Today’s News - Wednesday, August 8, 2018
● Thorpe explains how "viewing cities like bodies can help reduce environmental impact" by "using citizen engagement and open source data," and gets into some interesting initiatives: "The greatest gap in mainstreaming urban metabolism is the need to link studies and action to public policies."
● Rochecouste, "a place-making visionary for decades," delves into the "rise of 'regenerative' built environments": "Place is the new green, place is the new black - it's a sexy story to sell."
● Keskeys gets Precht, Adjaye, and Gottesman to explain why "rumors of the death of vernacular architecture have been greatly exaggerated."
● 100 Resilient Cities and the Resilient Puerto Rico Advisory Commission release "ReImagina Puerto Rico Report," which "outlines 97 concrete recommendations to rebuild in a way that makes the island physically, economically, and socially resilient in the long run."
● Cozens delves into CPTED, and how "designed features can make cities safer, but getting it wrong can be plain frightening," becoming "hostile or defensive architecture" ("coin-operated benches with retractable spikes" - yikes!).
● Bliss cheers a short film that "reveals the inner workings of Barcelona's celebrated - and controversial - street revamps - a 40-acre, tic-tac-toe" superblock that has "shot the Catalonian capital to the cutting edge of urban design."
● Possibly coming to a street near you: Carlo Ratti Associati and Sidewalk Labs are developing the "Dynamic Street" - a modular system that "aims to make streets safer and more accessible to pedestrians."
● Betsky x 2 (both with his own fab photos): He finds "marvels of the mundane" at OMA's Prada Foundation in Milan: when the firm works "on a labor of love such as this, the results are astounding" (with some minor quibbles).
● He also makes a pilgrimage to Rossi's 1970s Gallaratese housing project in Milan: "When I first saw it, it seemed both wrong and seductive" - nothing "completely explains the beauty of a building that should not work, that does so many things wrong, and yet still takes your breath away."
● Pasnik, co-author of "Heroic," defends Brutalist buildings: "They were actually envisioned as being monumental symbols of how important the civic realm was" (with link to his and Grimley's op-ed "Trump can't stand brutalism. The feeling is mutual." in the Boston Globe).
● Gumusyan of GGA Architecture takes in "the beauty and brutality of New York City's skyline: In New York," and considers "the tale of two buildings" - Nouvel's 53W53 and Bunschaft's 9W57: they're "works of art that we can experience just by looking up. But at what cost?" (there is a silver lining).
● Foreman takes us on a foray to "dreamland cities in the air, floating villages and forest-like structures envisioned by the forward-thinking 'Metabolic' architects of the past."
● Metropolis surveys 80 industry professionals to come up with "10 Powerhouse Design Cities of 2018. The results turned up the usual suspects as well as some unexpected newcomers" (coming soon: "10 buzzing cultural hubs and ten inspirational cities").
● One we couldn't resist: "Seth Rogen is now the voice of public transit in Vancouver and Toronto. Which celebrity should voice your city's transit announcements?" (Lily Tomlin or HAL 9000, perhaps?)
A deadline, an impressive shortlist, miles of awards, and World Architecture Day poster competition winner:
● Call for entries: RFQ: Open, international design competition for 0.8 acres in downtown Winnipeg, to include an affordable housing complex, a public market building and a plaza (big cash prizes!).
● Six international teams in the running to design a $2 billion mixed-use tower development in Melbourne's Southbank (lots of pix).
● Eyefuls of the winners in 98 categories taking home the 6th Annual Architizer A+Awards.
● The winner and runners-up in the competition to design the official poster for World Architecture Day on October 1, appropriately titled "Architecture...for a better world!" (very cool).
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David Thorpe: Urban metabolism: viewing cities like bodies can help reduce environmental impact: A new way...is being piloted around the world, using citizen engagement and open source data to monitor resource flows and assist citizens improve resource efficiency...taken down to the neighbourhood level by an NGO called Ecocity Builders...Participatory Urban Metabolism methodology permits citizens and city authorities to chart their own material flows...The greatest gap in mainstreaming urban metabolism...is the need to link studies and action to public policies.- The Fifth Estate (Australia) |
Gilbert Rochecouste/Village Well: Reimagining shopping centres for the Amazon era: ...[he] has been a place-making visionary for decades...“Place is the new green, place is the new black ... it’s a sexy story to sell"...Retail has reached an “acupuncture point”...and people...want more from these public spaces than just shops...The “regenerative” model of building spaces is starting to gain momentum...involves moving beyond minimum sustainability and wellness benchmarks to pursue holistic environments that funnel positivity back into the community...Beauty is a great economic driver. -- Ash Buchanan/Benefit Mindset- The Fifth Estate (Australia) |
Paul Keskeys: Is Vernacular Architecture Dead? In the global era, homogenous architectural styles have infiltrated the urban fabric of cities around the world - but some architects are fighting back: Whether the primary driving force is regulation, materiality, or social context, there is a resilient desire among many architects to design buildings that speak to their surroundings...one thing seems certain - rumors of the death of vernacular architecture have been greatly exaggerated. -- Chris Precht/Penda; David Adjaye/Adjaye Associates; Asaf Gottesman/Gottesman Architecture- Architectural Digest |
Puerto Rico’s Path to Resilient Recovery and Reconstruction: ReImagina Puerto Rico Report outlines 97 concrete recommendations across six sectors...The goal is not only to repair the critical systems devastated by Hurricane Maria, but to rebuild in a way that makes the island physically, economically, and socially resilient in the long run.- 100 Resilient Cities / Rockefeller Foundation (100RC) / Resilient Puerto Rico Advisory Commission |
Paul Cozens: Designed features can make cities safer, but getting it wrong can be plain frightening: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)...is based on the idea that specific built and social environmental features can deter criminal behaviour...But in some cases design to prevent crime goes too far and creates hostile spaces. Examples of such unfriendly architecture include the use of metal studs...coin-operated benches with retractable spikes...Too much security can lead to sterile places no one wants to use.- The Conversation (Australia) |
Laura Bliss: Inside a Pedestrian-First ‘Superblock’: A short film reveals the inner workings of Barcelona’s celebrated - and controversial - street revamps: ...40-acre, tic-tac-toe sections of the street grid that the city has transformed into pedestrian-first environments have shot the Catalonian capital to the cutting edge of urban design...with the goal of reducing private car and moped use by 21%...short documentary...provides an intimate glimpse into the Poblenou superblock, the first of this new wave of street interventions...- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities) |
Carlo Ratti Associati and Sidewalk Labs Create Dynamic Street Prototype: The modular system aims to make streets safer and more accessible to pedestrians: ...adaptable road structure uses embedded lights to distinguish various traffic zones. Due to its modular design, each section of pavement can be easily moved around or replaced. [images]- Architect Magazine |
Aaron Betsky: The Marvels of the Mundane: Rem Koolhaas stages the Prada Foundation as a memory palace: Though OMA is now huge and spends much of its time doing buildings in which it can be difficult to find how the architecture contributes to the construction, it is still true that when the firm...works on a labor of love such as this, the results are astounding...It is exactly the seeming normality of most of the structures that makes the trek to the Foundation so worthwhile. -- Wes Anderson [images]- Architect Magazine |
Aaron Betsky: Making the Bones Dance: Aldo Rossi’s Gallaratese [1970s] housing project gets at the essence of apartment buildings: When I first saw [it], it seemed both wrong and seductive...with parts exaggerated and in the wrong place...None of that completely explains the beauty of a building that should not work, that does so many things wrong, and yet still takes your breath away. -- Carlo Aymonino [images]- Architect Magazine |
In Defense Of Brutalism: One Architect On The Meaning Behind All That Concrete: Depending on who you ask, brutalist buildings like the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., are little more than misshapen mounds of concrete. But...Mark Pasnik says the structures were built with a much deeper meaning in mind...."They were actually envisioned as being monumental symbols of how important the civic realm was." [images - with link to Boston Globe op-ed "Trump can’t stand brutalism. The feeling is mutual," by Pasnik & Chris Grimley, authors, with Michael Kubo, of “Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston"]- WBUR Boston Public Radio/NPR |
Garo Gumusyan: The beauty and brutality of New York City's skyline: In New York, the phrase that pays is “ars gratia verus praedium” - art for real estate’s sake. Consider a tale of two buildings...Jean Nouvel-designed 53W53 and the Gordon Bunschaft-designed 9W57...works of art that we can experience just by looking up. But at what cost? ...there is a slender silver lining to all of these shady schemes. It’s that we get to live amidst the world’s most diverse collection of modern architecture. From 9W57...to Hudson Yards’ hulking giants, to the underwhelming and overhyped 1 World Trade Center, the good, the bad, and the ugly are all on display with no curator or entrance fee needed. -- GGA Architecture- Crain's New York |
Liza Foreman: How Japan’s visionaries saw the future: Dreamland cities in the air, floating villages and forest-like structures were all envisioned by the forward-thinking ‘Metabolic’ architects of the past. -- Kenzo Tange; Kiyonori Kikutake; Arata Isozaki; Kisho Kurokawa; Masato Otaka; Fumihiko Maki [images]- BBC Designed |
Metropolis Magazine’s 10 Powerhouse Design Cities of 2018: We surveyed 80 leading architecture and design professionals...The results turned up the usual suspects as well as some unexpected newcomers...- Metropolis Magazine |
Which Celebrity Should Voice Your City's Transit Announcements? Seth Rogen is now the voice of public transit in Vancouver and Toronto. We’re nominating these stars do the same thing in other cities. -- Judi Dench; Lily Tomlin; HAL 9000; Greta Gerwig; Jennifer Hudson; etc.- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities) |
Call for entries: Request for Qualifications/RFQ: Open, international design competition for 0.8 Acres (0.32Ha) in downtown Winnipeg, at the Market Lands, to include an affordable housing complex, a public market building and a plaza; CAD$100,000 winner's prize; CAD$15 ,000 each to other four shortlisted teams; deadline: September 14- CentreVenture Development Corporation |
Shortlisted designs unveiled: $2b Southbank tower international competition: ...mixed-use tower development in Melbourne...six international teams revealed their designs... -- BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group/Fender Katsalidis Architects; Coop Himmelblau/Architectus; MAD Architects/Elenberg Fraser; MVRDV/Woods Bagot; UN Studio/Cox Architecture; OMA/Office of Metropolitan Architecture/Conrad Gargett [images]- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
6th Annual Architizer A+Awards: A jury-selected winner and a popular choice winner were awarded in each of the 98 categories, with popular choice winners determined by more than 400,000 public votes cast from around the world. [images]- Architizer |
"Architecture... for a better world!": Here is the official poster for 2018 World Architecture Day! On October 1st, the architecture community will celebrate World Architecture Day. Established in 2005 by UIA... -- Ana Rute Costa/Rúben Ferreira Duarte; Mattia Salvá; Davide Folador; Reena L.- Archinect |
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