Today’s News - Tuesday, May 17, 2016
EDITOR'S NOTE: We're off to the PhiAIAdelphia convention early tomorrow morning for a very busy three days hobnobbing with several thousand architects in the City of Brotherly Love. So we won't be posting the newsletter until Monday, May 23 - or possibly Tuesday (with a lot of catching to do, no doubt!).
• Saffron pens an oh-so-eloquent tribute to Giurgola (and his Philly roots): "what distinguished Giurgola's work was its respect for its surroundings. Probably the most common word used to describe his designs is 'humanist.'"
• Bernstein's tribute to Hadid focuses on her impact beyond architecture: "To her compatriots in the art and design realms, she was approachable, dependable and kind. Sometimes, it's hard to know how she had time for buildings."
• King looks into why the Lucas Museum possibly landing on Treasure Island "just might work": if the vision "emphasizes transportation as much as architecture, it actually might turn out to be a force for good" (but a lot of "ifs").
• Kennicott gets a sneak-peek of the new museum of African American history in D.C. that "shows signs of compromise," making it "both a better and a worse building" - it's "one building in Washington where the imperative to cut costs should have been resisted."
• Wainwright is quite taken with Heneghan Peng's Palestine Museum that, "even without any contents," is "a beacon of optimism - a powerful and positive presence at once defensive and welcoming, robust and permeable."
• Moore visits H&deM in Basel to talk about their "radical new extension" to the Tate Modern that will "reinvent how we view art all over again - they like to present a protestant moment of denial before pleasure, to forbid before welcoming, to be severe before generous."
• Dittmar hopes London's new mayor will read - and heed - the Good Growth reports by the former mayor's design advisors, which have "plenty of excellent advice to draw on."
• Jolliffe, in the meantime, sees an urgent "need to rethink the rules governing 'public space' - rules often make spaces too clean, too tidy and too orderly - to the point of being barren and unusable."
• Stephens cheers Agence Ter's winning design for L.A.'s Pershing Square that "aggressively bids adieu to the 1992 design's purple tower and yellow walls with nothing more garish than trees and grass" (and speculates that the "star power" of competing designs "was, in fact, their undoing").
• A "fresh take" for a 70-acre senior living community north of Tucson by three : living architecture team "promotes healthy aging, and creates a sense of belonging in which they may thrive."
• A new white paper by Perkins Eastman explores "what senior living gets wrong about sustainable design," and why Biophilic Design "can play an important role" in "pushing the human experience toward the forefront."
• Weekend diversions:
• Hawthorne hails "High Rise": "the building wins. Unlike the infamous Pruitt-Igoe high-rise, this tower will not play the victim - it is consistently glamorous in its filth."
• Bliss, Capps, and Mock offer a roundtable review of "High-Rise": "The texture is something that this film gets very right. It is rich to watch. Enough to give you a stomachache."
• Kamin on the "Playboy Architecture, 1953-1979" exhibition: "Hefner's decision to champion modern architecture helped it gain a foothold in mass American culture. The magazine treated women and buildings as objects of fantasy and desire."
• Q&As x 2 with Colomina re: her Playboy show: Jacobs finds it "one of the most alluring concepts for an architecture exhibition in recent memory," and discovers the co-curator "has emerged as a remarkably unconflicted proponent" of the "male gaze."
• Taylor-Hochberg queries Colomina about her inspiration for the show: "Architects and designers were celebrated for their masculine sophistication, with subtle hints that they too are Playboys."
• Hosey has some major issues with Yudelson's new book "Reinventing Green Building": his "argument is riddled with holes - green building may need a new revolution, but this book won't bring it."
• Excerpts from Serraino's "The Creative Architect," a 1950s "almost-forgotten investigation tried to find what makes architects creative. The results are surprising and telling."
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Romaldo Giurgola; architect was leader of 'Phila. School': ...a Roman native who moved to Philadelphia in the late 1950s...He soon fell in with two other upstarts, Robert Venturi and Louis Kahn, who were also beginning to question Modernism's harsh, functionalist approach...what distinguished Giurgola's work was its respect for its surroundings...Probably the most common word used to describe [his] designs is humanist. By Inga Saffron [images]- Philadelphia Inquirer |
Appreciating Zaha Hadid: The late starchitect had a penchant - and a gift - for designing instantly iconic objects, from cars to sofas to bracelets: Her loss is felt most deeply in the architecture world, where Hadid was just hitting her stride...To [her] compatriots in the art and design realms, she was approachable, dependable and kind...Sometimes, it’s hard to know how she had time for buildings. By Fred A. Bernstein [images]- Introspective magazine |
Lucas Museum on Treasure Island? It just might work: If the billionaire filmmaker does turn his attention back to the Bay Area...and presents an imaginative vision...that emphasizes transportation every bit as much as architecture, it actually might turn out to be a force for good...if... By John King- San Francisco Chronicle |
Even a $540 million building can suffer from cost cutting: ...new museum of African American history shows signs of compromise: ...it has been debated, refined and amended. In the process, it has become both a better and a worse building...if there were one building in Washington where the imperative to cut costs should have been resisted, this was it. By Philip Kennicott -- Freelon Adjaye Bond/Smithgroup [images]- Washington Post |
Palestine Museum - a beacon of optimism on a West Bank hilltop: With gardens...in lieu of a perimeter wall, this bright limestone hangar is a powerful and positive presence - even without any contents: ...at once defensive and welcoming, robust and permeable, channelling a sense of the region without resorting to the Islamic pastiche of pointed arches and turrets... By Oliver Wainwright -- Heneghan Peng [images]- Guardian (UK) |
Herzog & De Meuron: Tate Modern’s architects on their radical new extension: ...they are about to unveil the Switch House - and reinvent how we view art all over again: ...[they] like to present a protestant moment of denial before pleasure, to forbid before welcoming, to be severe before generous...delight and beauty co-exist with more troubling or mysterious aspects of existence. By Rowan Moore- Observer (UK) |
Sadiq Khan, you need to read these reports by Boris' design advisors: London’s new mayor has his work cut out on housing and planning, but he has plenty of excellent advice to draw on: ...Good Growth reports address, respectively, the challenges of growth, the public realm, London’s ageing population, and “place-shaping”...comprise a comprehensive road map... By Hank Dittmar- BD/Building Design (UK) |
As London builds tall, we urgently need to rethink the rules governing 'public space': If they are putting us in flats, developers and politicians need to be realistic about our need to be ourselves outside: ...rules often make spaces too clean, too tidy and too orderly. Many of these places are tidy to the point of being barren and unusable...London’s green space is only as useful as it is habitable. By Eleanor Jolliffe- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Why Winning Park Design Is a Win for Los Angeles: Rarely does anything with a photovoltaic canopy, a “great lawn,” no fewer than 13 design collaborators, and an estimated $50 million budget qualify as simple...that’s exactly what the winning design in the Pershing Square Renew competition is...aggressively bids adieu to the 1992 design’s purple tower and yellow walls with nothing more garish than trees and grass. By Josh Stephens -- Agence Ter- Next City (formerly Next American City) |
Fresh take on senior living design: developer La Posada and three : living architecture team to create Nakoma Sky: ...a 70-acre, desert-resort senior living community designed [to] promotes healthy aging, gives residents ample freedom of choice, and creates a sense of belonging in which they may thrive. -- Diversified Design and Construction; Talley Associates; THW Design [images]- Building Design + Construction (BD+C) |
What Senior Living Gets Wrong about Sustainable Design: Sustainability is the integration of environmental, economic and social value...but the social value is the most underrepresented, and the most vital to senior living. That’s where the idea of Biophilic Design can play an important role...pushing the human experience toward the forefront... -- Perkins Eastman- Senior Housing News |
Our edifice complex: "High-Rise" and its dystopian architecture hit the big screen: ...J.G. Ballard's 1975 novel...residents of a swish, brand-new 40-story tower just outside London have turned on one another and on the building...the building wins...Unlike the infamous Pruitt-Igoe high-rise...this tower...will not play the victim...it is consistently glamorous in its filth... By Christopher Hawthorne- Los Angeles Times |
A Roundtable Review of 'High-Rise,' Where Luxury Architecture Turns Dystopic: In Ben Wheatley’s new film adaptation of the classic J.G. Ballard novel, orgies, rapes, and murders among residents are part of a literal struggle to the top..."The texture is something that this film gets very right. It is rich to watch. Enough to give you a stomachache." By Laura Bliss, Kriston Capps, and Brentin Mock- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities) |
A sexy show: "Playboy Architecture, 1953-1979" explores link between Playboy and modern design: ...Hefner's decision to champion modern architecture...helped it gain a foothold in mass American culture...What kind of modern architecture was Playboy championing? The magazine treated women and buildings as objects of fantasy and desire. [at the Elmhurst Art Museum] By Blair Kamin- Chicago Tribune |
Playboy Magazine and the Architecture of Seduction: Q&A with Beatriz Colomina about the provocative thesis of her Elmhurst Museum exhibition: "Playboy Architecture 1953-1979" is one of the most alluring concepts for an architecture exhibition in recent memory...she was known for her passionate critiques of modernist architecture as an enabler of the “male gaze"...she has emerged as a remarkably unconflicted proponent of that gaze. By Karrie Jacobs [images]- Architect Magazine |
Beatriz Colomina on "Playboy Architecture" and the masculine fantasy: Curated by Colomina and Pep Aviles,“Playboy Architecture: 1953-1979”...at the Elmhurst Art Museum; Q&A re: mutual influence between Playboy and architecture, and the inspiration behind the exhibition..."Architects and designers were treated as major cultural figures...symptomatically celebrated for their masculine sophistication, with subtle hints that they too are Playboys." By Amelia Taylor-Hochberg- Archinect |
"Reinventing Green Building" by Jerry Yudelson: ...book is less reinvention than it is revisionism: On the one hand, I wholeheartedly agree that green building needs bold new solutions...On the other hand, Yudelson’s argument is riddled with holes...it conflates green building and green building certification...Green building may need a new revolution, but this book won’t bring it. By Lance Hosey- Huffington Post |
Genesis of Genius: Excerpts from Pierluigi Serraino's New Book, "The Creative Architect: Inside the Great Midcentury Personality Study": A 1950s study tried to find what makes architects creative. The results are surprising and telling: ...three case studies of...Eero Saarinen, Philip Johnson, and Richard Neutra - along with the author’s summary of the goals, methodology, and findings of this unusual, almost-forgotten investigation.- Architectural Record |
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Breathe Architecture: The Commons, Melbourne, Australia: ...a raw and captivating piece of architecture. It's also the prototype for a new development model, called Nightingale...It sits in stark contrast to current housing models, which remain unaffordable and conservative in their ambitions. [images] |
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