scintillating piece of calligraphy...starburst, energy, St Andrew’s cross, thistle, highland dancing." -- Chris Wilkinson/Wilkinson Eyre; Ned Kahn [images]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Big Marilyn brings an 'Itch' to the Mag Mile, but little more: If the result were a piece of public art that brought controversy or titillation...that would be quite ok...Forever Marilyn, by dint of its size, shows us everything and somehow says almost nothing...I walked away wanting the piece to carry a message - or to have some bite...As it stands now, it is...visually interesting for the moment, but ultimately forgettable. By Lee Bey -- J. Seward Johnson [images]- WBEZ Chicago Public Radio |
Marilyn Monroe’s giant blowing skirt sculpture brings out the worst: ...beyond-kitschy, 26-foot sculpture recreating the moment when Marilyn Monroe’s dress flies up in “The Seven Year Itch” is threatening the Bean as the most photographed attraction in Chicago. So we’re going from taking pictures of our own reflection to taking pictures while looking up the skirt of a giant woman. This is not an upgrade. By Richard Roeper- Chicago Sun-Times |
Traditional Architecture Group formalises US link: The RIBA affiliated TAG...forged a formal alliance with the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art...ICAA chairman Peter Pennoyer and TAG chairman Alireza Sagharchi said: “Our intention is to develop initiatives linking together ideas and best practices of the United States and the United Kingdom."- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Back to the drawing board: Brian Zulaikha is a child of the 1960s in the best possible way...the new national president of the Australian Institute of Architects...one of his messages will be that sustainability includes recognising the value of the building stock we have: the greenest option is to adapt and reuse...It remains to be seen whether governments...will follow his lead in the interests of delivering a sustainable, humane and creative built environment. By Robert Bevan -- Tonkin Zulaikha Greer- The Australian |
Blind builder: After his eyesight was snatched away from him by an illness, an architect channels his passion and his knowledge to a crusade that now benefits persons with disabilities...Jaime Silva...may not be designing houses or buildings right now, but still largely contributes to the profession he is most passionate about. -- United Architects of the Philippines (UAP)- Manila Bulletin (Philippines) |
Beauty in Lost Places: A Berlin-based photographer has captured the beauty of forgotten buildings from the communist era. Ex-Soviet hospitals and dried-up German breweries are among the dilapidated settings for the stunning series of photos...In his "Verlorene Orte" ("Lost Places") Axel Hansmann has managed to coax a morbid charm out of decaying architecture. [slide show]- Der Spiegel (Germany) |
Call for entries: 2011-12 William Turnbull Competition: Drylands Design - An International Open Ideas Competition for Retrofitting the American West (Professional & Student); cash prizes & research grants; registration deadline: November 15; entries due December 15, 2011- California Architectural Foundation / Arid Lands Institute, Woodbury University |
Call for entries: Venier Design Awards: "The Art of Enjoyablke Living" (international); open to designers not older than 40: Architects or Designers or Students, regular members of High Schools of Designs, and Faculty of Architecture; cash prizes; deadline: September 16- Venier Mobilificio SpA |
Voting is Open for the AIA Barbie Dream House Design Competition; deadline: August 1 [images]- American Institute of Architects (AIA) |
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