Today’s News - Wednesday, October 12, 2011
EDITOR'S NOTE: Two days away - and we return inspired by the AAO/A+DEN/ACD Design in Action conference (and hanging with Teddy Cruz at Occupy Philadelphia, which has the full support of Philly Mayor Nutter, to boot). Now there's much catching up to do...
• ArcSpace brings us an eyeful of Bofill's Barcelona Airport Terminal 1.
• Benfield reports on a report that argues "we must change our development approach if we wish to end the current economic crisis" (basically, "suburban sprawl works like a Ponzi scheme").
• A research, design, and advocacy project in NYC is looking at how architects, developers, and policymakers around the world "are responding to the shifting demands of urban dwellers with new forms of housing in ways New York is not."
• Birnbaum raises the issue of authenticity when it comes to how we "manage a landscape's transformation" with the 9/11 "Survivors' Staircase" and the relocation of Alexander Hamilton's home as prime examples.
• A fascinating take on "how Jane Jacobs saved New York City's soul": the "skeptics are worth listening to, if only to put Saint Jane's achievement in proper context" + some notable names assess the impact of "The Death and Life of Great American Cities."
• Some notable Irish architects come to the U.S. to discuss the roots of Irish identity: "In the culturally blurred and aggressively-networked world we live today, is it still possible to talk about an Irish architecture?"
• Kansas City's "shiny new performing-arts center" is "one of the planet's best buildings in which to hear music" - but will "noblesse oblige and civic boosterism" be enough to entice the creative class?
• Heathcote has high hopes for a much-needed design district in London.
• Centre Pompidou-Metz's "daring design and smart, eye-catching exhibitions" have drawn raves (and it's expecting its millionth visitor soon), but "the task of establishing the place, of giving it a purpose, has only just begun."
• Litt cheers Ralph Johnson's plans to give Case Western what it's long been missing: a heart.
• Groves cheers plans to give L.A.'s exquisite 1929 Wilshire Boulevard Temple a long-needed restoration (great slide show!).
• Kamin x 2: Chicago's Bloomingdale Trail is close to getting some major funding + 52 design teams sparkling with starchitects come out for Navy Pier rehab: it's "no guarantee of a good outcome," but having them "vying for the project suggests that the process of picking a team to remake one of Chicago's great public spaces will be anything but dull."
• Woodman assesses the six firms on BD's Young Architect of the Year shortlist.
• Goldhagen and Cary offer thoughtful tributes to Steve Jobs: he "turned design into a necessity"; his "genius was in blending design and experience. Just ask my mom."
• A good reason to head to D.C. on Sunday: Rail~Volution 2011 will explore "how important incorporating compelling design is in creating high-quality livable places for people to enjoy."
• Call for entries (and deadlines loom): 59th Annual P/A Awards + Rome Prize 2012 + "ideas 2 reality" professional design competition.
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Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura: Barcelona Airport Terminal 1, Barcelona, Spain |
How Suburban Sprawl Works Like a Ponzi Scheme: Strong Towns has released a substantial new report analyzing data and arguing that we must change our development approach if we wish to end the current economic crisis..."Curbside Chat: A Candid Talk About the Future of America’s Cities, Towns and Neighborhoods"... By Kaid Benfield- The Atlantic Cities |
Making Room: a research, design and advocacy project to shape New York’s housing stock to address the changing needs of how we live now...Around the world, architects, developers and policymakers are responding to the shifting demands of urban dwellers with new forms of housing in ways New York is not. -- Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC); Stan Allen; Rafi Segal; Deborah Gans; Peter Gluck; Jonathan Kirschenfeld [links, video]- Urban Omnibus |
To Be Real... You've Got to Be Real: ...the 9/11 Memorial and the newly relocated home of Alexander Hamilton...raise questions about authenticity in the context of how we may manage a landscape's transformation...what happened to concerns for the "Survivors' Staircase" presence in situ...Twice previously moved, [the Hamilton home] was relocated...In this case, what passes for authenticity might charitably be called truth adjustment. By Charles A. Birnbaum/The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) -- Samuel Parsons, Jr. (1906)- Huffington Post |
Cobblestone Conservative: How Jane Jacobs saved New York City’s soul...Even her admirers feel compelled to distance themselves from uncritical worship of Saint Jane. The skeptics are worth listening to, if only to put Jacobs’s achievement in proper context. By Austin Bramwell + assessment of "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Ryan Avent, Philip Bess, James Howard Kunstler, Christopher Leinberger, William Lind, Lewis McCrary, Mark Mitchell, John Norquist, Randal O’Toole- The American Conservative |
“Irish Architecture Now” Looks for the Roots of Irish Identity: In the culturally blurred and aggressively-networked world we live today...is it still possible to talk about an Irish architecture? -- Irish Architecture Foundation; Niall McCullough/McCullough Mulvin Architects/ Merritt Bucholz/Karen McEvoy/Bucholz McEvoy Architects; Shih-Fu Peng/heneghan peng architects [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Kansas City Bets on Culture: If you build a shiny new performing-arts center, will the creative class come? Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts...beneath the noblesse oblige and civic boosterism is a more hard-edged wager: that the performing arts are a great way for companies to promote development and grow their own business...the city has spent more than $1.5 billion on cultural facilities... By Hampton Stevens -- Moshe Safdie; Yasuhisa Toyota/Nagata Acoustics; Steven Holl- The Atlantic |
Gap in the market: London lacks a proper gallery district but momentum seems to be building...One new gallery, however, gives hope that design might truly be able to stand on its own in the West End: Libby Sellers’ gallery is part of the ongoing transformation of once-bohemian Fitzrovia into one of London’s most interesting gallery districts. By Edwin Heathcote -- David Kohn; Rem Koolhaas/OMA; MRJ Rundell- Financial Times (UK) |
Pompidou's new sparkle: ...Centre Pompidou-Metz...has proved that provoking indignation is not the only way to make a splash. Its daring design and smart, eye-catching exhibitions have won critical praise...the task of establishing the place, of giving it a purpose, has only just begun. -- Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers (1977); Shigeru Ban; Jean de Gastines [images]- Irish Times |
Ralph Johnson's new Tinkham Veale University Center at Case Western Reserve University will bring 21st-century flair to University Circle: CWRU has long been something of a Tin Man among American universities - a place in search of a heart...That’s about to change. By Steven Litt -- Perkins+Will [images]- Cleveland Plain Dealer |
Wilshire Boulevard Temple auditorium to close for restoration: The 1929 sanctuary is showing its age. Goals of the $175-million renovation and redevelopment project are to restore its beauty, preserve its history and add community services...Once intimately tied to the Hollywood film industry, the 1,850-seat sanctuary...has fallen into disrepair. By Martha Groves -- A.M. Edelman; Allison & Allison; S. Tilden Norton (1929); Brenda Levin/Levin & Associates Architects [slide show]- Los Angeles Times |
Bloomingdale Trail close to securing major federal funding: For years, park advocates have dreamed of turning a dormant railroad line on Chicago's Northwest Side into an elevated park that would stretch for nearly 3 miles and include a bike trail. By Blair Kamin -- Arup; Carol Ross Barney; Michael Van Valkenburgh- Chicago Tribune |
The 'starchitects' come out for Navy Pier rehab: There are a lot of big names among the list of 52 design teams that have submitted their qualifications...no guarantee of a good outcome, of course, but the stature of the firms vying for the project suggests that the process of picking a team to remake one of Chicago's great public spaces will be anything but dull. By Blair Kamin -- Zaha Hadid; Foster + Partners; BIG, Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Morphosis, OMA; Safdie; SOM; Ross Barney; Booth; Lohan; etc.- Chicago Tribune |
BD's Young Architect of the Year shortlist announced: ...winner will be announced at the Architect of the Year Awards on November 15. By Ellis Woodman -- Foster Lomas; IPT Architects; RA Projects; RCKA; Jonathan Hendry Architects; George Saumarez Smith/Adam Architecture [images, links]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
How Steve Jobs Turned Design Into a Necessity: Sleek artistry and obsessive attention to detail do not alone make “crazy good” design. The design of Apple products transforms them from human-made machines into objects of personal affiliation...Jobs evinced an understanding for the human propensity toward animism. By Sarah Williams Goldhagen- The Atlantic |
Steve Jobs and his art of simplicity: To Apple's Steve Jobs, design was not just a matter of aesthetics. It was also the experience of using products. His genius was in blending design and experience, tuning in to our complex lives and helping us orchestrate them. Just ask my mom. By John Cary/PublicInterestDesign.org- Christian Science Monitor |
Rail~Volution 2011 Coming to Washington, D.C. October 16–19: Learn from the past. Dream of the future. Make a difference now...Explore the connective influences of landscape architecture on urban design — and how important incorporating compelling design is in creating high-quality livable places for people to enjoy.- The Dirt/American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) |
Call for entries: 59th Annual Progressive Architecture - P/A Awards (U.S., Canada, Mexico); deadline: October 28- Architect Magazine |
Call for entries: Rome Prize 2012: awarded to emerging artists and scholars in the early or middle stages of their careers in Architecture, Design, Historic Preservation and Conservation, Landscape Architecture, etc.; deadline: November 1- American Academy in Rome |
Call for entries: "ideas 2 reality" professional design competition (open to U.S. residents); cash prizes; deadline: October 28- Armstrong World Industries |
You Survived Part 2: Mapping the Path to your Next Project and a More Predictable Workload: It is essential to establish a specific, easy, and brief Go/No Go decision process, allowing you to quickly determine where to invest limited marketing resources. By Michael Bernard, AIA, and Nancy Kleppel, Assoc. AIA- ArchNewsNow |
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