Today’s News - Monday, June 9, 2014
• I.M. Pei pockets the UIA Gold Medal 2014 for his "life and work that spans the history of modern architecture over five continents for more than 60 years."
• Rogers responds to criticism of his Lloyd's of London building, and what goes into creating "inspiring architecture" - it "emerges from the impulse to bring together beauty, innovation and function. This is not "starchitecture," whatever that may be, but careful stewardship of our cities."
• A fascinating look at Beirut's coastal promenade that "is perhaps the only truly mixed zone in a stratified city that's become in so many other ways a libertarian paradise for the rich and a daily affront to the poor."
• King says waterfront development in San Francisco better start preparing for rising tides: "there's little room for error."
• Everyone is home from the hills - 'er, the canals - of Venice with thoughtful takes on Rem, pavilions, and concrete cows: Moore, Glancey, Bernstein, Bozikovic, Richardson, Woodman, and Zara - all great reads!
• Van Alen Institute uses Venice to convene an impressive array of international design leaders who "will meet twice annually to identify and investigate issues facing cities."
• Chilean architects are making their mark on the global stage that "is helping to fuel a boom in urban development at home. For the first time in a generation, the architectural focus is now turning towards Chile's urban spaces."
• Denver, on the other hand, "has for decades seldom been self-assured enough to trust its own architects with the major and high-visibility commissions," but things are changing (slowly).
• Piano "is blowing gorgeous glass bubbles again" - this time for the Pathé Foundation in Paris.
• Kamin x 2: Trump's "ginormous sign" on his Chicago tower is one more example that it's "a sign-plastered world out there - skyline branding has run amok."
• He reports that it's looking like the hydraulic-lift approach is likely to be the solution for Mies's flood-prone Farnsworth House as "two other proposals are falling by the wayside."
• The AIA 2014 Small Project Awards prove that small can be stunning (great presentation).
• Call for entries: Carbuncle Cup 2014: "The unfortunate reality is much British architecture is mediocre and uninspiring, disdainful of context or simply trying too hard to be different."
| |
|
|
|
To subscribe to the free daily newsletter
click here
|
Ieoh Ming Pei UIA Gold Medal 2014: ...recognizes an architect whose “life and work spans the history of modern architecture over five continents for more than 60 years."- International Union of Architects (UIA) |
Architecture lifts the spirits when buildings rise above stars: Good architecture can be expressive and dramatic, or calm and reflective – just as bad architecture can be strident and gimmicky, or bland and anodyne...The most inspiring architecture emerges from the impulse to bring together beauty, innovation and function. This is not “starchitecture”, whatever that may be, but careful stewardship of our cities. By Richard Rogers/Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners- Financial Times (UK) |
View from Beirut: Gripped by a wave of gentrification, Beirut’s coastal promenade...is perhaps the only truly mixed zone in a stratified city that’s become in so many other ways a libertarian paradise for the rich and a daily affront to the poor...Those who love the city worry that Solidere’s downtown will remain a Disneyland for the rich and that people will be ghettoised by class and sect in Balkanised neighbourhoods. But the corniche says otherwise. By Thanassis Cambanis- Architectural Review (UK) |
S.F. waterfront development must prepare for rising seas: ...means moving beyond the fixation on height that has been a political organizing tool here for decades, and focusing instead on how development can be used to help San Francisco adapt to environmental pressures unlike any that have come before...there's little room for error. By John King- San Francisco Chronicle |
Put yourself in their space...: Rem Koolhaas's excellent Biennale sets new sensibilities against old...partly a celebration of what built spaces can do, but there is also an underlying pessimism. Things Ain't What They Used to Be is one message, or We're All Doomed...it does not pay tribute to the big beasts of contemporary architecture...the absence of their honking and rutting adds greatly to its enjoyment...It doesn't offer answers, but the questions it raises are pertinent. By Rowan Moore [slide show]- Observer (UK) |
Rem Koolhaas: Our cities are the brainchildren of Reagan and Thatcher: ...curator of this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale tells why the uniformity of modern cities drives him up the wall: “Architecture...was at its best, perhaps, in antiquity"...suggests, with a sly grin, that “one day, your own house might betray you...You can still reinvent types of buildings”...architects need to better understand the processes by which their skills are in danger of being replaced by global development and construction. By Jonathan Glancey- Telegraph (UK) |
Venice Dispatch: U.S. Architecture as American Export—The Story Expertly Told: U.S. pavilion...a jaw-dropping and eye-opening study of architecture as a 20th-century American export...has the potential to bring the OfficeUS partners and the architects whose projects they are looking at into a rich, multigenerational discussion of what architecture was, is, and could be. By Fred A. Bernstein -- Leong Leong; Eva Franch i Gilabert/Storefront for Art and Architecture; Ana Miljacki; Ashley Schafer/Praxis; Pentagram- Architectural Record |
Toronto architects explore what Canadian Arctic urbanism could look like at the Venice Biennale: "Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15"...a complex collective effort involving community groups in the Arctic as well as architects and architecture schools across the country... By Alex Bozikovic -- Lateral Office- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
Vicky Richardson on the British pavilion: A Clockwork Jerusalem, our installation at the Venice Biennale, presents an alternative history of British modernism that could lead to a reassessment of how we approach architecture today...it looks at how contemporary architecture has ended up pushed into a corner, defensive and obsessed with all the wrong things. -- FAT Architecture; Crimson Architectural Historians- Icon (UK) |
What can the Milton Keynes cows tell us about Britain? ...famous cows have been transported to the Venice Architecture Biennale...these ruminants represent the spirit of post-war Britain: The affection in which Milton Keynes’ residents hold the cows says much about their amused attitude to the popular image of their town as a modernist dystopia. By Ellis Woodman- Telegraph (UK) |
In Venice, A Glimpse of North Korea's Architecture: “Crow’s Eye View: The Korean Peninsula,” the exceptionally well executed Korean Pavilion...tells the modernization story of both halves before and after the great division...“hodgepodge of narrative fragments"...llustrate the disparate (although sometimes parallel) trajectories of Pyongyang and Seoul on both a physical and ideological level. By Janelle Zara -- Minsuk Cho/MASS Studies [slide show]- Artinfo |
Van Alen Institute convenes international council of designer leaders in Venice: Launching with a core group of 13 firms—representing practices across more than 17 cities and 10 countries—this network of accomplished design practitioners will meet twice annually to identify and investigate issues facing cities internationally... -- Bjarke Ingels Group/BIG; Aedas; Allied Works Architecture; Jan Gehl Architects; LAVA; Olson Kundig Architects; Pei Cobb Freed & Partners; Snøhetta; Studio Egret West; White Architecture; Wingårdhs; 3XN; 5468796 Architecture- Canadian Architect |
Chilean architects gain global recognition: The rise in international stature of the country’s designers is helping to fuel a boom in urban development at home...For the first time in a generation, the architectural focus is now turning towards Chile’s urban spaces. By Trish Lorenz -- Smiljan Radic; Pezo von Ellrichshausen; Elemental/VAV Studio; Teresa Moller; Mathias Klotz/Rodrigo Duque Motta; Juan Pablo Corvalan/Supersudaka; RuizSolar; Elton and Léniz; HLPS Arquitectos- Financial Times (UK) |
Denver architects deserve respect: Denver has for decades seldom been self-assured enough to trust its own architects with the major and high-visibility commissions that help define a city. Instead, "starchitects" with international reputations were almost always imported...The outsiders-only model for major projects has become less rigid in recent years. -- Fentress Architects; klipp Architecture (now klipp/GKKwork); OZ Architecture; Tryba Architects; RNL Architecture; Humphries Poli; Davis Partnership- Denver Post |
Renzo Piano's at it Again: Pathé Foundation [in Paris] Nearly Complete: It looks like [he] is blowing gorgeous glass bubbles again...combines preservation, demolition, and new construction all in one go...screened-glass, bulbous structure is hidden from view behind a historic façade, but peeks out over the top... [images]- Architizer |
Donald Trump: Giant New Sign on His Chicago Tower is like Hollywood Sign: When I informed [him] that I would not be writing a rave review of the ginormous sign...he had a ready reply...It's a sign-plastered world out there, and nothing, not even Wrigley Field, is safe or sacred...skyline branding has run amok. By Blair Kamin- Chicago Tribune |
Hydraulic lifts may hold hope for flood-prone Farnsworth House: ...two other proposals are falling by the wayside... By Blair Kamin -- National Trust for Historic Preservation; Mies van der Rohe; Paul Goldberger; Dirk Lohan; Robert Silman Associates- Chicago Tribune |
AIA selects 2014 Small Project Awards -- Matt Fajkus Architecture; StudioKCA; Synthesis Design + Architecture; Cooper Joseph Studio; Bentel and Bentel Architects; Johnsen Schmaling Architects; Fougeron Architecture [links to images, info]- American Institute of Architects (AIA) |
Call for entries: Carbuncle Cup 2014: ...we pride ourselves on championing and highlighting good design. The unfortunate reality is much British architecture is mediocre and uninspiring, disdainful of context or simply trying too hard to be different.- BD/Building Design (UK) |
|
-- We Wouldn't Mind Getting Stuck There: Airports: Airports are places where people gather voluntarily in a collective state of wanting to leave. In some cases, however, the long walk to the terminal can be a quite rewarding experience. -- Ricardo Bofill/Taller de Arquitectura; Rafael Viñoly; Foster & Partners; Santiago Calatrava; UNStudio
-- Travel guide: Marseille and Vicinity |
|
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window.
External news links are not endorsed by ArchNewsNow.com.
Free registration may be required on some sites.
Some pages may expire after a few days.
© 2014 ArchNewsNow.com