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Today's News - Thursday, March 13, 2008

Princeton University's new School of Architecture addition creates a transparent connection. -- Everyone seems a bit cantankerous today: There's trouble in Niemeyer's utopia. -- Brussat is brutal about modern architecture in developing nations. -- An American architect urges Calgary to do more with less. -- Kaplickı claims he's doing battle for Prague National Library in the name of all architects. -- Another take wonders how the library's "molded plastic-looking exterior and purple eyes" will express the spirit of Prague. -- The British architect who won the design competition says, "Shame on Canada," as Portrait Gallery plans change (and the oddest RFP we've ever heard of: design is not part of the criteria). -- Despite lots of flak, Farrell gets to keep his job as Edinburgh's design champion. -- RIBA makes #244 on the Superbrands list, sending Glancey into "paroxysms of despair." -- Forget architectural branding: now developers are selling the what-star-slept-here angle. -- An architect tours two MIT buildings and finds the contrast "stunning." -- A few brighter notes: Farrelly praises RAIA Gold Medal winner as a "quiet achiever" and "one of modernism's True Believers." -- Urban Splash has a winner for the Weston-super-Mare's Birnbeck Pier project. -- A Q&A with Arieff re: the evolution of modern prefab. -- Heathcote visits Carmody Groarke and finds "a profound reminder of the power of shrunken architecture." -- Rybczynski and Martin pay tribute to Pawley. -- We couldn't resist: Scientists recreate traffic jams. -- Romania's solution: send the traffic cops to ballet schools (their pliés are helping calm road rage!).

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Transparent Connections: Princeton University School of Architecture Addition: A contemporary connection revitalizes two wings of an existing campus building. -- Architecture Research Office (ARO)- ArchNewsNow

Trouble in utopia as the real Brazil spills into Niemeyer's masterpiece: Overcrowding, traffic and crime blight futurist capital, admits legendary architect...defends the city's conception and his designs... laments the unplanned growth. "The city should call a halt." ...utopian dream is not completely dead.- Guardian (UK)

Modernism and the Third World: Developing nations that threw off the yoke of Western imperialism are strapping it on again...in its most ridiculous form...seem eager to establish credentials as “hip.” ...Why are so many...hiring Western celebrity architects to stomp out what remains of their built culture? By David Brussat -- Rem Koolhaas; Frank Gehry; Joshua Prince-Ramus; Daniel Libeskind; Zaha Hadid- Providence Journal (Rhode Island)

Architect argues for simpler buildings: ...urging Calgary developers to strive to build simple, sustainable, pedestrian-friendly buildings...Architects and their clients should then adapt to doing more with less. -- Bill Valentine/HOK (Hellmuth Obata + Kassabaum)- Calgary Herald (Canada)

Kaplicky throws down the gauntlet in Prague Library battle: "Architects should be proud of me...I'm in this battle for all of them."- The Architects' Journal (UK)

Op-Ed: Charles IV, where are you? "On every corner, in every restaurant you go, people tell you they want the project..." Jan Kaplickı must go to far different restaurants than we do...How is our proposed National Library, with its molded plastic-looking exterior and purple eyes visible from every historical quarter, going to express the spirit of Prague? -- Future Systems- Prague Daily Monitor

'Shame on Canada': Architect slams government's handling of portrait gallery..."We won an international competition for this project...We made countless transatlantic flights...In the spirit of goodwill, we made a very large financial loss..." -- Edward Jones/Dixon Jones- Ottawa Citizen (Canada)

Architect will keep 'design champion' job despite flak: Terry Farrell...claimed Edinburgh was "gripped by the forces of lethargy". Rival architects in the city have questioned his record of achievement, amid growing concern about the speed of the planning system in the city.- The Scotsman (UK)

Are there prizes for 244th place? News that the RIBA has made number 244 in the Superbrands list sends Jonathan Glancey into paroxysms of despair...Given that the whole notion of “brands” is creakingly archaic...it’s surely not a good idea for a professional institute to plunge its neckline into the Posh’n’Becks-style world of jargon-laced modern marketing.- BD/Building Design (UK)

High Society Outshines High Modernism: Former celebrity occupants are starring in sales pitches nationwide...in the case of Manhattan House, Grace Kelly is outshining a high-powered Modernist heritage...as the foundation for a new image. (Bunshaft lived there too, but nobody’s talking about that.) -- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Mayers & Whittlesley (1950)- Architectural Record

Op-Ed: A Tale of 2 Buildings: MIT’s new Brain and Cognitive Sciences Building [and] Stata Center... Aesthetics and recent publicity aside, the contrast in occupancy levels and human energy was stunning. By Mary Jo Olenick/S/L/A/M Collaborative -- Charles Correa Associates; Frank Gehry [images]- The Chronicle of Higher Education

Quiet achiever wins architecture's top award: The RAIA Gold Medal hasn't always got it right...This year, however, there will be few dissenting voices, for Richard Johnson is one of our most accomplished and intelligent architects...has remained one of modernism's True Believers. By Elizabeth Farrelly -- Johnson Pilton Walker- Sydney Morning Herald

Exclusive plans for Birnbeck Pier revealed as winner is announced: "...the team demonstrated real clarity of thought about the way the old and new can work together in bringing Birnbeck back to life." -- Levitate Architecture [images]- Weston & Somerset Mercury (UK)

The prefab gets a makeover: Allison Arieff shares her opinions about the contemporary design movement she dubs "modern prefab" -- Michelle Kaufmann; Jennifer Siegal; Rocio Romero; Ray Kappe [slide show]- Los Angeles Times

The model of two very modern architects: ...a glance around the offices of Carmody Groarke is a profound reminder of the power of shrunken architecture. By Edwin Heathcote- Financial Times (UK)

Tribute: Martin Pawley: A critic who pushed architects into the modern, technological world... although, with a characteristic chuckle, he would have pooh-poohed such a lofty word. By Witold Rybczynski- Slate

Tribute: Martin Pawley: Typical. Just days before an evening at the Architectural Association to celebrate the life of our most admired architectural commentator, he dies. How rude. Yet for those who knew Martin Pawley, worked with him, or read with astonishment the ruthless prose he seemed so effortlessly to produce over four decades, it seems appropriate somehow. By Ian Martin- The Architects' Journal (UK)

Shockwave traffic jam recreated for first time: Showing it is possible to recreate shockwave jams is important if researchers are to find ways to prevent or control the phenomena.- New Scientist

All the jam's a stage for Romanian traffic police: ...city of Timisoara sent their officers to ballet classes in the hope of helping them to manage the traffic with more grace and ease, and to encourage a reduction in road rage.- Guardian (UK)

OMA/Office for Metropolitan Architecture: Netherlands Embassy in Berlin

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