Today’s News - Wednesday, January 14, 2009
• In Brooklyn, a new community center re-imagines public architecture and what civic buildings represent.
• Calys cheers small town public buildings: "they aren't ho-hum any more."
• AIA develops Rebuild and Renew Plan to stimulate economy and create 1.6 million jobs (let's hope Obama crew and Congress listen!).
• Seven questions every firm needs to answer to see a "future beyond the economic dilemmas of today."
• Campbell bids adieu to the "Bilbao Decade."
• Viladas steps into the Cannell vs. Moss flap: "Score one for designers."
• Stepping into the conversation now: Starck, Conran, and Allsopp debate the future of their industries in these lean times.
• Another (not very positive) take on U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
• A $5,000 dwelling made out of paper could revolutionize slums.
• An environmentally-friendly cement that eats carbon dioxide could revolutionize construction.
• Voelz Chandler gives (mostly) thumbs-up to 3 new Denver buildings that, while contemporary, get along with their more traditional, historic neighbors.
• A new bridge for the Portland-Vancouver area could include vertical wind turbines; not all are convinced.
• Heathcote heaps praise on London's "quirky, delightful little" Garden Museum.
• Hume takes us on a stroll through the "accidental wilds" of the "new urban wilderness emerging in the shadowy spaces" beneath the Gardiner Expressway.
• Parker receives Lifetime Achievement Award from ACHA.
• We couldn't resist: the $40,000 workstation to replace your desk, chair, and computer setup (we're adding this to our Christmas wish list!).
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Community Building: A new community center re-imagines public architecture and what civic buildings represent. -- George Ranalli, Architect [images]- ArchNewsNow |
Small town public buildings: they aren't ho-hum any more: Portola Valley's new Town Center...is a special treat -- good public buildings in an out of the way locale. By George Calys -- Siegel & Strain Architects; Goring & Straja Architects [images]- San Francisco Examiner |
AIA Develops Rebuild and Renew Plan to Stimulate Economy and Create 1.6 Million Jobs in Building Sector: Recommendations Call for Funds for the Planning and Design of Energy Efficient Construction Projects [link to full report]- American Institute of Architects (AIA) |
Looking Around the Corner and Seeing a Future: The tumultuous economy has us all on pins and needles. What’s next? Seven questions every firm needs to answer. By James P. Cramer- DesignIntelligence |
Marking the end of 'The Bilbao Decade': Times dictate a shift away from vanity projects...Severe architectural recession on the one hand, grotesque architectural luxury on the other. The two stories are the yin and yang of this moment in time...a page is turning, once again, in the history of architecture. By Robert Campbell- Boston Globe |
Don’t Hate Them Because They’re Beautiful: ...Cannell hailed the downturn as a corrective for the overpriced, under-functional design that proliferated during the boom...drew a predictably sharp rebuke from...Moss...scolded Cannell for his “tone of comeuppance” and his implication that function should rule over poetry when times are tough. Score one for designers. By Pilar Viladas- New York Times |
'Pink walls and chandeliers don't feel right. We've had enough of frivolity': How does design respond to a bleak economic landscape? Philippe Starck, Sir Terence Conran and Kirstie Allsopp debate the future of their industries in these lean times.- Guardian (UK) |
The U.S. 'castle' by the waters of Babylon: The fortified design of the embassy suggests that the Americans don’t have much faith in the stability of Iraq...an intimidating structure. -- Berger Devine Yaeger- Desert Dispatch (California) |
New Design Could Revolutionize World Slums: A new invention could soon change the face of shantytowns across the globe. Called "Universal World House," the structures are light, cheap -- and made of paper. -- Bauhaus University; Gerd Niemöller/The Wall AG [image]- Der Spiegel (Germany) |
Revealed: The cement that eats carbon dioxide: A new environmentally friendly cement developed by British engineers means emission-heavy industry has the potential to become carbon negative...Novacem has already attracted the attention of major construction companies...- Guardian (UK) |
Unusual structures grab attention: Two innovative buildings have been drawing stares from passersby while reportedly stimulating those who work and study inside them...eyecatching Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower [and] Mode Gakuen Spiral Tower... -- Tange Associates; Nikken Sekkei- Daily Yomiuri (Japan) |
The new faces of Blake Street: ...SugarCube Building, 1755 Blake, and Zi Lofts...these new buildings sought out their own personalities, adding contemporary design while getting along with their more traditional, historic neighbors. By Mary Voelz Chandler -- OZ Architecture; RNL Design; Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB) [images]- Rocky Mountain News (Denver) |
New I-5 bridge design includes wind turbines: ...features vertically spinning turbines that would generate an unknown amount of juice while proclaiming loudly that the Portland-Vancouver area is the sustainability center of the world. -- Touchstone Architecture [images]- The Oregonian |
Spruced up and simple: Garden Museum, London...quirky, delightful little museum...with a seemingly simple, sparse yet extremely sophisticated intervention...reuse of a solid, sacred building, the choice of the greenest of possible materials and the extraordinary adaptability of the resulting space amount to as sustainable a piece of work as you are likely to see. By Edwin Heathcote -- Dow Jones Architects- Financial Times (UK) |
The Gardiner's accidental wilds: Last year, the city launched a plan to improve some of our most neglected, and oddly alluring, sidewalks...the new urban wilderness emerging in the shadowy spaces beneath the Gardiner Expressway. By Christopher Hume [video link]- Toronto Star |
Derek Parker Recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award from American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA): ...instituted new design elements in healthcare design that have evolved into staples of the industry. -- Anshen+Allen- Contract magazine |
Yes, it's for real: the Emperor Workstation: US$40,000 contraption...replaces your desk, chair and computer setup with an electric, flexible pod. [image, video]- Gizmag (Australia) |
WORDS THAT BUILD: Tip #10: Use paragraph spacing in writing and pauses in conversation to promote "out of the box" thinking. By Norman Weinstein- ArchNewsNow |
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Morphosis: Hypo-Alpe-Adria Bank HQ, Udine, Italy |
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