ArchNewsNow

Home Yesterday's News Calendar Contact Us Subscribe

Today's News - Friday, April 6, 2007

Lessons to be had in 1970 Los Angeles master plan. -- Billionaire (and Ando) beat out Guggenheim (and Hadid) in Venice. -- Piano pockets his 4th(!) Texas museum project. -- SOM takes on nature in the Adirondacks. -- Even with no site in sight, Polshek team on the case in making courthouse fit. -- Hume pleased with plan for 80-story tower at an important Toronto intersection, but hopes the "more rhinestone than diamond" design will be refined; and dry details about the tower (but at least there's an image). -- A starchitect-designed neighborhood regains steam. -- Starting in Virginia, can Swedish style change American attitudes toward prefab? -- Old Havana regaining its glamour (but at what cost?). -- Temples for tourists: what's wrong with having an "Uffiziland"? Nothing. -- Weekend diversions: London: Surrealism and James "Athenian" Stuart at the V&A: both still touch our lifestyles; Sottsass sparkles. -- New York: a Swedish master too long overlooked; hail the cab of the future. -- Monday launches first U.S. National Architecture Week. -- Discovery Channel tuning in to a green leaf.

To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here

Back To The Future: The 1970 Los Angeles 'Centers' Concept Plan: Many say Los Angeles is a city that grew without any rational planning. In reality the planning was there...now a history lesson for planners. For the first time, it is available in digital format for free...- PLANetizen

Pinault Bid for Venice Site Beats Guggenheim's Incomplete Pitch: French billionaire emerged as the sole candidate to turn a disused Venice customs building into a contemporary-arts center...has pledged to spend 20 to 30 million euros ($27 million to $40 million) making Punta della Dogana a museum... -- Tadao Ando; Zaha Hadid- Bloomberg News

Kimbell addition is in Piano's hands: Texas can't seem to get enough of Renzo Piano, or he of it...making this his fourth museum in the state... By David Dillon- Dallas Morning News

Adirondack Museum unveils tall look of Lake Placid branch: ...not designed to copy nature but to evoke an understanding of the natural surroundings. -- David Childs/Roger Duffy/Skidmore, Owings & Merrill- Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Courthouse masterminds seek right fit: The site of Harrisburg’s new federal courthouse is still up in the air, but architect Susan T. Rodriguez is thinking ahead...about how to tie it in with the rest of the city. -- Polshek Partnership- Central Penn Business Journal (Pennsylvania)

Why Kazakh tower makes sense for Bloor-Yonge: Given that this is one of the city's most important intersections...one might wonder why it has taken so long for something to happen on the site...only problem with the Bazis scheme...speaks the language of empty slickness. It is more rhinestone than diamond...remains a work in progress. Let's hope there's time for improvement. By Christopher Hume -- Roy Varacalli- Toronto Star

Kazakh company erecting 'bold' tower at Yonge-Bloor: ...a sleek 80-storey tower combining condominiums, a hotel and high-end stores...$450-million project...being touted as a long-awaited redevelopment of one of Toronto's busiest corners. -- Roy Varacalli [image]- CBC (Canada)

Welcome to Coco Brown’s Neighborhood: A super-modern ‘starchitecture’ development gathers momentum...Since the Houses at Sagaponac saga began, some older names that had signed on...have lost their luster, while some upcoming architects getting involved have gained notoriety... -- Richard Meier; Herzog & de Meuron; Stan Allen; Samuel Mockbee [image]- East Hampton Star

Pre-fab-ulous? Builder does it the Swedish way: ...prejudice against prefab houses is uniquely American....Per Sjolinder, founder of EuroHomes USA, hopes to change American attitudes toward factory-built houses. -- Alan Scouten- The Hook (Virginia)

Glamming Up Old Havana: Revival Helps City's Artists, Tourism: ...has disrupted neighborhoods and displaced longtime residents, giving priority to museums, hotels and cafes. It may seem unfair, but it's a strategy designed to be financially self-sustaining...- Bloomberg News

Opinion: Temples for the tourists: We should exploit the natural tendencies of mass tourism...It would be so useful to have an Uffiziland on the outskirts of Florence... By Umberto Eco- International Herald Tribune

Eulogy for the exquisite corpse: Modernism left us a legacy of socially disastrous architecture that everybody hated. Surrealism did the opposite. Though it left us little architecture, it got under everybody's skin and made life sexy...From Surrealism to James "Athenian" Stuart...is a big step, but he touched our lifestyle too.- The Scotsman (UK)

Before the iPod, there was a red typewriter: Dominic Bradbury reviews Ettore Sottsass: Work in Progress at the Design Museum [slide show]- Telegraph (UK)

Modern Furniture for the Middle Class, Designed by a Swedish Star: “Bruno Mathsson: Architect and Designer” at Bard Graduate Center...“He is the last modernist whose history has not been told"...- New York Times

To Mark a Cab Centennial, These Designers Look Ahead: An exhibit at the New York International Auto Show celebrates the 100th anniversary of the modern-day taxi by presenting forward-looking concepts. -- Design Trust for Public Space; Smart Design; Art Center College of Design [slide show]- New York Times

America Celebrates the First National Architecture Week April 9- 14: Opening of America's Favorite Architecture Exhibit to Lead List of Activities -- American Institute of Architects (AIA) [linsk]- PR Newswire

Discovery to Start Channel Focusing on Green Movement: ...plans to start a 24-hour channel focused on eco-friendly living...an initiative called PlanetGreen.- New York Times

River Tune: Elbe Philharmonic Hall: The cultural centerpiece of HafenCity, Hamburg, will be a crystalline ice sculpture atop an earthy warehouse - with beautiful music, luxury living, and a spectacular public plaza high above the River Elbe. -- Herzog & de Meuron [images]- ArchNewsNow

-- Ateliers Jean Nouvel: 100 11th Avenue, New York, NY
-- Santiago Calatrava: Tor Vergata University (Roma II), Rome, Italy
-- Antoine Predock: Austin City Hall & Public Plaza, Austin, Texas

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