Today’s News - Friday, June 25, 2010
• Columbia University wins its battle to use eminent domain to claim the land it needs for $6 billion expansion.
• Chelsea Barracks developer wins in court, too - it's also "a victory for Richard Rogers and other architects who have long complained that Prince Charles has too much influence on the democratic planning process."
• Cities within cities: Indianapolis Airport unveils its aerotropolis plans + Edmonton International considers an aerotropolis of its own.
• With 45,000 employees, AECOM is a giant in the field - but what is it?
• Brussat visits Stern, "the only American starchitect doing classical" who "has managed, unlike any other starchitect in this land, to beautify our world" (that's why his modernist work causes the critic "distress").
• Viñoly x 2: he is undaunted by the size and scale of the Battersea project ("I am a realist") + praise for New York for the speed of its decision-making which eases development, but the UK has a sophisticated approach to design that is entirely lacking in the States.
• King enjoys a jaunt through San Francisco with Goldberger.
• Bozikovic tours a project by two "gutsy" young Toronto architects and finds "there is beauty in doing things right."
• Friedman on Saarinen: "Professional jealousies are only part of the story of his complex relationship with the modern movement" (this is long-form journalism at its best!).
• Weekend diversions:
• Several takes (and lots of pix) on "Our Cities, Ourselves" at NYC's Center for Architecture, presenting "full-blown ideas for integrating sustainable transport into the fabric of 10 different modern cities."
• Kennicott on Michael Graves and "Revealing Culture" at the Smithsonian: "The surprising and thrilling thing is how much ADA-sensitive exhibition design rewards ordinary, fully able-bodied visitors...even in a room that is fundamentally charmless."
• McGuirk finds surreal adventures at London's Barbican and the Hayward: "In a world where, increasingly, everything is designed, these two rich exhibitions remind us that not everything can be controlled."
• In Stockholm, nine architects design full-scale buildings for 6- to 16-year-old clients to be climbed on and explored.
• Kamin cheers "Looking After Louis Sullivan" at the Art Institute of Chicago, "a new, small gem of a show" of photographers who put Sullivan's genius in enduring focus."
• The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston revisits Ishimoto Yasuhiro's photos, "giving the now 89-year-old artist a do-over on one of his crowning achievements."
• In San Diego, artist-architect Enos works "to subvert what he sees as architecture that serves the economy rather then people."
• Hollis on Sudjic's Foster biography: it's a tale told with "admirable lucidity," but "there's little sense...of the agony or the ecstasy that may or may not rage behind Foster's inscrutable smile."
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Columbia University wins key legal battle on expansion: NY's highest court rules that the university may use eminent domain to secure all the land it needs for planned $6 billion, 17-acre expansion; reverses lower court ruling from last year.- Crain's New York |
Qatari Diar breached Chelsea Barracks contract, court rules: ...verdict will be seen as a victory for Richard Rogers and other architects who have long complained that Prince Charles has too much influence on the democratic planning process and that his interventions exceed his constitutional role. By Robert Booth- Guardian (UK) |
Indianapolis Airport unveils its aerotropolis plans: Officials point to areas of immediate development, possible growth, connectivity...“The airport owns about 9,000 acres, but only about 1,500 acres will be our primary development area right now" -- John D. Kasarda/Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise; Landrum & Brown- Herald-Times (Indiana) |
Edmonton International has the potential to spin off a city-within-a-city: Just as a city is surrounded by suburbs, airport cities are ringed by the "aerotropolis"...effective aerotropolis development requires proper land-use planning, effective governance, economic development and suitable infrastructure..."otherwise you have conflicts between the region and between interests"- Edmonton Journal (Canada) |
Making it Big: With 45,000 employees, offices around the globe, and expertise in nearly every feature of the built and natural environment, AECOM is a giant in the field. But what is it? ...What this boils down to is a bit of a personality crisis - if having multiple personalities is a crisis. -- Santiago Calatrava; DMJM; Ashland; Frederic R. Harris; Spillis Candela; Hays Seay Mattern & Mattern; CityMark; EDAW; Ellerbe Becket [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Bob Stern’s complex contraditions: ...in the United States there may be a dozen certifiable “starchitects"...How about Robert A.M. Stern? He may be celebrated for his two middle initials, but he is famous for being the only American starchitect doing classical. All the others are modernists...has managed, unlike any other starchitect in this land, to beautify our world. Good for him. And us. By David Brussat- Providence Journal (Rhode Island) |
Just a Minute With: Architect Rafael Vinoly: ...architect behind...proposed revitalization of London's Battersea Power Station on the River Thames, is undaunted by the size and scale of the project..."I think the crux of architecture is that you are operating in a very real environment in which requirements, restrictions and limitations are basically the elements of your vocabulary...I am a realist."- Reuters |
Rafael Viñoly: Manchester City’s hot new signing: ...speaks about the World Cup, his plans for the world’s richest football club, and whether at Battersea Power Station he can end 30 years of hurt...He praises New York for the speed of its decision-making which eases development, but says the UK has a sophisticated approach to design that is entirely lacking in the States. [images]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
SoMa's energy rekindles a sense of discovery: ...it was fun to hear Paul Goldberger's impressions from a jaunt where...he could savor an aspect of San Francisco that too many locals ignore or resent: the extent to which the essence of a city is more potent than the architectural merit of one building or the next. By John King- San Francisco Chronicle |
Tour: Mjolk by Studio Junction: If you want it done right, do it yourself. The gutsy young architects...Peter Tan and Christine Ho Ping Kong [have] accomplished some extraordinary work by building their own designs...Case in point: Mjolk, a design shop in Toronto’s Junction area...there is beauty in doing things right. By Alex Bozikovic [images]- No Mean City (Toronto) |
Modern Architecture for the "American Century": Eero Saarinen and the Art of Corporate Image-Making: ...critical response to Saarinen’s work by his contemporaries was deeply divided...Clients loved him and clamored for his services, while many in the field of architecture were at best cautiously positive...and at worst savagely hostile...Professional jealousies are only part of the story of [his] complex relationship with the modern movement. By Alice T. Friedman -- Philip Johnson; Bauhaus; Walter Gropius; Mies van der Rohe; Le Corbusier; Matthew Nowicki; Pier Luigi Nervi; Hellmuth, Yamasaki and Leinweber; Alan Colquhoun; Luckman and Pereira; Paul Williams; Reyner Banham; etc. [images, links]- Places Journal |
How to Design Cities for People Instead of Cars: ...a new generation of architects and urban planners has been laser-focused on reversing the curse of car-oriented city planning. Ten full-blown ideas for integrating sustainable transport into the fabric of ten different modern cities...in "Our Cities, Ourselves" at NYC's Center for Architecture through Sept. 11. -- HCP Design; Varos-Teampannon and Kozlekedes; PALO Arquitectura Urbana; David Adjaye; Urbanus Architecture & Design; Budi Pradono Architects; Osmond Lange Architects/Ikelmeleng Architects; 911sc; Michael Sorkin Studio; Fabrica Arquitetura/CAMPO aud [slide show]- Fast Company |
Imagining Lower Manhattan Without Cars: If this sounds like a Utopian vision, it is. But the man behind it, Michael Sorkin...believes it could become a reality in the new future...part of “Our Cities Ourselves: The Future of Transportation in Urban Life,” at the Center for Architecture in Greenwich Village..."It’s far more a question of determination than money." -- Terreform; Michael Sorkin Studio- Wall Street Journal |
Brazilian architects in NYC: AIANY Center for Architecture: "Our Cities, Ourselves" exhibition...showcasing a series of visionary proposals for the urban future of 10 of the world’s most fascinating cities...in a series of captivating designs. -- Institute for Transportation and Development Policy; Michael Sorkin/Terreform; David Adjaye; arquitectura 911sc- Wallpaper* |
Michael Graves's 'Revealing Culture' exhibit [at the Smithsonian]: The surprising and thrilling thing is how much ADA-sensitive exhibition design rewards ordinary, fully able-bodied visitors...The effect is one of calm and openness, even in a room that is fundamentally charmless...accessibility, if done right, can disappear into the landscape...it may become, over time, part of the basic poetic language of design rather than a laundry list of accommodations required by law. By Philip Kennicott- Washington Post |
Interior dark: two shows reveal visions of the unhomely: Exhibitions at the Barbican and the Hayward suggest the home can be a mirror of both the psyche and the world outside..."Surreal House" [and] "The New Décor"...In a world where, increasingly, everything is designed, these two rich exhibitions remind us that not everything can be controlled. By Justin McGuirk -- Herbert Muschamp; Frank Gehry; Rem Koolhaas; Zaha Hadid; John Hejduk; Bernard Tschumi; Ilya and Emilia Kabakov; Gordon Matta-Clark [slide show]- Guardian (UK) |
"Building Blocks" at Färgfabriken, Stockholm: We invited nine architects to design buildings for nine different clients; ages 6 to 16. The results have been built as full scale buildings to be climbed on and explored. -- The AOC; Helen & Hard; KOD; Kjellander + Sjöberg; Anders Wilhelmson- Medium (Sweden) |
Through a lens, courageously: Art Institute of Chicago spotlights photographers who put Sullivan's genius in enduring focus...a new, small gem of a show...“Looking After Louis Sullivan: Photographs, Drawings and Fragments"...persuasively demonstrates the role that three leading mid-20th century photographers played in rediscovering Sullivan's genius and reshaping our view of why he is a seminal figure in American design. By Blair Kamin -- John Szarkowski; Aaron Siskind; Richard Nickel [images]- Chicago Tribune |
Ishimoto Yasuhiro gets do-over on iconic photos: Published in 1960, "Katsura: Tradition and Creation in Japanese Architecture"...one of the 20th century’s most important photography books to explore built environments from an architect’s perspective...Museum of Fine Arts, Houston revisits [his] photos with a new publication and exhibition...giving the now 89-year-old artist a do-over on one of his crowning achievements. -- Kenzo Tange; Walter Gropius- Houston Chronicle |
Seeing the city through an artist's eyes: Artist-architect James Enos...one of the standout artists in “Here Not There: San Diego Art Now,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego...he wants to the viewer...to think about the forces of society that produced our built environment...working to subvert what he sees as architecture that serves the economy rather then people.- San Diego Union-Tribune |
"Norman Foster: a Life in Architecture" by Deyan Sudjic: There’s little sense in this biography of the agony or the ecstasy that may or may not rage behind Foster’s inscrutable smile...The core of [his] life, this book would have us believe, is his work. It is explained for the non-architect in a series of thematic chapters with an admirable lucidity. By Ed Hollis -- Foster + Partners- Telegraph (UK) |
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Exhibition: Jim McHugh: Let’s Get Lost, Timothy Yarger Gallery, Beverly Hills, California |
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