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Today's News - Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Modernism in the crosshairs: Heathcote offers a thoughtful take on the prospect of losing "an entire strata of our history." -- Gunts has two takes on the fate of Johansen's Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore (and lots of architects chiming in to save it). -- Tucson restores former bank building back to its "concrete-bunker glory." -- Australia's National Gallery re-do is long overdue (with respect to the original). -- Gallagher changes his tune about the "restrained, classical-inspired" expansion of Detroit Institute of Arts (and Graves minces no words about some current museum designs). -- Move over Dubai: Moscow to get its own 60-story spinning skyscraper. -- Minarets planned for Cologne skyline spark more than disagreement over architectural aesthetics. -- Ai Weiwei distances himself from Beijing's Bird's Nest, calling Olympics a "pretend smile" (and check out what Coca Cola calls recycling). -- Plans for Cleveland's inner beltway is "shaping up as a colossal disappointment." -- U.S. architects are riles at possibility that the Architect of the Capitol might not be an architect. -- Amsterdam's houseboats becoming more bourgeois. -- Gandhi's spinning wheel is inspiration for Notions of India competition winner. -- Call for entries: 55th Annual P/A Awards. -- A new director for Irish Architecture Foundation. -- Two we couldn't resist: How architects cope with rejection. -- Rawsthorn on the fate of the chair as design icon (terrific slide show).

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Modernism gets brutalist treatment: ...the drive to purge the landscape of the output of an entire generation of architects is short-sighted...If we lose the bulk of our modernist architecture, as seems increasingly likely, we lose a layer of our cities and a part of ourselves. By Edwin Heathcote -- Edward Durrell Stone; Paul Rudolph; MiMo; Melnikov; Moisei Ginzburg; Kisho Kurokawa; Erno Goldfinger; Wells Coates; Giles Gilbert Scott; Gillespie, Kidd & Coia; etc.- Financial Times (UK)

Save Mechanic, architect urges: John M. Johansen supports making his 1967 work a landmark; Future of Mechanic hinges on its design...In some ways, the idea of adding so much to the building could be worse than tearing it down and starting over...how much change is too much? By Edward Gunts -- J.T. Fishman & Associates [images]- Baltimore Sun

Back to bunker: Tucson restores former bank building to its 1950s concrete-bunker glory...It's a victory for the modern architecture preservation movement... -- Blanton and Co. (1954); WSM Architects [images]- Arizona Daily Star

Op-Ed: National Gallery transformation is long overdue: ...current NGA designs...respect the original building while vitally accommodating new needs. By Leon Paroissien -- Colin Madigan/Edwards, Madigan, Torzillo (1982); Andrew Andersons/PTW Architects; Kahn; Gehry; Stirling; Goodwin/Stone (1939); Taniguchi; Roy Grounds (1968); Mario Bellini/Metier3- Canberra Times (Australia)

DIA's expansion lacks drama, but it's for the best: The Detroit Institute of Arts may not seem like a battleground of American architecture, but in a quiet way, it is...Many of today's most photographed and talked-about new museums are pretty awkward places to view art. By John Gallagher -- Paul Philippe Cret, (1929); Michael Graves [images]- Detroit Free Press

Moscow Set to Get a Spinning Skyscraper: ...set to become only the second city in the world after Dubai to boast a fully revolving skyscraper after leading developer Mirax bought construction rights to the project. -- David Fisher/Dynamic Architecture- The Moscow Times (Russia)

Will minarets rise from skyline? Some in Cologne say the mosque would be a symbol of isolation, not integration...as the debate heats up, it has revealed a cultural schism that goes much deeper than any disagreement over architectural aesthetics. -- Paul Böhm- Chicago Tribune

Beijing 2008 "Bird’s Nest" Co-Designer “Disgusted” Over Symbol: Ai Weiwei, considered one of China’s foremost architects...reportedly likened China’s embrace of the Olympics as "pretend smile" ...91,000-seat Bird’s Nest remained a beautiful, if regretful, commission. -- Herzog & de Meuron- GamesBids.com

Cold reception imperils bold freeway cap idea: Ohio Department of Transportation's plan to redesign and rebuild the Inner Belt - the city's downtown highway artery - is shaping up as a colossal disappointment...project has become a case study in how not to plan a major civic investment in a shrinking, impoverished city that needs all the help it can get. By Steven Litt- Cleveland Plain Dealer

Searching for a Non-Architect... of the Capitol? “It’s a really big slap in the face to the profession of architecture..."- Architectural Record

A Rising Tide of Gentrification Rocks Dutch Houseboats: New owners are leading a gentrification of Amsterdam’s houseboats, many of which are relics of the flower power era. [slide show]- New York Times

A Vision for Future: Winner of the Notions of India competition, Nuru Karim derives his inspiration from India’s freedom struggle while designing a symbol for the future -- VOID Architects- Express India

Call for entries: 55th Annual P/A Awards for unbuilt projects demonstrating overall design excellence and innovation; deadline: September 14 (U.S., Canada, Mexico)- Architect Magazine

New Director for Irish Architecture Foundation: Nathalie Weadick...takes up her position this week, having returned from London where she held the position of Deputy Director at the Architecture Foundation (UK).- Archiseek (Ireland)

You can't win them all: How architects cope with rejection...While young architects feel the pain the most, those who've lived through a spate of rejections have learned to move on with grace, good humor, and often, relief. -- DiMella Shaffer; R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband; Luce et Studio; Eggleston Farkas; Archimania; AMAR Group; etc.- Architect Magazine

Chairs sitting pretty as a design icon, but for how long? Will the chair remain as important to design in the future? Probably not...because other areas of design will be perceived as equally interesting and important... By Alice Rawsthorn -- Breuer; Le Corbusier; Eames; Panton; Morrison; etc. [slide show]- International Herald Tribune

-- Pei Cobb Freed & Partners: Musée d’Art Moderne, Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
-- Scope Cleaver: Gallery of the Arts, Princeton University Campus, Second Life

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