Today’s News - Thursday, December 20, 2018

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the last newsletter of 2018 (what a year on so many levels!). It's a bit longer than usual, but you have a few weeks to take it all in. We thank all our readers for heads-ups about stories we missed, for graciously pointing out errors, and for your many ye olde notes of good cheer. Wishing you all a joyous holiday season - and see you next year! Here's to a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year for us all (peace on Earth and a healed environment would be nice, too).

●  Davidson parses what could be in store for Sunnyside Yard, a rail yard in Queens seven times bigger than Hudson Yards: He cheers Chakrabarti's "encouraging mixture of realism and imagination," but "it's hard not to worry. When stakes are high and intentions are pure, the system tends to respond with a mixture of venality, hype, and habit."

●  Crosbie's great Q&A with accessibility guru Peter Stratton re: "why architects still struggle with disability requirements" 28 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act/ADA passed.

●  Mobbs delves into how "beauty still trumps sustainability for many - despite the looming threat of climate change - it's very possible, and preferable, to do both at once"; and "the unpronounceable UN thing called the 'Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'" ("buckle up and do what you can").

●  Deeks delves into "what's stopping Australia from building smart cities. The construction industry has made huge transformations with innovative methods and materials overseas - the Australian construction industry is far too traditional and risk averse."

●  Betsky's Year in Review 2018: "The style of our time is reuse. Don't replace; renovate. Don't replicate; intimate. These should be our watchwords."

●  A roundup of the best pro-bono projects opening in 2019: "Around the world, architects are finding a sweet spot in donating their services for a common cause," bringing "fresh design in unsuspecting places."

●  A roundup of "the 14 most anticipated buildings of 2019. Some will be loud, contorting their exteriors - while others are decidedly more muted in their appearance."

●  Hausman & Parman parse how to rev up AEC firms' content engines on social media: "Don't Control; Aim for Substance; Embrace the New; Keep it Simple - and Real."

●  ICYMI: Weinstein at his eloquent best with his pick of the 10 Best Architecture and Design Books of 2018, which he describes as "invaluable and impeccably designed"; "quirkily inclusive"; "charmingly loopy"; "enthralling"; "produced with panache" (and then some!).

Ending the year (and the news section) with four we couldn't resist:

●  New Fairy Tale Architecture tales by LTL Architects, Mary English & Xavier Vendrell, and Bernheimer Architecture, and others (who doesn't love a good fairy tale?).

●  Eyefuls of "iconic 20th-century American buildings re-envisioned in the Gothic Revival style" (a hoot!).

●  "Last Night I Dreamt I Was a Robot" and "Selfies on Parade" are among the tracks on a mixed tape of architects' bands: "Readers may know them from their work in their day jobs, but by night, these architects unleash their true passions" (some very impressive names!).

●  In the spirit of the season, photographer Betsy Pinover Schiff "takes us on an illuminated tour of NYC during Christmastime," when the city becomes a place for "fun, fantasy, and endless heartwarming moments."

Deadlines:

●  Call for entries: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy/ACSP Case Study Awards (deadline tomorrow!), and Curriculum Innovation Awards (you have more time).

●  Call for projects: Houston, We Have a Problem: Ecology & Responsibility, issued by the BDA, DAZ, and der architekt magazine.

●  Call for proposals for the ASLA 2019 Conference on Landscape Architecture in San Diego next November.

●  Call for conference sessions & workshop proposals for Build The World We Want: Implementing Low Carbon Solutions, the North American Passive House Network annual conference in NYC next June.

Weekend diversions:

●  Budds cheers "The Road Ahead" at the Cooper Hewitt, which "hopes to foster more engagement around mobility issues - and perhaps rally more political will around a future that works better for more people."

●  "Art Within Art: The Everson at 50" in Syracuse, NY, celebrates Pei's first-ever museum, "a brutalist building that broke the mold on traditional museum design."

●  "Architecture Effects" at the Guggenheim Bilbao: "All architecture promises effects, but a building that actually produces them inflects history itself" (like Gehry's 1997 game-changer in Spain).

●  Raskin gives (mostly) thumbs-up to the Tatiana Bilbao-organized "Two Sides of the Border" at Yale that "uses student work, Iwan Baan photography, and maps to present multitudinous - though sometimes blurry - visions for the contentious region."

●  Fixsen fixes on "Dior: From Paris to the World" at the Denver Art Museum, designed by OMA New York's Shigematsu: "Petals and gardens quietly underpin the design. But the motif is anything but delicate" - he and his team "rely on tough materials, moody lighting, and sensuous curves" (with pix to prove it!).

Page-turners:

●  In an excerpt from Suckle & Singer's "Cocktails & Conversations: Dialogues on Architecture," former Dwell editor Dameron and OMA's Shigematsu "discuss specificity and process-oriented design over a bourbon drink" (full disclosure: yours truly was the book's Consulting Editor).

●  Scruton reviews Curl's "Making Dystopia" that "could well provoke a worldwide architectural revolution - he tells the story with passion and conviction, and fully justifies his judgment of the modern movement and its aftermath as a catastrophe."

●  Stephens & Brasuell's very lively takes on the Top 10 Urban Planning Books of 2018 (great read, even if you don't read the books).

●  Denny delves into "Not Interesting: On the Limits of Criticism in Architecture" and "Possible Mediums" - two books that "rethink theory and criticism's role in architecture - both reject the premise that theory be left to theorists or criticism be left to critics."

●  Budds parses the book we want for Christmas: "Pet-tecture: Design for Pets" presents over 200 "paw-some structures for dogs, cats, bees, horses, hermit crabs, chickens, and more."

●  Green's Best Books of 2018 picks are the "best on the environment, cities, and landscape" ("delightful" with "magical drawings" and "impressive" included).

●  Curbed's picks of "18 enticing new books on design, cities, and more. Beyond their stimulating content," they "all look stunning on a table."

●  A roundup of "15 books for architecture buffs and their little ones."

Tweet

To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here Justin Davidson: If You Think Hudson Yards Is a Big Development, Wait Till You See What’s Coming to Sunnyside: The future of Queens lies over the rail yards: Sunnyside Yard is seven times bigger...the city is hoping for...a “chunky and funky” texture...Chakrabarti comes to the project with an encouraging mixture of realism and imagination...the plan is heading towards an appealingly complex, grainy neighborhood...it sounds suspiciously like an architect’s pleasant fantasy. It’s hard not to worry. When stakes are high and intentions are pure, the system tends to respond with a mixture of venality, hype, and habit...Check back in a couple of decades to see how it all worked out. -- Vishaan Chakrabarti/Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU)- New York Magazine Michael J. Crosbie: Why Architects Still Struggle With Disability Requirements 28 Years After Passage of the ADA: Mere compliance isn’t the same as good accessible design: ...Americans with Disabilities Act, a civil rights act signed into law in 1990...Q&A with Peter Stratton, Sr. VP and Managing Director of Accessibility Services at Steven Winter Associates: "Owners now understand that they can’t rely entirely on architects to achieve compliance; architects don’t want the responsibility of compliance anyway. Design teams have learned that an ADA consultant is just as important as other consultants...access can make the built environment more equitable and thus more meaningful..."- Common Edge Michael Mobbs: How designers are ignoring climate with their concrete, glass and steel: Beauty still trumps sustainability for many critics of the built environment, despite the looming threat of climate change outlined in the latest IPCC report...it’s very possible, and preferable, to do both at once: ...the code of professional conduct for the Royal Institute of Architects...appears to be one of Australia’s least read documents...You know of no council or government...asking about the risk to their investments...or other financial impacts of a collapse in the financial and other frameworks due to catastrophic climate change before 2030....Buckle up and keep your eyes set on the sky. Do what you can.- The Fifth Estate (Australia) Nick Deeks: What’s stopping Australia from building smart cities: Governments in Australia [and] worldwide are jostling to design ‘smart cities’ that will cater for our growing population. We need to build smart cities...but what are smart cities and how do we get there? Smart cities are the future, which must be built today. A vital component to creating smart cities is a willingness to take on risk and an innovative construction industry...The construction industry has made huge transformations with innovative methods and materials overseas...the Australian construction industry is far too traditional and risk averse. -- WT Partnership- The Fifth Estate (Australia) Aaron Betsky: Year in Review 2018: The Style of Our Time Is Reuse: Don’t replace; renovate. Don’t replicate; intimate. These should be our watchwords as we face the reality that rebuilding and reusing what we have is the future...in the next few decades, reuse will account for a quarter to a third of what architects do. -- MVRDV; Assemble- Metropolis Magazine Best Pro-Bono Projects Opening in 2019: Around the world, architects are investing in beautiful passion ventures for sustainability and the greater good: ...finding a sweet spot in donating their services for a common cause because it not only helps support communities but also infuses fresh design in unsuspecting places...“We’re doing more with less means." -- Gregory Melitonov/Taller KEN; OMA; Perkins+Will; HLW; Brandon Architects; Selldorf Architects; Kobi Karp [images]- Architectural Digest The 14 Most Anticipated Buildings of 2019: In the words of architect Robert Venturi, we believe these buildings will allow you to “see familiar things in an unfamiliar way”: Some...will be loud, contorting their exteriors...while others are decidedly more muted in their appearance. -- Snøhetta; Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Rockwell Group; Studio Gang; Beyer Blinder Belle; Lubrano Ciavarra Architects; Zaha Hadid Architects; FXCollaborative; Foster + Partners; Bonetti Kozerski Architecture; Renzo Piano; Adjaye Associates; Heneghan Peng Architects; RUR Architecture DPC; Jean Nouvel- Architectural Digest Tami Hausman & John Parman: Social media synergy: Revving up your AEC firm’s content engine: Design firms know that just having a website and a blog aren’t enough, but social media complicates how they communicate: By supporting your network of creators - and taking them seriously, providing media training for rising stars, and underwriting specific initiatives - you’ll be seen as an impresario, making It happen. Influence, Don't Control; Aim for Substance; Embrace the New; Keep it Simple - and Real- Building Design & Construction (BD+C) Fairy Tale Architecture: Curated by Kate Bernheimer and Andrew Bernheimer: LTL Architects: "The Death of Koschei the Deathless"; Mary English and Xavier Vendrell (Rural Studio): "Little Red Riding Hood"; Bernheimer Architecture: "The Butterfly Dream"; Smiljan RadicSmiljan Radic:"Gripho"; Snøhetta: "Tiddalik the Frog"; etc. [images]- Places Journal Iconic American Buildings Re-Envisioned in the Gothic Revival Style: A series of computer-graphics (CG) renderings...reinterpret some of America's iconic architecture from the 20th century to mirror buildings from the Middle Ages. [images]- ArchDaily Listen to your favorite architect’s band on this designer mixtape: "Last Night I Dreamt I Was a Robot." "Selfies on Parade." "Dadwhyareyousonegative." No, these are not leaked track titles from Beyoncé’s next album. They are songs from "Practicing Spaces," a mixtape that collects the work of other, much less well-known musicians who have one conspicuous thing tying them together: they’re all architects. Readers may know [them] from their work in their day jobs, but by night, these architects unleash their true passions, plug in the amp, and let the music play. -- Melissa J. Frost; Michael Meredith/MOS Architects; Florian Idenburg/SO – IL; Eric Bunge/nARCHITECTS; Michael Young; Wendy Gilmartin; Neil Denari- The Architect's Newspaper Photographer Betsy Pinover Schiff takes us on an illuminated tour of NYC during Christmastime: “‘Tis the Season New York...shares some of her sparkling photos and tells us how New York during Christmastime becomes a place for “fun, fantasy, and endless heartwarming moments.”- 6sqft (New York City) Call for entries: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy / Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Case Study Awards deadline: December 21, 2018 + Curriculum Innovation Awards deadline: February 11, 2019- Lincoln Institute of Land Policy / Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Call for Projects: Houston, We Have a Problem: Ecology & Responsibility: projects, planned or completed, that go beyond conventional solutions using thermal insulation composite systems to help keep ‘Spaceship Earth’ on course in these times of climate change. BDA, DAZ and der architekt will look at the visionary optimism of different models that strive to transform vision into reality; deadline: January 16, 2019- Association of German Architects (BDA) / German Architecture Centre (DAZ) / der architekt magazine Call for entries: Proposals for the ASLA 2019 Conference on Landscape Architecture, San Diego, November 15 - 18, 2019; deadline: January 23, 2019- American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Call for Conference Sessions & Workshop Proposals: NAPHN 2019 Annual Conference + Expo: Build The World We Want: Implementing Low Carbon Solutions, June 27-28, New York City; deadlines: conference sessions proposals, February 1; workshopp proposals, March 7, 2019- North American Passive House Network (NAPHN) Diana Budds: The future of urban mobility will be shaped by these six issues: "The Road Ahead" [at the] Cooper Hewitt frames conversations around equity, street design, UX, freight, and more: Transportation is now the U.S.’s biggest source of carbon emissions. Mobility - or the movement of people, goods, services, and information - must change....[show] hopes to foster more engagement around mobility issues - and perhaps rally more political will around a future that works better for more people. thru March 2019 [images]- Curbed Stunning new photos document I.M. Pei’s early brutalist museum: ...his first-ever museum in downtown Syracuse, New York. Constructed in 1968...Everson Museum of Art was a brutalist building that broke the mold on traditional museum design...On the 50th anniversary of the museum’s completion..."Art Within Art: The Everson at 50"...showcases archival materials and never-before-seen plans, photographs, and models...focuses on the building’s iconic design and Pei’s plans for the site.- The Architect's Newspaper "Architecture Effects": All architecture promises effects, but a building that actually produces them inflects history itself. This happened with the opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997...Frank Gehry’s building set a new standard for the effects of architecture with the very tools that would soon transform life itself...The exhibition experience is designed for a constant back-and-forth between the material and the virtual, the ancient and the futuristic...thru April 29, 2019 -- MOS Architects; Leong Leong; MAIO Architects; Frida Escobedo; Didier Faustino; Nemesis- Guggenheim Bilbao Museum Laura Raskin: Yale School of Architecture’s “Two Sides of the Border” Reimagines the U.S-Mexico Border: The Tatiana Bilbao-organized show uses student work, Iwan Baan photography, and maps to present multitudinous - though sometimes blurry - visions for the contentious region: I expected the 129 student projects to look toward a hopeful, idealized future. They do, but it was disappointing to find that Nile Greenberg...decided not include explanatory text...a letdown and a missed opportunity. thru February 9, 2019 [images]- Metropolis Magazine Anna Fixsen: J’Adore OMA! Shohei Shigematsu Designs Exhibition for Dior Retrospective in Denver: ...petals and gardens quietly underpin the design of the house’s first U.S. retrospective...at the Denver Art Museum. But the motif, left in the hands of OMA New York’s Shigematsu, is anything but delicate. Throughout "Dior: From Paris to the World" [he] and his team rely on tough materials, moody lighting, and sensuous curves to accentuate the elaborate couture on display.. thru March 3, 2019 [images]- Metropolis Magazine Former Dwell Editor Amanada Dameron Sits Down with Shohei Shigematsu [OMA] for Some Cocktails and Conversation: The two discuss specificity and process-oriented design over a bourbon drink...Grab yourself a rosemary sprig, pour a stiff one, and read the resulting exchange. [exerpt from "Cocktails & Conversations: Dialogues on Architecture" by Abby Suckle & William Singer]- Archinect Roger Scruton: "Making Dystopia: The Strange Rise and Survival of Architectural Barbarism" by James Stevens Curl: This book could well provoke a worldwide architectural revolution, re-orienting the practice towards more human-centered design. At the same time, the world's historical and local architectures are given powerful support...tells the story with passion and conviction, and fully justifies his judgment of the modern movement and its aftermath as a catastrophe. The only reservation I have is that he does not examine in detail what kind of catastrophe he is dealing with...questions were left hanging in the air...But thank heavens for an author who is prepared to raise them.- New Design Ideas / Jomard Publishing Josh Stephens & James Brasuell: Top 10 Urban Planning Books - 2018: ...covers subjects in all varieties of planning: urban planning, community planning, environmental planning, and more. Lucy Jones: "The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them)"; Sam Anderson: "Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City"; Richard Sennett: "Building and Dwelling: Ethics for the City"; Alexandra Lange: "The Design of Childhood"; Alan Mallach: "The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America"; Ben Austen: "High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing"; Donald Shoup: "Parking and the City"; Anna Clark: "The Poisoned City: Flint's Water and the American Urban Tragedy"; Douglas Farr: "Sustainable Nation: Urban Design Patterns for the Future"; Jeff Speck: "Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places"- PLANetizen Phillip Denny: Against Pluralism, Again: Two Books Rethink Theory and Criticism’s Role in Architecture: "Not Interesting: On the Limits of Criticism in Architecture" and "Possible Mediums" both depict and challenge our pluralistic age, in which architects are pressured to package themselves as commodities: Both books - efforts of practicing designers, critics, instructors all - reject the premise that theory be left to theorists or criticism be left to critics...both might just mark the leading edge of new alignments of theory, criticism, and practice. -- Andrew Atwood; Kelly Bair; Kristy Balliet; Adam Fure; Kyle Miller- Metropolis Magazine Diana Budds: A new book proves pets get the best design: Paw-some structures for dogs, cats, bees, horses, hermit crabs, chickens, and more: "Pet-tecture: Design for Pets"...surveys over 200 of contemporary design’s most delightful products, homes, and ideas for animals...they also reflect larger issues impacting the built world. [images]- Curbed Jared Green: Best Books of 2018: ...our picks for the best on the environment, cities, and landscape: Jonathan Drori: "Around the World in 80 Trees" ("delightful" with "magical drawings" by Lucille Clerc); "Design as Democracy: Techniques for Collective Creativity" ("impressive"); Thaïsa Way: "GGN Landscapes, 1999-2018" (Gustafson Guthrie Nichol monograph); "Letters to the Leaders of China: Kongjian Yu and the Future of the Chinese City"; Julian Raxworthy: "Overgrown: Practices Between Landscape Architecture & Gardening"; Elizabeth Rush: "Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore"; "River City, City Rivers"; "Roberto Burle Marx Lectures: Landscape as Art and Urbanism"; Catherine Seavitt Nordenson, Guy Nordenson & Julia Chapman: "Structures of Coastal Resilience"- The Dirt/American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) 18 enticing new books on design, cities, and more: ...feature impeccable modern interiors and fantastical cityscapes, educational toys and landscape utopias, plus playgrounds, textiles, subway tiles, and road trips. Beyond their stimulating content...these volumes all look stunning on a table. Pierluigi Serraino, Emily Bills & Sam Lubell: "California Captured: Mid-Century Modern Architecture, Marvin Rand"; Oliver Wainwright: "Inside North Korea"; Michael Bierut & Jessica Helfand: "Culture Is Not Always Popular: Fifteen Years of Design Observer"; Alexandra Lange: "The Design of Childhood"; Sam Lubell & Darren Bradley: "Mid-Century Modern Architecture Travel Guide: East Coast"; "Archigram: The Book"; Mark Lamster: "The Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson, Architect of the Modern Century"; etc.- Curbed 15 Books for Architecture Buffs and Their Little Ones: Topics include designers, projects, interiors, planning, and adventures. Daniel Libeskind & Tim McKeough: "Edge of Order"; "Steven Holl: Seven Houses"; Salma Samar Damluji & Viola Bertini: "Hassan Fathy: Earth & Utopia"; Mark Lamster: "The Man in the Glass House"; "The New York Times Explorer: Cities & Towns"; Helen Thomas: 'Drawing Architecture"; Amanda Kolson Hurley: "Radical Suburbs"; Josh Sanabria: "Norman's Architecture Adventure"; Andrea Beaty & David Roberts: "Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters"; Julie Merberg & Aki: "Baby's First Eames: The ABC's of Modern Architecture and Design"; etc.- Architect Magazine ANN feature: Norman Weinstein: Best Architecture and Design Books of 2018: 10 Books to deepen historical awareness and stretch imagination.- ArchNewsNow.com

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window.
External news links are not endorsed by ArchNewsNow.com.
Free registration may be required on some sites.
Some pages may expire after a few days.

Yesterday's News

© 2018 ArchNewsNow.com