ArchNewsNow

Today’s News - Tuesday, October 9, 2018

● Crosbie remembers "the messy, vibrant legacy" of Venturi, and recalls (in vivid detail!) being dispatched to Philly by Architecture magazine in 1985 to profile Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown, which won that year's AIA Firm Award.

● Filler pens his second tribute: His "intimate bond had both its rewards and perils - a lesson I repeatedly learned the hard way with Venturi and Scott Brown" ("Bob's funeral was held on a cool, overcast afternoon").

● Wainwright is quite inspired by Peter Barber, "the washing line warrior - putting the fun back into social housing" in London with "casbahs in the high street," and "mews homes that combat loneliness. He is a master of humane high-density."

● Jonathan Barnes, meanwhile, proposes "entrepreneurial housing" - a new kind of housing "to revive troubled neighborhoods" in Columbus, Ohio, and his new nonprofit Betterhood is looking to put a "test development in action."

● Massengale minces no words when it comes to the proposed expansion of the Frick Collection: "Are adding gift shops and cafes to venerable museums the only solution to staying 'relevant' in the 21st century?"

● Copenhagen aims to become the first carbon-neutral capital in just 7 years: "It will require a complete reimagining of how the city is powered and designed - and a lot of cyclists, officials admit" (but it's looking very possible!).

● Morley delves into how Jonathan Marvel and Resilient Power Puerto Rico are building solar installations to bring emergency power to community centers in informal settlements (while avoiding federal bureaucracy!).

● Smith-Miller + Hawkinson is on the team designing and building a $3.8-billion "super bridge" between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan (named for a Canadian who played for the NHL Detroit Red Wings) - the U.S. Port of Entry will be "larger than Disney World's Magic Kingdom."

● A deep dive into Kostow Greenwood's restoration plans for Louise Nevelson's "sanctuary of stillness" - a.k.a. Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Saint Peter's Church in Midtown Manhattan.

● A "green spa company" has purchased Escobedo's 2018 Serpentine Pavilion, which soon set off on tour to "yet-to-be-revealed 'selected locations.'"

● Zeiger's great profile of photographer Janna Ireland, who "is ensuring that modernist architect Paul R. Williams isn't forgotten - he occupies a tenuous place in the L.A. design canon."

● P. Green's great profile of Cooper Hewitt Design Award winner Neri Oxman, who "could just as easily have been nominated for fashion or architecture or product design. Her team can do crazy things with moss, mushrooms and apple pectin."

● The Storefront for Art and Architecture names Mexican architect, curator and writer José Esparza Chong Cuy as new executive director and chief curator.

● AIA Chicago establishes an LGBTQ architect group "to increase the organization's diversity and inclusion - who will be part of it, what kinds of events or goals it will address and its leadership are all still up for debate."

● Meier steps away from his firm, but "will remain available to colleagues and clients who seek his vast experience and counsel."

● Your eye candy for the day: stunning images of the 2018 Architectural Photography Awards shortlist.

● ICYMI: ANN feature: Taylor's: Venice in Three Parts: As a first-timer to La Biennale di Venezia; There are immersive experiences, artistic expressions, and marketing efforts. Guess which are most satisfying?; There are treasures and treats to be found beyond the confines of the Giardini.

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Michael J. Crosbie: Robert Venturi: A Benediction For Contradiction: Remembering the messy, vibrant legacy of an architectural giant: ...those who had studied architecture in the 1970s and ‘80s, when Modernism still seemed unassailable orthodoxy in the design studio. Venturi...seemed to bestow a blessing upon young architects-in-training to look beyond the stale modern monuments our professors were pushing...“You should never design buildings to prove points." -- "Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture" (1966); "Learning From Las Vegas (1972); Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates/VSBA- Common Edge

Critic and historian Martin Filler remembers Robert Venturi: My longest direct connection to those I’ve written about has been with Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. But that intimate bond had both its rewards and perils...an architecture journalist had best be on speaking terms with his subjects, a lesson I repeatedly learned the hard way with Venturi and Scott Brown...Bob’s funeral was held six days after his death, on a cool, overcast afternoon...- The Architect's Newspaper

Oliver Wainwright: Washing line warrior: the architect who wants to get the neighbours singing: Casbahs in the high street, mews homes that combat loneliness, a monorail encircling London ... meet Peter Barber, the architect putting the fun back into social housing: ...he has built a reputation for his ingenious reinventions of traditional house types and his ability to craft characterful chunks of city out of unpromising sites...He is a master of humane high-density...new housing that feels in tune with the grain of London...without resorting to pastiche..."When we design housing, we are designing cities"...The sense of theatre is no accident. ("Peter Barber: 100 Mile City and Other Stories"; Design Museum, London, 20 October to 27 January) [images]- Guardian (UK)

'Entrepreneurial housing' proposed to revive troubled neighborhoods: With a 54,000-unit shortage in affordable housing and prices continuously rising, Jonathan Barnes believes there’s got to be a better way...His solution: build a new kind of housing. Specifically, houses with apartments on top that teach new owners how to be landlords while raising the bar for whole neighborhoods...he’s formed a new nonprofit [Betterhood] and is looking to get partners involved to set a test development in action. -- Jonathan Barnes Architecture & Design [images]- Columbus Business First (Ohio)

John Massengale: The Proposed Expansion of the Frick Collection in New York Would Erase Forever a Unique Museum Experience: Are adding gift shops and cafes to venerable museums the only solution to staying “relevant” in the 21st century? ...the beauty and integrity of the house are threatened...The Music Room and the Reception Hall are extraordinary architectural and cultural landmarks. It’s ironic that it is a museum that proposes to harm them. -- Carrère & Hastings; John Russell Pope (1930s); John Barrington Bayley (1977); Selldorf Architects- Common Edge

Cycling city Copenhagen sprints to become first carbon-neutral capital: As dozens of cities try to slash carbon emissions by 2050, [it] aims to do it in half the time - in just seven years: It will require a complete reimagining of how the Danish capital is powered and designed - and a lot of cyclists, officials admit...By 2025, the city aims to be powered entirely by wind, sun, geothermal energy, waste, and wood and other biomass...one of the city's big priorities is cutting prices for energy users...That aim looks to be within reach.- Place / Thomson Reuters Foundation

Jack Balderrama Morley: How an architect is using solar power to prevent Puerto Rico’s next disaster: ...one year after Hurricane Maria, Jonathan Marvel and his partners at Resilient Power Puerto Rico are building a series of solar installations that are bringing emergency power to community centers in informal settlements across the island...focus on informal communities also helped RPPR avoid federal bureaucracy...presents a model for how architects can engage with their communities aside from multimillion-dollar cultural projects or philanthropic endeavors in remote countries. -- Marvel Architects; Lucilla Fuller Marvel- The Architect's Newspaper

This new $3.8-billion super bridge will be a Canada-US border crossing: Plans [for] border bridge over the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan have reached a new milestone...signed a fixed-priced contract with Bridging North America (BNA), a private consortium that will design and build the new bridge - named the Gordie Howe International Bridge...U.S. Port of Entry on the Detroit side spans a site of 167 acres - larger than Disney World’s Magic Kingdom... -- Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects [images]- Urbanized | Daily Hive (Canada)

Allison C. Meier: Restoring Louise Nevelson’s sanctuary of stillness in Midtown: An urban respite amid the chaos of Midtown East is undergoing an extensive renovation: Nestled below the cantilevered tower of Manhattan’s Citigroup Center...Since its 1977 completion, the Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Saint Peter’s Church...has begun to show its age...Nevelson addressed every detail of the 28-by-21 foot space. -- Jane Greenwood/Kostow Greenwood Architects; Hugh Stubbins/W. Easley Hamner/Stubbins Associates- Curbed New York

Frida Escobedo’s 2018 Serpentine Pavilion sold to green spa company: ...set to go on tour...international tech firm, spa company, and green builders the Therme Group has purchased the open-air installation...will set off for yet-to-be-revealed “selected locations"...- The Architect's Newspaper

Mimi Zeiger: Photographer Janna Ireland is ensuring that modernist architect Paul R. Williams isn't forgotten: For nearly two years, she’s searched out buildings to photograph...[She] has her work cut out for her. Williams was prolific for decades. From 1923, when he became the first black member of the American Institute of Architects, until retiring in 1973...Although posthumously awarded the AIA Gold Medal...in 2017, he occupies a tenuous place in the L.A. design canon...there’s no definitive archive of his work...“Her images paint a portrait of a person as an architect. They don’t simply document the architectural quality of the building but capture the thought that went into making it.” -- Barbara Bestor/Julius Shulman Institute [images]- Los Angeles Times

Penelope Green: Who Is Neri Oxman? A star of M.I.T.’s Media Lab working in “material ecology,” she has intrigued Björk, Brad Pitt and the Cooper Hewitt: ...42-year-old Israeli-born architect, computational designer and artist...recipient of this year’s Cooper Hewitt Design award for interaction design...could just as easily have been nominated for fashion or architecture or product design...Her team can do crazy things with moss, mushrooms and apple pectin...“The reason why she is a gift to the field of architecture and design is that her science works, her aesthetics work, and her theory works." -- John Maeda; Paola Antonelli/MoMA; Moshe Safdie [images]- New York Times

Storefront for Art and Architecture names José Esparza Chong Cuy as new director: Mexican architect, curator and writer...the new executive director and chief curator...will replace Eva Franch i Gilabert, who left to become the director of the Architectural Association in London...is currently associate curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA), and has held positions at major cultural organisations including the Museo Jumex in Mexico City [and] the Lisbon Architecture Triennale. [He] launched his career at Storefront.- Dezeen

AIA Chicago to create LGBTQ architect group: ...to increase the organization's diversity and inclusion. "There are groups in Chicago that are supportive of women in architecture, Latinos in architecture, African-Americans in architecture; yet there is no specific group made up of and supporting the LGBT members of the community," [executive vice president] Zurich Esposito said...Who will be part of the Chicago group, what kinds of events or goals it will address and its leadership are all still up for debate.- Windy City Times (Chicago)

Richard Meier steps away from firm in wake of sexual assault allegations: ...comes in the wake of a six-month leave of absence...Bernhard Karpf has been promoted to managing principal...Michael Palladino will be in charge of the firm’s West Coast office...Vivian Lee, Reynolds Logan, and Dukho Yeon have been promoted to principals...[he] “will remain available to colleagues and clients who seek his vast experience and counsel"...- The Architect's Newspaper

The year's most striking architectural photos revealed: ...some of the world's most eclectic buildings have appeared in images shortlisted in the annual Architectural Photography Awards. The 20 finalists...will be exhibited at the World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam from Nov. 28-30. [images]- CNN Style

ANN feature: Julie D. Taylor: Venice in Three Parts - Part 3: There are treasures and treats to be found beyond the confines of the Giardini della Biennale. [images]- ArchNewsNow.com

ANN feature: Julie D. Taylor: Venice in Three Parts - Part 2: There are three distinct types of displays at this year's La Biennale di Venezia: immersive experiences, artistic expressions, and marketing efforts. Guess which are most satisfying? [images]- ArchNewsNow.com

ANN feature: Julie D. Taylor: Venice in Three Parts - Part 1: As a first-timer to La Biennale di Venezia, I was awed, delighted, and enchanted at the spectacle of architecture in so many expressions.- ArchNewsNow.com

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