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Today’s News - Wednesday, July 25, 2018

● Dickinson ponders whether architecture will become "artisanal" - similar to artisanal farming - in our all-things-digital world: Technological advances "will create a craving for authentic human engagement - people still love growing food and making buildings."

● Scruggs reports on a presentation by landscape architect Walter Hood and urban planner Nmadili Okwumabua to Seattle's non-profit Africatown, which is "seeking to restore black identity in a historically African-American neighborhood undergoing gentrification": "If they thought [Black Panther's] Wakanda was incredible, then why not teach it in school, create those design languages - don't just give British and French beaux-arts."

● Ciampaglia cheers Grimshaw's Frost Museum of Science in Miami, over a decade in the making: "Saying the Frost is 'something different' compared to the old facility is a fantastic understatement" (fab photos).

● Foster + Partners went back to the drawing board and revised its design for an Apple store on Melbourne's Federation Square - the original design "drew wide-spread backlash"; the new design doesn't seem to be faring much better ("a big iPad").

● Wright reports on the status of the proposed, "controversial" WWI Memorial in Friedberg's Pershing Park in D.C.: "In a circumscribed win for backers, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts unanimously granted their support" - but "asked the design team to continue to refine elements of design."

● King reports on the progress of plans to replace San Francisco's pissoirs: He likes the "silvery reflective updates in a futuristic vein," but "in the naysayers' camp" when it comes to topping them with "airborne" gardens.

● Wilson reports on a yearlong study that finds "most employees would probably benefit" from using sit-stand desks, though it comes "on the heels of another recent study that was devastating for the practice of standing at work."

● Budds profiles Snarkitecture, which "has grown into one of today's most exciting studios despite having relatively few extant projects" - it "has become a recognizable brand worldwide, a crowd pleaser, and a go-to collaborator for creative companies by exploiting a familiar concept: play" (great pix).

● J. Meejin Yoon is named the next dean of Cornell's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning - "the first female dean in the school's 122-year history"; she'll be stepping down as head of MIT's architecture department - where she was also the first woman in that position.

● The Arts Centre Melbourne invited small and emerging Victorian firms to compete to transform the center's "pop-up eatery": Cumulus Studio wins with a theatrical design.

It's a green space kind of day:

● Campbell-Dollaghan parses a "groundbreaking new study" by five doctors - "the first to observe a cause and effect between access to 'greened' vacant lots and improved mental health" and which "provides new evidence for why cities should be investing in low-cost but high-impact design interventions in blighted neighborhoods" (for as little as $1,500).

● Kafka tours Feilden Fowles' "fully functioning farm" (veggies and "barnyard critters" included) - and its own studio - on a vacant lot in London: The Waterloo City Farm is "a remarkable synthesis of divergent uses, and a genuine community asset" - they'll eventually have to move, but with a demountable barn and studio, they "are optimistic about the future."

● King delves into the proposals by the "three leading contenders" vying to restore Fort Scott - the Presidio's "hidden gem" - a 30-acre landscape and 22 historic structures: While the proposals "are strong - none is as compelling as the setting, at least not yet."

● LOLA Landscape Architects, Taller Architects, and L+CC design a 600-hectare forest and sports park in Shenzhen "incorporating romantic techniques and realistic urban visions."

● An international shortlist of 10 in the running to redesign Moscow's 515-hectare Sokolniki Park, the city's largest park and "an important part of Moscow's heritage."

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Duo Dickinson: In the Era of Artificial Intelligence, Will Architecture Become Artisanal? How the emphasis on all-things-digital will create a craving for authentic human engagement: ...technology will change architecture in the next generation as much as it has changed farming in the last century. The signs are here, now... the present underemployment of architects that we now accept...may eventually evolve into a larger number of us becoming desirable because of our humanity. Despite technological advances, people still love growing food and making buildings.- Common Edge

Gregory Scruggs: Architects and urban planners champion African design influence from Wakanda to White House: Africatown, a not-for-profit venture [in Seattle] seeking to restore black identity in a historically...African-American neighborhood undergoing gentrification...For Walter Hood...demographic shifts are a clarion call for black urban communities to imbue their surroundings with a recognizable heritage...“If they thought Wakanda was incredible, then why not teach it in school, create those design languages...don’t just give British and French beaux-arts, give the African option too,” said [Nigerian-American urban planner] Nmadili Okwumabua.- Thomson Reuters Foundation

Dante A. Ciampaglia: Grimshaw’s Innovative Frost Museum of Science Has Become a Magnetic Draw in Miami: In development for more than a decade, the project boasts a showstopping aquarium and architecture that breathes in ocean breezes: Saying the Frost is “something different” compared to the old facility is a fantastic understatement. -- Thinc Design; ArquitectonicaGEO- Metropolis Magazine

Federation Square Apple store redesigned: ...refreshed designs...have been significantly altered: The Victorian government’s initial decision to demolish the Yarra Building...to make way for the Apple flagship store,...drew wide-spread backlash...However, the National Trust of Australia (Victoria)...was critical of the redesign...The Citizens for Melbourne group...described the refreshed proposal as “a big iPad." -- Foster + Partners [images]- ArchitectureAU (Australia)

Andrew Wright: Controversial WWI Memorial Charts Narrow Path Forward: In a circumscribed win for backers of a new national World War I memorial at the site of Pershing Park in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts unanimously granted their support to the latest conceptual design...In granting their support, CFA asked the design team to continue to refine elements of design [for] “The Weight of Sacrifice"... -- M. Paul Friedberg (1981); Land Collective; Joe Weishaar; GWWO; Sabin Howard; The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) [images]- The Dirt/American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)

John King: Creativity flows in proposed designs for S.F.’s futuristic new street toilets: The aging mock-Parisian models...would be replaced...with silvery reflective updates in a futuristic vein...tapered like a streamlined abstract vase - what Bill Katz of SmithGroupJJR called “a bit of an art piece by itself"...Several commissioners balked at how the tapered toilets would be topped by concealed planter boxes...questioning the pairing of metal curves and an airborne garden...Put this critic in the naysayers’ camp...transition from concept to reality is making our potential pissoirs better, not worse. [images]- San Francisco Chronicle

Mark Wilson: Your coworker with the annoying sit-stand desk may be onto something: A yearlong study finds that most employees would probably benefit from having the option to stand at work: ...people report feeling physically better, more active, and more productive after using sit/stand desks...new conclusions come on the heels of another recent study that was devastating for the practice of standing at work. -- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Center for Active Design; Perkins+Will; Steelcase [link to studies]- Fast Company

Diana Budds: Play it forward: With marble runs, ball pits, and white paint, New York-based Snarkitecture designs environments primed for fun: ...has grown into one of today’s most exciting studios despite having relatively few extant projects. It has found its niche in the ephemeral...like the National Building Museum’s “Fun House” and pop-up retail...[it] has become a recognizable brand worldwide, a crowd pleaser, and a go-to collaborator for creative companies...it’s done it all by exploiting a familiar concept: play. -- Alex Mustonen, Daniel Arsham, Benjamin Porto [images]- Curbed

Cornell AAP Names J. Meejin Yoon Its First Female Dean: ...the next dean of Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning...the first female dean in the school’s 122-year history...She will leave her current position as the architecture department head at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...She was also the first woman in her position at MIT... -- Höweler + Yoon Architecture; MY Studio- Cornell Daily Sun

Cumulus Studio wins Arts Centre Melbourne’s Cento café design competition: The performing arts centre invited small and emerging Victorian architectural design practices to submit an Expression of Interest to transform the pop-up eatery..."the design plays on the iconic and universally understood element of the theatre curtain as a device to signify ‘open’ and ‘closed.’” -- Architecture Architecture; Sibling Architecture; Clare Cousins Architects [images]- Australian Design Review

Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan: The case for building $1,500 parks: A groundbreaking new study shows that access to “greened” vacant lots reduced feelings of worthlessness and depression, especially in low-resource neighborhoods: ...research paints a vivid picture of how our neighborhoods impact our wellbeing and provides new evidence for why cities should be investing in low-cost but high-impact design interventions like lot greening in blighted neighborhoods. [images; link to JAMA Network Open study]- Fast Company / Co.Design

George Kafka: Feilden Fowles Tucks a Fully Functioning Farm Into a Vacant London Lot: The Waterloo City Farm, also home to the firm’s studio, delivers good design - and vegetables and barnyard critters - to communities in need: Amid its urban environs...a remarkable synthesis of divergent uses, and...a genuine community asset...fiscal realities will bring the farm to a close and force Feilden Fowles to relocate in the coming years...the firm designed the barn and studio to be demountable meaning the end of the site may not mean the end of the structures and [they] are optimistic about the future. -- Dan Pearson [images]- Metropolis Magazine

John King: Fort Scott - restoring Presidio's hidden gem: Design competitors map out their ambitious visions for the park’s next large redevelopment project: ...to restore the 30-acre landscape and its 22 historic structures...three leading contenders...are strong...But none...is as compelling as the setting, at least not yet...The creators of this year’s proposals exude a confidence that they can nudge communities and continents toward a safer and sane world... -- Tom Dinwoodie/Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)/Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects; OpenAI/Page & Turnbull; World Economic Forum/Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects- San Francisco Chronicle

LOLA Landscape Architects, Taller Architects, and L+CC Design "Romantic" Forest Trail for Forgotten Sports in Shenzhen: ...a 600-hectare forest and sports park in Guang Ming...will place an emphasis on health, sports, and nature to offer an ecological counterpoint to dense urban surroundings..."incorporating romantic techniques and realistic urban visions.” -- Land+Civilization Compositions [images]- ArchDaily

Ten in Shortlist to Redesign Moscow's Sokolniki Park: ...at 515 Hectares, it is the largest park in Moscow...an important part of Moscow's Heritage, having first been used for recreation as a site for falcon hunting in the 15th century. -- Turenscape (China); Arup (UK); Debarre Duplantiers Associés (France); MLA+ B.V. Netherlands); Wowhaus (Russia); Estudio Rubio & Álvarez-Sala (Spain); OKRA (Netherlands); ilex [Paysages-Urbanism] (France); Cruz y Ortiz arquitectos (Spain); LOLA landscape architects (Netherlands)- ArchDaily

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