Today’s News - Thursday, April 12, 2018
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow and Monday will be no-newsletter days. We'll be back Tuesday, April 17.
● Menking raises some serious issues about QS's world ranking of architecture schools that is "is so myopically concerned with academic citations as to be nearly worthless as a guide for what comprises quality architecture education in all its 21st-century variety and subtlety" (Yale's architecture school "ranked a lowly 100th in the world behind the University of Kebangsaan in Malaysia").
● Hume minces no words re: his concerns about the future of Toronto's infrastructure, seeing it cling to its "old auto-dependent ways - the expenditure of public money is always political, but that doesn't justify or excuse the hubris - not to mention the stupidity - of squandering billions doing the wrong thing for the wrong reason."
● DnA's Anderton, Artsy, and Hamel offer "Bridges and Walls: The Complete Set," their 8-part series that explores "the human and environmental impacts of connection and division" in the age of Trump (definitely worth bookmarking and listening to! If you're in L.A. tonight, they're hosting a (free) celebration of the series' conclusion at the Helms Bakery Design Center).
● London-based architect Tszwai So wins the competition to design a memorial to victims of totalitarianism in Brussels with "Echoes of the Past," which will include heartrending "large-scale letters from victims and their relatives" set into a plaza (three top designs will be on view at the European Parliament starting April 24).
● Eyefuls of "Miami's crazy Museum Garage" and its "animated, wildly varied façades" by WORKac, J. Mayer H., Clavel Arquitectos, Nicolas Buffe, and Keenan/Riley (wild, indeed!).
● Jeffries has a fascinating conversation with Christo re: his (huge!) 7,506-oil barrel "The Mastaba" soon to float on the Serpentine Lake in London's Hyde Park - "but can I still swim in the Serpentine? 'Of course!'" (his first London sort-of project: he wrapped a naked journalist - who knew?!!?).
Deadlines:
● Call for entries/RFQ: 3-stage Detroit Institute of Arts/DIA Public Plaza + Midtown Cultural Connections Design Competition.
● Call for entries: World Monuments Fund/WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize Nominations: 10th anniversary of the biennial award recognizing extraordinary modern architecture preservation.
● Apply to be the new director of NYC's Storefront for Art and Architecture (Eva Franch i Gilabert, "Storefront's inimitable curator and director," is heading to London's AA - our loss!).
Weekend diversions:
● Rybczynski cheers Chow's documentary "Face of a Nation," a film about world's fairs "that uncovers why American pavilions of late have been a national embarrassment" of "uninspired architecture and mediocre exhibits."
● Greg Durrell's crowd-sourced "Design Canada," which profiles how "Canada's design movement, born in the mid-20th century, helped transform the country from vast wild outpost to a thriving, unified nation," will premiere in June - but the trailer is ready now!
● 14 must-see exhibitions and installations at Milan design week, April 17-22.
● Top picks to see at the Australian Heritage Festival, a celebration of Australia's built and cultural heritage that kicks off April 18, include the opening keynote by Farrelly (whose mindful musings we've missed!).
● The Utzon Center in Aalborg, Denmark, kicks off "Utzon100," a year-long celebration of the architect's centenary with exhibitions and events around the world.
● Dezeen collaborated with the Utzon Center in a round-up of 10 of Utzon's most important projects.
● "Evicted" at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, is an immersive exhibition about "the causes and fallout of eviction" that also highlights affordable housing projects - the NBM "wants to empower patrons to leave with ideas on how to help those on the precipice in their own neighborhoods."
● Campbell-Dollaghan talks to over,under's Chris Grimley re: his "Brutal Destruction," which opens tonight at Boston's pinkcomma gallery: the "stark photos of important architecture as it's being razed - grisly yet beautiful portraits of buildings with one foot in the metaphorical grave."
● Lloyd parses the Sainsbury Centre's "Superstructures: The New Architecture 1960-1990," a "thorough (and thoroughly enjoyable) exhibition prompts one central question: how is it that a group of architects from Britain - a country often cast as an architectural backwater - came to rule the world?"
● "The Senses: Design Beyond Vision" at NYC's Cooper Hewitt offers "multisensory experiences from some of the world's most creative thinkers - an inclusive celebration of the sensory richness of design."
Page-turners:
● Collie explains why it's time to revisit to Ruth and Maurie Crow (Australia's own Jane Jacobs), and their 1969-72, three-volume "Plan for Melbourne" that "provides a counterbalance to evaluate the motivations for the transformations of our cities today," and "warned 50 years ago that, without a clear justice intent driving metropolitan development, we risk looking back with regret."
● Romeo interviews photographer Katsiaris re: her cover and other shots found in "Dream of Venice in Black and White" (luscious photos!).
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William Menking: How should we really rank architecture schools? What are we to make of a recent survey that claims MIT, the Bartlett, and Delft University of Technology are the best architecture schools in the world? ...Yale University came in 16th in the QS world ranking of universities, but its architecture school ranked a lowly 100th in the world behind the University of Kebangsaan in Malaysia...Sorry, MIT, but this QS ranking is so myopically concerned with academic citations as to be nearly worthless as a guide for what comprises quality architecture education in all its 21st-century variety and subtlety. -- Quacquarelli Symonds- The Architect's Newspaper |
Christopher Hume: Concerns About Toronto’s Infrastructure Grow, Plans To Fix It Seem To Shrink: ...we are uncertain whether spending on the infrastructure should be used as an opportunity to prepare the city for the future or bolster decisions of the past...we have opted emphatically for the latter...In a more heroic age...infrastructure was a source of civic pride...But before long new attitudes prevailed...Instead of...installing 21st-century infrastructure...we stick with old auto-dependent ways...the expenditure of public money is always political, but that doesn’t justify or excuse the hubris - not to mention the stupidity - of squandering billions doing the wrong thing for the wrong reason.- Toronto Storeys |
DnA/Frances Anderton & Avishay Artsy & Jenny Hamel: Bridges and Walls: The Complete Set: In response to candidate Donald Trump's focus on the border wall, DnA launched a series of eight reports that explored the human and environmental impacts of connection and division in California.- KCRW (Los Angeles) |
London architect wins Brussels memorial competition: Spheron Architects director Tszwai So picked for monument to victims of totalitarianism..."Echoes of the Past"...features large-scale letters from victims and their relatives arranged around a central installation naming places of punishment, such as gulags...The three top designs are due to be displayed in an exhibition at the European Parliament from April 24. [images]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Artsy Parksy: Miami’s crazy Museum Garage is finally complete and set to open: ...animated, wildly varied facades are designed by five architecture and design firms: WORKac, J. Mayer H., Clavel Arquitectos, Nicolas Buffe and Keenan/Riley...each firm designed an individual and radically different facade as disparate and unconnected pieces, creating a multifaceted tapestry for the utilitarian structure. Emphasizing the cultural purposes of Museum Garage and the Miami Design District as a whole, each facade is titled as a standalone curatorial work. [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Stuart Jeffries: He has wrapped the Reichstag - now Christo is heading to the UK with 7,506 barrels: Christo and Jeanne-Claude...became famous for their extraordinary sculptures...Now he’s coming to Britain, what surprises can we expect? Is it an allegory of the west’s oil dependency, an indictment of how we’re polluting the planet, or both? As well as being 20 metres tall, "The Mastaba" will be 30 metres wide and 40 metres long...but can I still swim in the Serpentine? “Of course!"..."Christo and Jeanne-Claude" at the Serpentine Gallery, Lonfdon, June 19 - September 9. The London Mastaba will be completed by June.- Guardian (UK) |
Call for entries: Request for Qualifications/RFQ: Detroit Institute of Arts/DIA Public Plaza + Midtown Cultural Connections Design Competition (international): 3-stage competition to create a strong and innovative design vision that reimagines the DIA’s grounds, making them highly visible, welcoming, flexible and functional; RFQ deadline: April 30 (deadline for questions: April 16)- Detroit Institute of Arts / Midtown Detroit, Inc. |
Call for entries: WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize Nominations Open: biennial award recognizes extraordinary modern architecture preservation; Prize: $10,000 + Knoll Barcelona chair + travel expenses to attend the December 4 award ceremony at MoMA, New York City; deadline: June 15- World Monuments Fund/WMF |
Who will replace Eva? Storefront for Art and Architecture seeks new director: Eva Franch i Gilabert, Storefront‘s inimitable curator and director, is leaving New York for London to lead the Architectural Association (AA); application deadline: May 4- The Architect's Newspaper |
Witold Rybczynski: What Happened to the World's Fair? ..."Face of a Nation," a film that uncovers why American pavilions of late have been a national embarrassment...It’s been 50 years since Montreal’s Expo...world’s fairs have lost their luster - at least in the United States...What happened? The answer is the subject of Mina Chow’s documentary...In short, U.S. world’s fair pavilions were outsourced...[film] convincingly demonstrates that the result of this shortsighted decision has been...uninspired architecture and mediocre exhibits...The unanswered question that hangs over [the film] is: Do we really need world’s fairs anymore?- Architect Magazine |
First Look At The Documentary On Canada’s Unsung Design: Canada’s design movement, born in the mid-20th century, helped transform the country from vast wild outpost to a thriving, unified nation..."Design Canada" is about just that transformation...filmmaker Greg Durrell has released the first trailer in anticipation of the film’s inaugural tour...will premiere this June in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver...screenings in the U.S. and Europe will be announced soon....will have a global digital release this September. [images]- Fast Company / Co.Design |
14 must-see exhibitions and installations at Milan design week, April 17-22: ...the best shows to visit, from a decked-out American diner to a celebration of vegan design...As well as...the annual Salone del Mobile furniture fair... [images]- Dezeen |
Australian Heritage Festival: The National Trust’s festival, which celebrates Australia’s built and cultural heritage across hundreds of events in every state and territory, kicks off April 18...The start of the festival will be marked by a keynote speech from Elizabeth Farrelly in Sydney...While dozens of architecture-flavoured events will take place over the course of the festival, we’ve assembled a few of our top picks.- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
Utzon100: It all began in Aalborg in 1918. In 2018 Jørn Utzon would have turned 100 years old...Join us in celebrating the most important Danish architect with exhibitions and events in Aalborg; Copenhagen; Brussels; Salone del Mobile.Milano, April 17-22; New York City Symposium, April 26; Venice Biennale, May 24-25; London Design Festival, September; Sydney, October; etc.- Utzon Center (Aalborg, Denmark) |
10 key projects by Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon: To celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of Danish architect, we've collaborated with the Utzon Center in Denmark to highlight 10 of his most important projects... [images]- Dezeen |
Eviction is the subject of the National Building Museum’s immersive spring show: Inspired by Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City," the NBM in Washington, D.C...hosting "Evicted," an immersive exhibition meant to expose visitors to the causes and fallout of eviction...Far from simply presenting the problem of eviction in a void...will highlight affordable housing projects and how local and state governments - as well as nonprofits - are tackling the issue...NBM wants to empower patrons to leave with ideas on how to help those on the precipice... thru May 19, 2019 [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan: The Strange Beauty Of Brutalist Architecture, Mid-Demolition: A new exhibition collects stark photos of important architecture as it’s being razed - a phenomenon that’s as wasteful as it is heartbreaking.: "Brutal Destruction" at Boston’s pinkcomma gallery...Curated by the architect Chris Grimley...features mid-20th-century architecture as it’s being demolished - grisly yet beautiful portraits of buildings with one foot in the metaphorical grave...."to take them down, without thinking of their potential for reinvention or renewal, is a nearsighted act.” thru May 3 -- over,under; Rami el Samahy; Mark Pasnik; Michael Kubo [images]- Fast Company / Co.Design |
Joe Lloyd: How British architects conquered the world: A new exhibition examines how the “high-tech” style of Norman Foster and Richard Rogers became so dominant: Sainsbury Centre is hosting "Superstructures: The New Architecture 1960-1990," a thorough (and thoroughly enjoyable) exhibition...prompts one central question: how is it that a group of architects from Britain - a country often cast as an architectural backwater - came to rule the world? The answer is that they synthesised...the technological architecture of people like Jean Prouvé...the optimistic derring-do of the space age; and a British tradition of inventive engineering. thru September 2 -- Foster + Partners; Nicholas Grimshaw; Michael and Patty Hopkins [images]- The Economist / 1843 (UK) |
"The Senses: Design Beyond Vision": Explore experimental works and practical solutions designed to inspire wonder and new ways of accessing our world...multisensory experiences from some of the world’s most creative thinkers...With over 65 design projects and more than 40 objects and installations to touch, hear, and smell...an inclusive celebration of the sensory richness of design. Cooper Hewit, NYC, thru October 28- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (NYC) |
Claire Collie: There’s more to the compact city than getting dense: Ruth and Maurie Crow were early champions of functional mix and compact urban development...In their three-volume "Plan for Melbourne," published from 1969-72, they argued for compact urban development driven by spatial justice ambitions. Revisiting their work provides a counterbalance to evaluate the motivations for the transformations of our cities today...a prescient awareness of the need to design cities to maximise access and interaction...to create an inclusive, accessible and convivial city...warned 50 years ago that, without a clear justice intent driving metropolitan development, we risked looking back with regret- The Conversation (Australia) |
Why photograph Venice in Black and White? Stripped off of any vulgarity or distracting details, Venice is portrayed as a powerful icon of the harmonious dialogue between architecture, design and nature...Readers...will be left wondering which way they can bear respect to this beauty, without violating it any further. Sometimes small steps can do a lot and this book ["Dream of Venice in Black and White"] is one of them...Luisella Romeo interviews Lisa Katsiaris about photographing Venice and her cover photograph for the new book. -- JoAnn Locktov [images]- ArtTrav |
ANN feature: Vladimir Belogolovsky: One-on-One: Architecture is an Endless Process for Learning: Interview with Fumihiko Maki: The multi-award-winning architect talks about why he avoids using exposed concrete outside of Japan, why the Metabolist movement didn't quite catch on, and Yoshio Taniguchi's buildings: "He is our Mies van der Rohe." [images]- ArchNewsNow.com |
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