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Today's News - May 10, 2006

A panel of architectural critics criticizes current criticism. -- Meanwhile, loads of odes to New York's influentials. -- Lord Rogers didn't make the cut, but he loves the city anyway. -- Farrelly eloquently bemoans Australia's tendency to "stuff the environment" in favor of greed. -- EU court decision requiring environmental impact studies could be a "headache" for developers, but a boon for communities battling "inappropriate, insensitive development." -- A debate about development in Beirut should prove interesting. -- Canada's entry for the Venice Biennale is a few skeins short (some blame developers who make "millions of dollars off architects and they won't even provide a dime"). -- A rather wishy-washy thumbs-up/thumbs-down for the new Morgan Library (blame it on Wright). -- The Harvard Crimson is not crazy about new science complex: "not hideous...but not Harvard either." -- Blunders seem to abound and surround Ground Zero memorial. -- A green roof as learning tool for cities with limited green space. -- Hospitals discovering design reduces errors (seems like rather old news to us). -- Chicago area soon to be swimming in water parks. -- Big plans for Philadelphia Science Center. -- Competing visions for Toronto waterfront to go on view. -- Hume offers his picks for Pugly Awards: from the "splendid to the tiresome." -- de Botton "over-eggs his pudding" in "The Architecture of Happiness."

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What we miss when we look to the Big Stars: Allan Temko would have stirred things up at the panel held in his honor...we critics...need to stand up for what makes a place matter, not simply pass judgments on the icons. By John King -- Robert Campbell; Paul Goldberger; Nicolai Ouroussoff; Robert Ivy; Herbert Muschamp- San Francisco Chronicle

The Influentials: Architecture & Design -- Richard Meier; Keith Bomely/Dbox; Santiago Calatrava; Robert A.M. Stern; Joshua David/Robert Hammond/Friends of the High Line; James Corner/Field Operations; Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Amanda Burden; etc. [images]- New York Magazine

‘I love the vitality of this high-rise city’: Lord Rogers has done what so many Brits have failed to do: he has broken into the U.S...He is inundated with Manhattan projects... By Edwin Heathcote- Financial Times (UK)

A tragic tale of a nation that drowned in greed and neglect: ...NSW Building Sustainability Index, BASIX...was smart...Arguably, that was the problem...suddenly called in for review and threatened with execution. Just like that. Stuff the environment. By Elizabeth Farrelly- Sydney Morning Herald

Landmark environmental decision gives [UK] property developers 'headache': ...could face tighter environmental restrictions and more red tape following a landmark ruling at the European Court of Justice.- The Times (UK)

Debating development in the shadows of cranes: American University of Beirut (AUB) 'City Debates' brings together experts of many stripes to talk about the future of physical Beirut: "Spaces for the Rich: Citizen / Consumer Practices in Affluent Beirut" May 11-13 -- Angus Gavin/SOLIDERE; Mona Fawaz; Hashim Sarkis; etc.- Daily Star (Lebanon)

Maybe they can just make a vest? SweaterLodge, Canada's official entry for...this year's Venice Biennale...multimedia exhibit is a big, bold, warm and witty commentary on urban culture...still about $150,000 short...because most government funding agencies and private foundations exclude architecture from their mandates. -- Pechet and Robb- Globe and Mail (Canada)

Much Ado About the Morgan: Architecture Celebrates Itself: So why curse the ghost of Frank Lloyd Wright? For the sake of spectacle, Wright pulled the rug out from under art. Something similar is afoot at the Morgan. Though it’s not as egregious. -- Renzo Piano; Beyer Blinder Belle- New York Observer

Opinion: Current architectural plans for Allston must be revised...The airy glass structures of Behnisch are beautiful to be sure, but ...they evoke the new science complexes of Anycollege, U.S.A., something which Harvard is not.- The Harvard Crimson

5 blunders that plunged [WTC] memorial into crisis: Raising money is far from the only problem...it will take a lot more than cash to pull the memorial ["Reflecting Absence"] out of a bureaucratic mire. -- Michael Arad; Peter Walker- NY Daily News

The green roof goes to Washington: ...ASLA has built a new roof over its headquarters to grow grass and other plants that help cities with limited green space improve air and water quality. -- American Society of Landscape Architects; Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates- Chicago Tribune

To reduce errors, hospitals use innovative designs: A growing number of administrators are now factoring hospital layout and design into the patient-safety equation. (WSJ) -- Gresham Smith and Partners; Center for Health Design- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Indoor water parks making giant splash: Two developers plan to invest at least $100 million each to build the first large indoor water parks in the Chicago area...a significant and growing trend in the Midwest, led by Wisconsin.- Chicago Tribune

Philadelphia Science Center to Expand: $50 million project is the first phase of a 1.8 million-square-foot-expansion plan that will eventually double the size of the Market Street campus. -- Zimmer Gunsul Frasca; Ueland, Junker, McCauley, Nicholson- Commercial Property News

Toronto Central Waterfront Innovative Design Competition Exhibition Launch and Public Forum - May 15: five teams selected to compete -- Foster and Partners/Atelier Dreiseitl; Stan Allen Architects/Sarah Witting and Ron Witte Architects; Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects/Martínez Lapena-Torres Architects; West 8/du Toit Allsopp Hillier; Snøhetta/Sasaki Associates/nARCHITECTS/Weisz + Yoes Architecture/H3/Balmori Associates/Halcrow Yolles HPA [links to images]- Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation

Pretty? Or pretty ugly? Second annual architectural popularity contest [Pugly awards] awaits your vote on 15 buildings completed this year. Christopher Hume offers up his picks, from the city's splendid to the tiresome [slide shows]- Toronto Star

Book review: Can the built environment really make us better people? "The Architecture of Happiness" by Alain de Botton...How do we build, literally, a better society? It is architecture's most important question...de Botton over-eggs his pudding to the point of creating an omelet.- Sydney Morning Herald

-- Maya Lin: Confluence Project, Cape Disappointment State Park, Ilwaco, Washington
-- Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington

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