Today’s News - Wednesday, April 11, 2012
• McGuirk tells the tale of two cities in Colombia that "doesn't come with two happy endings" (great read and links!).
• Why it's time for designers to stop feeling sorry for Africa: linking a "bottom-of-the-pyramid market" to "'aid culture' detracts from the entrepreneurial opportunity."
• An in-depth look at Ikea's plans to build a new neighborhood in a rusty part of London that "could be an important solution to the housing-supply shortages that plague many large cities - but it could take some getting used to" (a touch too much of a nanny-state, perhaps?).
• Sydney gives a thumbs-up to a billion-dollar tower over Wynyard Station (to be oh-so-green - it hopes).
• Anderson lays out why "what we need now is a new building science that provides credible metrics to validate and evaluate energy performance" in urban buildings (new and old).
• Williams and Tsien carry "the burden of history" with their new Barnes museum: can/will it really be judged "on its own merits? Or will their design be forever burdened by the memory of collector Albert Barnes and his idiosyncratic house-museum?"
• Ijeh gives (mostly) thumbs-up to the Titanic Belfast museum: it is "striking, daring and distinctive" (with perhaps a touch of Las Vegas - not necessarily a bad thing).
• Then there's the other Titanic museum in Southampton...
• Meanwhile in Modena, the Ferrari Museum is "the ultimate garage" for those oh-so-delectable classic cars (may we have one, please?).
• Long finds "a striking lesson in intelligent, fit-for-purpose design" in a new business school in London: "It is self-effacing but highly competent buildings such as this that can rebuild the public's faith in architects, and give our city institutions of value that will outlast us."
• Webb cheers a new, light-filled Outpatient Surgery and Oncology Center for UCLA in Santa Monica, "likely to be the first such facility to achieve a Gold LEED rating."
• Troy, NY's once-beleaguered riverfront on the Hudson gets a revamp to be ready for its close-up this summer (we're game!).
• Herron delves deep into how Albert Kahn, Diego Rivera, and Henry and Edsel Ford "contributed to shaping the image and the mythology" of Detroit, and how "their collective vision foreshadowed the dramatic decline" of the city (great images, too).
• Davidson is a bit dismissive of NYC's new "Taxi of Tomorrow": it "has a strong whiff of suburbia" (and let's not forget its odor-eating upholstery).
• Hetter offers "six new hotspots for architecture lovers" (with side-trips for true architecture geeks).
• Hadid wins AJ Women in Architecture newly-revived Jane Drew Prize: she "has broken the glass ceiling more than anyone and is practically a household name."
• University of Colorado/Harvard University proposal for redeveloping a new downtown Houston district wins $50,000 in the 10th annual ULI/Hines Student Urban Design Competition.
• Call for entries: Faith & Form/IFRAA International Awards for Religious Art & Architecture.
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Colombia's architectural tale of two cities: While Bogotá's design successes have gone awry, Medellín's iconic architecture is reviving a city once blighted by crime...the España library...marks a critical shift in urban policy...For once, architecture-as-spectacle is not being used as a tool to market the culture industry, but to make poverty visible...Medellín developed a model that many cities around the world could learn from. By Justin McGuirk -- Antanas Mockus; Enrique PeñalosaGiancarlo Mazzanti; Plan B; JPRCR; Paisajes Emergentes; Felipe Mesa; Sergio Fajardo; León de Greiff [images, links]- Guardian (UK) |
Why Designers Need To Stop Feeling Sorry For Africa: Taking a patronizing approach to investing in Africa undermines the continent’s people and entrepreneurial promise: There clearly is a bottom-of-the-pyramid market, but linking it to “aid culture” - a non-market-driven-culture - detracts from the entrepreneurial opportunity. By Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen- Fast Company |
Welcome to Ikea-land: Furniture giant begins urban planning project: ...the Swedes now want to place you and 6,000 neighbours into a neglected corner of your city, design an entire urban world around you...bold, high-concept notion of an urban ’hood could be an important solution to the housing-supply shortages that plague many large cities – but it could take some getting used to. [images]- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
New billion dollar tower approved over Sydney's Wynyard Station: City One Wynyard...a 29-storey tower above the station which includes a new shopping centre and office building...deemed to be an important part of the plans to revamp the city and create easier access between Barangaroo South Office towers and the city centre...aspires to a 6 Star Green Star rating... -- Hassell [images]- Architecture & Design (Australia) |
Measuring Up: The drive to make urban buildings more energy efficient is underway. What we need now is a new building science that provides credible metrics to validate and evaluate energy performance in addition to innovative funding sources... By By Nancy Anderson -- New York Academy of Sciences [links to studies]- The Sallan Foundation |
The Burden of History: Is it possible to appreciate Tod Williams Billie Tsien’s new Barnes museum in Philadelphia on its own merits? Or will their design be forever burdened by the memory of collector Albert Barnes and his idiosyncratic house-museum? -- Fisher Marantz Stone; Olin Studio [slide show]- Architect Magazine |
The Titanic Belfast: The ship comes home: ...a striking and poignant memorial to a vessel whose history is intrisically intertwined with that of the city...the incongruous emergence of this glistening metal box amid the sombre Victorian brick warehouses...is daring and distinctive...one suspects this museum exists as much to entertain as to enlighten and, if this is indeed the case, then it is more than fitting that its architecture should respond with verve and virility - which it undoubtedly does. By Ike Ijeh -- Eric Kuhne Associates; Todd Architects; Wilkinson Eyre [images]- Building (UK) |
Wilkinson Eyre's £15 million Titanic museum opens in Southampton: SeaCity Museum examines the effect the disaster had on the city as well as exploring Southampton’s broader maritime heritage. [images]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
New Ferrari Museum Looks Like The Hood Of A Hot Car: Enzo Ferrari’s classic cars get the ultimate garage — a museum in Modena...Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari pays tribute to his fame with two complementary structures that nod to his humble past and impressive legacy. -- Jan Kaplický; Future Systems; Amanda Morgante; Shiro Studio [images]- Fast Company |
Look and learn: intelligent design for education: The £17.5 million new building for Kingston University’s business school is the kind of practical space that offers a striking lesson in intelligent, fit-for-purpose design...you get the impression of architectural experience being brought to bear on an inauspicious site with limited means, creating a building of character and quality...It is self-effacing but highly competent buildings such as this that can rebuild the public’s faith in architects, and give our city institutions of value that will outlast us. By Kieran Long -- Hawkins Brown- Evening Standard (UK) |
Crit> Surgical Strike: Michael W. Folonis Architects designs a light-filled Outpatient Surgery and Oncology Center for UCLA in Santa Monica...likely to be the first such facility to achieve a Gold LEED rating. By Michael Webb -- Pamela Burton & Company [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Troy, Troy Again! Architects Revamping an Aging Waterfront: Troy Riverfront Park...part of the city’s plan to redevelop its Hudson River waterfront...and create a more sustainable and seamless connection to the city’s downtown...set to open this summer. -- Barbara Wilks/W Architecture & Landscape Architecture [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
The Last Pedestrians: In the first half of the 20th century, in Detroit, the architect Albert Kahn, artist Diego Rivera, and industrialists Henry and Edsel Ford all contributed to shaping the image — and the mythology — of the city as industrial powerhouse...their collective vision foreshadowed the dramatic decline of Detroit in the second half of the century. By Jerry Herron [images]- Places Journal |
New York’s ‘Taxi of Tomorrow’ Has a Strong Whiff of Suburbia: ...a made-to-order, pothole-resistant, passenger-coddling, postcard-ready vehicle that hopes to become as beloved a symbol of the city as the late, lamented Checker. Not going to happen...Instead, we got a clunky van: comfortable, nicely tricked out, and suspiciously suburban. By Justin Davidson- New York Magazine |
Six new spots for architecture lovers: Despite a tight economy, a new generation of architects is giving the traveler reasons to jump on a plane to see modern masterpieces. By Katia Hetter -- Frank Gehry; West 8; Zaha Hadid; Enrique Norten/TEN Arquitectos; Herzog & de Meuron; Ennead Architects; GSBG Architects; James Corner Field Operations; Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Michael Van Valkenburgh; Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture; Daniel Libeskind; Snøhetta; Giancarlo Mazzanti [slide show]- CNN |
Zaha Hadid wins Jane Drew Prize for her outstanding contribution to the status of women in architecture: The AJ Women in Architecture judging panel came to the unanimous decision...[she] "has broken the glass ceiling more than anyone and is practically a household name. Her achievement is remarkable."- Architects' Journal (UK) |
University of Colorado/Harvard University joint team wins the 2012 ULI /Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition: $50,000 top prize for a long-term redevelopment plan for a new downtown Houston district... [link to images, info]- Urban Land Institute (ULI) |
Call for entries: Faith & Form/IFRAA International Awards for Religious Art & Architecture: categories include Religious Architecture, Sacred Landscape Architecture, Liturgical/Interior Design, Unbuilt Work, and Student Work (new category); deadline: June 30- Faith & Form Magazine |
Book Review: Advancing Windswept Design: Pointers from Art Nouveau, Zaha Hadid, and Charles Sowers: New books and installation art highlight breezy refinements in wind-inspired design. By Norman Weinstein- ArchNewsNow |
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