Today’s News - Tuesday, December 6, 2016
• ArcSpace brings us eyefuls of Studio Gang's WMS Boathouse in Chicago that "brings modern, whimsical design to the previously unoccupied site - equal parts poeticism and practicality."
• Williams makes the case for why "we need more Schumachers - the first response to his diatribe" should be to "grow some balls and maybe argue back" (comments section a must-read - includes Schumacher's [very longggg] response).
• Campbell-Dollaghan explains why Schumacher's diatribe matters: it "is forcing architecture to grapple with its nebulous role in the world. Are architects service providers, or do they have a greater purpose?"
• McGuigan lays out four core values that "transcend politics in unsettling times."
• Among the findings in a new survey of architects in New Zealand and Australia: "Architects fear employers prioritize software skills over design capabilities" that could "have long-term consequences for the industry's talent pipeline and reputation."
• King cheers San Francisco putting together its first-ever set of urban design guidelines - with caveats: "Though guidelines are important, they can backfire," but hopefully, "they will clear the way for architects to do their best possible."
• Saffron ponders "what happens now to the big cities that dissed Trump? Cities could be in for a rough time," with "most urban governments expect to be left to their own devices."
• Gehry tells Rochon he's "very worried" about Trump, but is not planning to decamp to France.
• Gehry's Sunset Strip project is in trouble with the LA Conservancy, now fighting to preserve a 1960s Kurt Meyer-designed bank building - he said it doesn't work with his design: he's had four or five of his own buildings torn down - "some buildings you can't save," but "I'm going to figure out how to recognize Kurt as part of our project."
• The fate of Roche and Dinkeloo's "glamorous postmodern" Ambassador Grill is "still perilously unclear."
• Dunlap, on a brighter note, cheers Saarinen's TWA Flight Center becoming the entrance to a new hotel at JFK that "continues to evoke the romance of air travel. For that alone, it is irreplaceable"; preservation groups are pleased (except for...).
• Eyefuls of OMA's new Faena Forum in Miami Beach, "the centerpiece of the new district, functionally as well as visually."
• Also in Miami, Arquitectonica is tapped to design a new $1 billion "Innovation District" that will "transform the neighborhood of Little Haiti" with a "gargantuan mixed-use project."
• Wainwright gives two thumbs-ups to 6a Architects' new dorm at Churchill College - "a tree house in the dreaming spires" of Cambridge University: "In a building type that often reeks of value engineering, it speaks of something that has been crafted rather than assembled."
• Beech considers whether London's new Design Museum is the city's best (sort of new) building: it's "an exceptional piece of architecture," and the "exhibits (frankly infinitely more exciting than those in the building's previous incarnation) say a lot about British design" (with 81 images!).
• Q&A with Ross Barney re: the transformation of Chicago's Riverwalk that people used to look at as "they do an alley - something to be avoided, what drives her work, and why doing public projects empowers her."
• Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has high hopes for a new waterfront park by STUDIO V and Ken Smith that would be "an inventive green space that grows from industrial relics."
• Something we couldn't resist: architectural designer and illustrator Dehond riffs on Calatrava's WTC Oculus ("hedgehoculus" included).
• Call for entries: Call for Teaching Proposals for the Architecture 2030 Curriculum Project.
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Studio Gang: WMS Boathouse, Chicago: ...small infrastructure projects like [this] have begun to catalyze previously unusable sections of the Chicago River...brings modern, whimsical design to the previously unoccupied site on the North Branch of the river...Equal parts poeticism and practicality.... [images] |
Austin Williams: We need more Schumachers prepared to shake up consensus thinking: Patrik Schumacher's views on housing may be hard for some to swallow, but pressuring him into silence sets a dangerous example...I don't agree with his recipe for a market-led nirvana, but free speech is not free if you have to stick to a script...the first response to his diatribe should not be to reach for the offence button, but to instead grow some balls and maybe argue back...We need more debate, of whatever shade, not less. -- Zaha Hadid Architects- Dezeen |
Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan: Architecture's Identity Crisis: A lecture on urban policy by Zaha Hadid principal Patrik Schumacher has become an international flashpoint. Here's why it matters: Now, the political climate...is forcing architecture to grapple with its nebulous role in the world. Does the architect have a responsibility to the greater good of society? Or just to the client? Are architects service providers, or do they have a greater purpose?- Fast Company / Co.Design |
Cathleen McGuigan: Common Ground in Unsettling Times: In the aftermath of a contentious national election, the profession must come together on the foundation of its shared values: Architects and designers have a profound responsibility to the public realm and to work for the public good. And these fundamental principles transcend politics.- Architectural Record |
Architects fear employers prioritize software skills over design capabilities: ...will have long-term consequences for the industry’s talent pipeline and reputation...one finding from a survey of architectural professionals in New Zealand and Australia...in a new report by recruiting experts Hays ‘"The role of an architect today & tomorrow."- Scoop (New Zealand) |
John King: Do urban design guidelines help or hinder growing cities? San Francisco...has embarked on its first-ever set of urban design guidelines...the inherent subjectivity of such standards could muddy the waters...flash points involve architecture...Though guidelines are important...they can backfire...If guidelines spell out a code of behavior that new buildings must meet, that’s a start. If they clear the way for architects to do their best possible work in our city, that’s even better.- San Francisco Chronicle |
Inga Saffron: What happens now to the big cities that dissed Trump? Can the gains that places like Philadelphia made during the Obama years...be sustained? ...cities could be in for a rough time...Even if some of his infrastructure money does trickle down to cities, most urban governments expect to be left to their own devices...- Philadelphia Inquirer |
Frank Gehry 'very worried' about Donald Trump: Lisa Rochon asked Gehry if he was serious about accepting French President Francois Hollande's offer to self-exile to [France]...While he plans on staying put, [he] expressed serious concerns about the incoming commander-in-chief...He also spoke of his philanthropic efforts through Turnaround: Arts...- CTV (Canada) |
LA Conservancy sues city over Frank Gehry’s Sunset Strip project: It’s fighting to preserve...a [1960s] Kurt Meyer-designed Chase bank building...An environmental impact report for 8150 Sunset includes two alternative designs that would preserve and restore the bank...Gehry has said [it] doesn’t work with his design. “I’ve had four or five of my buildings torn down...some buildings you can’t save...I’m going to figure out how to recognize Kurt as part of our project.”- Curbed Los Angeles |
Disco Concern-o: Fate of the glamorous postmodern Ambassador Grill still perilously unclear: ...would be the first postmodern interior to be designated a New York City landmark...Docomomo called [the] interiors “among the best” public spaces of the era...Landmarks Preservation Commission would do further research and vote at to-be-determined meeting. -- Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo Associates (1976)- The Architect's Newspaper |
David W. Dunlap: Hotel Project Would Revive Embodiment of Jet Age at Kennedy Airport: ...would preserve the Trans World Flight Center as the public entrance...leading to the new six-story TWA Hotel...continues to evoke the romance of air travel...For that alone, it is irreplaceable...restoration facet of the hotel project has won praise from leading preservation groups...[but] object to the new six-story structures... -- Eero Saarinen (1962); Beyer Blinder Belle; Lubrano Ciavarra Architects- New York Times |
Redefining Culture: Miami Beach’s New Faena Forum: Heralded as the landmark in [the] all-new Faena cultural District...the centerpiece of the new district, functionally as well as visually: the structure’s pristine white concrete façade with 350 intricately fitted windows makes for a prolific eye catcher... -- Shohei Shigematsu/OMA [images]- Artinfo |
Arquitectonica to design new $1 billion “Innovation District” in Miami: ...to transform the neighborhood of Little Haiti...developed (in phases) as a gargantuan mixed-use project...Phase one...will see the construction of a sculpture garden, a 30,000-square-foot “Magic City Studios,” and the innovation center. [image]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Oliver Wainwright: Cowan Court at Churchill College - a treehouse in the dreaming spires: [It] already has some of Cambridge University’s most unusual buildings - and 6a Architects...adapts its brutalism to create a sylvan utopia...at once rugged and delicate..."the first wooden brutalist building"...In a building type that often reeks of value engineering...[it] speaks of something that has been crafted rather than assembled... -- Sheppard Robson (1959); Tom Emerson/Stephanie Macdonald- Guardian (UK) |
Mark Beech: London’s Best Building? Front-Line Report as Crowds Marvel at Design Museum: ...former Commonwealth Institute...an exceptional piece of architecture...current exhibits (frankly infinitely more exciting than those in the building’s previous incarnation) say a lot about British design... -- Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall & Partners (RMJM, 1962); Terence Conran; Deyan Sudjic; Allies and Morrison; OMA; John Pawson [81 images!]- Artinfo |
Riverwalk architect learned environmental lessons early, in Peace Corps: When Carol Ross Barney started working to design the downtown riverwalk in 2001, people looked at the Chicago River like they do an alley - something to be avoided. Q&A re: its transformation, what drives her work, and why, as design principal at Ross Barney Architects, doing public projects empowers her. -- Sasaki Associates [images]- Chicago Tribune |
New park unveiled for controversial Williamsburg waterfront site: ... Maker Park...an inventive green space that grows from industrial relics on the Brooklyn waterfront...adapts the infrastructure on an isolated slice of the East River into performance venues, gardens, and open space, an adventure playground writ large... -- STUDIO V Architecture; Ken Smith Workshop [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Seeing the Animal Kingdom in Calatrava's Oculus: ...[his] transport hub at the World Trade Center has garnered a lot of criticism for its exorbitant price tag...there is something compelling about the physical form of the thing...invites visual interpretations - spiky fish or a bird, a dinosaur or a hedgehog...Architectural designer and illustrator Chanel Dehond riffs on these and more in sketches. [images]- Metropolis Magazine |
Call for entries: Call for Teaching Proposals for the 2030 Curriculum Project seeking faculty and schools to participate in integrating lessons in energy use, emissions, and resiliency - particularly in early design studios, history courses, and areas where this material is not adequately or traditionally addressed; deadline: January 3, 2017- Architecture 2030 |
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