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Today’s News - Wednesday, February 27, 2019

● O'Sullivan parses the "arsenal of ideas" Berlin is considering "to stage a housing revolution. The proposals might seem radical - but polls show the public is ready for something dramatic."

● Russell considers Sidewalk Toronto's redesign that "infuses the project with tech innovation, pioneers jobs development - and financing strategies that disrupt the hidebound urban-development process - but its broad ambitions could still sink the project."

● A recent survey shows that "55% of Torontonians support Sidewalk's Quayside project. Despite months of negative headlines - a 'Techlash' may not be a thing."

● Kamin x 2: The soaring Great Hall in Chicago's Union Station "glows after a $22 million rehab" - but "to beleaguered commuters," it seems like "Roman imperial grandeur for the few, a rat maze for the many."

● He puts out a want ad: "Someone with big bucks and a big heart to restore the legendary House of Tomorrow [with lake views]. An architectural wonder of Chicago's 1933-34 World's Fair may be on its way to a brighter future" (pix of current condition - sad!).

● King has high hopes for reviving the "vast" but "troubled plazas" around San Francisco's Civic Center - "the fact that the effort has gotten this far is a sign of progress - these glimmers show that well-focused design and programming can pay dividends."

● Van Evra brings us eyefuls of Hong Kong's (spectacular) new opera house, one of Bing Thom's last projects (it's going to be featured on a new HK$100 banknote!).

● Adjaye is tapped to design Ghana's first Venice Art Biennale pavilion, opening this May, and come November, it will head to Accra, Ghana's capital.

● Schwab looks at how Ikea used research in redesigning its Copenhagen HQ open plan office that "addresses many of the reasons people hate open plan offices."

● Speros profiles J. Max Bond Jr.: "A single staircase took him to heights unforeseen, yet he remained grounded in his mission to change perceptions."

● Fazzare & Olson profile "barrier-breaking African American architects we should be celebrating" who "paved the way for future creatives of color - and improved the practice of architecture for everyone."

● Ciampaglia considers how and why hip hop architecture, "a mature yet emerging global design," is "challenging the architecture establishment."

● Keith x 2: Part 1 of an oral history of the Sea Ranch, "'Paradise at the end of the world' - the origins and controversies surrounding California's most bucolic planned community."

● Sea Ranch - Part II: "A fight erupts over public access to the coast, and experts weigh in on how the community can evolve for the future" (plan to spend time with both!).

● LaBarre's eloquent tribute to Alessandro Mendini and his "exuberant design": "His work reminds us that everyday objects can be a source of joy. The tyranny of minimalism continues today. His work offers a refreshing antidote," and "suggests that consumers are worthy of joy and pleasure" (with eyefuls of his joyous designs!).

● One we couldn't resist: "Visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger shares the story of how America's public libraries came to be, and their uneven history of serving all who need them."

● ICYMI: ANN feature: Saxon Henry: Raw Elegance in Black and White: Q&A with JoAnn Locktov, the editor and publisher of "Dream of Venice in Black and White," who talks about her creative process and strategies in creating the third book in the "Dream of Venice" trilogy (luscious images!).

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Elizabeth Fazzare & Carly Olson: Barrier-Breaking African American Architects We Should Be Celebrating: These historic trailblazers paved the way for future creatives of color - and improved the practice of architecture for everyone. -- Norma Sklarek/Siegel Sklarek Diamond; John S. Chase; National Organization of Minority Architects/NOMA; Paul R. Williams; Robert R. Taylor; Beverly Loraine Greene; John Warren Moutoussamy; Moses McKissack III; Walter T. Bailey; Vertner Woodson Tandy; George Washington Foster- Architectural Digest

Feargus O'Sullivan: Berlin Builds an Arsenal of Ideas to Stage a Housing Revolution: The proposals might seem radical - from banning huge corporate landlords to freezing rents for five years - but polls show the public is ready for something dramatic: In effect, these plans would transfer large sections of the city’s rental homes from private owners to the public sector...It may come slowly, but it seems likely that a total overhaul of how the Berlin housing market works is underway.- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities)

James S. Russell: Sidewalk Toronto Redesigns Development as Urban Tech Ambitions Stumble: ...new plan...infuses the project with tech innovation, and pioneers jobs development, advanced construction techniques, and financing strategies that disrupt the hidebound urban-development process...If the city agrees to the use of mass timber beyond the Quayside project, the larger scale will lower costs...The emerging technologies, the novel economic-development tactics, and new financing tools have spurred skeptics who question whether the benefits promised are fair, transparent, and realistic...Tech company missteps elsewhere may boost Sidewalk’s prospects, but its broad ambitions could still sink the project. -- Waterfront Toronto; Sidewalk Labs; Daniel Doctoroff; Snøhetta; Heatherwick Studio- Architectural Record

55% of Torontonians support Sidewalk’s Quayside project: Environics: Despite months of negative headlines...against Sidewalk Labs-Waterfront Toronto partnership...a ‘Techlash’ may not be a thing... just 11% opposed it...a strong majority (71%) believe the public sector should have custody over smart city (public realm) data.- Canadian Architect

Blair Kamin: Union Station's Great Hall looks better than ever, so why are commuters fuming? The station’s soaring Great Hall...glows after a $22 million rehab...To beleaguered commuters...[it] must seem like Amtrak...is fiddling with Roman-inspired architecture while they do a slow burn... Is this any way to run a railroad station - Roman imperial grandeur for the few, a rat maze for the many? ...kudos to Amtrak and the architects for doing this job right, but the good station/bad station optics are still terrible. -- Graham, Anderson, Probst & White (1925); Goettsch Partners; Arup; Grimshaw Architects- Chicago Tribune

Blair Kamin: Wanted: Someone with big bucks and a big heart to restore the legendary House of Tomorrow: An architectural wonder of Chicago’s 1933-34 World’s Fair may be on its way to a brighter future - if, that is, somebody is willing to spend nearly $3 million to restore the fabled [house] but not own it...Indiana Landmarks...is offering a 50-year lease...to a qualified individual or party who would restore the building to federal standards. -- George Fred Keck; bKL Architecture; BauerLatoza Studio- Chicago Tribune

John King: In SF’s Civic Center, hope for renewal as proposals to revive troubled plazas: Two years after planners began exploring how new designs could help revive and enliven the...vast plazas...Then the hard part begins - finding ways to turn the renderings into real life, and gaining the political support and funding that’s necessary to tackle one of San Francisco’s most troubled public landscapes...the fact that the effort has gotten this far is a sign of progress...these glimmers show that well-focused design and programming can pay dividends...most people don’t need to be dazzled when it comes to public space. -- Willett Moss/CMG Landscape Architecture- San Francisco Chronicle

Jennifer Van Evra: Hong Kong’s New Opera House Suspends a 1,073-Seat Theater Above a Grand Public Atrium: The Xiqu Centre, which will showcase traditional Chinese opera, was among the last projects to involve revered Chinese-Canadian architect Bing Thom: ...the building will also be featured on a new HK$100 banknote. But for Venelin Kokalov, the look isn’t what matters most. “We wanted to create an experiential building...we didn’t use precedents. We are kind of reinventing the opera house.” -- Bing Thom Architects (now Revery Architecture) [images]- Metropolis Magazine

David Adjaye to design Ghana’s first Venice Art Biennale pavilion: 58th international Venice Art Biennale will run from May 11 through November 24, 2019, under the theme of "May You Live In Interesting Times"...Ghana’s contribution...will be titled "Ghana Freedom" and will track the evolution of that freedom across three generations...the pavilion will travel to Accra, Ghana’s capital.- The Architect's Newspaper

Katharine Schwab: How Ikea’s innovation lab redesigned its own open plan office: Space10 looked at the research...and decided to give its employees more privacy and more flexibility: The new space...designed by...Spacon & X, addresses many of the reasons people hate open plan offices...Employees are also encouraged to move around, choosing their setting to suit what they’re working on... [images]- Fast Company / Co.Design

Will Speros: How J. Max Bond Jr. Became New York’s Most Influential Black Architect: As the story goes, [he] became fascinated by design in his youth after encountering a staircase at the Tuskegee Institute. That single curiosity is said to have set in motion a career that embodied humanistic values...His historic fingerprint on the city made him and his practice a natural choice to spearhead the design of the museum portion of the city’s 9/11 memorial...a single staircase took him to heights unforeseen, yet he remained grounded in his mission to change perceptions. -- Gruzen & Partners; Pedersen & Tilney; Bond Ryder & Associates; Davis Brody Bond- Artsy

Dante A. Ciampaglia: The Hip Hop Designers Challenging the Architecture Establishment: Born in the ’90s from hip-hop culture, this critical architecture movement has been coalescing for decades...may be poised for a second wave: Beginning in the 1990s, architects, academics, and artists...grappled with the idea of hip-hop-driven architecture..."Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture" at New York’s Center for Architecture...made a persuasive case for a mature yet emerging global design movement... -- Michael Ford; Amanda Williams; James Garrett Jr.; Sekou Cooke; Nathan Williams; Heren 5; 4RM+ULA;- Metropolis Magazine

Kelsey Keith: ‘Paradise at the end of the world’: An oral history of the Sea Ranch - Part 1: ...mining the origins and controversies surrounding California’s most bucolic planned community - and forecasting its future. -- Charles Moore; Donlyn Lyndon/MLTW; Al Boeke; Joseph Esherick; Lawrence Halprin; William Turnbull/Mary Griffin/Turnbull Griffin Haesloop; Obie Bowman; Alison Isenberg; Reyner Banham; Christopher Hawthorne; Lisa Dundee; etc.- Curbed

Kelsey Keith: ‘Paradise at the end of the world’: An oral history of the Sea Ranch - Part II: A fight erupts over public access to the coast, and experts weigh in on how the community can evolve for the future. -- Charles Moore; Donlyn Lyndon/MLTW; Al Boeke; Joseph Esherick; Lawrence Halprin; William Turnbull/Mary Griffin/Turnbull Griffin Haesloop; Obie Bowman; Alison Isenberg; Reyner Banham; Christopher Hawthorne; Lisa Dundee; etc.- Curbed

Suzanne LaBarre: The lost art of designing for pleasure: Alessandro Mendini...His work reminds us that everyday objects can be a source of joy: Exuberant design was Mendini’s specialty...his death leaves a void in the school of thought that favored emotion and surprise over the cold efficiency that has come to dominate much of design...The tyranny of minimalism continues today...[His] work offers a refreshing antidote. His design was never quiet...There’s a radical dignity ...to all his works. They suggest that consumers are worthy of joy and pleasure... [images]- Fast Company / Co.Design

A History of the American Public Library: Visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger shares the story of how America’s public libraries came to be, and their uneven history of serving all who need them.- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities)

ANN feature: Saxon Henry: Raw Elegance in Black and White: Q&A with JoAnn Locktov: The editor and publisher of "Dream of Venice in Black and White" talks about her creative process and strategies in creating the third book in the "Dream of Venice" trilogy. [images]- ArchNewsNow

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