Today’s News - Thursday, April 17, 2014
EDITOR'S NOTE: We're making Good Friday a really good Friday by taking the day off. We'll be back Monday, April 21. Happy Easter!
• Alter offers a "Goldilocks" formula for housing density that is "not too high or low, but just right" for sustainable communities and a balanced quality of life (it does not include "elite towers that reach ever skywards").
• Sorkin peeks behind "poor doors" and the importance of inclusionary zoning laws that "are among the few tools left to ensure the creation of affordable housing."
• Shaw calls for a "rethink" re: homeless housing: "stellar design seems to be a misguided architectural quest" - instead of "producing a sexy building of 100 units...architects should really be asking: How many people can we get off the street for $19.3 million?"
• Gardiner sees behavioral science and design as "the building blocks of innovation": "Behavioral design has the potential to bridge the gap between research and practice to revolutionize how we tackle social issues."
• Rosenbaum reports on Archinect's "belated posting" of a lively conversation she had with architects re: the MoMA/AFAM controversy "pegged to this week's commencement of demolition work."
• Rice University's Art Barn echoes the MoMA/AFAM saga, but with two conflicting endings, it seems: one has it being relocated to Houston's Fourth Ward; the other shows it has "disappeared in a pile of rubble" - except for the metal-paneled exterior, which was dismantled with hopes of finding a new owner/home ("The philistines have won again").
• Qatar cancels the competition for its flagship World Cup stadium in Doha because it "didn't hit the right note" - needless to say, the bidders were "not very happy."
• Pederson parses CNU's pick of Lynn Richards to succeed John Norquist that "signals a shift" in its "vision for its future" that "isn't about direction of the organization, but the implementation of its goals, and the results on the ground."
• Bernstein explains why there's "no rest for the Gehry" who "has his hands full" ("First, the good news...").
• Libeskind and AIANY's Bell join the RIBA/Israel fray: "Does it diminish or enhance the debate when you kick someone out of the room?"
• Weekend diversions:
• In the new Broadway musical "If/Then," city planner Elizabeth "returns to New York from Arizona where she's just gotten out of a failed marriage and urban sprawl. The metaphor of planning a city and planning a life are clear."
• "The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley" at the National Building Museum showcases "Kiley landscapes that abide, as well as ones that have been neglected or may be threatened."
• Raj Rewal, "one of India's leading architects, says the country's building design is in dire need of a paradigm shift" - as he contemplates 50 years of his work on view at New Delhi's National Gallery of Modern Art (the museum's first architecture exhibition).
• Excerpts from "Szenasy, Design Advocate" are enough to show why we so adore Metropolis Magazine's editor-in-chief.
• Walker walks us through just a handful of highlights to be found in Lewis's "Women of Steel and Stone: 22 Inspirational Architects, Engineers, and Landscape Designers."
• Berg has a lively Q&A with Pressman re: his new book "Designing Relationships: The Art of Collaboration in Architecture" that is "a tip-sheet for how to collaborate more effectively. Hint: BIM is not the magic bullet."
• An excerpt from Lally's "The Air from Other Planets: A Brief History of Architecture to Come" introduces "an architecture that exchanges walls and shells for a range of material energies," and "energy becomes its own enterprise for design innovation; it becomes the architecture itself."
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Cities need Goldilocks housing density – not too high or low, but just right: The trend for elite towers that reach ever skywards isn't healthy for a sustainable community or for a balanced quality of life...At the Goldilocks density, streets are a joy to walk; sun can penetrate to street level and the ground floors are often filled with cafes that spill out onto the street, where one can sit without being blown away, as often happens around towers. Yet the buildings can accommodate a lot of people... By Lloyd Alter- Guardian (UK) |
What’s Behind the ‘Poor Door’? Inclusionary zoning laws are among the few tools left to ensure the creation of affordable housing...If we concede that the market is not a system that makes equality its first priority, then we must interfere with it in some way to produce equitable results. By Michael Sorkin- The Nation |
Why We Need to Rethink Homeless Housing: ...stellar design seems to be a misguided architectural quest...to solve homelessness...why not use creativity and innovation in design to tackle the problem of 57,000 homeless people? Instead of vastly underutilizing the site and producing a sexy building of 100 units...architects should really be asking: How many people can we get off the street for $19.3 million? By Matt Shaw -- Michael Maltzan [images]- Architizer |
Are behavioural science and design the building blocks of innovation? Behavioural design has the potential to bridge the gap between research and practice to revolutionise how we tackle social issues...The complexity of the issues...demands that industry, academia and the creative industries work in new ways together. By Ed Gardiner/Behavioural Design Lab- Design Council (UK) |
MoMA Drama: My Participation on Archinect’s Panel Regarding the Expansion Controversy: Our nearly three-month-old conversation’s belated posting on Archinect’s website is pegged to this week’s commencement of demolition work on the American Folk Art Museum building. By Lee Rosenbaum -- Donna Sink/Campus Architect/Indianapolis Museum of Art; Quilian Riano/DSGN AGNC; Ken Koense- ArtsJournal |
Art Barn on the Move: Rice University’s Martel Center To Be Relocated to Houston’s Fourth Ward
The building was never meant to be permanent, argue the defenders of its removal. Its very mode of construction asks that it be taken down...Many hope the relocation and repurposing of the building...where it will act as an art center...will ease the blow to the aggrieved arts community. -- Howard Barnstone/Eugene Aubry (1969) [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Rice University Art Barn gets the wrecking ball after all: A private group of Rice alumni is working to save and find a new owner for the...metal-paneled exterior, which was more carefully dismantled in recent weeks, but the rest of the structure has disappeared in a pile of rubble behind a big yellow backhoe..."The philistines have won again. It seems so gratuitous, even arrogant"... -- Howard Barnstone/Eugene Aubry (1969) [images]- Houston Chronicle |
Design competition for flagship Qatar 2022 World Cup stadium abandoned: Shortlisted designs for 80,000-seat Lusail stadium in Qatar "didn’t hit the right note": ...a “key reason” for...decision was that none of the bids “[adequately] reflected Qatari design and culture...they’re not enamoured by the designs so far"...The source said the bidders were “not very happy.”- BD/Building Design (UK) |
The After-After Duany: The Congress for the New Urbanism's new appointment signals a shift in the organization's goals and outlook...Lynn Richards [to] succeed John Norquist...she comes...from the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Sustainable Communities...It seems as if the CNU's vision for its future isn't about direction of the organization, but the implementation of its goals, and the results on the ground. By Martin C. Pederson- Metropolis Magazine |
No Rest for the Gehry: With several large projects about to open and others in the pipeline—such as housing at London's Battersea Power Station site—Frank Gehry has his hands full: First the good news... By Fred A. Bernstein- Architectural Record |
Libeskind and AIA join RIBA Israel row: Daniel Libeskind has accused RIBA of being ‘short-sighted’ over its motion to suspend Israeli architects from the International Architects Union (UIA)...Rick Bell...of AIA New York...said: ‘I wish this had not happened and on behalf of AIANY, I wish it would go away...Does it diminish or enhance the debate when you kick someone out of the room?"- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
"If/Then": In this musical by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (the team behind Next to Normal) city planner Elizabeth returns to New York from Arizona where she’s just gotten out of a failed marriage—and urban sprawl...should she take a job in the city’s department of planning or teach the subject? The metaphor of planning a city and planning a life are clear, but the frisson for New Yorkers who care about the built environment are the specific references. [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
“The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley” at the National Building Museum: ...celebrates the centenary of the designer’s 1912 birth; it also marks a decade since his 2004 death. The photographs...showcase Kiley landscapes that abide, as well as ones that have been neglected or may be threatened. -- I.M. Pei; Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo; Eero Saarinen [images]- Washington Post |
Building design must undergo paradigm shift: Raj Rewal, one of India's leading architects...says the country's building design is in dire need of a paradigm shift to meet the rising standards of living..."Raj Rewal: Memory, Metaphor and Meaning in his Constructed Landscape" showcases 50 years of...work at the National Gallery of Modern Art [New Delhi]...the first time the Gallery is exhibiting works of modern architecture...- The Economic Times (India) |
Raising the Bar: "Szenasy, Design Advocate: Writings and Talks by Metropolis Magazine Editor Susan S. Szenasy" collects together some of her most timely and memorable interrogations. [excerpts]- Metropolis Magazine |
Six Women Who Paved the Way for Female Engineers and Architects: "Women of Steel and Stone: 22 Inspirational Architects, Engineers, and Landscape Designers" by Anna M. Lewis...by telling the stories behind these talented personalities, Lewis not only gives insight into the careers of these pioneering women, she also delivers 22 role models for girls interested in science and math. By Alissa Walker -- Margaret Ingels; Ellen Biddle Shipman; Emily Warren Roebling; Aine Brazil/Thornton Tomasetti; Julia Morgan; Marion Mahony Griffin [images]- Gizmodo |
Team Building in the Age of BIM: Andrew Pressman’s new book "Designing Relationships: The Art of Collaboration in Architecture" offers a tipsheet for how to collaborate more effectively. Hint: BIM is not the magic bullet. By Nate Berg [Q&A]- Architect Magazine |
"The Air from Other Planets: A Brief History of Architecture to Come" by Sean Lally: ...an excerpt...introduces the reader to an architecture produced by designing the energy within our environment...an architecture that exchanges walls and shells for a range of material energies...Energy becomes its own enterprise for design innovation; it becomes the architecture itself. [images]- ArchDaily |
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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-- 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... |
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