Today’s News - Monday, July 16, 2012
• ArcSpace brings us "a nomadic, stateless and cosmopolitan" pavilion in London, and "a mobile, sustainable and Itinerant sculpture" in Portugal.
• Toronto's deputy mayor thinks his downtown is no place to raise a family (well, he doesn't actually live there himself).
• Hume, on the other hand, reports on a study that finds just the opposite: "more families than ever do want to live downtown," and most suburbanites want their neighborhoods to be more urban (he also minces no words about the deputy mayor's "ignorance and anti-urban prejudice").
• He heaps high praise on Teeple's 60 Richmond: it "lifts affordable housing out of the realm of the merely useful once and for all," and "offers that rarest of luxuries: thoughtfulness and intelligence."
• Rochon finds downtown Toronto "a monotone composition of lookalike glass towers and deadening streetscapes...development doesn't have to be this drab" (she does finds a few bright spots).
• Hawthorne is taken by the "reawakening of pedestrian life" along L.A.'s Sunset Boulevard (great video clips, too).
• Plans for an elevated boulevard in Oklahoma City pit advocates for pedestrian-friendly streets against highway engineers over the design; developers claim it will be "a deal killer for creating another vibrant downtown district."
• Doig cheers (with reservations) the boom in new, well-designed transit hubs: "whether a transit hub can turn a concrete jungle into a vibrant scene is largely untested."
• Plans for China's biggest shopping center are "a visually stunning proposal" - if its claims of environmental responsibility prove to be more than just greenwashing.
• Dickey spends time with Koolhaas discussing so many things, including the "massive, monumental, contrarian, and controversial" CCTV HQ: "he knew there would be political criticism" - but it was worth it.
• Why a South Korean architect was hesitant to participate in the Venice Biennale - and why he changed his mind.
• Goldberger minces no words about what he thinks of the "bombastic classicism" of the London Bomber Command Memorial: "To call this grandiose would be an understatement" - it "commemorates an aspect of World War II fraught with ambiguity, and classicism rarely serves such situations well."
• Cott hopes architects will be "willing to step into the fray" to be "effective mediators in what is about to become a ubiquitous discussion" re: the "battle lines between building owners, occupants, and preservationists" when it comes to the fate of Brutalist buildings.
• Olympic Park legacy chief says design will be important in new housing projects, but will up-and-coming practices have a shot? "Everyone is up-and-coming. David Chipperfield and Zaha Hadid have yet to do their best work."
• Moore cheers Kohn's "offbeat" White Building that "has all the hallmarks of a sensitive Olympic legacy," but bemoans "the possible scrapping of the Lea River Park walkway...the 'Fatwalk' is in danger of foundering."
• Friedberg (of Peavey Plaza fame) tackles "change and continuity" in landscape architecture: "I have resisted preservation for its own sake...it is when a thing of value is destroyed to be replaced with something of lesser value that I take issue with that change."
• Kimmelman can't seem to say enough about Hardy's theater atop the Vivian Beaumont: "a nimble addition to Lincoln Center with architectural benefits out of proportion to its size" (that's just the start).
• MacCash takes us on a tour of Gehry's piece of Pitt's Make It Right neighborhood in New Orleans: there's "an ineffably playful aspect to the plan" - it's "residential design the way Peter Pan might imagine it."
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-- Park Associati: The Cube, London, UK...a nomadic, stateless and cosmopolitan piece of architecture, a pavilion designed to host a small, temporary restaurant.
-- Gabriela Gomes: Shelter ByGG, Guimarães, Portugal...a mobile, sustainable and Itinerant sculpture installed in a public space. |
Downtown not the place to raise kids, says Toronto Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday: ...he passionately argued against forcing a condo developer to include family-friendly three-bedroom units in a proposed 47-storey building...acting chief planner, Gregg Lintern, told him that the area in question is “an emerging neighbourhood...it just makes for a healthier city” to have families living downtown.- Toronto Star |
GTA residents warming to density: Pembina/RBC report: One almost feels sorry for Doug Holyday...His ignorance and anti-urban prejudice help explain why Toronto is fast falling behind other North American cities...more families than ever do want to live downtown, and most...who live in suburbs want their neighbourhoods to be more walkable, better connected to transit, more mixed-use, in short, more urban. By Christopher Hume- Toronto Star |
60 Richmond is Toronto’s best new co-op: ...lifts affordable housing out of the realm of the merely useful once and for all. After 60 Richmond there’s no excuse for institutional indifference to design...reminds us that architectural excellence is not dependent upon heaps of money...offers that rarest of luxuries: thoughtfulness and intelligence... By Christopher Hume -- Teeple Architects- Toronto Star |
In a big-box world, can the street be saved? ...downtown Toronto is becoming: a monotone composition of lookalike glass towers and deadening streetscapes from which there is no escape...development doesn’t have to be this drab. Not if every developer is required to integrate a deeply satisfying program for daily life in the city. By Lisa Rochon -- Superkul Architects; Gregory Henriquez- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
For Sunset, a new dawn: Go east on storied Sunset Boulevard for a look at the changing nature of modern L.A. and a reawakening of pedestrian life...linking L.A.'s past to its emerging future. By Christopher Hawthorne -- Thom Mayne; Rios Clementi Hale; Alissa Walker; John Arroyo; James Rojas [images, videos]- Los Angeles Times |
Critics attack Oklahoma City boulevard designs, say elevation will hamper Core to Shore development: Advocates for pedestrian-oriented streets are battling with Oklahoma highway engineers over design of a new downtown boulevard...an elevated boulevard a deal killer for creating another vibrant downtown district. By Steve Lackmeyer- The Oklahoman |
Commuting to Disneyland: As going carless turns cool, our new train stations are becoming magnificent public gathering spots...But whether a transit hub can turn a concrete jungle into a vibrant scene is largely untested. By Will Doig -- EE&K; Santiago Calatrava; Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects [links]- Salon |
Largest Shopping Centre In China Shows Green Potential: Plans for Haitbang Bay International Shopping Center continue the country's ongoing emphasis on green development...it will be necessary to see how [it] performs before its true green building credentials can be justified...a visually stunning proposal...if delivered with environmental responsibility in mind. -- Valode et Pistre Architectes [images]- DesignBuild Source (Australia) |
Rem Koolhaas and the Next World Wonder: When the Olympics hits the airwaves, Beijing will be broadcasting them from this new $900 million architectural masterpiece...one massive, monumental, contrarian, and controversial building: the China Central Television [CCTV] headquarters...he knew there would be political criticism. By Christopher Dickey -- OMA/Office for Metropolitan Architecture- Newsweek/Daily Beast |
Do western architects disrespect eastern architecture? South Korean architect invited to his industry’s biggest event, but hesitated to participate in the Venice Biennale. Seung Hyo-Sang/IROJE KHM Architects- The Hankyoreh (Korea) |
Examining the Bombastic Classicism of the London Bomber Command Memorial: To call this grandiose would be an understatement...commemorates an aspect of World War II fraught with ambiguity, even now, and classicism rarely serves such situations well. By Paul Goldberger -- Liam O’Connor [images]- Vanity Fair |
Icon or Eyesore? Stakeholder Equilibrium: ...architecturally aggressive Brutalist style of the 1960s and ’70s...battle lines have been drawn between building owners, occupants, and preservationists...architects willing to step into the fray...can be effective mediators in what is about to become a ubiquitous discussion. By Leland Cott, Bruner/Cott -- Josep Lluis Sert; Eduardo Catalano- Metropolis Magazine |
Good design is just one priority at Olympic Park, says legacy chief: Daniel Moylan promises to challenge architects and developers over housing...Asked whether he would do anything to help up-and-coming practices win work in the five new neighbourhoods, he retorted: “Everyone is up-and-coming. David Chipperfield and Zaha Hadid have yet to do their best work.”- BD/Building Design (UK) |
The White Building/Lea River Park: Hackney Wick's offbeat White Building has all the hallmarks of a sensitive Olympic legacy, but the possible scrapping of the Lea River Park walkway suggests that petty politics not community is the driving force...the "Fatwalk" is in danger of foundering. By Rowan Moore -- David Kohn Architects; 5th Studio- Observer (UK) |
M. Paul Friedberg on Change and Continuity in Landscape Architecture: I have resisted preservation for its own sake as it stymies progress and can lead to stagnation and the suppression of new ideas...it is when a thing of value is destroyed to be replaced with something of lesser value that I take issue with that change.- The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) |
A Glass Box That Nests Snugly on the Roof: Claire Tow Theater, perched on top of Eero Saarinen’s Vivian Beaumont Theater...a nimble addition to Lincoln Center with architectural benefits out of proportion to its size. By Michael Kimmelman -- Hugh Hardy/H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture; Diller Scofidio + Renfro; FXFOWLE [image]- New York Times |
Frank Gehry's contribution adds even more star power to Brad Pitt's Make It Right neighborhood: ...it may be the rosy new darling of the modernist enclave, but there’s nothing frilly or fussy...Yet there’s an ineffably playful aspect to the plan...This is residential design the way Peter Pan might imagine it. By Doug MacCash [slide show]- The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) |
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