Today’s News - Tuesday, August 4, 2015
• Russell takes a long, thoughtful look at "the price of Heatherwick's imagination. His designs dazzle, but their costs have stirred debate over the role of private financing for public spaces."
• Bose at her eloquent best re: OMA's galleries in Milan and Moscow: "the cocktail of feisty women and seductive architecture heralds no less than a new chapter in the private patronage and public presentation of contemporary art."
• Hawthorne is more than disappointed in proposed design for the L.A. Convention Center: the architecture "tends toward the frenetic - oversized and occasionally overwrought, its colors perma-bright" (and doesn't bode well for the city's selection process).
• Meanwhile, builders battle Oakland, CA, about new rules "making them pay for public art," claiming the rules violate First and the Fifth Amendment protections (good grief); needless to say, artists are none too pleased, and builders in other cities with similar rules "will be closely monitoring the outcome of the lawsuit."
• Litt, speaking of art, reports that Kapoor's shiny "C-Curve" at the Cleveland Museum of Art is "proving to be a temperamental guest" by scorching the grass; now there's an "alarming" DANGER sign that gets "in the way of truly savoring the sleek, minimalist sculpture, which now seems both beautiful and slightly menacing."
• Perkins+Will reimagines beleaguered Atlantic City as a research center for ecological resiliency.
• Anderton queries architects about whether Berlin's "Baugruppen" cohousing project R50 could be a model for L.A. (and elsewhere).
• A British researcher looks at "how trees can worsen urban air pollution."
• Cipriani cheers Viñoly's "resoundingly smart, sensitive design" for Boston's Edward M. Kennedy Institute that is "an object lesson in the power of limitations" (and "as fresh as the breeze off Dorchester Bay").
• Keskeys kvells over Hadid's Messner Mountain Museum Corones that is "an exhibition in restraint from an architect often associated with formal exuberance."
• Jervis gives (mostly) thumbs-up to the "glowing white castle" that is Barozzi Veiga's Szczecin Philharmonic Hall in Poland: "its relationship with the city's various pasts is more problematic," but "it is a good building, and we should be satisfied with that."
• Now "it's Melbourne's turn" for that touch of Levete magic (boat builders included).
• A British architect feels "duped" when he designs a museum to celebrate the history of the women of London's East End, but it opens as the Jack the Ripper Museum (yuck).
• Waugh is not the only one feeling duped - there's a protest tonight re: this museum where you can "get the blood-spattered silhouette printed on a pint glass to remember your experience by. Celebrating a murderous misogynist doesn't count as celebrating women's history."
• Good news/bad news on the U.K.'s heritage front: the British Library, once considered "one of the ugliest buildings in the world," is now a Grade I-listed building, but the latest effort to list the Smithson's Robin Hood Gardens has failed.
• Parken parts ways with the Australian Institute of Architects, though he "will remain in his role" until a new CEO is appointed.
• Eyefuls of 2015 Houses Awards - the Australian House of the Year is a stunner (great presentations of all).
• Call for entries: Sleep 2015: European student design competition to design a hotel guestroom based on fairy tales and folklore.
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The Price of Thomas Heatherwick’s Imagination: His designs dazzle, but their costs have stirred debate over the role of private financing for public spaces...Should communities accept the unasked-for giftCertainly private philanthropy, allied with great art, design and architecture, has given most cities great landmarks...how far should city officials push to achieve community goals when the gift’s withdrawal is at risk? By James S. Russell- New York Times |
All that glisters - OMA galleries in Milan and Moscow: The resonances between the twin birth of...the Fondazione Prada and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, are loud enough that they cannot be ignored. Nor should they be, when the cocktail of feisty women, seductive architecture...heralds no less than a new chapter in the private patronage and public presentation of contemporary art. By Shumi Bose -- Rem Koolhaas/OMA [images]- DesignCurial / Blueprint Magazine (UK) |
L.A. Convention Center's proposed design screams, 'conventional thinking': The architecture...tends toward the frenetic...Its gestures are oversized and occasionally overwrought, its colors perma-bright...the results of the design competition are a reminder that Los Angeles needs to find ways to expand the pool of firms...from which it's drawing. Santa Monica...has shown far more ambition... By Christopher Hawthorne -- Populous; HMC; Chu + Gooding; Olin [images]- Los Angeles Times |
Builders battle Oakland, California ordinance making them pay for public art: Artists fear a victory for the firms challenging a new law...will deal a blow to culture in the city...construction bosses will be closely monitoring the outcome of the lawsuit...claim the rules violate the first amendment and the fifth amendment protection against “uncompensated takings”...- Guardian (UK) |
Anish Kapoor's shiny 'C-Curve' scorches grass...at Cleveland Museum of Art: ...proving to be a temperamental guest...shape and mirror-bright reflections concentrate sunlight with such intensity...signs saying: "DANGER: ...you might be burned or blinded; use extra caution with children and pets." The clutter, not to mention the somewhat alarming sign, get in the way of truly savoring the sleek, minimalist sculpture, which now seems both beautiful and slightly menacing. By Steven Litt [images]- Cleveland Plain Dealer |
Could Atlantic City Become An Innovation Hub For Climate Change And Resiliency? Perkins+Will reimagines "Las Vegas East" as a research center for ecological resiliency...its emptying casino-hotels converted into homes for scientists and ecological policy wonks...spearheading efforts to establish a LEED-like standard for resilient structure design and city planning.- Fast Company |
DnA/Frances Anderton: Is Berlin’s Cohousing a Model for LA? How can Angelenos break into the housing market - and live alongside their peers? DnA explores...“Baugruppen” R50 and asks whether they could work in L.A. Plus, a Cold War-themed board game pits East Germany vs. West Germany. -- Heide & Von Beckerath; IFAU; Andreas Toelke; Ric Abramson; Rick Corsini- KCRW (Los Angeles) |
Greener but not cleaner? How trees can worsen urban air pollution: It’s all about their location. The importance of trees is not in question...It is important to consider the type of tree you wish to plant, the shape of the street, what direction the wind blows, and where your pollutant source (cars) and receptors (pedestrians) are located. By John Gallagher/Bangor University- The Conversation (UK) |
Crit> Edward M. Kennedy Institute: Rafael Vinoly's thoughtful design elevates the Boston site, and complements the adjacent JFK Library: ...a resoundingly smart, sensitive design...an object lesson in the power of limitations...Viñoly’s restraint is important...as fresh as the breeze off Dorchester Bay...he gave his site and his clients, who in this case go well beyond the Kennedys, exactly what they needed: a taste of redemption. By Christine Cipriani -- I.M. Pei & Associates (1979); ESI Design; Sasaki Associates [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
On Top of the World: Zaha Hadid’s Messner Mountain Museum Corones [MMM Corones] Channels the Spirit of the World’s Greatest Adventurer: ...signature brand of parametric design appears more at home within this sweeping natural landscape than most urban locations...ZHA’s characteristically futuristic forms peek out from the side of the mountain like the proverbial tips of a curvaceous concrete iceberg...an exhibition in restraint from an architect often associated with formal exuberance. By Paul Keskeys [images]- architizer |
Symphony of echoes: Szczecin Philharmonic Hall in Poland by Barozzi Veiga: ...a glowing white castle that many see as a beacon for a prosperous future. But its relationship with the city’s various pasts is more problematic...does not synthesise a reconciled identity for a city fractured by historical wounds...it is a good building, irrespective of intent and location, and we should be satisfied with that. By John Jervis [images]- Icon (UK) |
Why Melbourne's MPavilion architect, Amanda Levete, uses boat builders: Once part of a star design couple, Levete started again after her ex-husband unexpectedly died. The work she’s done since...has reaffirmed her talent. Now it’s Melbourne’s turn. -- AL_A [images]- Australian Financial Review |
Jack the Ripper museum architect 'duped' into plans: ...the museum the practice designed would focus on the life of the infamous Victorian murderer who preyed on female victims rather than the history of the women of the East End...he wouldn’t have touched the project “with a barge pole” if he had known the eventual outcome. -- Andrew Waugh/Waugh Thisleton Architects- BD/Building Design (UK) |
A promised 'women's museum' opens as a Jack the Ripper exhibit: The founder - a former head of diversity at Google - says he wants to investigate why the victims "got themselves into that situation in the first place." What sexist irony: You can even get the blood-spattered silhouette printed on a pint glass to remember your experience by. You couldn’t make this sort of insult up...celebrating a murderous misogynist doesn't count as celebrating women's history. By Becky Warnock- Independent (UK) |
British Library awarded Grade I-listed building status: Structure once called ‘one of the ugliest buildings in the world’ in parliament and denounced by Prince Charles now ‘one of England’s finest modern buildings.' -- Colin St John Wilson [image]- Guardian (UK) |
Latest listing bid for Robin Hood Gardens fails: ...Heritage Minister Tracey Crouch is due to approve a certificate of immunity for the housing estate designed by Alison and Peter Smithson. The decision will guarantee that the ‘streets in the sky’ estate cannot be considered again for by listing in the next five years.- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Leadership change at Australian Institute of Architects: David Parken will depart from his role as CEO of the Australian Institute of Architects, after more than a decade in the position...will remain in his role while the National Council develops a transitional plan to appoint a new CEO.- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
2015 Houses Awards: Australian House of the Year: Planchonella House by Jesse Bennett Architect -- Archier; Vokes and Peters/Owen and Vokes and Peters; Andrew Maynard Architects; Brad Swartz; Breathe Architecture; Steffen Welsch Architects [images]- Houses magazine (Australia) |
Call for entries: Sleep 2015 student design competition: create original concept images for a hotel guestroom that draws on the essence of fairy tales and folklore; open to all architecture and interior design students in Europe; deadline: October 5- Sleep - The Hotel Design Event |
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7 Outstanding Transformations: Society changes but buildings remain firmly in their place...most buildings will at some point inevitably face a conversion of either its original program or structure, or both. -- MVRDV; OMA; Herzog & de Meuron; Atelier Peter Zumthor; Tegnestuen Vandkunsten; Sambuichi Architects; Eduardo Souto de Moura [images] |
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