Today’s News - Monday, November 3, 2008
• ArcSpace brings us the very first, exclusive look at Gehry's master plan to transform the industrial waterfront in Sønderborg, Denmark (lots of pix!).
• Adam minces no words about the dearth of traditional architecture training in Britain because it's ruled by the "Sect of the Great Mystery" (a.k.a. Modernists).
• Kamin takes an in-depth look at Chicago's skyline "on the verge of being frozen in place."
• Foster's U2 tower in Dublin now "the most significant symbol of Ireland's slide into recession."
• Dark clouds surround Scotland's national design center, The Lighthouse (we hope it finds a silver lining).
• Dunes be damned: Trump trumps nature and wins approval for £1 billion Scottish golf resort.
• Campbell gives two thumbs-up's to Yale's "enthusiastically renovated" Rudolph Hall (he's not so kind to the addition).
• Rochon roils at intentional defacement of Mies benches - not by skateboarders, but as part of a larger "courtyard improvement project."
• Glancey calls Westfield mega mall "the death of city architecture" (pix prove it - or not - your call).
• But he finds Piano's Academy of Sciences "an environmental marvel" - it is "somehow classical, modern and organic in one and the same green breath."
• Cloepfil's arts magnet school in Dallas is "a well-organized and thoughtfully appointed 'factory for the arts'...It's too bad the building itself can't have a little more fun."
• Pearman on plans for permanent park in London: maybe this Olympic 2012 plan will win the public over.
• King sees a modest bank branch in Modesto as "a throwback to a time when roadside architecture glowed with pride."
• Face-lift for the Fontainebleau; "We kept asking ourselves, 'What would Morris do?'"
• Rockwell tapped to design Academy Awards show: "I think we'll see things never seen before at the Oscars."
• NYC's skyline glitters with a gentler glow.
• An Israeli company develops a clean technology to extract water from the air.
• Call for entries: 2009 Berkeley Prize - 11th Annual Essay Competition.
• It's election eve - we couldn't resist: Heller's vote for best 2008 campaign buttons...now, Americans - be sure to VOTE tomorrow!
| |
|
|
|
To subscribe to the free daily newsletter
click here
|
|
Gehry Partners: Sønderborg Harbor Masterplan, Sønderborg, Denmark: ...proposes to transform the former industrial waterfront into a vibrant urban development... [images] |
Let’s talk about sects: The Sect of the Great Mystery, that is, as nurtured by the high priests of modern British architecture. Only in the US is there a place for non-believers...If you want to train as a traditional architect in Britain, forget it. By Robert Adam- Building (UK) |
Skyline on pause: Credit crunch leaves Spire, other towers short...Chicago's once-superheated skyline—radically transformed during the last 10 years by one of the greatest building booms in the city's history—is on the verge of being frozen in place. By Blair Kamin -- Arquitectonica; Calatrava; Teng; Joe Valerio/Valerio Dewalt Train; Adrian Smith; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill- Chicago Tribune |
Foster + Partners' U2 Tower in Dublin's docklands shelved...becoming the most significant symbol of Ireland's slide into recession. [image]- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Funding crisis could close Scotland's national design centre: Three month deadline to plug cash shortfall or The Lighthouse may shut...helped to improve Scotland by encouraging debate about good architecture. “RIAS is keen to that role continue"...- The Times (UK) |
Trump triumphs in battle for Scottish golf resort: ...controversial plans for a £1bn golf resort in Aberdeenshire today won approval from the Scottish government...billionaire has been fighting opposition by environmentalists to his plans to build...a five-star hotel, exclusive chalets, a golf academy, 950 timeshare flats, and a "Trump Boulevard"- Guardian (UK) |
Loving care for a Brutalist giant: Yale renovation holds lessons for Boston City Hall: ...while our City Hall languishes in the grip of a mayor who would like to get rid of it, the A + A has just been totally and enthusiastically renovated...Loria Center itself is forgettable architecture, a random collage of surfaces ...that don't add up to anything particularly expressive or satisfying. By Robert Campbell -- Paul Rudolph; Gwathmey Siegel- Boston Globe |
Cuts in iconic benches mess with Miesian aesthetic: The granite benches at the Toronto-Dominion Centre have been trashed. Not by roaming bands of graffiti artists or ripper skateboarders, but as part of a larger "courtyard improvement project"...The unspoken gospel is that skateboarding kids, possibly more than the homeless, deserve to be marginalized. By Lisa Rochon -- Mies van der Rohe; John B. Parkin Associates; Bregman & Hamann (B + H); Janet Rosenberg- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
Westfield mega mall: the death of city architecture: Who cares about innovative design in shopping centres, as long as you can spend, spend, spend...like a cross between a giant 1980s airport terminal and, well, a big, brash and shiny shopping mall of the sort you might expect to find anywhere...just a tiny step towards our collective desire to undermine the life and culture of the traditional city, along with its architecture, and to shop and shop some more. By Jonathan Glancey [links to images, video]- Guardian (UK) |
Second nature: Home to alligators, penguins, a coral reef, rainforests and an amazing living roof, Renzo Piano's Academy of Sciences is an environmental marvel...This is, I think, an important building...it is exceptionally "green" even before one takes account of its special roof. It is somehow classical, modern and organic in one and the same green breath. By Jonathan Glancey [slide show]- Guardian (UK) |
Arts Magnet's functional design leaves out the fun: Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts...One craves more physical energy from these buildings, more playfulness. They're functional to a fault, earnest, even dour – no funny business here...a well-organized and thoughtfully appointed "factory for the arts"...It's too bad the building itself can't have a little more fun. -- Cloepfil/Allied Works; Booziotis & Company- Dallas Morning News |
The Botanical Olympics: London 2012 gets gardening: It has run into plenty of criticism over its buildings...But now the London 2012 Olympic authority hopes it can win round the public by creating a new permanent park for London - complete with a half-mile long, 130 feet wide riverside botanical garden to rival historic Kew. By Hugh Pearman -- LDA Design.Hargreaves; Sarah Price [images]- HughPearman.com (UK) |
Modesto bank makes an architectural statement: ...playfulness would stand out anywhere, but it's especially welcome amid the interchangeable landscape of today's suburbia....a throwback to a time when roadside architecture glowed with pride - and proof that there's room for modest but memorable buildings in our fast-growing cities...The vigor of the design trumps any bottom-line trade-offs. By John King -- Mark Horton [images]- San Francisco Chronicle |
Flamboyance Gets a Face-Lift: The Fontainebleau hotel chases its former glory and the crowds of South Beach..."We kept asking ourselves, ‘What would Morris do?'" -- Morris Lapidus (1954); Jeffrey Beers; James Turrell; John Nichols [images]- New York Times |
Oscar theater designer Rockwell nabs awards gig: ...crafted the current home of the Academy Awards show...3,500-seat Kodak Theatre in the heart of Hollywood..."I think we'll see things never seen before at the Oscars"...- AP |
Efficiency’s Mark: City Glitters a Little Less: ...rising energy costs, conservationism, stricter building codes and sophisticated lighting systems have conspired to slowly, often imperceptibly, transform Manhattan’s venerable nightscape into one with a gentler glow. -- Randy Sabedra/RS Lighting Design; Dark-Sky Association; TPG; Renzo Piano; Guy Geier/FXFowle [images, video]- New York Times |
Israeli company creates drinking water out of thin air: Extraction of Water from Air (EWA)...unique water adsorption technology - which employs a solid desiccant to trap the water - and a special energy saving condenser that reuses more than 85 percent of the energy input to the system.- Ha`aretz (Israel) |
Call for entries: 2009 Berkeley Prize - 11th Annual Essay Competition: open to all currently registered undergraduates majoring in architectural design in accredited schools of architecture worldwide; total prize: $9,500; deadline: December 1, 2008- Berkeley Prize |
The Best Buttons of 2008, in One Man’s Opinion: Buttons have a long history as badges of political allegiance...a nonpartisan look at some of the best. By Steven Heller [slide show]- New York Times |
Field Notes from the 11th Venice Architecture Biennale - Part 2: The Giardini: "Experimental Architectures" offers a glimpse of 30 countries' current architectural debates and experiments. By Terri Peters [images]- ArchNewsNow |
|
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window.
External news links are not endorsed by ArchNewsNow.com.
Free registration may be required on some sites.
Some pages may expire after a few days.
© 2008 ArchNewsNow.com