Today’s News - Monday, February 4, 2013
• ArcSpace brings us Gehry's Biomuseo in Panama City, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' new pavilion, and loving living with the Shard.
• Wainwright pays tribute to the master landscape architect behind London's Olympic Park: he "championed the cause of landscape architecture, a profession that he thought had too often been sidelined."
• 55 "illuminating and terrifying" acronyms "that show why we should be scared for our coastlines."
• Badger delves into a national security scholar's contention that "a central piece of American security and strength in the 21st century will reside in walkable neighborhoods" (fascinating read).
• Why urbanists and architects take issue with smart cities like Masdar City - they are not necessarily the solution to rising populations and fewer resources: "The majority of the cities that will be our cities of the future are already here."
• Rochon minces no words about why Toronto's casino proposals "are so last century - an antiquated version of urbanity" that "undermines everything we should value about city life" (never mind parking for 4,000 cars).
• Saffron is (mostly) heartened by "a grab bag of quickie, low-cost improvements that draw on the latest fashions in urban place-making" to make Philly's Ben Franklin Parkway more palatable for pedestrians.
• Cheers for five stellar proposals to transform Lexington, KY's downtown "generic jungle of concrete and asphalt": the "compelling argument is not esthetic, but economic" (winner to be announced today).
• Claims (mostly by developers - who else?) that NYC's Landmarks Preservation Commission is in overdrive: "Landmarking on steroids is bad for property owners, bad for business and bad for New York."
• Bernstein digs into how designLAB's renovation and expansion of Rudolph's library at UM Dartmouth could "point the way toward saving other Rudolph buildings from the wrecking ball" (like the Orange County Government Center, we hope!).
• Bey brings us a newly resurfaced 1968 film about Chicago's urban renewal efforts that "records a good deal of blight and some rather ghastly living conditions" (definitely worth a look-see).
• Kamin at the gates: he leads students on a "foray into journalism" with the "Rate the Gates" project to "examine the art, history, and significance of Harvard Yard's many gates" + Final essays (and great pix!): the gates' "complete story - a tale of wealth, power, artistic vision, institutional and personal ambition, love and human tragedy - has never before been fully told" (until now).
• An impressive list for Architectural League Emerging Voices 2013 (great presentations).
• Help wanted: CTBUH is seeking an International Operations Director for its new office in Shanghai.
• One we couldn't resist: Niemeyer + Converse: "The collaboration between every hipster's favorite trainer and every design buff's favorite communist" is not without a "fair share of irony."
• Call for entries reminders (deadlines loom!): Arch Record's Good Design is Good Business 2013 + Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition: "Empower with Inclusive Design" + Call for papers: 2013 Architectural Institute of British Columbia Annual Conference (partnering with AIA for the first time).
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-- Gehry Partners: Biomuseum/Biomuseo, Panama City, Panama -- Bruce Mau Design; Edwina von Gal
-- Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes: Claire & Marc Bourgie Pavilion, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada
-- Visiting the Shard, London, England -- Renzo Piano |
Obituary: John Hopkins, 59: Landscape architect responsible for London's Olympic Park and campaigner for sustainability...masterminded the transformation of east London into a model ecological park...championed the cause of landscape architecture, a profession that he thought had too often been sidelined. By Oliver Wainwright- Guardian (UK) |
55 Acronyms That Show Why We Should Be Scared for Our Coastlines: VBZD? "Vector-borne and zoonotic disease." SLCS? "Sea level change scenarios." CSO? "Combined sewer overflow.": ...a report on the threat climate change poses to U.S. coastlines..."Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities"...acronyms are illuminating and terrifying in equal measure.- The Atlantic Cities |
Walkable Urbanism as Foreign Policy: The rise of suburbia helped America win the Cold War. Could urbanism do the same today in a world of changing threats? ... national security scholar Patrick Doherty...believes a central piece of American security and strength in the 21st century will reside in walkable neighborhoods. By Emily Badger -- Christopher Leinberger [links]- The Atlantic Cities |
Are smart cities the answer to rising populations? New smart cities are seen by some as the answer to rising populations and fewer resources – but others believe existing infrastructure holds the key...The issue urbanists have is not with Masdar City per se...already testing many welcome innovations...but with the idea that new cities can be seen as some sort of solution..."The majority of the cities that will be our cities of the future are already here"... -- Bjarke Ingels Group/BIG; Adam Greenfield/Urbanscale; Philipp Rode/LSE Cities- Guardian (UK) |
Why Toronto’s casino proposals are so last century: ...an antiquated version of urbanity...Toronto is a city that suffers increasingly from a scattered vision about its own urbanity...A casino undermines everything we should value about city life. It’s a gamble we can’t afford to make. By Lisa Rochon- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
Small steps toward Ben Franklin Parkway progress: Ever since the Parkway opened nearly a century ago, Philadelphians have been trying to figure out how to fix it..."More Park, Less Way" offers a grab bag of quickie, low-cost improvements that draw on the latest fashions in urban place-making... By Inga Saffron -- PennPraxis- Philadelphia Inquirer |
Town Branch Commons could bring special open space to downtown: ...we have a lot of open space, but little public space...our central business district is a generic jungle of concrete and asphalt...I can already hear Lexington's naysayers: This whole idea is impractical, unaffordable and frivolous. It is none of that. The compelling argument...is not esthetic, but economic. -- Coen + Partners; Civitas; Inside Outside: Petra Blaisse; JDS/Julien De Smedt Architects/Balmori Associates; Kate Orff/SCAPE / Landscape Architecture- Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky) |
Editorial: Landmarks' historic overkill: The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission has been designating sections of the city “historic” since 1965, but some believe the agency is getting carried away...Landmarking on steroids is bad for property owners, bad for business and bad for New York.- Crain's New York Business |
Wrestling with Rudolph: Claire T. Carney Library Renovation and Addition: Changing an important complex by a major (but difficult) architect poses both dangers and the chance to keep his work alive...University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth...may point the way toward saving other Rudolph buildings from the wrecking ball. By Fred A. Bernstein -- Desmond and Lord (1960); Robert Miklos/designLAB; Austin Architects [slide show]- Architectural Record |
"A Place to Live": Newly resurfaced 1968 film sought to humanize Chicago's urban renewal efforts...well-done color film shows the Department of Urban Renewal's efforts to relocate families whose apartments and substandard homes were being demolished by the city...records a good deal of blight and some rather ghastly living conditions. By Lee Bey -- DeWitt Beall [video]- WBEZ Chicago Public Radio |
26 immortal portals: Class examines the art, history, and significance of Harvard Yard’s many gates: What has 26 doors, hundreds of spears, dozens of flowers, a few pineapples, and one pelican? "Rate the Gates,” a foray into journalism...Blair Kamin...was one of three seasoned journalists, all Nieman Fellows this year, who led the way.- Harvard Gazette |
Rate the Gates: Harvard Yard’s Iconic Gates are an Extraordinary, Often-Ignored, Visual Resource: ...their complete story — a tale of wealth, power, artistic vision, institutional and personal ambition, love and human tragedy — has never before been fully told. By Blair Kamin- The President and Fellows of Harvard College |
Architectural League Emerging Voices 2013: ...award spotlights individuals and firms based in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico with distinct design voices and the potential to influence the disciplines of architecture, landscape design, and urbanism. -- SO – IL; PRODUCTORA; Ogrydziak Prillinger Architects; MASS Design Group; graciastudio; dlandstudio; DIGSAU; cao | perrot Studio [slide shows]- Architectural League of New York |
Help wanted: CTBUH International Operations Director for a new China office in Shanghai.- Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) |
Converse x Oscar Niemeyer combines kicks and politics: There’s a fair share of irony in the fact that [his] last project...would be a capitalist venture...The collaboration between every hipster’s favourite trainer and every design buff’s favourite communist starts with other points in common.- National Post (Canada) |
Call for entries: Good Design is Good Business 2013 (international - formerly BusinessWeek/Architectural Record Awards); deadline: February 15- Architectural Record |
Call for entries deadline reminder: Next Generation Design Competition: "Empower with Inclusive Design." $10,000 prize; deadline: February 18- Metropolis Magazine |
Call for entries/Call for papers: 2013 Architectural Institute of British Columbia Annual Conference: "Sea Change: Architecture on the Crest"; Vancouver, October 23-26; AIBC will for the first time partner with the American Institute of Architects – AIA Northwest & Pacific Region; deadline for Expressions of Interest: February 28- Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC) |
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