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Today's News - Monday, April 14, 2008

ArcSpace brings us OMA and Juhl in Denmark, and a tome of tribute to Utzon. -- A massive eco development for Dubai. -- Beijing's major moves to clear the air: "Just tell everybody they don't have to worry." -- There may be a silver lining in Hudson yards disarray. -- U.K. housing minister on eco-towns: "improbable argument to counter her critics: concrete is good for the countryside." -- Fears that big plans for Edinburgh's Leith Docks "will turn the landscape into a Soviet-style concrete wasteland." -- Heritage watchdogs object to changes in Hopkins-designed Forum (but supported by Hopkins). -- Orange County Great Park plans hit by housing crisis. -- Hume on Toronto's accidental treasure and hopes that it doesn't become too "parkified." -- Bethlehem Steel plant artful plans move forward. -- Plans for a new town center mirror trend to transform shopping centers into downtowns. -- In India, the Pune populace is mesmerized by city's avant-garde postmodern architecture (not all are convinced). -- Does the U.K. need a chief architect to advise it? A Yes and a No. -- Boddy finds new Bing Thom building "a welcome upping of the architectural standards" for Vancouver (with pix to prove it). -- Kamin on the myth-busting green credentials of the GRAM. -- Goldberger wonders if anyone can design a nice airport (and the few who have). -- Who isn't lined up for the chance to design for the Tampa International Airport? -- A look at famous architectural PR disasters (they're not always detrimental). -- How Berkebile overcame a major disaster to become "the godfather of green building." -- Call for entries: No. 16 Henrietta Street, Dublin Open Design Ideas Competition. -- Rawsthorn offers a preview of Milan: the "savviest designers seem to be taking their cues from the looming recession."

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-- Rem Koolhaas/OMA: The Brewery Site, Copenhagen, Denmark
-- Book: A Tribute to Jørn Utzon
-- Exhibition: Home of Finn Juhl, Ordrupgaard, Ordrup, Denmark

Dubai unveils $54.4 billion eco real estate project: ...stretching over 82 square kilometres... Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens, will be made up of four main clusters themed around wisdom, humanity, nature and commerce, with 73% of the total area...to be covered in greenery.- ArabianBusiness.com

Beijing Stops Construction for Olympics: Chinese officials laid out a sweeping series of measures...in an attempt to clear the air...pledge to stage a “green games” in one of the world’s most polluted cities...“Just tell everybody they don’t have to worry.”- New York Times

West Side Redevelopment Plans in Disarray: It was a vision to make Robert Moses proud...But many urban planners, architects, community leaders and developers say the downturn may have a silver lining, providing an opportunity for the city to rethink and reconfigure sweeping proposals many of them had doubts about all along.- New York Times

Just the spot for a new Milton Keynes: Caroline Flint, the housing minister, tells why towns can be as green as fields...minister for “eco-towns” has conjured up an improbable argument to counter her critics: concrete is good for the countryside.- The Times (UK)

Fury over ‘Wester-Hailes-By-The -Sea’: Critics voice fears over plans to build 16,000 homes in Leith Docks...Plans for the massive £700 million project...to be built in nine "villages" over 144 hectares of disused brownfield industrial land around the dock area. -- RMJM- Sunday Herald (Scotland)

Architects defend Forum plans: ...have defended controversial plans for a new visitor centre and multi-media gallery...a heritage watchdog...has objected to the proposals, saying that the Sir Michael Hopkins-designed building is major architectural development for the city...and “piecemeal” changes would damage its status and reputation.- Norwich Evening News (UK)

U.S. housing crisis stifles Great Park: Nearly three years after the city approved a massive residential and commercial development at the closed El Toro Marine base in exchange for a grand park in the heart of suburban Orange County, Irvine officials and struggling home builder Lennar Corp. are in talks about revising the landmark agreement. -- Ken Smith [links]- Los Angeles Times

Toronto's accidental treasure: The Leslie Street Spit [Tommy Thompson Park] is nature at its rejuvenating best. The debate now is over how much to 'parkify'...It is a dump gone wild, an accidental nature preserve, partly industrial, partly natural, but above all, a huge civic asset. By Christopher Hume -- James Corner/Field Operations [video link]- Toronto Star

SteelStax design work to be forged in Bethlehem Steel plant: Work for $53 million project at 4.5-acre site goes to local architects...billed as a ''21st century town square"...structures that will go toe-to-toe with bold features such as the blast furnaces and other industrial buildings that will be saved. -- Spillman Farmer Architects- The Morning Call (Pennsylvania)

Architect shares Columbia Town Center ideas: All over the country, people are taking 1950's era shopping centers and turning them into downtowns... -- Jaquelin T. Robertson/Cooper, Robertson & Partners- Baltimore Sun

Dreams under construction: The city's avant-garde postmodern architecture succeeds to hold Pune populace mesmerised...as Pune becomes more urban, the language of architecture is also evolving. -- Sugandh Vighne; Kamal S Malik; Franklin Po; L & T; Narendra Palse- Express India

Does government need a chief architect to advise it? Yes, says shadow culture minister Ed Vaizey; no, says Robert Adam, who thinks it an undemocratic and dangerous idea.- BD/Building Design (UK)

A good fit with both site and community...defines the Sunset Community Centre design...a chamber work...a welcome upping of the architectural standards for City of Vancouver buildings. By Trevor Boddy -- Bing Thom [slide show]- Globe and Mail (Canada)

Temple of Green: In the Grand Rapids Art Museum, a measured approach to design reveals that elegance and environmentalism are not incompatible...in many respects, a myth-buster. By Blair Kamin -- Kulapat Yantrasast/wHY Architecture; Design Plus; Munkenbeck + Marshall; Design Plus; Atelier Ten [slide show]- GreenSource Magazine

Situation Terminal: Can anyone design a nice airport? Architects trying to reinvent the airport have done so at their peril...Foster has achieved what no other architect has been able to: he has rethought the airport from scratch and made it work...but Rogers has another kind of inventiveness... By Paul Goldberger -- Paul Andreu; Eero Saarinen; Foster + Partners; Richard Rogers Partnership- The New Yorker

Tampa International Airport (TIA) Has Designs On New Facility: ...11 firms...met deadline to submit proposals...competing to become part of a project expected to cost just under $1 billion... -- Arup; DMJM Aviation; Gensler; Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum (HOK); HNTB; Leo A. Daly; Ricondo & Associates; URS Corp.; William Nicholas Bodouva; ZHA; Zyscovich Architects- Tampa Tribune (Florida)

Coming down to earth with a bump: After a spectacular opening, Rogers’ T5 descended into farce. But how much turbulence does it take to ground such a high-flying practice? To be associated with this project...is not detrimental for the firm..."this sort of thing comes with the territory." -- Rogers Stirk Harbour; Foster + Partners; David Adjaye; Pascall & Watson; YRM; Hopkins Architects; Grimshaw; HOK Sport; RMJM/Enrique Miralles- BD/Building Design (UK)

Hyatt Regency skywalks designer Bob Berkebile is the godfather of green building: He may have changed the direction of his industry, but he's not done yet. -- Patty Berkebile Nelson Architects; BNIM- The Pitch (Kansas City)

Call for entries: No. 16 Henrietta Street, Dublin - Open Design Ideas Competition (open to architects holding a qualification listed in the E.C. Architects Directive 85/384/EEC); prizes total €15,000; registration deadline: June 20- Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI)

Confidence pervades Milan Furniture Fair: ...recession may threaten the industry's established markets...but emerging markets...are still robust...savviest designers seem to be taking their cues from the looming recession...gone for the raw, survivalist aesthetic that will be needed in a rougher, tougher future. By Alice Rawsthorn [slide show]- International Herald Tribune

Words That Build: Coping with chaotic communication challenges: Tip #1: Learn to enjoy communicating with your client. By Norman Weinstein- ArchNewsNow

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