Today’s News - Monday, October 31, 2011
• ArcSpace brings us an eyeful of special membrane roof structures that will protect two 5,000-year-old temples on the Island of Malta.
• Goldhagen tackles a sticky wicket: "Can we admire China's urban planning without admiring its government? Judge, yes; but also look and learn" (your must-read of the day!).
• Garcia bemoans San Francisco's lack of "beautiful new buildings and even fewer signature ones" because its skyline has "been shaped by politics as much as sensible urban planning."
• Booth ponders how it could be that bonnie Prince Charles has had a much bigger hand in shaping public legislation (including housing and development) than many people ever knew.
• Giurgola is "extremely distressed'' over conditions in his 1988 Parliament House in Canberra - including the selling off of some custom-designed furnishings and turning underground storage areas into bleak office space.
• Rochon is inspired by a conversation with Jeanne Gang that "wanders far and wide."
• Meanwhile, many in Lexington, KY, are more than dismayed that Gang is no longer involved with the CentrePointe project: her "inspiration resurrected the project in the hearts and minds of Lexington's citizens, changing fear to hope" + her "creative approach...charmed a skeptical public."
• Larry Speck talks about what goes on between developers and architects, and density.
• Koolhaas's Milstein Hall at Cornell "plays nice with its neighbors" (comments tend to say otherwise; great slide show, though).
• In the U.K.: an eyeful of the Windermere Steamboat Museum competition shortlist (but renderings are anonymous).
• Despite objections, Make's Octopus tower, sheathed in a 50-meter-tall "shroud," gets a green light.
• Glancey gives a thumbs-up to the oft-maligned ArcelorMittal Orbit: it "was always meant to walk on art and engineering's wild side" and just might "push architecture into fresh, and perhaps unsettling, adventures."
• Rose reviews the week in architecture: the historic Burlington Arcade might face Marino's "(leather) boot," and Gehry ate "humble pie."
• San Luis Obispo, CA, taps Gwynne Pugh to design a homeless service center.
• Architects don't have to give up glass to make buildings safer for birds.
• Dutch architects come up with a scheme to grow and sell all the food of a modern supermarket on one plot of land on the fringes of Rotterdam.
• Kamin cheers AIA Chicago Design Excellence Award winners.
• A good reason to be in NYC this Thursday: Arch Record's Innovation Conference 2011: Crossing Borders & Disciplines (a stellar line-up!).
• Deadline reminder: 2012 Palladio Awards to honor outstanding work in traditional design.
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Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Island of Malta: To protect the 5,000-years-old temple ruins against further deterioration, engineers developed two special membrane roof structures, which now cover and protect the archaeological excavation. -- Walter Hunziker Architekten; formTL |
Valuable China: Can We Admire China’s Urban Planning Without Admiring Its Government? ...new metropolises are bursting into being like Magic Rocks rising on surprised land...re-configuring its built environment at an astonishing pace and scale...provinces have developed and are employing intelligent strategies to manage their urban growth...there is much to admire, even to emulate...Judge, yes; but also look and learn. By Sarah Williams Goldhagen -- Albert Speer [Jr.] and Partner; Atkins Consultancy; Vittorio Gregotti and Associates; Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF); SHoP; LOT-EK; Kengo Kuma; Beijing Matsubara & Architects; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Wood + Zapata; Herzog & de Meuron; Rem Koolhaas/OMA; Zaha Hadid- The New Republic |
For San Francisco democracy, the skyline’s the limit: The City's landscape has been impacted less by architectural design than neighborhood activism...The problem...is that it’s been shaped by politics as much as sensible urban planning. It’s the reason why The City has so few beautiful new buildings and even fewer signature ones. By Ken Garcia- San Francisco Examiner |
Prince of Wales: a private individual's effective veto over public legislation: 'The meddling prince' and officials from his £700m private estate have scrutinised a dozen bills on their way through parliament...Prince Charles has a far more formal role in shaping our laws than many people...ever knew...why does the prince have this power and how is he using it? By Robert Booth- Guardian (UK) |
Distressed architect leads calls to save Canberra's Parliament House: Romaldo Giurgola has declared his 1988 landmark building is in danger and called for the nation to urgently put in place a plan to preserve it...''extremely distressed'' to see...items which had been custom-made...and intended to last its 200-year lifespan, being sold...found ''painful'' the ''inexorable'' development of underground areas...intended only for storage or maintenance use but now housed workers.- Sydney Morning Herald |
Jeanne Gang, ‘genius’ architect: The work...carries with it such impressive curiosity and intelligence that a conversation with her wanders far and wide, from the American foreclosure crisis and the “pathetic” state of toxic rivers to how to transform marble into a lightweight, luminous waterfall. By Lisa Rochon -- Studio Gang- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
Jeanne Gang no longer involved with CentrePointe, developer says: "She completed her work. She sent her final invoice, and it has been paid"..."[Her] inspiration resurrected the project in the hearts and minds of Lexington's citizens, changing fear to hope"... -- Studio Gang Architects; Pohl Rosa Pohl; EOP Architects- Herald-Leader (Kentucky) |
Belief in a good outcome at CentrePointe requires hope: Studio Gang developed a plan that was elegant, inspirational and appropriate to the human scale of downtown Lexington. Gang's creative approach — and the thoughtful process by which she explained it — charmed a skeptical public. So what did Webb do? He dumped her. -- EOP Architects- Herald-Leader (Kentucky) |
Architecture influences lifestyle: Larry Speck talks about what goes on between developers and architects, and his thoughts on density..."In my crystal ball there are no whiz-bang gimmicky ideas, there is just a steady progression of creative, good sense solutions to very real problems..." -- PageSoutherlandPage- Austin Business Journal (Texas) |
OMA Building Plays Nice With Its Neighbors: Rem's Milstein Hall addition to Cornell's architecture school keeps a low profile on the university's famed Arts Quad but speaks louder on the other side. By Clifford A. Pearson -- Rem Koolhaas/Shohei Shigematsu/Office for Metropolitan Architecture [slide show]- Architectural Record |
In pictures: Windermere Steamboat Museum competition shortlist: ...schemes will remain anonymous until they are assessed by the jury next month. -- Carmody Groarke; Adam Khan Architects; Niall McLaughlin Architects; Terry Pawson Architects; Reiach & Hall; 6a Architects; Sutherland Hussey; Witherford Watson Mann [images]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Make’s Octopus wins approval in Chiswick: Hounslow councillors resolve to grant permission for 50m-tall LED shroud..."This is meant to be a 24 hour, modern, vibrant, top three world capital city. Let’s give it the architecture it deserves." [images]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
The ArcelorMittal Orbit has faced plenty of criticism – but it's a grower: Once people reach the Olympic tower's double-deck viewing gallery and cafe, they may well be persuaded by its unfamiliar charms...was always meant to walk on art and engineering's wild side...Jokes, barbs and insults aside, the Orbit might just push architecture into fresh, and perhaps unsettling, adventures. By Jonathan Glancey -- Arup; Anish Kapoor; Cecil Balmond; Ushida Findlay- Guardian (UK) |
Constructive criticism: the week in architecture: Burlington Arcade's independent traders face the (leather) boot, Frank Gehry eats humble pie and Scotland gets a bridge made entirely from recycled plastic...who can resist an event called Thrilling Wonder Stories? By Steve Rose -- Peter Marino- Guardian (UK) |
Gwynne Pugh Urban Studio: CAPSLO Homeless Service Center Design: ...a facility for individuals and families in need of shelter and support near San Luis Obispo, California. [images]- designboom |
Helping birds and buildings avoid collision: Our modern love affair with walls of glass is bad news for birds...Ironically, sustainable building practices...also are putting birds at increased risk...Architects don't have to give up glass to make buildings safer for birds... -- Edward Heinen Architectural Consulting; Architectural Alliance; Pelli Clarke Pelli- Minneapolis Star Tribune |
Farm in the city could be supermarket of the future: ..."Park Supermarket" - an urban farming project...to grow and sell all the food of a modern supermarket on one plot of land...cuts across the city fringes of Rotterdam and The Hague...how exactly do you create a warm outdoor microclimate on the urban fringes of a north European city? ...it's not as far-fetched or futuristic as it sounds. -- Van Bergen Kolpa Architects [images]- CNN |
From XXL to S: AIA Chicago Design Excellence Awards recognize excellence at a variety of scales. By Blair Kamin -- Studio Gang Architects; Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM); UrbanLab; Valerio Dewalt Train Associates; Perkins+Will; Ross Barney Architects; Goettsch Partners; Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Murphy-Jahn; John Ronan Architects; UrbanWorks; a; Lothan Studio; DeStefano Partners; Landon Bone Baker Architects; etc.- Chicago Tribune |
Innovation Conference 2011: Crossing Borders & Disciplines; November 3, NYC -- Bjarke Ingels/Bjarke Ingels Group/BIG; A. Eugene Kohn/Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates KPF); Audrey Matlock/Audrey Matlock Architect; Thom Mayne/Morphosis; Nicholas Holt/Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Alexander P. Lamis/Robert A.M. Stern Architects; Hilary Sample/MOS Architects; Mahadev Raman/Arup; Charles Renfro/Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Sylvia J. Smith,/FXFOWLE; Michael Bierut/Pentagram; James Carpenter/James Carpenter Design Associates; Michel Rojkind/Rojkind Arquitectos; Richard Saul Wurman; Cathleen McGuigan- Architectural Record |
Call for entries deadline reminder: 2012 Palladio Awards to honor outstanding work in traditional design for commercial, institutional, public and residential projects (international); deadline: November 23, 2011- Traditional Building Magazine / Period Homes |
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