Today’s News - Tuesday, July 15, 2014
• ArcSpace brings us 10 museums that go beyond being just containers for art "to be essential agents in creating new local identities and new urban centers" (nary a Piano among 'em).
• Rybczynski has a change of heart in his feelings for LACMA's "vulgar architecture" and why demolishing so much of it would be "a big mistake"; of Zumthor's design: "maybe it's the quintessential Angeleno building? After all, replacing an aging faithful spouse with a younger more stylish trophy wife is an established Hollywood custom" (it also reminds him of "a 1950s coffee table").
• Waldie parses Hawthorne's "provocative questions" about the revised LACMA design to the wider question: "What should the buildings of L.A. say?"
• Kilkenny takes on the nay-sayers re: George Lucas's museum plans: it's "his best idea since Star Wars - he's a champion for the masses, attuned to how the public likes to take its cultural enrichment" ("He's the Jedi knight of narrative art and this museum is his big art-history lightsaber," sayeth art historian Higonnet).
• Ijeh finds much to like in RSH&P's British Museum addition, but finds a touch of "irony" in what it didn't get right: "in the building's somewhat tepid aftertaste we see architects cowed rather than inspired by context."
• In Japan, "aging, landmark buildings by famed architects pose headaches for local officials."
• King x 2: he has high hopes for Gang's "rippling" tower slated to rise on San Francisco's skyline + While the tower will require - and should be granted - a zoning adjustment, zoning "flexibility in terms of urban design can be a valuable tool. But such flexibility must be the exception, not the default mode."
• White cheers University of Calgary's West Campus plans that "could be the heart of a new city with its own culture based on academia, wellness and sports excellence, designed to be a pedestrian- and transit-first community" (the trick will be "linking vision with reality").
• Benfield poses 10 questions every community should ask: "it is time to become more ambitious and holistic" in setting city agendas to "reach beyond mere sustainability" and smart growth to include social equity and justice.
• Ruffer cheers a hopeful trend that looks at how "our ancient buildings and other heritage assets can lift people's spirits and transform society" as "instruments of social change" - but "that will not happen until the heritage sector believes it itself."
• Badger bemoans D.C.'s housing the homeless in "the spaces left over that are explicitly temporary" instead of creating facilities specific to their needs: "when we do, the results can look so much different."
• A Slovakian firm and a Vancouver advertising agency come up with ways to transform billboards and park benches into sleeping shelters for the homeless in "strange acts of kindness."
• Darley, inspired by a recent AA grad, cheers "the power of one" as "the architectural and planning worlds flail around and confer on policies - individuals, and the right project in the right place, can move mountains. Women are good at doing that."
• Speaking of the power of one, a millennial explains (rather belligerently) "why the millennial architect won't be your CAD monkey: We speak out against the path to licensure, we start our own firms, and we work for and with people in need. If you blink, you won't be competing for us, we will be your competition" (comments take him to task - definitely worth a look!).
• The City of Sydney to lead the C40 global climate network: "cities go farther and faster when they collaborate and share ideas."
• Five very impressive teams selected to participate in the Arch League/CUF Re-envisioning Branch Libraries design study.
• Help wanted: Harvard GSD is in search of a curator of the Loeb Fellowship.
• Call for entries: Shape the Future Design Competition (deadline reminder) + RDS/Leinster Rugby open international competition for a new multi-purpose arena in Dublin.
| |
|
|
|
To subscribe to the free daily newsletter
click here
|
|
10 Museums Worth Visiting: ...more than just containers that hold art collections, they are also essential instruments in town planning...Museums continue to be essential agents in creating new local identities and new urban centers. -- Atelier Peter Zumthor; Zaha Hadid Architects; BIG/Bjarke Ingels Group; Herzog & de Meuron; Ryue Nishizawa; Steven Holl Architects; Sambuichi Architects; SANAA; Tadao Ando [images] |
In Praise of LACMA’s Vulgar Architecture: Demolishing Much of the Existing Museum Is a Big Mistake. It’s More Like a Mall Than the Met—Which Is Why It’s Perfect for L.A.: ...the proposed replacement...leaves much to be desired...reminds me of a 1950s coffee table...Or maybe it’s the quintessential Angeleno building? After all, replacing an aging faithful spouse with a younger more stylish trophy wife is an established Hollywood custom. By Witold Rybczynski -- William Pereira (1965); Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer (1986); Bruce Goff (1988); Renzo Piano (2008); Peter Zumthor- Zócalo Public Square |
Are We Tall? Are We Flat? Ooze or Coagulate? What Should The Buildings of L.A. Say? Christopher Hawthorne is asking some provocative questions about the overhauled design of the proposed replacement to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art...what would we want the new LACMA to say to us? ...could set our imaginations free to consider what space and place have meant to us and will mean to us, and draw out some tenderness from us and kindle our desire. By D.J. Waldie- KCET.org (California) |
George Lucas's Art Museum: His Best Idea Since Star Wars: His planned tribute to narrative art has been called a vanity project, but compared to his 20th-century museum-founding predecessors, he's a champion for the masses...attuned to how the public likes to take its cultural enrichment. Preferably with a story, some recognizable characters, and postproduction magic. “He's the Jedi knight of narrative art...and this museum is his big art-history lightsaber.” By Katie Kilkenny -- Anne Higonnet [images]- The Atlantic |
Caught between two stools: Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners doesn’t quite get the British Museum right: ...has shown ingenuity...and has perhaps displayed unprecedented sensitivity in such an important historic location...there is an irony here...probably RSHP’s most passive and restrained work to date. But is it too restrained? ...in the building’s somewhat tepid aftertaste we see architects cowed rather than inspired by context. By Ike Ijeh [images]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Aging, landmark buildings by famed architects pose headaches for local officials: ...seismic retrofitting work...is proving to be a big headache for the prefectural government...cost is a nagging concern...localities appear to have no choice but to carry out retrofitting work for their public buildings designed by other big-name architects. -- Kenzo Tange; Kisho Kurokawa; William Vories- Asahi Shimbun (Japan) |
Jeanne Gang unveils rippled S.F. tower: rippled, 400-foot shaft [a] reinterpretation of the city's fabled bay windows....40-story tower would share a block with eight stories of affordable housing, also designed by Gang...Details are certain to evolve as the proposal moves forward... By John King -- Studio Gang [images]- San Francisco Chronicle |
Sometimes zoning adjustments make sense for housing towers: One thing worse than bending the rules for developers is to self-righteously declare that such rules should never be changed....flexibility in terms of urban design can be a valuable tool. But such flexibility must be the exception, not the default mode. By John King -- Jeanne Gang/Studio Gang [images]- San Francisco Chronicle |
Calgary's West Campus could be our own 'city that never sleeps': Project seeks to transform how Calgarians live thanks to 24/7 hospitals...could be the heart of a new city with its own culture based on academia, wellness and sports excellence...designed to be a pedestrian- and transit-first community...The really difficult task in new community building is linking vision with reality. By Richard White- Calgary Herald (Canada) |
Moving beyond 'smart growth' to a more holistic city agenda: ...smart growth and smart transportation...are certainly not enough if we reach beyond mere sustainability...to social equity and justice...it is time to become more ambitious and holistic in our thinking about cities, towns and neighborhoods...I propose 10 questions that every community should ask in order to identify ways to improve. By Kaid Benfield- Better! Cities & Towns (formerly New Urban News) |
Heritage has the power to change lives: ...can lift people’s spirits and transform society: The challenge is to demonstrate...that our ancient buildings and other heritage assets can be the very instrument of social change, and that will not happen until the heritage sector believes it itself. That’s not an easy thing...The Heritage Lottery Fund is on to something powerfully important... By Jonathan Ruffer- Telegraph (UK) |
This is what housing for the homeless could actually look like: So often, we house the homeless in the spaces left over...in places that are explicitly temporary...Much less often, we create facilities specifically designed to house the homeless and the accompanying services they need. But when we do, the results can look so much different... By Emily Badger -- Michael Maltzan Architecture; Killefer Flammang Architects [images]- Washington Post |
Tiny 'Project Gregory' Billboard Homes Provide Free Housing for the Homeless: Slovakian firm Design Develop has come up with an innovative solution...alternative dwellings for the homeless that double as billboards and advertising spaces. [images]- Inhabitat |
These Park Benches Welcome The Homeless Instead Of Rejecting Them: Instead of being designed to thwart a good sleep, these park benches in Vancouver fold out into miniature shelters...It’s a small action...called “strange acts of kindness.” By Sydney Brownstone -- Spring Advertising [images]- Fast Company |
The power of one: Individuals can move mountains: As the architectural and planning worlds flail around and confer...on policies governing London’s forest of skyline skewering blocks, it’s salutary to remember quite another scale and dimension of problem...Let me take you from towers to toilets...the professions...have scarcely touched the gross obscenity that is the global lack of essential amenities...becomes more shaming with every year...Individuals, and the right project in the right place, can move mountains. Women are good at doing that. By Gillian Darley -- Julia King- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Why the Millennial Architect Won’t Be Your CAD Monkey: We speak out against the path to licensure, we start our own firms, and we work for and with people in need...We understand the consequences of the traditional architectural career path and it’s unappetizing...if we aren’t getting what we need, we make it happen..If you blink, you won’t be competing for us, we will be your competition. By Nathaniel Eck/ArchAngel Collaborative- Architizer |
City of Sydney to lead global climate network: ...a founding member of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of 69 global cities taking action on climate change...cities go farther and faster when they collaborate and share ideas and C40 is strongly committed to fostering this kind of city-to-city exchange.- City of Sydney (Australia) |
Five teams selected to participate in the Re-envisioning Branch Libraries design study -- Andrew Berman Architect/Library Development Solutions/Neil Donnelly/AEA Consulting/Auerbach Pollock Friedlander; Marble Fairbanks/James Lima Planning + Development/Special Project Office; MASS Design Group; SITU Studio; UNION- Architectural League of New York / Center for an Urban Future |
Help wanted: Curator of the Loeb Fellowship: Harvard GSD invites nominations and applications for the position; curator will be appointed for an initial term of five years...renewable, contingent upon review and reappointment; full time residence in, or relocation to, the Boston metropolitan area is a requirement; search will remain open until the position is filled.- Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) |
Call for entries deadline reminder: Shape the Future Design Competition: ...take a bold leap with DuPont Corian; cash prizes; deadline: August 1- Metropolis magazine / DuPont Corian |
Call for entries: RDS/Leinster Rugby open international two stage architectural competition for a new and outstanding multi-purpose arena in Dublin; registration deadline: September 8 (Stage 1 submissions due September 15)- Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) |
|
|
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