Today’s News - Friday, August 13, 2010
• An in-depth (and very interesting) look at Germany's postwar reconstruction that "resulted in cities filled with modernist buildings which have not aged well," and cities' "new desire to rebuild the old" (bunches of great slide shows, too).
• AIANY's Bell re: the so far little-discussed design for proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan: ""the symbolism of the building's facade is going to be, I think, one of acceptance and tolerance" (would that it could extend to some attitudes, as well).
• An architect ruminates on the shortfalls of green rating systems: "The world needs green buildings a lot more than green buildings need LEED or a BREAAM certification."
• Big plans for an iconic east London greyhound racing stadium and NYC's historic Forest Hills tennis stadium (dogs and nets not included).
• Brussat cheers an arts cooperative's renovation projects that "show how well creativity flourishes in an environment of tradition" (Modernism just doesn't get it, of course).
• Found in a trash bin back in the 50s, NYC wants to reclaim drawings of Central Park and other notable projects by Jacob Wrey Mould, a Brit "known for importing the flair and flourishes of British high Victorian architecture to his U.S. work" (Olmsted and Vaux approved).
• Booth on BD's Carbuncle Cup: worth a few chuckles - or is it? "Not everyone is sure the award is a good thing" ("laughing at other people's mistakes is never an edifying spectacle," says FAT).
• Glasgow launches an online poll to i.d. its top 50 buildings in hopes of boosting tourism and celebrating its culture and heritage.
• An eyeful of the U.S. Dyson Award winner and runners-up's (some pretty amazing things!).
• Weekend diversions:
• Rothstein frolics through NYC's newest "eccentric, surprising and fanciful" cultural spot that is Governors Island, a "summer vacation with irony" (and our favorite summertime must-see!).
• If you're in Toronto, go dig your toes into the sand at Sugar Beach (a former waterfront industrial site-cum-parking lot) - umbrella's included.
• "Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio" premieres on PBS on Monday; Sambo "re-established a moral agenda for architecture" (we're setting our DVR!).
• Hawthorne goes to the movies: "Inception" dreams big, but "why is a movie that puts mind-bending architecture so squarely at the center of its story so architecturally underwhelming?"
• On view in NYC: "Experimental Geography" is "something to be experienced and engaged by everyone" + "Ecoaesthetic: The Tragedy of Beauty" hopes "to do for sustainability what war photography does for the cause of world peace: shock us into caring."
• Correa's "A Place in the Shade: The new landscape & other essays" is an "imperative read on a contemplative afternoon."
• Caldwell finds a "boisterous multiplicity" in "Design on the Edge"; it's also "essential reading for architecture schools struggling with their curriculum and the challenge of a strong leader versus a plurality of voices."
• Goldhagen finds "Architecture as Icon: Perception and Representation of Architecture in Byzantine Art" a "magnificent new book" that "debunks conventional wisdom."
• Happy Friday the 13th!
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Out of the Ashes: A New Look at Germany's Postwar Reconstruction: ...resulted in cities filled with modernist buildings which have not aged well. Now, a new wave of construction is underway coupled with a new desire to rebuild the old...Contrary to what city planners and officials had hoped, the new suburbs and satellite towns did not result in in a better quality of life. -- Albert Speer Jr.; Konstanty Gutschow; Christoph Mäckler; David Chipperfield; Frank Gehry; Christoph Ingenhoven; Peter Kulka; Daniel Libeskind; Norman Foster; Wolfgang Hänsch; Kurt W. Leucht; Ulrich Müther [slide shows]- Der Spiegel (Germany) |
Rendering Shows Little Detail Of Mosque's Design: There's been a lot of debate over the planned Islamic community center...near the World Trade Center. But there's been very little talk about what the building will look like. Rick Bell, executive director of AIANY, talks about design concepts for the building..."the symbolism of the building's facade is going to be, I think, one of acceptance and tolerance."- National Public Radio (NPR) |
Op-Ed: Green rating systems must be sustainable: Many...are structured to endorse solutions that are additive and encourage consumption over conservation...The world needs green buildings a lot more than green buildings need LEED or a BREAAM certification. If certifications continue to cost too much money, time and effort, we will not stop building green projects, we will just stop certifying them. By Romi Sebastian- Gulf News (UAE) |
Housing plans for iconic Walthamstow Stadium back on track: Conran & Partners will begin work on the mixed-use, residential-led plans for the iconic east London greyhound stadium...will bring approximately 300 homes to the area...- 24dash.com (UK) |
Developer bares plans for Queens tennis stadium: Revamp to replace historic 15,000-seat stadium in Queens with five-story building containing 75 luxury condos draws fire from preservationists..."It would be like ripping the heart out of the community"... -- Anthony Morali/Morali Architects [images]- Crain's New York |
AS220 and the art of Providence: ...art collaborative's renovation projects...show how well creativity flourishes in an environment of tradition... By defining creativity as novelty, modernism limits the reach of art...AS220 uses tradition in art and architecture to engage a more encompassing creativity. By David Brussat [images]- Providence Journal (Rhode Island) |
NYC seeks to reclaim notable Central Park drawings: ...city went to court...after learning that owner had placed 86 of the Jacob Wrey Mould drawings with Christie's auction house for potential sale...British-born Mould was known for importing the flair and flourishes of British high Victorian architecture to his U.S. work. -- Frederick Law Olmsted; Calvert Vaux- Associated Press/AP |
London's Strata tower wins Carbuncle Cup as Britain's ugliest new building: The 42-storey building in Elephant & Castle was nominated for its 'plain visual grotesqueness' and 'Philishave stylings'...not everyone is sure the award is a good thing..."laughing at other people's mistakes is never an edifying spectacle." By Robert Booth -- Ellis Woodman; Stephen Bayley; BFLS; Charles Holland/FAT Architecture- Guardian (UK) |
Glasgow’s top 50 buildings to be decided in online poll: The Mackintosh Society hopes the initiative will boost tourism in the city as well as celebrate its culture and heritage. [slide show]- STV News (Scotland) |
Hybrid Bike Wheel Wins U.S. Dyson Award: An ingenious wheel that could turn any bike into an electric hybrid...Nine other designs by student inventors across the U.S. will now go on to compete in the global round. By Cliff Kuang [images, videos, links]- Fast Company |
A Playground for the Arts, With Island Breezes: Governors Island has been shaping its own cultural identity, which is eccentric, surprising and fanciful...The island’s brand...is “summer vacation with irony.” By Edward Rothstein [slide show, links]- New York Times |
Now Open: Toronto's Sugar Beach: ...replaces an industrial site-cum-parking lot at the foot of Jarvis Street that once stood bereft of greenspace and waterfront access. -- Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes; Diamond and Schmitt [images, links]- Azure magazine (Canada) |
Rooted in Place: "Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio": His life recalled architecture’s greatest ambitions and presaged its call for socially engaged design...re-established a moral agenda for architecture...documentary premieres on PBS Aug. 23 -- Michael Rotondi; Coleman Coker; Rusty Smith; Studio 804 [images, links]- AIArchitect |
"Inception" dreams big, unlike its architect: It's understandable why director Christopher Nolan would lean so heavily toward familiar architectural forms, but...Why is a movie that puts mind-bending architecture so squarely at the center of its story so architecturally underwhelming? By Christopher Hawthorne- Los Angeles Times |
"Experimental Geography": Sam Silver reviews the exhibition, and a recent related panel, at the CUNY Graduate Center's James Gallery...the exhibition is something to be experienced and engaged by everyone. [images, links]- Urban Omnibus |
The Beauty of Ecological Tragedy: "Ecoaesthetic: The Tragedy of Beauty" at New York's Exit Art gallery, seeks out images of human impact on fragile ecosystems...hopes to do for sustainability what war photography does for the cause of world peace: shock us into caring. [images]- Metropolis Magazine |
Hopes for a new landscape: "A Place in the Shade: The new landscape & other essays" by Charles Correa: ...while there is no shortage of housing in the Third World, there is most definitely a shortage of ‘the urban context in which these marvellously inventive solutions are viable.’ His call, therefore, to architects, is to help generate that urban context...Imperative read on a contemplative afternoon.- The Hindu (India) |
Berkeley's Many Revolutions: "Design on the Edge: A Century of Teaching Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, 1903–2003": A boisterous multiplicity is what Kenneth Caldwell finds in the first century of architecture at Cal, a wonderfully weird tradition...essential reading for architecture schools struggling with their curriculum... [images, links]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Was architecture really a non-factor in Byzantine art? A new book debunks conventional wisdom...Slobodan Curcic and Evangelina Hadjitryphonos...magnificent new book "Architecture as Icon: Perception and Representation of Architecture in Byzantine Art"...contend that...it “enjoyed a meaning and status equivalent to those of the saints depicted." By Sarah Williams Goldhagen [slide show essay]- The New Republic |
Why "Greatest Hits" Lists by Architecture's Stars Should Be Mocked: Transferring the musical or cinematic "greatest hits" list mind-set to architecture is deleterious, and here's why. By Norman Weinstein- ArchNewsNow |
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MoMA/P.S.1 2010 winner: Florian Idenburg & Jing Liu POLE DANCE -- SO–IL (Solid Objectives) |
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