Today’s News - Friday, January 24, 2014
• Weinstein has some troubling queries for McGuigan re: her take on "quiet design" (ANN exclusive).
• Wolff minces no words re: MoMA's many expansions (beyond the current American Folk Art Museum brouhaha): it is "a case study in how to ruin an institution" and destroy "perhaps one of the most satisfying man-made spaces ever."
• Curtis curtly responds to the vandalism at Corbu's Rochamp chapel that goes beyond a smashed window; besides "the 'vandalism' of neglect, there is the implicit 'vandalism' of the Piano project" that treats "this universal masterpiece as merchandise," making it "a money-making machine."
• Chicago's Cuneo Hospital is yet another mid-century gem (or eyesore) facing the wrecking ball: "These are proving to be tough times for Chicago hospitals designed by architects who pushed the envelope."
• A young Melbourne architect calls for a change in the status quo in competition EOIs or miss the chance of getting the next Sydney Opera House: "If we want bold buildings, emerging architects should be given a chance."
• Bernstein profiles seven "graduates" of the "Rem Schoolhaas" who have gone on to become some of OMA's top competitors.
• Alsop unveils his cor-ten steel-clad 15-story "Heliport Heights" built on stilts in Battersea (approval pending).
• One we couldn't resist: South Korea's sprawling Robot Land that's part theme park and part robot R&D center where "you can bring your kids for a visit, then leave them there to become robot engineers."
• Weekend diversions:
• Hawthorne finds "Her" (the movie) "boldly bucks the retro trend in creating a vivid future L.A. In architecture, too, the ease of looking backward has made looking forward tougher or simply more rare."
• Wise cheers the Metropolitan Museum's "Cleopatra's Needle" that puts the spotlight on the history and plight of "an awe-inspiring tower holding its own on an island of modern skyscrapers."
• A lot going on across the Big Pond: Woodman cheers the "brave and engaging" "Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined": it is "the most ambitious architecture exhibition that the Royal Academy has ever staged."
• Wainwright, on the other hand, finds some "fun" in the "world of Blade Runner cathedrals and waffle caves" in "Sensing Spaces," but "there is something unsatisfactory" about "this miniature petting zoo of global architects."
• Moore is intrigued by "In the Making" at the Design Museum: "I must confess to a few prejudices about Barber Osgerby. But, confronted with their seriousness and passion for making, these qualms seem mean-spirited."
• Bristol's Architecture Centre celebrates the RIBA International Awards.
• In Toronto, "Building For Wellness" challenges architects "to explore new approaches to hospital design, patient care and citizen health as a factor in urban design."
• Bharne insists Thadani's "Visions of Seaside" is "a must-read for every thinking urbanist, whether you like Seaside or not": it's "a refreshing and savvy presentation" of the Seaside story that "has never been told more unabashedly, comprehensively and elegantly."
• Heathcote cheers "Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming" by Dunne and Raby, two of "the most articulate proponents of the idea of 'critical design.'"
• Webb gives (mostly) thumbs-up to "White Mountain: Architecture in Chile," an anthology that "revives happy memories of a country in which serious architecture has been widely embraced" (blame "the shocking insularity of American media" if you're not familiar with the players).
• Tomes by Gorlin and Shosh Rotem "do a valuable service in prompting us to delve deeper into the fascinating history of post-Holocaust architecture."
• Caldwell hails Serraino's ode to Donald Olsen, one of "the Bay Area's purest practitioner of European modernism."
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ANN Feature: What is "Quiet Design" and Why Should It Matter? Some Troubling Queries for Cathleen McGuigan and Sundry Fans of "Architectural Quietism." By Norman Weinstein- ArchNewsNow |
New York's Museum of Modern Art: a case study in how to ruin an institution: MoMA's many expansions and redesigns have destroyed one of the most unique and precious public experiences of modern art...Perhaps one of the most satisfying man-made spaces ever. By Michael Wolff- Guardian (UK) |
Vandalism and Neglect at Ronchamp: ...has once again been vandalised, not by Renzo Piano this time...First of all there is the ‘vandalism’ of neglect...Then there is the implicit ‘vandalism’ of the Piano project itself which was ‘sold’ behind a smokescreen of sanctimonious incense as enhancing the religiosity of the place. In fact it has done the opposite by treating this universal masterpiece as merchandise...a money-making machine. By William JR Curtis -- Le Corbusier- Architectural Review (UK) |
Old Cuneo Hospital headed for demolition: Permit issued, high-rise planned, preservationists opposed: These are proving to be tough times for Chicago hospitals designed by architects who pushed the envelope... -- Bertrand Goldberg; Edo J. Belli [image]- Chicago Tribune |
Op-Ed: Did we just overlook the next Opera House? If we want bold buildings, emerging architects should be given a chance...Without a change in the status quo, it is difficult to see how the next generation of Melbourne architects will gain the chance to put their ideas into practice. By John Doyle/Index Architecture- The Age (Australia) |
Rem Koolhaas's Protégés: The Dutch architect has mentored dozens of talented designers at his Rotterdam studio, OMA. Here, a portfolio of seven of his protégés—who have grown to become his top competitors. By Fred A. Bernstein -- Ole Scheeren/Büro Ole Scheeren; Fernando Romero/FR-EE; Joshua Prince-Ramus/REX; Matthias Hollwich/HWKN/Marc Kushner; Bjarke Ingels/BIG/Bjarke Ingels Group; Amale Andraos & Dan Wood/WORKac/Work Architecture Company- Wall Street Journal |
Alsop reveals Battersea heliport tower: ALL Design has submitted plans...for this apartment tower next to Battersea heliport...15-storey scheme will be clad in cor-ten steel and be built on stilts to straddle an existing building...Dubbed Heliport Heights... [images]- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
South Korea's Robot Land: theme park or training ground for robot armies? ...will feature a 364-foot statue of Taekwon V., a.k.a. Voltar the Invincible. Because apparently Japan's Gundam wasn't tall enough...a robot R&D center, a post-graduate robotics school, a Robotics Institute...means you can bring your kids for a visit, then leave them there to become robot engineers. [images]- GlobalPost |
Spike Jonze's 'Her' a refreshingly original take on a future L.A.: ...boldly bucks the retro trend in creating a vivid future L.A....a thoughtful meditation on tech and culture...In architecture, too, the ease of looking backward has made looking forward tougher or simply more rare. Younger architects are relying on historic pastiche to a degree not seen since the heyday of postmodernism in the 1980s. By Christopher Hawthorne [images]- Los Angeles Times |
A Cult Object Gets Its Close-Up: "Cleopatra's Needle": To focus attention on its history and plight, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has an exhibit about the obelisk just as the artifact is about to undergo its most thorough preservation since arriving in 1880...documents the Egyptomania that erupted on its arrival in New York...an awe-inspiring tower holding its own on an island of modern skyscrapers. By Michael Z. Wise- Wall Street Journal |
"Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined": The Royal Academy has invited seven architects to turn its existing rooms into extraordinary space...the most ambitious architecture exhibition that the RA has ever staged...brave and engaging show. By Ellis Woodman -- Kengo Kuma; Grafton; Pezo von Ellrichshausen; Diébédo Francis Kéré; Li Xiaodong; Álvaro Siza; Eduardo Souto de Moura- Telegraph (UK) |
"Sensing Spaces" indulges architecture's vaulting ambition: What would buildings look like if their creators didn't have to worry about annoying things like planning, budgets, climate and clients? ...a world of Blade Runner cathedrals and waffle caves...what to make of this theme park of spatial experiences, this miniature petting zoo of global architects? By Oliver Wainwright -- Pezo von Ellrichshausen; Kengo Kuma; Grafton; Li Xiaodong; Diébédo Francis Kéré; Álvaro Siza; Eduardo Souto de Moura- Guardian (UK) |
"In the Making" at the Design Museum, London: Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have put together an intriguing exhibition of not-quite-finished everyday objects...I must confess to a few prejudices about Barber Osgerby...But, confronted with their seriousness and passion for making, these qualms seem mean-spirited. By Rowan Moore [images, links]- Observer (UK) |
RIBA International Awards at Bristol Architecture Centre: ...celebrates work being done by RIBA members around the world. -- Zaha Hadid; Foster + Partners; Adjaye Associates; Wilkinson Eyre; Grimshaw Architects; etc.- The Architecture Centre (Bristol, UK) |
"Building For Wellness: Architectural Responses to the Changing Needs of Health Care": ...asks architects to explore new approaches to hospital design, patient care and citizen health as a factor in urban design. -- Diamond Schmitt Architects; KPMB Architects; Stantec; HDR; Patrick Spear; Ian Chodikoff; Brendan George Ko [images]- Harbourfront Centre (Toronto) |
"Visions of Seaside" by Dhiru Thadani: A new anthology tells the story of Seaside like we've never heard it before–on its own terms: ...a refreshing and savvy presentation of a well-worn premise...takes what is factual...and unapologetically celebrates it...a must-read for every thinking urbanist...whether you like Seaside or not...because the Seaside story has never been told more unabashedly, comprehensively and elegantly. By Vinayak Bharne/Moule & Polyzoides [images]- PLANetizen |
"Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming" by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby: Designers are usually seen as problem solvers...But what if, instead of solving problems, they posed them? That is the premise behind...the first book to look in detail at the kinds of results such an approach might throw up...the most articulate proponents of the idea of “critical design.” By Edwin Heathcote- Financial Times (UK) |
Chilean Creativity: "White Mountain: Architecture in Chile": All the usual suspects and several unfamiliar names are rounded up in this ambitious bilingual catalog...anthology revives happy memories of a country in which serious architecture has been widely embraced. Modernism rules...If these names don’t trigger recognition, you can blame the shocking insularity of American media... By Michael Webb- FORM magazine |
A Kabbalah for Architects? Two New Books Posit a Uniquely Jewish Theory of Building: "Kabbalah in Art and Architecture" by Alexander Gorlin; "Constructing Memory: Architectural Narratives of Holocaust Museums" by Stephanie Shosh Rotem...both volumes do a valuable service in prompting us to delve deeper into the fascinating history of post-Holocaust architecture.- The Forward |
Pure Modernism: "Donald Olsen: Architect of Habitable Abstractions" by Pierluigi Serraino...focuses on the Bay Area’s purest practitioner of European modernism, who was, of course, a student of Walter Gropius. It is as if there were a direct line from the Bauhaus to the hills of Berkeley...text is well researched...but it is not ponderous. By Kenneth Caldwell [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
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-- Sou Fujimoto: Musashino Art University Library, Tokyo, Japan
-- Shigeru Ban: Tamedia Office Building, Zürich, Switzerland |
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