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Today's News - Monday, January 28, 2008

ArcSpace brings us Asymptote in Malaysia, and van Egeraat in Utrecht. -- Eco-what in Hampshire and Fife? -- Green is smart and smart is sexy, so why not sell that? -- Boddy wonders why Erickson's concept for Robson Square re-do isn't considered. -- Saffron (and others) lose hope for reprieve for doomed historic Philly buildings (agreements be damned, it seems). -- Glancey waxes ever so poetic about Corbu's Chandigarh. -- UAE entrepreneur falls in love with Lyons - so why not build it Dubai? -- In L.A., Kaplan calls for and enlightened zoning policy instead of "dated, static proscriptions" now being debated. -- Davis on "free-range McMansions" and California wildfires. -- Kamin offers up a rogues' gallery of the ugly side of Chicago's condo boom. -- A green homeless shelter to heal on more levels than one. -- Q&A with RMJM's Peter Morrison re: successes and controversy. -- 15-year-old plans for Stonehenge center could make a comeback. -- Some "quirky" ideas for San Francisco's "City of the Future" are based on real science. -- Call for entries: IIDA/Metropolis 2008 Smart Environments Awards; Design the Bank Branch of the Future; ARCHI-TECH AV Awards; and deadline reminder: Back-of-the-Envelope Bush Library Design Contest.

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-- Asymptote Architecture: Penang Global City Center, Penang, Malaysia
-- Erick van Egeraat: A.A. Hijmans van den Bergh Medical Faculty, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands

How to get permission to destroy the countryside: say you're building an eco-town: ...Zurich Financial Services...seeking permission to build a new town of 12,500 houses in Hampshire by labelling it an "eco-town"...has drawn the ire...it is simply trying to gain acceptance through the back door for a scheme which would be disastrous in landscape terms...- Independent (UK)

Fife Council resists army of opposition to 30,000-home development: ...alleged to have triggered "a feeding frenzy" among developers...scale and the nature of the proposed development has appalled communities throughout the region. [images, links]- Sunday Herald (Scotland)

In architecture, as elsewhere, sex sells: Green is smart and smart is sexy, so why not sell that? By Dave LeBlanc -- Richard Neutra; Vision/62/Harry B. Kohl; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)- Globe and Mail (Canada)

Overarching aspirations: Robson Square redesign plans...an expensive and possibly flawed concept...Erickson...points to a possible alternative ...Erickson's conception would cost substantially less than the $87-million for radical surgery and extraneous re-padding... By Trevor Boddy -- Arthur Erickson; Clive Grout Architects [image]- Globe and Mail (Canada)

Two doomed Philadelphia buildings draw a last-ditch plea: Preservation Alliance...decided not to appeal Quigley's ruling...many came out in the freezing weather in the hope of persuading Gov. Rendell to issue a reprieve. By Inga Saffron -- Mitchell/Giurgola Architects- Philadelphia Inquirer

The pearl of the Punjab: Chandigarh, built on the baking plains of northern India, is one of Le Corbusier's greatest achievements. But does the city deserve World Heritage status? ...a strangely glorious mix of romantic and rational planning...some of the most impressive of Le Corbusier's mesmeric works. By Jonathan Glancey- Guardian (UK)

Smitten by Lyon, a Visitor Tries to Recreate the Magic: A 40-year-old entrepreneur was so overcome with love after a visit...he decided to capture the magical moment by building a little Lyon — back home in Dubai. -- Jean-Paul Lebas/Partenaires Développement/SETEC- New York Times

Changing Neighborhood, New Economy: Looking to the Future in the Arts District and Beyond: The sunny scene Downtown is vivid evidence of the need for an enlightened zoning policy to guide development, rather than the dated, static proscriptions of the Industrial Land Use Policy now being debated... By Sam Hall Kaplan- LA Downtown News

Where There’s Smoke: Urban critic Mike Davis points out how new causes are exacerbating seasonal wildfires...vast citrus forests have been transformed into pink-stucco death valleys ...free-range McMansions...surrounded by what foresters grimly refer to as “diesel stands” of dying pine and old brush.- The Architect's Newspaper (NYC)

A gallery of rogues: For every gem produced by the long-running building boom, there are even more clunkers...The bigger story in all this reaches beyond Chicago to boomtowns across America and the world: This is a time of urbanization without urbanity... By Blair Kamin -- Pappageorge/Haymes; DeStefano + Partners; Antunovich Associates; Built Form Architecture; OWP/P; Loewenberg + Associates; Daniel P. Coffey; OKW Architects [slide show]- Chicago Tribune

A Shelter Is Built Green, to Heal Inside and Out: Crossroads, a new facility in Oakland, Calif., that will accommodate 125 residents, may be the only “green” homeless shelter built from the ground up. -- Kodama Diseño [images]- New York Times

Architecture and morality: Interview: Peter Morrison -- RMJM contracts, from Holyrood to Gazprom, have mired it in controversy, but it has still become one of the world’s top architects’ firms. Steven Vass meets its chief executive- Sunday Herald (Scotland)

Ted Cullinan could make Stonehenge comeback...15 years after he was first selected to design a facility there: English Heritage (EH) has confirmed it is looking at resuscitating previous visitor-centre proposals following the recent demise of Denton Corker Marshall's (DCM) £67 million scheme.- The Architects' Journal (UK)

Coming To A City Near You In 2108: Algae Towers And Nanotubes: "City of the Future" contest ...sci-fi visions are seemingly closer at hand than 100 years...While some these concepts may sound over the top, most were based on science and technology... -- IwamotoScott Architecture; Pfau Architects; Fougeron Architecture- CNN

Call for entries: IIDA/Metropolis 2008 Smart Environments Awards; deadline to request entry kit: March 28- IIDA/Metropolis

Call for entries: Share a New Vision: Design the Bank Branch of the Future; Professional and Student categories (no entry fee, cash prizes); registration deadline: February 15 (international)- Panini S.p.A.

Call for entries: 2008 ARCHI-TECH AV Awards Competition, in partnership with InfoComm International, to honor outstanding examples of the creative and effective integration of technology into otherwise traditional construction projects; deadline: February 25- ARCHI-TECH magazine

Deadline reminder: February 1: The Back-of-the-Envelope Bush Library Design Contest- The Chronicle of Higher Education

From Back Lot to Front Lines: A new naval training facility uses entertainment technology developed for video games and theme park rides to create more realistic battle simulations. By Mark McVay -- SmithGroup [images]- ArchNewsNow

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