Today’s News - Friday, November 17, 2017

●  Campbell-Dollaghan delves into a new study that "shows people don't understand how to use high-performance buildings. The stories themselves are remarkable. Many are not only tributes to advanced architectural technology - but also the ingenuity of occupants who 'hack' it" (a Drinking Bird bopping to keep motion-sensor lights on!).

●  An industry initiative "aims to unlock new sources of energy efficiency for older buildings."

●  The story behind Breathe Architecture's "new model of apartment living" that is "environmentally sustainable, financially viable, and socially responsible" is beginning to catch on!

●  Bailey takes on the opposite end of the spectrum with a Q&A with the $25 billion, data-driven Hudson Yards' developer Ross: "It's beyond ambitious in its scale, and has tremendous potential to set a standard for cities of the future. But if it flops, the consequences are unfathomable" (so far, so good, but architects can leave their egos at the door).

●  Kennicott visits the $500 million Museum of the Bible, opening in Washington, DC, this weekend: it "offers a one-stop-shopping cultural experience, with history, art, architecture, theater and music conveniently packaged under one roof. And it could change the museum business."

●  The New York Public Library unveils $317 million Mecanoo/Beyer Blinder Belle-designed plan for its 5th Avenue flagship, "bringing the long-running, contentious saga closer to an end."

●  Kamin parses the "aspirational yet star-crossed back story" of Jahn's Thompson Center, the "shortsighted plan" to sell and most likely tear it down, and urges anyone on the pro-demolition side to watch Eddy's "Starship Chicago" that "illustrates the essential role the center plays in the life of downtown Chicago."

●  Schneider ponders whether Jahn's "red, white, and blue elephant" is worth saving: the "boundary-breaking structure captured Chicago's imagination, if not its heart. Will ordinary citizens fight for a quirky civic space?" ("Starship Chicago" might convince them).

●  On a brighter (very bright!) note, Gaudí's "meticulously restored" Casa Vicens in Barcelona is ready for its close-up as a "dazzling" museum (with pix to prove it it's a real wow!).

Weekend diversions (and lots of em!):

●  "AA XX 100: AA Women in Architecture 1917-2017" at London's Architectural Association "is at once a history of women's presence within a very particular educational institution, a history of women's presence within the architectural profession, and a part of the history of 20th-century architecture."

●  "Thinking Machines: Art and Design in the Computer Age, 1959-1989" at MoMA "examines how computer-aided design became permanently entangled with art, industrial design, and space planning."

●  Brownell visits "Designing Material Innovation" at the California College of the Arts that is (mostly) successful in exploring how the "messy and nonlinear process" of material experimentation "can go well and go wrong."

●  Speaking of materials, you have a few more days to catch "mies missing materiality" at Mies's Barcelona Pavilion with its marble walls covered in white panels, making it "more minimal than ever before - it appears more like a full-scale model than a building."

●  Cook considers "the endless influence of the Bauhaus" that "broke down the barrier between fine art and applied arts. The results were extraordinary - the true measure of its immense influence is how familiar it has become"; much of it on view in "Bauhaus in Motion" at the Bauhaus Archiv in Berlin.

●  Bernstein x 2: he parses the Global Grad Show at Dubai Design Week showcasing "submissions from 92 design schools that aim to change the world for the better" - it closes tomorrow - but all 200 projects can be seen online (some amazing stuff!).

●  He parses "Gordon Matta-Clark, Anarchitect" at the Bronx Museum of Art, and his "indelible influence on architecture": "There is no telling what he would have achieved" if he hadn't died so young, but "we get a certain hint of what his buildings might have looked like" in the work of DS+R, Holl, Koolhaas, et al.

●  Hill hails Belogolovsky's book and exhibition on Harry Seidler: The book presents the show "as an important subject in its own right," informing "readers about the architect's life and work very well - anyone in and around NYC is "urged to head to City College before the show closes" (next week!).

●  "Obdurate Space: Architecture of Donald Judd" at NYC's Center for Architecture is the first dedicated solely to his architectural designs that "ranged in scale from interior residential renovations to an urban plan."

Page turners:

●  Mortice's great Q&A with Cary re: his book "Design for Good: A New Era of Architecture for Everyone," and "what the public interest design movement doesn't need any more of."

●  Brussat cheers Millais's "Le Corbusier, the Dishonest Architect": "It is a brave book and a necessary book" that "stacks up the flaws in the maestro's work - it speaks truth to power" (with link to Dalrymple's review that is "even angrier than my review").

●  Brandes Gratz considers "the Greenwich Village apartments created by Jane Jacobs" that are now under threat, and offers an excerpt from her book, "The Living City: Thinking Small in a Big Way," "with occasional bracketed current comments."

●  "Sirius" by Dunn, Peake & Piscopo celebrates Sydney's "embattled Brutalist icon," released shortly after the announcement that the social housing complex "had yet again been denied a heritage listing."

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To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan: Architecture’s UX Problem: Research shows people don’t understand how to use high-performance buildings. Does architecture need a UX breakthrough? In a new study.. Julia K. Day and William O’Brien...focused on the occupants of different high-performance buildings...The stories themselves are remarkable. Many are not only tributes to advanced architectural technology - but also the ingenuity of occupants who “hack” it...miserable occupants can lead to less efficient buildings when people disable systems designed to make their buildings better...as architecture comes alive with new technology, it needs its own UX breakthrough...- Fast Company / Co.Design Industry initiative aims to unlock new sources of energy efficiency for older buildings: A coalition...has released...Opportunity Knocks: Accelerating energy efficiency for mid-tier buildings looks at non-A Grade or non-Premium Grade buildings, and how to help better manage our increasing demand for energy by upgrading these inefficient structures...constructed between 1960 and 2000 with outdated and inefficient technologies...- Architecture & Design (Australia) Designing for people, not profit: The story behind a multi-residential housing model changing the way we live: When Breathe Architecture took out the Best of the Best category at the 2014 Sustainability Awards for...The Commons,..We certainly did not expect the practice to launch a new model of apartment living that is changing the way Australians view city dwellings...a “triple bottom-line development”, meaning it is environmentally sustainable, financially viable, and socially responsible...made a bold statement that could not be ignored...the Nightingale Model was born. -- Andrew Maynard Architects; James Davidson Architect; EHDO Architecture [images]- Architecture & Design (Australia) Spencer Bailey: Stephen M. Ross to Architects: Drop Your Egos: The Related Companies founder and chairman discusses building sustainable cities and his massive ambitions for Hudson Yards: It’s beyond ambitious in its scale, and has tremendous potential to set a standard for cities of the future...But if it flops, the consequences...are unfathomable. Luckily...nearly all signs thus far point to success. -- Thomas Heatherwick; Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Rockwell Group; Robert A.M. Stern; Foster + Partners; OMA; Zaha Hadid Architects; Yabu Pushelberg; Kara Mann; Meyer Davis; SOM; Charles Gwathmey; Kohn Pedersen Fox/KPF; Kevin Roche [images]- Surface magazine Philip Kennicott: The new Museum of the Bible tells a clear, powerful story. And it could change the museum business: ...will set a new standard for how this country’s museums fuse entertainment and education...offers a one-stop-shopping cultural experience, with history, art, architecture, theater and music conveniently packaged under one roof. -- SmithGroupJJR- Washington Post New York Public Library Unveils $317 Million Plan for Its Fifth Avenue Flagship: The plan improves circulation and opens up underused spaces, while also announcing a study on the hotly contested issue of the library’s stacks: ...bringing the long-running, contentious saga of that Beaux-Arts landmark’s renovation for the 21st century closer to an end. -- Carrère & Hastings (1911); Norman Foster/Foster + Partners; Mecanoo; Beyer Blinder Belle [images]- New York Times Blair Kamin: Fighting to save the Thompson Center with a movie camera: If you’re one of the many people who...supports...shortsighted plan to sell it to a developer who will tear it down...Watch a 16-minute documentary that makes a strong case for saving this imperfect but inspired work of postmodern architecture....“Starship Chicago"...The real star is Nathan Eddy’s camera and the way he uses it to illustrate the essential role the center plays in the life of downtown Chicago...to see Helmut Jahn...intended it to be...We also get the center’s aspirational yet star-crossed back story.- Chicago Tribune Benjamin Schneider: Is This Red, White, and Blue Elephant Worth Saving? Illinois politicians agree that Chicago’s Thompson Center should be replaced. Architects and preservationists beg to differ, and a new documentary presents their case.: ...boundary-breaking structure...captured Chicago’s imagination, if not its heart...could be repurposed for a new use, the critics and designers in the film say...Will ordinary citizens fight for a quirky civic space...? -- Helmut Jahn (1985); Nathan Eddy/“Starship Chicago: A Building on the Brink” [images, video]- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities) Born again: Gaudí’s meticulously restored Casa Vicens reopens in Barcelona: ...has long been an off-radar landmark...the biggest challenge was converting the home into a ‘house-museum’...The decorative detail in the home’s original living areas...is dazzling. -- Daw Office; Martiñez Lapeña Torres Arquitectes [images]- Wallpaper* "AA XX 100: AA Women in Architecture 1917-2017": The story of women at the Architectural Association is at once a history of women’s presence within a very particular educational institution, a history of women’s presence within the architectural profession, and a part of the history of 20th-century architecture in both Britain and the wider world; Architectural Association, London, thru December 9- Architectural Association School of Architecture/AA (UK) New MoMA show plots the impact of computers on architecture and design: "Thinking Machines: Art and Design in the Computer Age, 1959–1989"...captures the postwar period of reconciliation between traditional techniques and the advent of the computer age...examines how computer-aided design became permanently entangled with art, industrial design, and space planning; thru April 8, 2018. -- Sean Anderson; Giampaolo Bianconi- The Architect's Newspaper Blaine Brownell: How Material Experimentation Can Go Well and Go Wrong: "Designing Material Innovation" at the California College of the Arts explores just that: ...five full-scale installations...showcase a variety of intriguing departures from conventional building blocks, construction methods, and programmatic uses...innovation...emerges unpredictably out of a messy and nonlinear process...The fact that [the show] includes several works that appear to exemplify such a process - what we might call the crude underbelly of material development - is its greatest strength, whether intended or not; thru December 22 [images]- Architect Magazine "mies missing materiality": Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion loses its marble walls: Spanish architects Anna and Eugeni Bach are making the Barcelona Pavilion more minimal than ever before - by covering all of its walls with white panels...Their aim is to completely transform the steel, glass and marble structure, so that it appears more like a full-scale model than a building; thru November 27 [images]- Dezeen William Cook: The endless influence of the Bauhaus: ...the word Bauhaus was much more than an architectural style - it was a new way of thinking...its ideas still set the pattern for the way we live today...broke down the barrier between fine art and applied arts...The results were extraordinary...The true measure of its immense influence is how familiar it has become...Ironically, it was this persecution of the Bauhaus which ensured its survival. -- Walter Gropius; Hannes Meyer; Mies van der Rohe; Josef Albers; Herbert Bayer; Walter Peterhaus; Laszlo Moholy-Nagy [images]- BBC Designed Fred A. Bernstein: This Mega-Exhibition in Dubai Pushes the Boundaries of Innovation: The Global Grad Show at Dubai Design Week showcases submissions from 92 design schools that aim to change the world for the better. -- Brendan McGetrick; Aric Chen/M+ museum; Edwin Heathcoate [images]- Architectural Digest Fred A. Bernstein: Gordon Matta-Clark's Indelible Influence on Architecture: The late artist...inspired many architects: he died of cancer at 35. There is no telling what he would have achieved as an artist if he had lived...We get a certain hint of what his buildings might have looked like, though, in the work of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Steven Holl, Rem Koolhaas, and other contemporary masters; "Gordon Matta-Clark, Anarchitect," Bronx Museum of Art thru April 18, 2018 [images]- Architectural Digest John Hill: "Harry Seidler: The Exhibition: Organizing, Curating, Designing, and Producing a World Tour" [book], and "Harry Seidler: Painting Toward Architecture" [exhibition]: ...overarching theme: that his architecture was most heavily influenced and indebted to art rather than architecture...In Vladimir Belogolovsky's hands, the influence of colorful, abstract art is most overt in the design of the traveling exhibition and the book documenting it...[The book] presents [the show] as an important subject in its own right...informs readers about the architect's life and work very well...those in and around New York City are urged to head to City College before [the show] closes on November 22nd.- A Daily Dose of Architecture/Archidose Donald Judd, Architect? “Obdurate Space: Architecture of Donald Judd” [at New York's Center for Architecture] is the first show dedicated solely to his architectural designs, both rendered and realized. Curated by two architects with a personal working knowledge of the artist himself - Claude Armstrong and Donna Cohen...designs ranged in scale from interior residential renovations to an urban plan; thru March 5, 2018 [images]- Architectural Digest Zach Mortice: Design for Dignity: John Cary’s book "Design for Good: A New Era of Architecture for Everyone" details a now familiar formulation for do-good design in the developing world...The building types he examines are familiar...and totally singular to their contexts...a “little cell of joy and peace in a harried world...Q&A re: what the public interest design movement doesn’t need any more of, and the role of landscape design in the fight for more equitable cites. [images]- Landscape Architecture Magazine David Brussat: Millais vs. Le Corbusier: Malcolm Millais, the author of "Exploding the Myths of Modern Architecture," has written "Le Corbusier, the Dishonest Architect"...It is a brave book and a necessary book, a vital step toward truth in architecture today....stacks up the flaws in the maestro’s work and impugns the direction Corbu believed his profession must take, and did take...[the book] is important because it speaks truth to power...has helped to pull the world, and maybe even the world of architecture, back toward a path of sanity about architecture’s reigning icon. [also links to a Theodore Dalrymple review that is "even angrier than my review"]- Architecture Here and There Roberta Brandes Gratz: The Greenwich Village Apartments Created by Jane Jacobs Are Threatened With Demolition: The story of how a Jacobs-led community group overcome official opposition to create an alternative to urban renewal: ...an excerpt from my first book, "The Living City: Thinking Small in a Big Way," with occasional bracketed current comments.- Common Edge Sydney book launch celebrates Sirius, the city’s embattled Brutalist icon: "Sirius" by John Dunn, Ben Peake and Amiera Piscopo documents the Tao Gofers-designed social housing complex...authors are all members of the Save Our Sirius Foundation...In an unplanned turn of events, the book’s release followed the announcement...that Sirius had yet again been denied a heritage listing.- Architecture & Design (Australia)

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