Today’s News - Tuesday, February 3, 2009
• Weinstein's Words That Build Tip #11: Effective communication evolves out of cross-reflective details.
• Commercial landlords (and architects, no doubt) are disappointed the stimulus bill does not to "incentivize building energy retrofits to the extent that we would like to have seen."
• RMJM's Schubert calls for good, green, timeless design "not be lost in the haste" to get infrastructure projects going.
• Lewis explains why public transit "deserves a big chunk of stimulus."
• Hume explains why Toronto is "still playing catch-up on public transit" (Alsop has a few ideas); and he explores some urban myths: "the hard truth in Canada is that we neglect our cities (it's okay, Montreal, you're still cool)."
• Salant explores two very different small, green show houses at IBS (a few more closets, please!).
• Major changes ahead for LEED APs "designed to raise accreditation to a new level of professionalism and credibility in the marketplace" (not all will be pleased).
• U.K. and China join forces to collaborate on research in sustainable design and construction of the urban environment.
• King explores public spaces - some hits, some misses - but "what counts is that these spaces exist" at all, thanks to planners with foresight.
• Q&A with Laurie Olin: he muses on public spaces, inspiration, politics, and "the importance of rehabilitating war-ravaged landscapes in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine."
• Kamin digs deeper into why Illinois court's landmark law ruling is wrong, and could put every landmarks ordinance in the country in jeopardy.
• There is good preservation news: Neutra's Mariner's Medical Arts in Newport is rescued from bulldozers.
• An architecture professor mixes green and affordable into a housing revolution: ecoMOD.
• Mostafavi and interiors: he calls for architectural academia to "consider the inside with the wit, seriousness, and curiosity it deserves."
• An eyeful of van Berkel's pavilion for NYC (he doesn't mind what you think it looks like).
• MoMA/P.S. 1 summer pavilion winners talk designing to be temporary, and why New Haven was the perfect place to start their architecture firm, MOS.
• We couldn't resist: an eyeful of London under a blanket of snow (video is great).
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Stimulus Bill’s Sustainability Elements Disappoint Commercial Landlords: ...plan as a boon to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility...raised hopes...that the financial measures would provide incentives to directly assist landlords with energy efficiency improvements...Commercial landlords will see little direct impact on the energy conservation front, however.- National Real Estate Investor (NREI) |
Op-Ed: Good, green design can be stimulating, timeless: ...15,221 local infrastructure projects in 641 cities that are "ready to go." But while speed in getting work started and jobs created is clearly key, the importance of good design that will last for generations should not be lost in the haste. By Peter Schubert/RMJM- Orlando Sentinel (Florida) |
All Aboard: Public Transit Deserves a Big Chunk of Stimulus: ...let's not widen highways or build new roads just because voters...want easier commutes...If making America greener is indeed a high-priority goal...then transportation spending should include generous amounts for municipal bus and tram systems, as well as for regional and interstate rail. By Roger K. Lewis- Washington Post |
We're still playing catch-up on public transit: As a Londoner and an architect, Will Alsop has a lot to say..."I'm never sure in Toronto what the policy about traffic reduction is...I hear conflicting things." By Christopher Hume -- Foster + Partners; Aedas; Grimshaw- Toronto Star |
Urban myths: A checkup of Canada's major cities reveals some surprises (it's okay, Montreal, you're still cool)...the hard truth in Canada is that we neglect our cities...As a result, they are literally falling apart around us...Successful Canadian cities are those that have a strong and clear sense of their own destiny. They carry on despite chronic underfunding and legislative impotence. By Christopher Hume- Toronto Star |
Packing a Whole Lot More Into Less: Show Houses Mark Shift to Small, Green: At the International Builders Show last week, two show houses demonstrated very different possibilities. By Katherine Salant -- KieranTimberlake; Roberto Kritzer [slide show, links]- Washington Post |
Major Changes Ahead for LEED APs: ...changes are designed to raise accreditation to a new level of professionalism and credibility in the marketplace.- National Real Estate Investor (NREI) |
UK and China join forces on sustainability research: Arup and the Thames Gateway Institute for Sustainability signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tongji University to promote collaboration on research in sustainable design and construction of the urban environment.- New Civil Engineer (UK) |
Office towers trade sky space for public plazas: What counts is that these spaces exist...they wouldn't be here if not for the planners' willingness to harness growth in a way that provides tangible benefits to the public - even if those benefits take decades to materialize. By John King [images]- San Francisco Chronicle |
Why court's landmark law ruling is wrong: ...takes direct aim at the seven standards by which Chicago decides whether a building or district can be safeguarded from demolition or defacement..."If this ordinance is in trouble, then virtually every landmarks ordinance in the country is in trouble"... By Blair Kamin [link to ruling]- Chicago Tribune |
Q&A: Laurie Olin, FASLA: ...muses on projects, inspiration, politics and globalization. [link]- LAND Online / American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) |
Master architect's revered building to be saved in Newport: Mariner's Medical Arts center designed by Richard Neutra is rescued from bulldozers...has been declared a "historic resource" and will be preserved... [slide show]- Orange County Register (California) |
Architecture prof John Quale marries green and affordable in a housing revolution: ...doesn’t just think about solving the energy and affordability crises; he designs solutions...[his] ecoMOD students have already built two low-cost, energy-efficient, modular homes..."On some level, it’s still about optimism. It’s about reinventing the world." [link to images]- C-Ville (Charlottesville, VA) |
Architecture's Inside: ...architecture’s engagement with the interior has been varied, experimental, and productive. However, this important issue has not received much focused intellectual attention within the academy...It is time once again for architecture...to consider the inside with the wit, seriousness, and curiosity it deserves. By Mohsen Mostafavi- Harvard Design Magazine |
Kiosk at the Center of the World: UNStudio marks Dutch-American legacy at the Battery...Kicking off this year’s elaborate celebration of Henry Hudson’s voyage into New York Harbor...5,000-square-foot pavilion will enliven what is now a bleak piazza...including van Berkel–designed park benches. By Julie V. Iovine -- Handel Architects [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
An urban vision: For architects Hilary Sample and Michael Meredith, whose work recently won an architectural design competition held by the Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, New Haven was the perfect place to start their architecture firm, MOS.- Yale Daily News |
Storm Leaves London With a Rare Blanket of Snow and a Frozen Transit System [images, video]- New York Times |
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