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Today’s News - Thursday, March 7, 2019

EDITOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow and Monday will be no-newsletter days. We'll be back Tuesday, March 12.

● Betsky expands his take on "Robotic Innovation" with "Machine Madness": "I am fascinated by effects, not techniques - and imaginary architecture by the mindless spinning out of codes by machines set loose by those too lazy to figure out how to make good architecture."

● Solly weighs in on studies re: curvy vs. right angles: "Architects are more likely than non-experts to deem curvilinear spaces beautiful, but less likely to enter curved over straight-edged rooms."

● Wainwright cheers "Will Alsop's intergalactic porcupine of knowledge - a laboratory complex so lovable, you almost want to give it a cuddle," and a "chubby little thing" that is "part of a much bigger Alsopian universe."

● Peters parses Space&Matter's new neighborhood of floating houses in Amsterdam - "a model that could be used in coastal cities that already struggle with flooding - some version of the design could also be used in disasters."

● King talks to pros re: building models: "For some architects, old habits die hard - physical models play a role in the creative process that can't be emulated on a computer screen."

● One we couldn't resist: RIBA "drops an International Women's Day cookery class after more than 50 architects and academics signed an open letter urging the institute to rethink the proposed event - labeling it an 'astonishing misstep.'"

Winners all:

● Pedro y Juana wins the 2019 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program with "Hórama Rama," an "immersive junglescape" that includes a 2-story waterfall (and hammocks).

● "Irish star" Sheila O'Donnell of O'Donnell + Tuomey wins the Women in Architecture/WIA Architect of the Year 2019 award, and 43-year-old Xu Tiantian of Beijing-based DnA wins the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture.

Deadlines:

● Call for entries: J.M.K. Innovation Prize: $175,000 each for up to 10 organizations "tackling America's most pressing challenges in environment, heritage conservation, and social justice."

● Call for entries: Architecture: Future of Past (international; open to students and young graduates): "What role to give to a building such as the Compagnie des Notaires de Paris in the future of the city?"

Weekend diversions:

● Wainwright cheers again: The Milan Triennale is "back with a bang" as it "takes on apocalypse" with "Broken Nature": "Paola Antonelli's show isn't the self-flagellating doom-fest you might expect. It is a nuanced, witty and thoughtful take on where we are now, and what the future might hold."

● Welton weighs in on "RECKONstruct," the U.S. pavilion in Milan that is taking the "Broken Nature" theme "seriously by exploring a revolution in material use."

● ArchitectureAU editor's picks of highlights of the 2019 Melbourne Design Week, themed "Design experiments: how can design shape the future?" (Wainwright, Wardle, and SO-IL included).

● Next week, the ADFF:LA/ Architecture & Design Film Festival LA 2019 will feature 22 films (including Hawthorne's film about FLW's Maya-inspired houses).

● Allen cheers "Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture at Bizzell" at the University of Oklahoma that "presents a fascinating chapter of American architectural education," and includes "OU students' otherworldly, hand-drawn renderings" (great pix!).

Page-turners:

● Moonan toasts "Cocktails and Conversation: Dialogues on Architecture and Design" by Suckle and Singer: "Illustrated with photos, sketches, and lush watercolors by architect Bishakh Som," this is "a lively if informal compendium about many issues architects face in design and practice."

● Russell praises Klinenberg's "Palaces for the People, which "shows how modest undertakings and subtle, insightful design can strengthen communities," and "shows that a little social infrastructure could be really big."

● A great excerpt from Wolfe's "Urbanism without Effort": "A bed-sheet-as-movie-screen can transform public space into a community gathering point, not because of doctrine or dogma."

● Moore says "Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus" by MacCarthy "reveals a passionate man whose reputation for coldness is largely undeserved - as a way of bringing the human stories of this extraordinary phenomenon to life, it's hard to beat."

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Aaron Betsky: More on Machine Madness: He is less interested in process than in experience: I am as fascinated as the next person by the whizbang innovations of new machinery and I love the spectacular effects the bestiary of computer programs can produce...I am fascinated by effects, not techniques...It is the experience that architecture produces, not the codes by which it is produced, that matter...I can continue to rail against the capture of the architectural imagination and imaginary architecture by the mindless spinning out of codes by machines set loose by those too lazy to figure out how to make good architecture - both in a social and a formal sense.- Architect Magazine

Meilan Solly: New Study Offers Clues to Dominance of Curve-Filled Museum Designs: Architects are more likely than non-experts to deem curvilinear spaces beautiful, but less likely to enter curved over straight-edged rooms: ...suggests individuals’ responses to such curvilinear spaces differ based on their understanding of architecture, art history and interior design.- Smithsonian magazine

Oliver Wainwright: Neuron Pod: Will Alsop's intergalactic porcupine of knowledge: Based on a nerve cell, the architect’s posthumous addition to London’s Blizard laboratory complex is so lovable, you almost want to give it a cuddle: ...the latest addition to Queen Mary University of London’s campus [for] armies of schoolchildren...It is a classroom, but not as we know it...23-metre-long rusting steel creature is arguably one of the architect’s most lovable creations...part of a much bigger Alsopian universe... -- Lucy Atlee/aLL Design [images]- Guardian (UK)

Adele Peters: This new neighborhood in Amsterdam is made of floating houses: To make more space in cities - or to prepare for a wetter world - what if we built on the water? ...a model that could be used in coastal cities that already struggle with flooding. In theory - because the houses are built offsite and then quickly towed into place - some version of the design could also be used in disasters. -- Sascha Glasl/Space&Matter [images]- Fast Company / Co.Design

John King: Shaping the future: Small models still play role in big-city architecture: ...for some architects, old habits die hard - physical models play a role in the creative process that can’t be emulated on a computer screen...Working models are one step in something much larger, to be sure...the building that becomes part of the larger city. The compact seduction of a single form can be deceiving. -- OMA; Robert A.M. Stern Architects; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Fougeron Architecture [images]- San Francisco Chronicle

RIBA drops International Women’s Day cookery class after backlash: The decision came after more than 50 architects and academics...signed an open letter urging the institute to rethink the proposed event...labelling it an ’astonishing misstep’...RIBA spokesperson said: ‘This event has been cancelled in light of the valid concerns that have been raised. We will be looking into what lessons can be learnt."- BBG Architecture Life (Canada)

Pedro y Juana wins 2019 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program: ...beat out four other finalists...with their immersive junglescape..."Hórama Rama"...will feature a two-story waterfall as well as custom hammocks from Mexico’s Yucatán region. [images]- The Architect's Newspaper

Irish star Sheila O’Donnell wins WIA Architect of the Year 2019: ...at the Women in Architecture (WIA) awards, while 43-year-old Xu Tiantian [of DnA] from China has won the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture: Also in the running were OMA partner Ellen van Loon...Eva Prats of Flores & Prats...and Carme Pigem of 2017 Pritzker Prize-winning practice RCR Arquitectes. -- O’Donnell + Tuomey- The Architects' Journal (UK)

Call for entries: J.M.K. Innovation Prize Seeking Early-Stage Social Innovators: $175,000 for organizations tackling America’s most pressing challenges in environment, heritage conservation, and social justice; up to 10 Prizes; first-round deadline: April 30- J.M. Kaplan Fund

Call for entries: Architecture: Future of Past (international): What role to give to a building such as the Compagnie des Notaires de Paris in the future of the city? open to architecture students and young graduates; cash prizes; early-bird registration deadline (save money!: March 22; final registration deadline: May 17 (submissions due June 10)- Because Architecture Matters

Oliver Wainwright: From space boots to life as a goat, Milan Triennale takes on apocalypse: It’s the end of the world as we know it - and the design exhibition is showing artefacts which should ensure that the human race goes out on a high: ...a suitably foreboding title - "Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival"...Paola Antonelli’s show isn’t the self-flagellating doom-fest you might expect. Nor is it a naively optimistic manifesto for how to fix the mess. It is a nuanced, witty and thoughtful take on where we are now, and what the future might hold. thru September 1 -- Stefano Boeri [images]- Guardian (UK)

J. Michael Welton: In Milan, an American Materials Revolution: The theme for the XXII Triennale de Milano...is “Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival.” And the American Pavilion, tagged RECKONstruct, is taking it seriously by exploring a revolution in material use...To be sure, these are concept products...But surely, this is a new step in the right direction.- Architects and Artisans

Editor’s picks: Highlights of 2019 Melbourne Design Week: Themed “Design experiments: how can design shape the future?” the program will explore the ways in which design can reimagine our quality of life from products and services to transport and health...Oliver Wainwright will deliver the Robin Boyd Centenary Address "Form Follows Finance"; SO-IL: Viewing China; 2019 NGV Architecture Commission winner announcement; Architecture on the big screen; etc.- ArchitectureAU (Australia)

Architecture & Design Film Festival LA 2019: ...returns to DTLA for the third edition of ADFF:LA from March 13-17...will feature 22 films [including] "That Far Corner" (a film about Frank Lloyd Wright's Maya-inspired houses, written & directed by LA's Chief Design Officer Christopher Hawthorne) and "Frank Gehry: Building Justice"- Dexigner

Lila Allen: The Eclectic Legacy of Bruce Goff Lives on in Exhibition at the University of Oklahoma: "Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture at Bizzell" presents a fascinating chapter of American architectural education: Populating the exhibition are OU students’ otherworldly, hand-drawn renderings...All reveal the individualistic, creative styles put forth by Goff and his American School. thru July 29 [images]- Metropolis Magazine

Wendy Moonan: "Cocktails and Conversation: Dialogues on Architecture and Design" by Abby Suckle and William Singer: The conversations, illustrated with photos, sketches, and lush watercolors by the architect Bishakh Som, make this a lively if informal compendium about many issues architects face in design and practice. The cocktails are missing, but you have the original recipes.- Architectural Record

James S. Russell: "Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life" by Eric Klinenberg: ...shows how modest undertakings and subtle, insightful design can strengthen communities...devotes considerable attention to libraries, which have reinvented themselves...shows that a little social infrastructure could be really big.- Architectural Record

Charles R. Wolfe: Urbanism without Effort: When a city’s character honors and reflects the local culture, everyone benefits: The best urbanism is that which is already there, waiting to be nurtured...Email, potluck food and drink, equipment setup, and a bedsheet-as-movie-screen can transform public space into a community gathering point, not because of doctrine or dogma... [excerpt from "Urbanism without Effort"]- Next City (formerly Next American City)

Rowan Moore: "Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus": Fiona MacCarthy’s engrossing life of the Bauhaus founder reveals a passionate man whose reputation for coldness is largely undeserved: ...his greatest ability was not precisely as an architect but more as a cultural ringmaster...book doesn’t claim to offer deep analysis of all of his or the Bauhaus’s artistic output. But, as a way of bringing the human stories of this extraordinary phenomenon to life, it’s hard to beat.- Observer (UK)

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