Today’s News - Friday, March 21, 2014
• Szenasy pens a poignant In Memoriam to Metropolis's Horace Havemeyer III: "He loved design. He respected architecture. He was fascinated by the creative mind" (and we will truly miss him).
• Culvahouse pays personal tribute to Allen Eskew, who Tim first met as a student at Tulane in 1978: "because he always sought to bring people up as he brought them along, he has left both city and firm able, strong, and ever optimistic."
• Plan to spend some time tooling around Bloomberg/BusinessWeek's "The Design Issue 2014" (it's worth wading through some annoyingly-jumpy home page graphics).
• Olcayto explains why the Owen Hatherley - Sam Jacob split over the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is "not really surprising. Their world views are, in fact, poles apart. The surprise was, in retrospect, that they managed to come together in the first place."
• Zaha's "curvy futuristic $450 million Dongdaemun Design Plaza meant to remake Seoul into a global design capital" opened today. "And not everyone is happy with the outcome."
• Another (great) look at how a handful of new starchitect-designed "towers along Manhattan's 57th Street will cast a pall across Central Park," and those who hope "to stop more from rising."
• Lubell reports on OMA's "collection of near-misses in California," and the San Francisco high-rise project that just might break the curse.
• Chaban spends some serious time with Calatrava: "To understand one of the most unknowable architects of his generation, a good place to start is with his art" (and gets some interesting insights about the now value-engineered WTC transit hub and working on the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church nearby).
• Pasternack gets into the engineering details of what makes Moscow's Shukhov Tower so impressive (aside from it looking like "a cross between the fantastic visions of Dr. Seuss and the avant-garde geometry of Malevich").
• Heathcote waxes poetic about the "poetic architecture" of Barragán and Bo Bardi's own homes, and how each rebelled against Le Corbusier's contention that "a house is a machine for living in" (fab photos, too!).
• Hume "walks us through ROM's architectural history - from historic to flashy."
• An impressive roster in the 2014 Australian Achievement in Architecture Awards, including the Gold Medal.
• Eyefuls of the 2014 eVolo Skyscraper Competition winners.
• Weekend diversions:
• Speaking of Zaha's Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the "Designed to Win" exhibition, imported from London's Design Museum, opened today.
• "A Terrible Beauty: Edward Burtynsky" at the Vancouver Art Gallery offers "captivating images of natural and man-made landscape that reflect both the impressive reach of human enterprise and the extraordinary impact of our hubris."
• Brussat (mostly) cheers Dover and Massengale's "Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns": "Except for its el-cheapo sans-serif typeface, it is a great roadmap to greater cities and towns."
• Vidler cheers Maxwell's "Ancient Wisdom and Modern Knowhow: Learning to Live with Uncertainty": "This scholar's evident love for buildings is beautifully conveyed to his readers."
• Genadt offers high praise for "Kengo Kuma - Complete Works" - though not actually "complete," it is "a careful collection of 25 of the architect's outstanding buildings."
• Carey gives (mostly) thumbs-up to van de Water's "You Can't Change China, China Changes You," a "rich and fervent account" of the Dutch architect's first five years in China.
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Obituary: In Memoriam: Horace Havemeyer III: ...founded Metropolis (Bellerophon Publications) in 1981 with the intent of creating smart, relevant, and game changing conversations about the designed environment, at all scales...He loved design. He respected architecture...He was fascinated by the creative mind. By Susan S. Szenasy- Metropolis Magazine |
Obit> Allen Eskew, 1948-2013: Gone is a tireless advocate for the role of culture in architecture who invigorated the design community of New Orleans: I first met Allen Eskew in the spring of 1978, when I was a student at Tulane...because he always sought to bring people up as he brought them along, he has left both city and firm able, strong, and ever optimistic. By Tim Culvahouse -- Eskew+Dumez+Ripple- The Architect's Newspaper |
The Design Issue 2014 -- Craig Dykers/Snøhetta; Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Elizabeth Diller/Diller Scofidio + Renfro; James Ramsey/Lowline; Florentijn Hofman; IDEO; etc.- Bloomberg/BusinessWeek |
Venice Biennale spat points to a deeper rift in architectural culture: News that Owen Hatherley and Sam Jacob could not agree a curatorial approach for the British Pavilion at Venice this year is disappointing but not really surprising. Their world views are, in fact, poles apart. The surprise was, in retrospect, that they managed to come together in the first place... By Rory Olcayto- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Curvy edifice in Seoul begs $450 million question: A curvy futuristic $450 million Dongdaemun Design Plaza meant to remake Seoul into a global design capital opened to the public Friday after years of debate about its impact on a historic city precinct. And not everyone is happy with the outcome. (AP) -- Zaha Hadid [images]- Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky) |
Dark Park: New towers along Manhattan's 57th Street will cast a pall across Central Park: The hundreds of people who crowded into a room at the New York Public Library were not there to praise these soaring towers. They were there to see what could be done to stop more from rising...“The Accidental Skyline” predicts the impact these new structures will have on the park. -- Rafael Viñoly; Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Christian de Portzamparc; Municipal Art Society [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
OMA Selected To Design High Rise Tower In San Francisco: Despite its collection of near-misses in California (LACMA, The Broad, Universal, etc.), OMA and Rem Koolhaas keep trying to land a headlining project in the Golden State. And it looks like they’re about to... By Sam Lubell [images, links]- The Architect's Newspaper |
The canvas and creativity drive Santiago Calatrava's structures: To understand one of the most unknowable architects of his generation, a good place to start is with his art...In May, the Marlborough Gallery will show 50 paintings and sculptures...And coming next spring...taking over one of the most visible public art projects in town when he installs eight huge sculptures on the Park Ave. medians... “These are all studies for buildings, directly or indirectly. They keep me thinking about form, shape, density. They keep me sharp.” By Matt Chaban [images]- NY Daily News |
Architects to Putin: Save Shukhov Tower, Moscow's Futuristic Soviet 'Eiffel'! ...a cross between the fantastic visions of Dr. Seuss and the avant-garde geometry of Malevich...Opponents of the demolition have come out in force to decry the plan...[its] elegant simplicity from afar belies its complex geometry up close...92 years since it was finished, it still inspires architecture in the digital age, and it still broadcasts television and radio signals. By Alex Pasternack -- Vladimir Shukhov [images]- Motherboard |
The poetic architecture of Luis Barragán and Lina Bo Bardi: A direct challenge to Le Corbusier’s contention that “a house is a machine for living in”, Barragán offered a poetic view of the home as a retreat...Casa de Vidro (Glass House) in São Paulo...It too rebels against Le Corbusier...a dwelling that...scoops up the surrounding rainforest and sucks it in...among the most influential houses of the past century, their genius apparent in their constant rediscovery by each successive generation. By Edwin Heathcote [images]- Financial Times (UK) |
How the Royal Ontario Museum represents 100 years of architecture: The centenary of Canada’s largest museum is a great time to reflect on a century of changing architectural tastes, from historic to flashy. Christopher Hume walks us through ROM's architectural history, from its original 1914 building to its controversial "Crystal" addition in 2007. -- Daniel Libeskind [images, video]- Toronto Star |
2014 Australian Achievement in Architecture Awards: The coveted Gold Medal, the highest honour bestowed on an individual by the Australian Institute of Architects...awarded to Phil Harris and Andrew Welke of Troppo Architects...the late Ross Langdon (Regional Associates) was postumously awarded the National President’s Prize...Leadership in Sustainability Prize: John Macdonald, DesignInc. [links to images, details]- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
Winners 2014 eVolo Skyscraper Competition: ...received 525 projects from 43 countries... -- Yong Ju Lee (U.S.); Mark Talbot/Daniel Markiewicz (U.S.); YuHao Liu/Rui Wu (Canada) [links to images, info]- eVolo Magazine |
Zaha Hadid's Dongdaemun Design Plaza to open in Seoul with international expo on March 21: The opening programme will feature Designed to Win, an exhibition developed by the Design Museum, London... -- Urban Salon; Studio Fernando Gutierrez [images]- The Star (Malaysia) |
"A Terrible Beauty: Edward Burtynsky": ...captivating images of natural and man-made landscape that reflect both the impressive reach of human enterprise and the extraordinary impact of our hubris.- Vancouver Art Gallery |
The secret to making great streets: The secret...is that there is no secret, that great streets were once the norm, that making them is easy, and that we can have them again...This is the message of...“Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns” by Victor Dover and John Massengale...Except for its el-cheapo sans-serif typeface, which makes books harder to read just as modern architecture makes streets harder to enjoy, [it] is a great roadmap to greater cities and towns. By David Brussat- Providence Journal (Rhode Island) |
"Ancient Wisdom and Modern Knowhow: Learning to Live with Uncertainty" by Robert Maxwell: This scholar’s evident love for buildings is beautifully conveyed to his readers...Rare is the critic who can be read as if spinning a story, illuminating and yet deeply thought, with an evident love of buildings as objects for understanding and a talent for letting his readers into the secret. By Anthony Vidler- Architectural Review (UK) |
Review> In Praise of Ambivalence: "Kengo Kuma - Complete Works" by Kenneth Frampton and Kengo Kuma is actually a careful collection of 25 of the architect's outstanding buildings...This important opus brings convincing evidence that embracing the ambivalence...between tradition and contemporary technology, and between normative regulation and creativity, is key to architecture’s pertinence to culture. By Ariel Genadt/PennDesign [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
"You Can’t Change China, China Changes You" by John van de Water: ...rich and fervent account of his first five years in China (2004-2009)...So who’s it for? ...I’m not sure...Nevertheless, this book is relevant to anyone seeking to understand or do business in China, and will continue to be so for some time to come; time enough for the preparation of a shorter, illustrated edition. By Zac Carey/Attol Architecture and Interiors- BD/Building Design (UK) |
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Coop Himmelb(l)au: European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Germany may be the biggest country in the European Union, but so far it has been devoid of any major EU-institutions...ECB) is one notable exception. By Ulf Meyer [images] |
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