ArchNewsNow

Home Yesterday's News Calendar Contact Us Subscribe

Today's News - September 18, 2006

ArcSpace brings us Viñoly in Virginia, and a genetically altered paradise in Copenhagen. -- Heathcote in Venice: Biennale is a "supreme effort" to being architects to reality, but perhaps could do more. -- Glancey in Venice: too many gimmicks, not enough architecture ("Only the US pavilion seemed to have any sense of purpose.") -- Ground Zero and the ever-optimistic planner. -- Report from Denver: MacMillan says Libeskind's museum addition is anything but a folly; and culture expands to the city's suburbs. -- Shanghai's Thames Town wants to be as authentic as possible (pub owner cannot sue). -- Developers around the world building "new architectural zoos should be at least cautiously welcomed." -- Cousteau has big green plans for Hawaii. -- Architects find clients demanding more green. -- Hume continues his lessons-from-Scandinavia series. -- London Design Museum's first director minces no words about its past and future. -- A new novel "skewers the celebrity architect in an age of conspicuous grief." -- Deadlines loom for sustainable design and land development awards. -- Cable TV channel looks to architecture to build an audience. -- Cooper-Hewitt launches people's choice design awards.

To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here

-- Rafael Viñoly: HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia
-- Inauguration: Bjørn Nørgaard: Paradise Genetically Altered (link herfra), Copenhagen, Denmark

Signposts for an urban civilisation: Burdett’s [Venice Architecture Biennale]...is a supreme effort to bring architects back to the reality of the streets, to reintroduce the tough issues of poverty, transport, politics, immigration, crime and so on. But ultimately, the show offends no one. By Edwin Heathcote- Financial Times (UK)

Lovely sauna, guys - but where's the architecture? The Venice Architecture Biennale has lots of clever gimmicks. Pity they forgot about buildings...solutions by architects...are, for the most part, weak, flippant and severely lacking in imagination. By Jonathan Glancey- Guardian (UK)

The Pit and the Planner: New York's Ground Zero has been in a state of limbo for five years...But even after being forced to make numerous concessions to commercial interests, lead architect Daniel Libeskind still remains confident about the city's efforts to rebuild.- Der Spiegel (Germany)

With Denver Art Museum addition, a new era dawns for city: Whatever else can be said about the building...it is anything but a folly, despite the potshots from a few cranks mired in the aesthetics of the past. By Kyle MacMillan -- Daniel Libeskind- Denver Post

A new intellectual and cultural community: The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar..."What is the relationship between culture and the suburbanization of America?" By Kyle MacMillan -- Hagy Belzberg- Denver Post

The Chinese have Shanghaied my pub: The Chinese developers of Thames Town, a model British village being built in the suburbs of Shanghai, were keen to make the details as authentic as possible. -- Atkins- Telegraph (UK)

The group dynamic: Developers...acting as museum directors or art patrons, creating a “collection” of houses from architects usually found designing cultural institutions...new architectural zoos...should be at least cautiously welcomed. By Edwin Heathcote -- Chipperfield; Siza; Souto de Moura; Meier; Yung Ho Chang/Greg Lynn; Featherstone; Gough; Alsop; Hadid; MVRDV; Reiser Umemoto; Alsop; Hariri & Hariri; Selldorf; Cobb; Ban; Lissoni; Kuma- Financial Times (UK)

Cousteau Plans Resort in Hawaii That Would Offer Marine Conservation Programs: Sea Mountain would include 300 hotel rooms and a mix of between 1,200 and 1,500 single-family and multifamily units. -- Group 70 International (AP)- Environmental News Network

Architects report that more clients are asking for more energy efficient homes...according to the latest American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Design Trends Survey for the second quarter of 2006.- CNN

What's wrong with us? Stockholm turned around its waterfront in a few years. We just talk about it. By Christopher Hume- Toronto Star

The opera house we didn't build: Oslo gets it right in waterfront remake...functions as both an object building as well as part of the landscape. By Christopher Hume -- Snohetta- Toronto Star

Behind the scenes at the museum: ...London's Design Museum is in crisis. Stephen Bayley, who was its first director, lifts the lid on an almighty clash of egos and asks, has this once-dynamic institution had its day? Maybe it is enough to have Herzog and de Meuron build a faddish high-concept design palazzo fit for the post-Wallpaper generation. On the other hand... -- Conran; Rawsthorn; Dyson; Sudjic- Independent (UK)

Deconstructing a monumental ego: Bruce Wagner skewers the celebrity architect in an age of conspicuous grief in his novel "Memorial." -- Koolhaas; Hadid; Nouvel; Piano; Gehry; Meier; Mayne- Los Angeles Times

Call for entries: 2006 Exemplary Sustainable Buildings Awards (U.S.); deadline: October 27- Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC)

Call for entries: Land Development Visionary Project Award recognizing creativity, vision, and the implementation of best practices in land development; deadline: October 13- Land Development Today

Cable Network Uses Architecture to Build an Audience: ...an elaborate monthlong promotion in October, called Architecture in Film...- New York Times

For Pencil Pushers And Their Cohorts: Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum launches People's Design Award...online contest is intended to be a full-blown populist adventure. By Linda Hales- Washington Post

Sex and the City Part 2: Field Notes from the 10th Venice Architecture Biennale: The message seems to be that...we might have half a chance to thrive as a species several generations hence. By Margaret Helfand, FAIA [images]- ArchNewsNow

Sex and the City Part 1: Field Notes from the 10th Venice Architecture Biennale - Part 1: Libidos on fire in Venice: Urbanism may not be sexy, but our lives may depend on it. By Margaret Helfand, FAIA [images]- ArchNewsNow

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