ArchNewsNow

Home Yesterday's News Calendar Contact Us Subscribe

Today's News - February 12, 2007

ArcSpace takes us to Amsterdam and Culver City. -- Is sustainability planning's redemption or curse? -- Edinburgh's distinctive character at risk. -- Milwaukee's urban visions being trampled by NIMBYism and bully developers. -- A lack of creativity in Toronto's gentrification. -- In Chicago and Sacramento County, a call for the public to take a more active role in building booms. -- Why "elitist architects" shouldn't conduct public opinion polls. -- Wanted: 49 planners and engineers for Wood Buffalo, Canada. -- A new mega city-within-a-city in UAE sands. -- Four remain in the running for San Francisco's Transbay tower. -- The latest chapter in UC Irvine's architectural evolution, and farewells to its Gehry-designed "postmodern mash-up." -- Glancey's ode to Aalto channeled by Ban. -- Hughes's ode to Barcelona and its unsung architects. -- America's only Hundertwasser opens to the public. -- Some are thrilled, others not about Boston's first Apple flagship store. -- Seven shortlisted for 2007 Mies van der Rohe Award. -- New Robert Moses tome is "wonderfully insightful" (and no whitewashing).

To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here

-- 3XN: Music Building / BIMhuis, Amsterdam
-- Eric Owen Moss Architects: The Stealth, Culver City, California

Sustainability: Planning's Redemption or Curse? ...planners risk sacrificing the environment and social equity in the name of sustainable economic development. By Michael Gunder/New Zealand Planning Institute.- PLANetizen

City's distinctive character 'put at risk by unprecedented pressure to redevelop': Edinburgh World Heritage Trust struggling to conserve key areas.- The Scotsman (UK)

If urban vision keeps being trampled, get used to mediocrity: ...too often, not-in-my-backyard parochialism stymies forward-looking projects that would enliven the urban landscape...Somehow, we need to turn that sorry pattern around. By Whitney Gould -- Stoss Landscape Urbanism- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Money-driven burg sacrifices creativity: Gentrification, though that's too polite a word, has done enormous damage to a city that wants to believe it's "creative."...Toronto isn't alone, of course, the same process plays out over and over in cities around the world. By Christopher Hume- Toronto Star

Chicago's Two-track Building Boom: While there are hopeful signs of new modernism around the city, there also are some flops...An enlightened public sector needs to keep on pushing for the public realm. By Blair Kamin -- Calatrava; Miller/Hull Partnership; Laurence Booth; DeStefano + Partners; Pappageorge/Haymes- Chicago Tribune

Big Elk Grove project reveals council split on public's role: Some want discussion during the planning stage -- others want groundwork done first [on] $162 million civic center complex in a future city core... -- Studios Architecture; Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz; Fentress Bradburn; Zaha Hadid- Sacramento Bee (California)

Great buildings look good, feel right, too: Americans' 150 favorite buildings...aren't necessarily the same ones most admired by architects...responses reinforce one's sense that elitist architects shouldn't conduct public opinion polls unless they are willing to accept the results and think about what they mean.- Des Moines Register

Planning and Development Department rolls out 49 new positions: Record land development...has created a pressing demand for city planners and engineers...- Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta, Canada

Ajman's mega city in the sand: new ‘city within a city' at a cost of around US $15 billion (AED50 billion)...Al Zora development will span 10 million m2 and put the emirate on the map...includes residential buildings and villas, a commercial office district, a marina, a golf course, entertainment projects, hotels, hospitals and schools.- ArabianBusiness.com

4 teams in running for transit project...and what could be the city's tallest tower. By John King -- Richard Rogers Partnership; Santiago Calatrava; Pelli Clarke Pelli; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill- San Francisco Chronicle

UCI's grand designs: A melding of disparate styles illustrates the latest chapter in the architectural evolution taking place at UC Irvine. -- Gehry; Rebecca Binder; Zimmer Gunsul Frasca; William Pereira; David Neuman; Charles Moore; Robert Venturi; James Stirling; Arthur Erickson; Leason Pomeroy; Rebekah Gladson; Kistner, Wright and Wright [images]- Orange County Register (California)

Frank Gehry's UCI building gone but not forgotten: ...what architects and critics had to say about the building, a postmodern mash-up of stucco, unpainted plywood, corrugated sheet metal, asphalt shingles and other cheap building materials. -- David Neuman; Alan Hess; Leason Pomeroy; Robert A.M. Stern- Orange County Register (California)

Nordic exposure: Alvar Aalto made warm, wonderful buildings that were inspired by the spirit of his homeland. So why do the results have such universal appeal? "Alvar Aalto: Through the Eyes of Shigeru Ban"...promises to be one of the more rewarding architectural exhibitions of recent years. By Jonathan Glancey- Guardian (UK)

Reach for the skies: Barcelona...how a group of architects - in particular Gaudí - created a uniquely Catalan city that combined the myths of a glorious past with progress and innovation. By Robert Hughes -- Lluis Domenech i Montaner; Josep Puig i Cadafalch; Ildefons Cerda- Guardian (UK)

Where the Winery Itself Is a Little Tipsy: ...Quixote Winery in Napa Valley, the only Hundertwasser building in the country, finally opens to the public...one tends to wonder why more buildings don’t look like this. [slide show]- New York Times

Stained Glass? Boston's first Apple flagship store is coming soon to the Back Bay...promises to be the Hub's most exciting piece of retail architecture in years...But there may be a flaw - not in Apple's vision, but in the city's. -- Bohlin Cywinski Jackson; Vinoly; Gehry; Holl; Safdie; Libeskind; Foster; Piano; Benjamin Thompson [image, slide show]- Boston Globe

Seven Nominees for the 2007 Mies van der Rohe Award -- Lacaton & Vassal Architectes; Zaha Hadid; Ben van Berkel/UN Studio; Aires Mateus e Associados; David Chipperfield Architects; b720 Arquitectos; Mansilla + Tuñón- Art Daily

A Town Revived, a Villain Redeemed: "“Robert Moses and the Modern City"...A wonderfully insightful new book...recasts its controversial subject in a more balanced, favorable light, without whitewashing his flaws...What New Yorkers are finally coming to understand...is that the choice between a Jane Jacobs and a Robert Moses...is a false one. We need both.- New York Times

In Their Own Words: Abu Dhabi Cultural District: How Gehry, Hadid, Nouvel, and Ando envision their cultural venues on Saadiyat Island. [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