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Today's News - Monday, April 9, 2007

A tribute to the "man who made happy living spaces." -- Oh, to be a fly on the wall in Dubai. -- King's 2-parter takes on "newburbs" far and wide. -- High hopes for new urbanist project in Annapolis. -- While for a New Jersey town, smart growth "has become a victim of its own success." -- Kamin warns of a wave of "architectural taxidermy" that could leave Chicago "a parody of itself." -- Glancey discovers Dutch "unmodernism" that "may well be necessary as a corrective to the march of bland global 'nothingness'." -- Alsop x 2: "I like people. I hope it shows;" and he hopes to win hearts and minds in Yonkers. -- Russell samples Gehry's "baked glass confection" in Manhattan's Chelsea. -- Utzon has big plans to "radically restructure" Sydney Opera House theater. -- Nashville could be in for a "wickedly modern 21st century building" (and it should be "thrilled"). -- Goldsmith, "the quiet poet of American architecture... chose simply to be good." -- GaudÍ's Barcelona jewel possibly threatened to its foundations. -- Nine projects win 2007 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards. -- Watch out architecture critics (and Rizzoli?): developers publishing spectacular coffee table tomes play to condo buyers' "psychology of delayed gratification."

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Tribute: The man who made happy living spaces: Laurie Baker...demonstrated over and over again that low-cost, happy living spaces - read housing - are an achievable possibility..."I learn my architecture by watching what ordinary people do"- Rediff India

Architects meet for “mind gains”: Up to 20 of the world's leading architects and property developers are to begin a series of meetings in Dubai, aimed at exchanging ideas and plans for developing the region...its totally confidential who will be there...- ArabianBusiness.com

Instant Urbanism Part 1: Citified suburbs becoming new model for the Bay Area: ...suburban centers of tomorrow are being previewed today in this city outside Denver...a new form of the American Dream... By John King -- Peter Calthorpe [images, video]- San Francisco Chronicle

Instant Urbanism Part 2: New Urban Center Take on a Stage-set Fell in Bay Area: ...suburbs throughout the region are home to projects that claim to create urbane oases amid the sprawl...So far, though, the buildings that accompany the hype are more branding exercises than architecture...treat urbanism as a gimmick... By John King --Orrin Thiessen- San Francisco Chronicle

A West Side Story With a Promising Ending: Two decades after deciding to resuscitate its economically troubled west side, Annapolis, Md., hopes a mixed-use development will continue its revival called Park Place. -- Davis Carter Scott Architects [image]- New York Times

In Success of ‘Smart Growth,’ New Jersey Town Feels Strain: Washington Town Center — designed according to state planning goals as a remedy to suburban sprawl — has become a victim of its own success.- New York Times

The danger of becoming skin deep: Chicago historic buildings become shells as new rules of preservation are letting city's history slip away...the rise of the "facade-ectomy" is producing beguiling but sliver thin vestiges of the past. By Blair Kamin -- Holabird & Roche (1907, 1912); Moriyama & Teshima (1989); Solomon Cordwell Buenz; McGuire Igleski & Associates; Hasbrouck Peterson Zimoch Sirirattumrong; Daniel P. Coffey [slide show]- Chicago Tribune

Pyramid scheme: Fancy living in a ziggurat? Or a pseudo-medieval castle? Then the Netherlands' defiantly 'unmodern' architecture may fit the bill. By Jonathan Glancey -- Soeters Van Eldonk; Michel de Klerk (1917)- Guardian (UK)

Firm foundations: You may know his 'wonky-legged' Peckham Library or other striking constructions using strong colours and 'blobby shapes'. But the name of the man who built them? Will Alsop is fast joining Foster and Rogers as one of the UK's top architects. Lynn Barber finds him as cheerful as his buildings.- Guardian (UK)

Star architect vows to capture the imagination in Yonkers: Will Alsop...plans to add his signature style to the old Glenwood Power Station...Reaction in the room ranged from disbelief and displeasure to nods of approval. [links]- Journal-News (Westchester Co., NY)

Gehry Bakes Glass Confection for Barry Diller's IAC in Chelsea: ...has whipped silky curves of white glass into 10 stories of lovely gobs...traded architectural theatrics for suave refinement...interior eccentricity reigns. By James S. Russell -- Studios Architecture- Bloomberg News

Utzon wants to tear up floor of the Opera House: ...has revealed dramatic plans to radically restructure the troubled main Opera Theatre. -- Jan Utzon; Richard Johnson- Sydney Morning Herald

Barry enlists Pickard Chilton for big-time tower: ...designing wickedly modern 21st century buildings. ...locals should be thrilled to have both companies putting a stamp on SoBro. -- Everton Oglesby Architects- Nashville City Paper

Myron Goldsmith, Quiet Poet of American Architecture: Some followers of Mies strove to be different. Others competed to be the most orthodox. Goldsmith chose simply to be good. By Lynn Becker -- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) [images]- Repeat (Chicago)

Metro tunnel plans rock GaudÍ’s jewel to its foundations: Barcelona’s world-famous cathedral, the Sagrada FamÍlia, could be facing its toughest challenge yet: the construction of a tunnel for high-speed trains next to its foundations.- The Times (UK)

Nine libraries Called Out for Design Excellence in 2007 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards -- Gluckman Mayner Architects; richärd + bauer architecture; P&T Architects; Bohlin Cywinski Jackson; CO Architects; Ann Beha Architects; Polshek Partnership; Office dA; Patkau/Croft-Pelletier/Menkés Shooner Dagenais Architectes [images]- American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Booking your high-end condo takes on a whole new meaning: The most lavish and expensive art books...will never make it into any library...The art these spectacular volumes illustrate and describe is real estate...the psychology of delayed gratification... By Trevor Boddy -- Paul Merrick; Norman Foster; Robert A.M. Stern- Globe and Mail (Canada)

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

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