Today’s News - Monday, April 14, 2014
• ArcSpace brings us Meyer's take on (and lots of pix of) Gehry's "architecturally spectacular" Biomuseo in Panama City, "conceived like a piece of 'California funk art' from the 1960s, in which 'form does not follow function.'" + "Our House in the City" showcases "the best and brightest designs for contemporary city living."
• Schumacher tries to get the skinny on why Shields took his name off the Milwaukee Art Museum project: "The conflict is perhaps a natural one between his brand of restrained modernism and the inventive, sometimes flamboyant approach" of the exhibition designer.
• Bamberger minces no words about why the MAM addition, now seemingly designed by committee, "could be the biggest architectural mistake Milwaukee has ever made."
• Rosenbaum shares her debate with some notable pundits re: the planned LG HQ on the Palisades: "I've been bemused by the specious arguments - when it comes to preserving the 'pristine Palisades,' the boat has already sailed."
• Pogrebin reports that scaffolding begins to cocoon the former American Folk Art Museum in preparation for demolition; while MoMA still plans to put the facade in storage, its "future remains uncertain."
• Moore pens an open letter to London's mayor re: the transformation of the city's skyline that "deserves the greatest planning, not default solutions downloaded from other places. Do you want to be remembered as the Man Who Wrecked the Thames or as the mayor who showed the world how to combine density with beauty?"
• Davidson calls on NYC Mayor de Blasio to take a field trip to Vienna if he wants to see how good affordable housing is done because "housing is considered a social good, not primarily a financial tool - an ingenious design is no more expensive than a lazy one."
• Plans to blast Glasgow's Red Road tower blocks for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony are scrapped by organizers claiming "safety and security" concerns (perhaps the online petition calling it an "insensitive" played a part, but they'll hardly admit that).
• Meanwhile, the head of architecture at the Glasgow School of Art likes the "friendly game of chess" being played out between Mackintosh and Holl.
• The Martinez + Johnson/Mecanoo team is tapped to revamp Washington, DC's Martin Luther King Memorial Library with a design "driven to "'keep Mies: Mies. Or even better: improve Mies in a contemporary Miesian way.'"
• Even with the U.K.'s education secretary's efforts "to force new state school buildings to conform to standard templates - as in bog-standard, the independent sector has set its own course, with fine new buildings."
• Lewyn delves into the details of the National Association of Realtors survey and finds "a variety of small surprises" ("NIMBY resistance to bike lanes or low-income housing" is not all that prevalent).
• Saffron on the urban "impulse to reinvent the bike rack": "Mostly the results have just been silly," but the good news about the nine winning designs in Philly's effort is that "none of the prototypes are indulgent art objects."
• Betsky attempts to grok using 3D printing to build houses: while we may "looking at new ways of constructing," what he doesn't yet see "is a way of thinking about design that makes full use of those possibilities - perhaps need 3D-printing theory."
• Bergren Miller digs deep to explain why, for WXY, architecture and urbanism are "both/and, not either/or" propositions.
• An impressive shortlist in line for the $100,000 GSD Wheelwright Prize 2014.
• Ditto the American Academy in Rome Prize 2014-15 winners.
• Cheers for the United Architects of the Philippines making history with its Likha Gold Medal Award going to Yolanda Reyes - the first woman to receive the UAP's highest prize.
• Eyefuls of thoughtful solutions (and some great eye candy) taking home the Lexus Design Award 2014.
• Call for entries: Nature Observatory of Amazonia on the Amazon River) competition for international architecture & design students and recent graduates.
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-- Gehry Partners: Biomuseo, Panama City, Panama:...a new and architecturally spectacular museum...conceived...like a piece of "California funk art" from the 1960s, in which "form does not follow function." By Ulf Meyer -- Bruce Mau Design
-- "Our House in the City: New Urban Homes and Architecture" by Sofia Borges, Sven Ehmann, Robert Klanten: an explosion of stories, dreams and strategies that showcase the best and brightest designs for contemporary city living... |
Conflict led to architect's departure from Milwaukee Art Museum project: Jim Shields...walked away from what should have been an architectural dream job...over fundamental questions about what museums are today...The conflict is perhaps a natural one between his brand of restrained modernism and the inventive, sometimes flamboyant approach that exhibition designer David Russick is known for. By Mary Louise Schumacher -- HGA- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
Why the Art Museum Addition Must Not Be Built: This could be the biggest architectural mistake Milwaukee has ever made: ...it was going to be a humble if self assured addition that didn’t compete with either the Saarinen or the Calatrava...But the addition, as Jim Shields conceived it, did rise to the occasion...The proposed addition is a business decision to make something just good enough. But it is not good enough... By Tom Bamberger- Urban Milwaukee |
Palisades Palaver: My Twitter Debate on LG with Kimmelman, Goldberger, Davidson, Others: ...I’ve been bemused by the specious arguments about how the planned new LG Electronics headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, will violate the Palisades’ “pristine tree line”...I’m against rampant development further north...That said, I am appalled by the false arguments being used to incite anti-LG hysteria...When it comes to preserving the “pristine Palisades,” the boat has already sailed. By Lee Rosenbaum [images]- ArtsJournal |
Coming Soon to MoMA, Lots of Knocking Next Door: The Museum of Modern Art’s controversial decision to demolish...the former American Folk Art Museum, is about to become reality...facade will be removed first, panel by panel, and taken to storage. Its future remains uncertain. By Robin Pogrebin -- Tod Williams Billie Tsien; Diller Scofidio + Renfro- New York Times |
Boris Johnson must build a proper case for transforming London's skyline: In an open letter to the mayor of London our architecture critic urges a thorough debate on whether skyscrapers are the answer...If London is, as you like to say, the Greatest City in the World, it also deserves the greatest planning, not default solutions downloaded from other places. Do you want to be remembered as the Man Who Wrecked the Thames or as the mayor who showed the world how to combine density with beauty? By Rowan Moore- Observer (UK) |
This Is a Housing Project: Vienna is full of affordable apartments that look great. If de Blasio is serious about making New York not just pleasant but just, he ought to go on a scouting trip to Vienna, where housing is considered a social good, not primarily a financial tool...an ingenious design is no more expensive than a lazy one. By Justin Davidson -- William Menking; Marble Fairbanks; SHoP Architects; Eran Chen/Office for Design and Architecture/ODA- New York Magazine |
Plan to demolish Glasgow Red Road tower blocks in opening ceremony scrapped: 'Insensitive' flattening of buildings for Commonwealth Games cancelled after online petition attracts thousands of signatures...decision was taken after opinions were expressed that "change the safety and security context."- Guardian (UK) |
Architectural chess in Glasgow: designing in the shadow of Britain’s favourite building: Reid Building...gives the impression that the relationship between the two buildings is less a dialogue, and more like a friendly game of chess, where one is trying to outwit the other by studiously avoiding copying the other’s architectural “moves”... By Christopher Platt, Head and Professor of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art -- Steven Holl Architects [images]- The Conversation |
Dream Revised: Washington, D.C. picks team to revamp Mies van der Rohe's Martin Luther King Memorial Library....driven to “keep Mies: Mies. Or even better: improve Mies in a contemporary Miesian way.” -- Martinez + Johnson Architecture/Mecanoo [images]]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Designed to improve standards: New schools and rebuilds are proving to be strong motivators for pupils and staff, but each project remains distinctive...Gove has drawn up plans to force new state school buildings to conform to standard templates — as in bog-standard...But the independent sector has set its own course, with fine new buildings springing up around the country. By Norman Miller -- Zaha Hadid; Associated Architects; Walters & Cohen Architects; Nicholas Hare Architects; Penoyre & Prasad [images]- Telegraph (UK) |
More Thoughts On The Realtors' Survey: In addition to revealing public preferences for single-family homes and walkable communities, a recent survey conducted for the National Association of Realtors contains a variety of other small surprises...it may be that NIMBY resistance to bike lanes or low-income housing does not represent the majority of most communities. By Michael Lewyn- PLANetizen |
Designers aim for a better bike rack: As urban bike culture grows, so does the impulse to reinvent the bike rack...Mostly the results have just been silly...the challenge of building a better bike rack is irresistible, and...the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia succumbed...nine winning designs...The good news is none of the prototypes are indulgent art objects. By Inga Saffron -- BrownSprague; Jibe Design Architecture; Juliet Whelan; Ralph Tullie; Kathleen Fruge-Brown; Warren Holzman/Iron Studio [images]- Philadelphia Inquirer |
Construction in the 21st Century: The latest in 3D printing is creating entire houses: ...we are looking at new ways of constructing. What I do not yet see...is a way of thinking about design that makes full use of those possibilities without trying to fit them into standard forms and spatial relations. For that we perhaps need 3D-printing theory. By Aaron Betsky -- DUS Architects; WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Company [images, links]- Architect Magazine |
Architecture + Urbanism: Both/And, Not Either/Or: Looking at the trend toward interdisciplinary design practice through the work of WXY Architecture + Urban Design: ...both designers and clients seem eager to break away from traditional definitions of architecture and urbanism...seek to integrate technical planning expertise with a belief that good design has real social value. By Anna Bergren Miller- PLANetizen |
Harvard Graduate School of Design/GSD Wheelwright Prize 2014 finalists announced: $100,000 grant awarded annually to a single architect to support travel-based architectural research. -- Jose Ahedo/Studio Ahedo; Ana Dana Beros/Think Space; Alison Crawshaw/Alison Crawshaw Architects; Masaaki Iwamoto/Vo Trong Nghia Architects; Jimenez Lai/Bureau Spectacular; Sean Lally/Weathers; Kaz Yoneda/Takram Design Engineering- Art & Education |
American Academy in Rome announces Rome Prize 2014-15 winners -- Firat Erdim; Vincent L. Snyder/Vincent Snyder Architects; Rob Giampietro/Project Projects; Carin Goldberg/Carin Goldberg Design; John V. Maciuika; Anna Serotta; Kim Karlsrud & Daniel Phillips/Commonstudio; Adam Kuby; etc.- American Academy in Rome |
Women in the spotlight: Australian UIA council rep. Yolanda Reyes makes history in the Philippines: United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) consider the Likha Gold Medal Award the highest of its kind in the Philippines and Reyes is the first woman to receive the honour in its 13 year history. -- Reyes Planning + Architecture- Architecture & Design (Australia) |
Lexus Design Award 2014: for the second time, designboom co-hosted the LEXUS design award, in collaboration with the japan design association NPO: 'curiosity' has been the theme for the second round. [images]- designboom |
Call for entries: Nature Observatory of Amazonia (on the Amazon River): competition open to international architecture & design students and recent graduates; cash prizes; early registration deadline (save money!): May 16 (submissions due: July 1)- Arquideas (Spain) |
ANN Feature: Crowdsourcing Design: The End of Architecture, or a New Beginning? Why the criticism that crowdsourcing design sites like Arcbazar are taking jobs away from architects doesn't wash. By Michael J. Crosbie- ArchNewsNow |
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