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Today’s News - Tuesday, July 17, 2018

● Moore cheers for the Mac, "ready to rise from the ashes once more - it was a wonder, so why wouldn't you want it back if you could? The hard question is, how do you actually achieve this task?"

● Kamin x 2: He visits the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which "drops hints of what to expect at the Obama Presidential Center. The building stirs the soul and pricks the conscience - if the Obama museum can match this standard, it will be very good indeed."

● He questions what hidden agendas might be behind efforts to demolish the Harley Clarke mansion, "a rare architectural gem" that "should be saved."

● Leigh delves into the efforts to turn Friedberg's Pershing Park in D.C. into a World War I memorial - it's "a case study in the barriers the nation's cultural elites have placed in the way of clear thinking about the purposes and aesthetics of public art and architecture."

● Finch declares "fake news!" and explains why Trump is wrong about the new U.S. Embassy in London: its "real value is in the regeneration of Nine Elms. Presidential criticism was partly based on a series of (how can one say this tactfully?) inaccuracies."

● U.K. property developer Upton talks to the AJ "about his frustration with architects, how regeneration has 'lost its way,'" and "moments of 'childish hope,' an emotion he says more architects need to engage with."

● Imani Day says it's time to "get real about diversity - there is no concerted, organized aim to substantially move the equity needle toward accountability or subsequent action; we're supposed to be thinking outside of the box - not aimlessly checking one."

● Kimmelman cheers Coney Island's "newest wonder: Sharkitecture! The New York Aquarium pavilion happens to illustrate the difference architecture makes to residents in one of the city's most underserved communities and to a neighborhood of honky-tonk amusement parks and oceanfront."

● Wainwright cheers Pricegore and Ilori's "psychedelic castle" - an "invasion of lurid triangles will soon be shaking up John Soane's sober Dulwich Picture Gallery - may their painted palace usher in a rainbow future, a more joyous strand of architecture that isn't afraid to indulge in pattern and color."

● Carme Pinós unveils her design for a timber-lattice structure for 2018 MPavilion in Melbourne.

● Architects at Newman Garrison + Partners unveil New Block, "a patented 'green building solution' for urban developers, created with affordability and livability in mind."

● Foster + Partners teams up with Bade Stageberg Cox to design, pro bono, a new boathouse for Row New York that will "dramatically expand its youth program for middle and high school students from New York's most underserved schools" (alas, no images until fall).

● Miranda has had it with glass staircases and transparent catwalks: "if there are a few good men out there willing to walk around one their own or someone else's buildings in a skirt - while wearing high heels and holding a purse and a baby - my lines are open" (we're in total agreement - and laughing out loud!).

Winners all:

● Risen profiles the 12th Annual R+D Award winners - "the bar was set extremely high for this year's slate" (great presentation).

● The NSW Australian Institute of Architecture Awards put the spotlight on sustainability, innovation, and procurement practice.

● Winners of the NSW AIA Emerging Architect Award are "disrupting our lives in previously unthinkable ways."

● Hawkins\Brown's "A Space For All" wins the London Festival of Architecture and Architects LGBT+'s Pride Float Competition.

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Rowan Moore: Glasgow School of Art - ready to rise from the ashes once more: The news that it will be rebuilt after June’s disastrous second fire is a victory for Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterpiece, for the city - and for us all: ...it was a wonder, so why wouldn’t you want it back if you could? The hard question is, how do you actually achieve this task? It won’t be an easy job...It would be an act of faith in something extraordinary and in the city where it could happen. -- Alan Dunlop; Stephen Bayley- Observer (UK)

Blair Kamin: The national African-American museum still stirs the soul - and drops hints of what to expect at the Obama Presidential Center: To visit after the inaugural hype...may be the best way to determine whether a design has staying power. This one does, fusing architecture and exhibits into a powerful, provocative whole...the container and the contained, reinforce each other to tremendous effect. The building stirs the soul and pricks the conscience...if the Obama museum can match this standard, it will be very good indeed. -- David Adjaye; Freelon Group; Davis Brody Bond; SmithGroupJJR; Tod Williams Billie Tsien- Chicago Tribune

Blair Kamin: Evanston plan to demolish Harley Clarke mansion: Public vision or hidden agendas? The group...Evanston Lighthouse Dunes, is selling its proposal as a public-spirited gesture...it doesn’t have to list its leaders and document fundraising activities. That leaves critical questions unanswered...even assuming that the Dunes group passes the conflict-of-interest sniff test, its plan to tear down the house...makes little sense...it’s a rare architectural gem...Is the group treating the city’s lakefront as a public trust or as a private fiefdom? The view from here is that the landscape restoration plan is a ruse to get rid of a building that should be saved. -- Richard Powers; Jens Jensen- Chicago Tribune

Catesby Leigh: The Battle of Pershing Park: What the fight to build a World War I memorial near the White House reveals about the state of civic art and architecture: M. Paul Friedberg is looking like one lucky guy...Commission of Fine Arts...is determined to retain the essence of [his park]...even if doing so stands in the way of the creation of an appropriate war memorial...the wrangling...offers a case study in the barriers the nation’s cultural elites have placed in the way of clear thinking about the purposes [and] aesthetics of public art and architecture...This is perverse...commission’s wholly unjustified obstructionism poses a mortal threat to the entire memorial project. -- Wallace K. Harrison; Joseph Weishaar; Sabin Howard; David Rubin; Charles A. Birnbaum/The Cultural Landscape Foundation/TCLF- The Weekly Standard

Paul Finch: Fake news! Donald Trump is wrong about the US Embassy: We now know roughly how much [it] cost, but from London’s point of view the real value is in the regeneration of Nine Elms: Presidential criticism was partly based on a series of (how can one say this tactfully?) inaccuracies...despite Trumpian complaints, there is cause for celebration about the impact of the locational decision...This is an intriguing London story... -- KieranTimberlake- The Architects' Journal (UK)

Architecture ‘still up its own backside’ says U+I chief Richard Upton: From his ‘floating boardroom’, [he] talks to the AJ about his frustration with architects, how regeneration has ‘lost its way’ and how local authorities must rework - not sell - their family silver: ...moments of ‘childish hope’, an emotion he says more architects need to engage with...insists he is passionate about design, he has become exasperated with the industry which he describes as ‘self-important." -- Studio Egret West, and Deptford Market Yard by Ash Sakula Architects, Pollard Thomas Architects and Farrer Huxley Associates- The Architects' Journal (UK)

Imani Day: Let's Get Real About Diversity: Though architecture firms may purport to champion diversity, their claims often fall flat when questioned for actual examples and data: Too often, companies claim to champion diversity without promoting specific, measurable goals...where is the follow-up to culturally support or retain those people by creating paths to leadership? ...if diversity is a business imperative, what are the corresponding targets to track cultural change? ...there is no concerted, organized aim to substantially move the equity needle toward accountability or subsequent action...we’re supposed to be thinking outside of the box - not aimlessly checking one. -- Gensler- Architect Magazine

Michael Kimmelman: Coney Island’s Newest Wonder: Sharkitecture! A New York Aquarium pavilion, with 115 marine species...the overall effect makes it more of a visible, welcoming presence and neighbor: Go see it. It’s edifying and fun...and it also happens to illustrate the difference architecture makes, in this case to residents in one of the city’s most underserved communities and to a neighborhood of honky-tonk amusement parks and oceanfront. -- Ned Kahn; Susan Chin/Wildlife Conservation Society; Portico Group architects; Edelman Sultan Knox Wood [images]- New York Times

Oliver Wainwright: To the psychedelic castle! A blast of Lagos colour rocks Dulwich's Old Masters: Inspired by the vibrant hues of the Nigerian city, an invasion of lurid triangles will soon be shaking up John Soane’s sober Dulwich Picture Gallery: ...Dulwich Pavilion...a platform for emerging designers rather than global stars...dazzling cube envelops a flexible circular stage...may their painted palace usher in a rainbow future, a more joyous strand of architecture that isn’t afraid to indulge in pattern and colour. -- Dingle Price/Pricegore; Yinka Ilori [images]- Guardian (UK)

Estudio Carme Pinós Unveils Design for 2018 MPavilion: Barcelona, Spain-based architect has designed an intersecting, timber-lattice structure for the fifth-annual MPavilion in Melbourne, Australia: ...scheme encourages dialogue on human experience and interaction. [images]- Architect Magazine

New Block design offers a low-cost and sustainable solution to urban infill: Los Angeles-based architecture firm Newman Garrison + Partners has unveiled New Block, a patented “green building solution” for urban developers nationwide. Created with affordability and livability in mind, it offers a cost-effective strategy for landowners and developers to maximize density on smaller lots...The concept’s licensing structure allows developers to hire NG+P or a local architect of their choice to execute the development. [images]- Inhabitat

Foster + Partners to design new boathouse and flagship location for Row New York: The new 14,000-square-foot facility is being designed pro bono...in association with Bade Stageberg Cox...will allow Row New York to dramatically expand its youth program for middle and high school students from New York’s most underserved schools...- ArtDaily.org

Carolina A. Miranda: Wanted: male architect willing to navigate his own building in a skirt: This not only affects the women who work and study in those buildings...it normalizes the idea among architecture students that transparent walkways are just a benign architectural feature...if there are a few good men out there...willing to walk around one their own or someone else’s buildings in a skirt - while wearing high heels and holding a purse and a baby - my lines are open.- Los Angeles Times

Clay Risen: 12th Annual R+D Awards: ...the jury recognized 10 entries whose purpose, process, and innovation exemplify architecture's multidisciplinary potential: ...“if the result is not beautiful and/or elegant, even if it’s really good for the environment and good for people, it hasn’t gone quite far enough.”...the bar was set extremely high for this year’s slate of five citation and five honorable mention recipients. -- Architectural Ecologies Lab/California College of the Arts; Steven Mankouche/Peter von Bülow/Kasey Vliet; Francisco Gomes/Dabney Staub/Gomes + Staub Architects; Tsz Yan Ng/Wesley McGee/Asa Peller; Aptum Architecture; etc. [images]- Architect Magazine

NSW architecture awards stars sustainability and innovation: Procurement practice was recognised by the judges of this year’s NSW Australian Institute of Architecture Awards as a key element in achieving outstanding projects..." the realisation of design excellence depends on more than the architect’s talent and industry." -- Peter Stutchbury Architecture; Design 5 - Architects; Architectus; Raffaello Rosselli Architect/Luigi Rosselli Architects; etc.- The Fifth Estate (Australia)

Sydney’s young architects forging a brave new world of design: They’re disrupting our lives in previously unthinkable ways...The winners of this year’s Emerging Architect Award, Amelia Holliday and Isabelle Tolland, of Aileen Sage Architects, are fearless when it comes to disrupting others’ expectations...Another young emerging architect making others take notice is Raffaello Rosselli...Turning around people’s perceptions is also what motivates another of this year’s award-winners, David Kaunitz of Kaunitz Yeung Architects. -- Australian Institute of Architects [images]- Domain (Australia)

Hawkins\Brown's London Pride Float Celebrates the "Dual Identities" of LGBT+ Architects: "A Space For All" has been announced as the winner of London Festival of Architecture (LFA) and Architects LGBT+’s Pride Float Competition...advocates for increased LGBT+ acceptance and presence within the construction industry... [image]- ArchDaily

ANN feature: Nuts + Bolts #19: Steinglass: The Challenges Firms Face when Talented Staff Decide to Leave: Talented staff resignations have become more commonplace, and the challenges of "firm building" are now more about staff retention than recruitment.- ArchNewsNow.com

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