Today’s News - Monday, March 1, 2010
• ArcSpace brings us Holl's latest China win, and Anmahian Winton's new boathouse on the Charles River in Cambridge, MA.
• The Philippine's leading urban planner and architect issues (another) report re: redesigning Metro Manila to lessen the impact of future disasters - and hopes it won't be archived (again).
• Indonesia mulls new capital as Jakarta sinks, but "few planning experts are holding their breath...The launch of the 2030 plan hardly filled anyone with confidence."
• Duany refines his Haitian Cabin design; now it's just a question of how to get them built.
• What Vancouver has that Boston doesn't: "They understand the economic and place-making value of density" that is "incentivized rather than feared."
• Bayley says "Architecture is more important than politics...you can rebuild a city - in spite of the politicians...Good design shouldn't have to cost more than bad design" ("has he gone mad?").
• The quest for Filipino architecture: the "character that distinguishes our architecture is still in progress, the same way that a young child is still growing into his adult form."
• Betsky on architecture's "bunkering down": he eagerly awaits "the emergence of small gifts that will remind us where we are and open new spaces on our shrunken horizons. I have not seen them yet."
• Qatar's Musheireb development hopes to combine "the aesthetic of yesterday with the environmental-friendly and sustainable know-how of tomorrow"; its architect proposes "less reliance on air conditioning and cars through traditional design and materials."
• A shape-shifting building would adjust its size according to how much energy is being used, but raises "budding concerns about nanny design and practical authoritarianism...Others see the progress as liberating."
• The USGBC's Top 10 Lists of Green Building Bills (we're pleased there are at least 10 given our contentious Congress!).
• Preservation Magazine dedicates an entire issue to "Old is the New Green" (includes great Kamin commentary).
• Malaysia's George Town could lose World Heritage status if heritage building owners continue to renovate without adhering to restoration guidelines.
• Lewis tackles the delicate balance of historic preservation and pressure to grow and change in the 'burbs.
• Kennicott cheers the restoration of a "small, insignificant little station, where no history of any particular importance was made" - but "preserves the architecture of segregation" - lest we forget.
• Chandigarh struggling to rescue its Corbu legacy from Paris auction, and "looking for a glitch in the sale so that it can sue."
• Architecture and Design Scotland gives general praise to Trump's £1billion golf resort, but not for the hotel design: it "should reflect Scotland as a modern and vibrant nation, rather than try to recreate historical pastiche."
• Failures in Montreal's new Grande Bibliothèque offer a lesson in how not to play the blame game: the main players "collaborated to resolve the problem and didn't just blame each other."
• Glancey has a most amusing conversation with RIBA Gold Medal winner, the "Pei master": modern architecture needs to be "part of an evolutionary, not a revolutionary, process"; re: Niemeyer: "Wow! Perhaps I'm not so ancient after all" (a great read!).
• We couldn't resist: an eyeful of hilarious/scary ideas to re-engineer the hot dog so it is no longer "a perfect plug for a child's airway."
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-- Competition winner: Steven Holl Architects: Shan-Shui Hangzhou, Hangzhou, China
-- Anmahian Winton Architects: Community Rowing Boathouse, Cambridge, Massachusetts |
Urban redevelopment for Metro Manila: If Felino Palafox, Jr. has his way, Metro Manila and outlying provinces should be “redesigned” immediately to lessen the impact of a future disaster whether it be a flood, storm, fire or earthquake...hoping that his recent report will not again be archived and become another reference material when another big disaster hit the country.- Philippine Daily Inquirer |
Indonesia mulls new capital as Jakarta sinks: Urban planners said the price tag on a new capital would be huge for Indonesia, but the cost of doing nothing would be higher...given the city's history of corruption and mismanagement, few planning experts are holding their breath...The launch of the 2030 plan hardly filled anyone with confidence...- AFP |
Low-cost cabins offered for post-Haiti earthquake housing: InnoVida has launched an effort to provide Haitians left homeless...with simple, inexpensive cabins made of sturdy space-age materials and designed by Andrés Duany...The Haitian Cabin...is a refined version of a stripped-down house that Duany proposed a couple of weeks after the quake. -- Duany Plater-Zyberk- Miami Herald |
What’s Vancouver got that we don’t? Boston...seems stuck in neutral..."They understand the economic and place-making value of density"...that is "incentivized rather than feared"...stifles speed and creativity. Every development decision is overlaid with politics. The mantra seems to be "When in doubt, drag it out." -- Tom Piper; Fred Kramer/ADD Inc.; Larry Beasley- Boston Globe |
Beauty first says Stephen Bayley: "Architecture is more important than politics." The gut-reaction to this is, what on earth can he mean? Has he gone mad? "What the last 10 years have shown is that you can rebuild a city – in spite of the politicians...this can all be done within a budget. Good design shouldn't have to cost more than bad design."- Manchester Confidential (UK) |
The quest for Filipino architecture: There surely is architecture in the Philippines, but not a distinctly Filipino one. That character that distinguishes our architecture is still in progress, the same way that a young child is still growing into his adult form. By Marcos de Guzman Jr.- Philippine Daily Inquirer |
Bunkering Down: This is an era in which the most important building projects in the Western world are the ongoing renovations...I eagerly await the emergence of small gifts that will remind us where we are and open new spaces on our shrunken horizons. I have not seen them yet... By Aaron Betsky -- Michael Maltzan; Diller, Scofidio + Renfro; David Chipperfield; Neutelings Riedijk Architects; Calatrava; Gehry; Herzog & de Meuron; Shigeru Ban; Renzo Piano [images]- Architect Magazine |
Traditional moorings inspire Doha realty plan: Qatar's Musheireb development to regenerate city core, recreating family-oriented homes based on environment-friendly and sustainable standards...Dohaland has taken on the onus of transforming the vision into brick-and-mortar with soul... -- Allies and Morrison- Gulf News (UAE) |
Sustainability: Cost, Comfort or Choice? Tim Makower proposes less reliance on air conditioning and cars through traditional design and materials...has helped to develop the 'Architectural Guidelines' for the Dohaland's 35 hectare development Musheireb, (formerly Heart of Doha). -- Allies and Morrison- Zawya (Dubai) |
How's the environment doing? Ask the buildings: Data Formation can be seen as part of a growing trend of architects and designers seeking to help and engage people with important issues...Green benefits aside, the new architecture is raising budding concerns about nanny design and practical authoritarianism...Others see the progress as liberating. -- Randomwalks; Lee Min-soo; Carlo Ratti/SENSEable City Lab; David Benjamin; Soo-in Yang [slide show]- CNN |
The USGBC's Top 10 Lists of Green Building Bills- GreenerBuildings.com |
Old is the New Green: Historic Preservation and Green Architecture: Friends or Foes? They’re natural allies - and always have been, by Blair Kamin; The owners of the Empire State Building are turning New York's legendary skyscraper into a model of energy efficiency; etc. + Chat with the Editors March 3- Preservation Magazine/National Trust for Historic Preservation |
Renovations may affect heritage status: George Town's World Heritage status will be endangered in two years' time if heritage building owners continue to renovate their buildings without adhering to restoration guidelines set by the World Heritage Office (WHO) and Penang Island Municipal Council.- theSun (Malaysia) |
The delicate balance of historic preservation in suburbs: Part of the challenge outside cities arises from the conflict between pressure to grow and change and pressure to resist change....Growth plans are the indispensable companion of preservation plans. By Roger K. Lewis- Washington Post |
Montpelier train station preserves the architecture of segregation: ...returned the Jim Crow-era station to its original layout...there are other, more valuable responses to this small, insignificant little station, where no history of any particular importance was made...reminds us that our society is filled with distinctions, divisions and exclusions that serve no purpose. By Philip Kennicott- Washington Post |
Chandigarh struggling to save legacy of its architect: After failing to stall the Feb 16 auction of Le Corbusier's works in Paris, the administration is now looking for a glitch in the sale so that it can sue.- Times of India |
Donald Trump hotel criticised as historical pastiche: ...new masterplan for...£1billion development...in Aberdeenshire has been generally praised by...Architecture and Design Scotland (ADS). But a report...has also voiced concerns..."we feel strongly that a prominent building on such a very sensitive site should reflect Scotland as a modern and vibrant nation, rather than try to recreate historical pastiche." -- Gareth Hoskins Architects [image]- The Scotsman (UK) |
When Buildings Fail: Architectural malfunctions have as much to do with the culture of design as they do with faulty construction...“Blame” here just means finding out who’s going to pay for the repairs...Who’s to blame...Cost-conscious clients perhaps...architects...politics...we need to consider the very nature of design...the main actors involved collaborated to resolve the problem and didn’t just blame each other. -- Patkau Architects; Croft Pelletier; Menkès Shooner Dagenais- The Mark (Canada) |
The Pei master: He is one of the world's greatest architects, whose stunning buildings have sparked both wonder and controversy...."Modern architecture needed to be part of an evolutionary, not a revolutionary, process."...he displays a huge admiration for the longevity of...Oscar Niemeyer..."Wow! Perhaps I'm not so ancient after all." By Jonathan Glancey -- I.M. Pei [slide show]- Guardian (UK) |
Extreme Makeover, Weiner Edition: RKS Redesigns the Deadly Hot Dog: "If you were to take the best engineers in the world and asked them to design a perfect plug for a child's airway, you couldn't do better than a hot dog" [images]- Fast Company |
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