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Today's News - Wednesday, March 19, 2008

We lose a master who shaped Australian cities. -- Blum hangs with Brad (and a bunch of architects) in New Orleans. -- A sustainable housing development in Malaysia deserves attention. -- Pearman finds some "nuggets of gold" in Liverpool's construction mud. -- Will New Jersey's mammoth Xanadu "in ugly predicament." -- Indianapolis pins its hopes to be national hub on redevelopment projects. -- Kamin on plans for an Evanston skyscraper that pits Vancouverism against Jane Jacob-ites (a poster child for the debate roiling everywhere). -- A Charleston tower misses the mark a bit, but it's also a sign that the city may "finally be ready for architecture of our time." -- Lewis on Washington's makeover of 20th-century office buildings. -- The Arthouse will be a "graceful and innovative renovation" in Dallas. -- Why do so many shiny new campus buildings feel so empty? -- KieranTimberlake designs multi-family prefab. -- An eyeful of Foster's renovation of a grand hotel in the Swiss Alps. -- The Eiffel Tower to get an anniversary addition at the top. -- Neighbors not happy about re-opening of FLW's Ennis House. -- AIA Architecture Billing Index: not good news. -- Good news for Brit Insurance Design Award winners. -- Call for entries: Australian National World War I and World War II Memorials International Design Competition.

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Obituary: Max Ernest Collard, FRAIA, FRIBA, 99: Scholar who shaped our cities...a significant contributor to the architecture of 20th century Australia.- Sydney Morning Herald

Saint Brad: With his Make It Right project in New Orleans, Pitt may be on his way to becoming architecture’s most important patron. Is architecture up for the challenge? By Andrew Blum -- William McDonough + Partners; Graft; Bingler/Concordia Architecture; Mayne/Morphosis; Adjaye; Shigeru Ban; KieranTimberlake; Joe Osae-Addo/Accra; John Williams; Billes; MVRDV; BNIM; Eskew + Dumez + Ripple; Trahan; Pugh + Scarpa [images]- Metropolis Magazine

Sailing to sustainability: ...some 5,500km away from the headline-hitting Masdar City, an Italian architect is helping a new residential complex lead the way for sustainable development in Southeast Asia...Putrajaya, a sustainable housing development in Malaysia from Studio Nicoletti Associati. [images]- ArabianBusiness.com

Mersey beat: the new Liverpool starts to emerge...Ben Johnson is painting a city (he's still at it, now on webcam only) with big gaps missing. He has to refer to architects' drawings. He is finishing their buildings before they can...it's all a bit of a mess...But there are nuggets of gold in the mud. By Hugh Pearman -- Wilkinson Eyre; BIQ; Austin Smith:Lord [images, links]- HughPearman.com (UK)

Xanadu in ugly predicament: he architects of controversial exterior have been summoned to...explain how the shopping and entertainment center will evolve into "an acceptable finished product." ...Comments...about the multicolored layout have been almost unanimously negative. -- Rockwell Group- NorthJersey.com (New Jersey)

Indianapolis Pinning Lots of Hopes on Airport Project: $1.1 billion, 1.2-million-square-foot airport redevelopment project...is part of a larger campaign by this city...to recast itself as a hub for national distribution as well as a center for advanced manufacturing and sports-related tourism. -- Ripley A. Rasmus/HOK- New York Times

Evanston skyscraper: Design quality doesn't yet offset impact: Debate is about what kind of place will this be? ...ground zero right now in the roiling debate over the extent to which America's suburbs should invite that symbol of urban ambition and angst -- the skyscraper -- into their downtowns. By Blair Kamin -- Laurence Booth/Booth Hansen- Chicago Tribune

MUSC's Ashley River Tower: Up Close and Impersonal: ...conscious of Charleston's historic character...nailed the design's overall shape and nautical theme, efforts to incorporate details of the Holy City's urban charm in the exterior and the atrium are less inspired...suggests that the city may finally be ready for architecture of our time. -- LS3P Associates; NBBJ [image]- Charleston City Paper (South Carolina)

Bringing Downtown Buildings Into the 21st Century: The makeover of 20th-century office buildings, well underway throughout downtown Washington, is gradually changing visible and not-so-visible aspects of the District's commercial heart. By Roger K. Lewis- Washington Post

Plans unveiled for historic Congress Avenue building: Design uses existing Arthouse building, adds contemporary features and functions for arts organization....A graceful and innovative renovation that will add a new layer to a many-layered historic downtown building... By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin -- Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis (LTL) [image]- Austin American-Statesman (Texas)

Op-Ed: Can Less Space Be More? ...planners and designers have been asked to develop buildings that encourage interaction. So why, when we walk into many of these shiny new buildings, do they feel so empty? By Mary Jo Olenick/S/L/A/M Collaborative- The Chronicle of Higher Education

LivingHomes Launches KieranTimberlake Designs...its first multifamily product...a prefabricated, modular system of townhouse units that link laterally, making very large-scale development possible... [images]- Architectural Record

Foster + Partners renovates Alpine hotel: ...just completed its renovation and extension to the Dolder Grand Hotel, perched above Lake Zurich in the Swiss Alps. -- Itten + Brechbühl [images]- The Architects' Journal (UK)

Eiffel Tower to Get Anniversary Addition: Serero Architects wins an open call for a temporary redesign of public areas; proposal would more than double the size of the tower's highest observation platform. [images]- Architect Magazine

Ennis in Limbo: Neighbors oppose re-opening famed Frank Lloyd Wright 1924 house...to the public, arguing that the house should be sold to a private owner. -- Eric Lloyd Wright; Historic Resources Group [images]- The Architect's Newspaper (Los Angeles)

U.S. construction activity indicator sinks - AIA Architecture Billings Index...tumbled to 41.8 for the month, its lowest level since October 2001..."The one bright spot continues to be the institution sector"...- Reuters

Design Museum’s inaugural Brit Insurance Design Awards: Design of the Year: One Laptop Per Child by Yves Béhar/Fuseproject; Architecture: National Stadium, Beijing, by Herzog & de Meuron- Design Museum (UK)

Call for entries: National World War I and World War II Memorials International Design Competition; cash prizes; registration deadline: April 4- Commonwealth of Australia

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

-- Rafael Viñoly Architects: Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay
--Design Hotel: Lux 11, Berlin, Germany

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