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Today’s News - Wednesday, January 13, 2021

● Say-it-ain't-so news: Blair Kamin is leaving the Chicago Tribune after 33 years: "It's been an extraordinary run" - leaving "big shoes to fill, but Kamin hopes a fresh voice will replace him. 'Imagine Chicago without a full-time architecture critic. Schlock developers and hack architects would welcome the lack of scrutiny.'" + Excerpts from some of his favorite stories.

● Duo Dickinson delves into how the passing of Architectural Digest's Paige Rense "marks the end of 20th-century architecture - the end of an era already passed. At the turn of the 21st century, digital technology began to steadily erode the power of print - also ended the highly controlled anointing of 'correct' designers."

● Wainwright wonders if 22 Bishopsgate, London's tallest new skyscraper, can survive the Covid era - will workers want "to jostle for 60 lifts with 12,000 others" - probably - "incoming proposals are now exceeding pre-pandemic levels - those predicting the implosion of the office might have to cancel their dreams."

● Nate Berg, meanwhile, reports that New York's governor has "pledged to propose legislation that will open a 5-year window for the owners of offices and hotels to convert their buildings to residential uses - there's roughly 150 million square feet worth of them in Manhattan alone."

● Adele Peters parses how Bakersfield, California, has "ended chronic homelessness. In January, 2020, it had housed nearly everyone who had been homeless for more than a year. Then they sustained it during the pandemic."

● Steven Semes: "What does the storming of the U.S. Capitol tell us about classical architecture? Those supporting the Executive Order must accept responsibility for their gross miscalculation in thinking this authoritarian administration would be a suitable vehicle to promote classical architecture - they have set back the classical cause."

● Ravenscroft parses "Why is the Modern World So Ugly?" - an anonymous essay posted by Alain de Botton's The School of Life collective that attacks the "'dispiriting, chaotic and distasteful' architecture of urban environments - architects have created an ugly world out of 'stupidity' rather than a lack of resources."

● Brussat praises his friend and fellow critic William Morgan's ode to the Post Office (sort of) - Morgan "loves old buildings but is blind to the ugliness of modern architecture and cannot see the beauty of the classical revival, that is, new old buildings."

● Lamster offers a thoughtful assessment of the late critic David Dillon's "landmark essay," written 40 years ago, re: Dallas's bad architecture - is it "still so bad? There is only one possible answer - yes and no - the city's vigorous architecture business has not translated into a vigorous creative culture."

● Eric Baldwin, meanwhile, offers a round-up of Dallas landmarks - the city is "home to some of the most iconic architecture per square mile of any American city - these projects are emblematic of a larger city-wide design culture."

● Dima Stouhi brings us eyefuls of Zaha Hadid Architects' competition-winning design for Tower C in Shenzhen. China - "a multi-dimensional vertical city of two naturally-lit towers planned to accommodate 300,000 employees" (it's wild - or maybe it's just us).

● SOM's Long Beach, California's Civic Center master plan "revitalizes 22 acres by creating a new, vibrant mixed-use district that includes a City Hall, Main Library, Port Headquarters, and the reactivation of historic Lincoln Park."

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Blair Kamin is leaving the Chicago Tribune after 33 years: It’s been an extraordinary run...taking a buyout...leaving the outlet where he had extensively covered Chicago’s transformation over his tenure... awarded the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism in 1999...The Tribune’s next architecture critic will have big shoes to fill, but Kamin hopes a fresh voice will replace him...“Imagine Chicago without a full-time architecture critic. Schlock developers and hack architects would welcome the lack of scrutiny.” -- Paul Gapp- The Architect's Newspaper

Duo Dickinson: Paige Rense, Architectural Digest, and the End of 20th Century Architecture: Her passing marks the end of an era already passed: ...the editor who transformed AD, died at the age of 91, right at the end of our plague year...[AD] made the careers of many outstanding architects and designers...Celebrity was her coin of the realm...her magazine fed a cultural fantasy...At the turn of the 21st century, digital technology began to steadily erode the power of print...also ended the highly controlled anointing of “correct” designers...“When I quit working, I lost all sense of identity in about 15 minutes,” she said. Rense lost hers then. Maybe we are finding ours now.- Common Edge

Oliver Wainwright: The Wodge: can London's tallest new skyscraper survive the Covid era?
...who wants to jostle for 60 lifts with 12,000 others?: 22 Bishopsgate stands as the mother of all office towers...congealing the Square Mile’s distinctive individual silhouettes into one great, grey lump...heralds a flood of new office space at a time when it could hardly look less needed...some of the biggest corporate HQs ever built in the UK are under construction...incoming proposals are now exceeding pre-pandemic levels...you can’t really gossip on a group Zoom...those predicting the implosion of the office might have to cancel their dreams... -- PLP Architecture- Guardian (UK)

Nate Berg: New York Gov. Cuomo: Empty offices should become housing: “We should do it now.”: ...empty office spaces could take on new lives and solve multiple problems in cities like New York...pledged to propose legislation that will open a five-year window for the owners of offices and hotels to convert their buildings to residential uses...an idea that the Real Estate Board of New York has been advocating for months...less amenity-rich...office buildings could be relatively easy to convert...there’s roughly 150 million square feet worth of them in Manhattan alone...It has happened before.- Fast Company / Co.Design

Adele Peters: This California city just ended chronic homelessness: In January, 2020, Bakersfield, California, had housed nearly everyone who had been homeless for more than a year. Then they sustained it during the pandemic: The city and county are part of [Community Solutions'] Built for Zero, a program that works with communities and cities across the country to end homelessness.- Fast Company

Steven W. Semes: What Does the Storming of the Capitol Tell Us About Classical Architecture? The past associations with authoritarianism are clearly misplaced: Those supporting the Executive Order - in particular...the National Civic Art Society - must accept responsibility for their gross miscalculation in thinking this authoritarian administration would be a suitable vehicle to promote classical architecture...they have set back the classical cause...Lovers of classical architecture...protested the EO...Both groups have made classical architecture a weapon in a partisan conflict that, in truth, has nothing to do with it.- Common Edge

Tom Ravenscroft: Most "nice architecture" was built before 1900 says Alain de Botton's The School of Life collective: ...has attacked the "dispiriting, chaotic and distasteful" architecture of urban environments in...essay "Why is the Modern World So Ugly?"..."The world forgot that 'originality' is as unwelcome in architecture as it would be in bakery or brain surgery," said the article...lists increasing urban sprawl, not using local materials and a lack of focus on mental health as contributing factors in the creation of today's ugly cities...architects have created an ugly world out of "stupidity" rather than a lack of resources. -- Living Architecture; Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission; Sam Jacob; Roger Scruton- Dezeen

David Brussat: Why are post offices lovely? I speak out in praise of my friend and fellow Rhode Island architecture critic William Morgan’s “In Praise of the Post Office"...All architecture used to serve as manifestations of pride...Morgan, whose architectural attitudes are, I think, the exact opposite of my own, loves old buildings but is blind to the ugliness of modern architecture and cannot see the beauty of the classical revival, that is, new old buildings...the scourge of modernism, which he generally supports, is the root cause of this national aesthetic blindness...- Architecture Here and There

Mark Lamster: Is Dallas architecture still so bad? A critic’s assessment, 40 years after David Dillon’s landmark essay: There is only one possible answer...yes and no...Dillon’s call for an ambitious architecture was answered with a fair number of signature buildings by signature architects...Much of the city’s bad building is a product of its vigorous economy...out-of-town architects drop cookie-cutter projects in our streets...city’s vigorous architecture business has not translated into a vigorous creative culture...it can be hard for a young firm to gain purchase...we’re back at the same intersection we were at 40 years ago. Maybe this time we should fix it? -- Henry Cobb; Santiago Calatrava; Corgan; Gensler; HKS; Omniplan; Perkins and Will; BC Workshop- Dallas Morning News

Eric Baldwin: Civic Works: Iconic Dallas Landmarks Rethinking Design in Texas: Dallas is home to a high concentration of structures by world-renowned architects. With some of the most iconic architecture per square mile of any American city, it boasts designs by six Pritzker Prize Laureates...these projects are emblematic of a larger city-wide design culture...explore the possibilities of public space, programming and new building methods...[this] collection explores contemporary projects...and their approach to civic design. -- OMNIPLAN; Dattner Architects; Foster + Partners; REX + OMA; Buchanan Architecture; Santiago Calatrava; Thom Mayne/Morphosis Architects- ArchDaily

Dima Stouhi: ZHA/Zaha Hadid Architects Wins Competition to Build Tower C at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base: ...a multi-dimensional vertical city of two naturally-lit towers...connects with the adjacent park and plazas...towers are tied together with sweeping bridges that give panoramic views of the city...planned to accommodate 300,000 employees...will Include multiple venues to host international conferences, exhibitions, and cultural programs, as well as residential developments, a transportation department, botanical lands. -- Patrik Schumacher- ArchDaily

Long Beach Civic Center Master Plan, California: ...revitalizes 22 acres of downtown Long Beach by creating a new, vibrant mixed-use district that includes a 270,000-square-foot City Hall, 93,500-square-foot Main Library, 232,000-square-foot Port Headquarters, and the reactivation of historic Lincoln Park. -- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill/SOM- e-architect (UK)

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