Today’s News - Wednesday, March 12, 2014
• Wainwright weighs in on the Serpentine's pick for its 2014 pavilion: "one of youngest and least-known architects" ever selected offers a "cow's udder stuffed with newspaper and wrapped in strips of masking tape" that promises to be "one of the strangest structures Kensington Gardens will have ever seen."
• Eyefuls of Radic's Serpentine design that is "excitingly futuristic, appearing like an alien space pod that has come to rest on a Neolithic site."
• Kiger explains the evolution of "Vancouverism": the city's secret of success "may be its deliberative, values-driven evolutionary process" in which "planners, developers, and the citizenry have labored to form a consensus vision of what their city should be like - and then come up with creative solutions for achieving it."
• Ransford, on the other hand, thinks it might be better to involve "randomly selected people" to weigh in on planning decisions because they "can see the big picture better than those with vested interests" - otherwise, "good planning suffers. It's time we took the risk to try new methods."
• The planner for a small Tennessee town explains why working for a small town can make one a better planner: "designs and theories of your favorite urbanist du jour are only an abstraction of what the town and city really is: people. Planning for the theory, the aesthetic, and the system is easy. Planning for the people is hard."
• O'Sullivan offers an amusing (and serious) take on why no one is happier than Berliners about Berlin being "over": many are "half-hoping that journalists sounding the death knell of the city's hipness are actually right."
• Lubell reports on BIG's "dramatic" change of plans for Park City, Utah's Kimball Art Museum from "a twisted, log-cabin-like box" to a "concrete wedge."
• Savannah has big plans to give its now-dormant 100-year-old Georgia Power plant "a glamorous new life."
• Rice University's 1969 Art Barn that "inspired the tin-house architecture movement" gets a second chance, thanks to alumni who have won "a stay of execution" to figure out if it can be removed and stored until a new location can be found.
• Europa Nostra issues its annual Seven Most Endangered list that includes some 20th-century buildings considered among "Europe's most threatened heritage."
• Tokyo has "slashed greenhouse gas emissions from office buildings" - but not for reasons that have much to do "with the world's first city-level carbon-trading system."
• Goodyear bemoans (as do we) a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has dealt a "big legal blow to the rails-to-trails movement": "it reflects a very real undercurrent of anxiety in the American psyche. Private property is sacred" (toxic trains are less threatening than "the prospect of another person on foot or on bike, who might even say hello").
• Winners all: Busby takes home the 2014 RAIC Gold Medal + 2014 Wood WORKS! BC 2014 Wood Design Awards + 15 projects take Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Awards of Excellence + IIDA names winners of 41st Interior Design and 22nd Will Ching Design Competition + Three finalists in Moscow's Ukraina Hotel Entryway Competition + Three in the running to transform Moscow's Triumfalnaya Square.
• Call for entries: Grant/Residency Opportunity to engage with one of two affordable housing communities in Southern California and Phoenix, AZ + PER/FORM Live Design Competition to create designs that are both aesthetically pleasing and high performing.
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"Alien visit": Chilean architect Smiljan Radic to design 2014 Serpentine pavilion: ...48-year-old, one of youngest and least-known architects selected for gallery's programme: A cow's udder stuffed with newspaper and wrapped in strips of masking tape...This bandaged bladder, along with hollowed-out pebbles and torn papier-maché doughnuts...one of the strangest structures Kensington Gardens will have ever seen... By Oliver Wainwright [image]- Guardian (UK) |
Emerging Chilean architect picked to design 2014 Serpentine Pavilion: In choosing Smiljan Radic Serpentine opts for comparatively unknown talent for second year running...will resemble a shell resting on large quarry stones..."excitingly futuristic, appearing like an alien space pod that has come to rest on a Neolithic site." -- AECOM [images]- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
How Vancouver Invented Itself: “Vancouverism” is now synonymous with tower-podium architecture, green space, and breathtaking views. But the much-admired Canadian city’s real secret of success may be its...deliberative, values-driven evolutionary process, in which local government planners, developers, and the citizenry have labored...to form a consensus vision of what their city should be like—and then come up with creative solutions for achieving it. By Patrick J. Kiger- Urban Land Magazine (Urban Land Institute/ULI)) |
Let’s get unbiased input on planning; Citizen collaboration: It doesn’t seem to matter how much outreach is done by planners...or how many concessions developers try to make to accommodate community interests. People...don’t buy into plans that are being put in place. Good planning suffers.
Good public decision-making requires plenty of public trust...It’s time we took the risk to try new methods. By Bob Ransford- Vancouver Sun |
A Tribute to Small Town Urban Planning: Working for a small town doesn't just teach you how to plan a community; it teaches you how to be a part of it: ...designs and theories of your favorite urbanist du jour are only an abstraction of what the town and city really is: people. Planning for the theory, the aesthetic, and the system is easy. Planning for the people is hard. By Norman Wright/Director of Development Services, Columbia, Tennessee- PLANetizen |
No One Is Happier About Berlin Being 'Over' Than Berlin: North American media have proclaimed the city is no longer the apogee of cool, and that's just fine: ...lauded to the skies for its creative edge, elegant shabbiness, and 24-hour nightlife...has led to a wave of touristenhass - "tourist hate"...This wave of angst is not just about foreigners...many Berliners will be half-hoping that journalists sounding the death knell of the city's hipness are actually right. By Feargus O'Sullivan- The Atlantic Cities |
BIG Reveals New Concrete Plan For Kimball Art Center After First Design Rejected by Public
Thanks in large part to public protest, Bjarke Ingels Group's plans for a twisted, log-cabin-like box for Park City, Utah’s Kimball Art Museum have been dramatically changed...new design: a concrete wedge lifting 46 feet above the corner... By Sam Lubell [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Project to 'reboot' old power plant on Savannah's River Street: ...$200 million project that will give the decommissioned 100-year-old Georgia Power plant a glamorous new life...Plant Riverside will involve five structures, which will add about 400 hotel rooms, 26,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space and 65,000 square feet of outdoor communal space to the waterfront. -- Sottile & Sottile Architects- Savannah Morning News (Georgia) |
Art Barn gets second chance, thanks to Rice University alumni: ...granted "a stay of execution" for a week or two following an 11th-hour appeal by a group of Rice alumni who offered to pay to dismantle, remove and store the building until a new location can be found...commissioned by John and Dominique de Menil and also inspired the tin-house architecture movement. -- Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry (1969) [slide show]- Houston Chronicle |
Twentieth-century buildings among 'Europe's most threatened heritage': Europa Nostra's annual Seven Most Endangered programme was launched last year and aims to serve as a catalyst for action. Eleven sites have been shortlisted for this year’s programme. -- Hans Scharoun (1924); Marcell Komor/Dezsö Jakab (19092)- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Tokyo carbon market for office buildings is all “cap” and not much “trade”: Japan's capital has slashed greenhouse gas emissions from office buildings using the world's first city-level carbon-trading system. It's worked — but not for reasons that have much to do with emissions trading. By Maya Kaneko [useful links]- Citiscope |
A Big Legal Blow to the Rails-to-Trails Movement: How a U.S. Supreme Court decision could endanger thousands of America's recreational trails: ...having a noisy, diesel-powered multi-ton train run through your land – even one potentially carrying toxic chemicals or explosive fuel – is not nearly so threatening as the prospect of another person on foot or on bike, whose face you can see, and who might even say hello. By Sarah Goodyear- The Atlantic Cities |
Peter Busby honoured with 2014 RAIC Gold Medal: ...the highest honour the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada can bestow...“His pioneering work in sustainable design and his international influence in this regard has ensured a permanent place in Canadian architectural history, for both design and innovation." -- Perkins+Will- Canadian Architect |
10th Anniversary Wood Design Award Winners Announced! 2014 Wood WORKS! BC 2014 Wood Design Awards celebrates the best in wood building and design. -- Peter Busby/Perkins+Will;Gerald Epp/Fast + Epp Structural Engineers; Mike Mammone/Ratio Architecture; John Wall/PUBLIC: Architecture + Communication; etc. [links to images, info]- Canadian Wood Council |
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) Awards of Excellence announced: 15 projects a reminder that great design helps to build great communities. -- PMA Landscape Architects; Stantec Consulting/Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative; Ville de Montréal, Direction des grands parcs et du verdissement; etc. [link to complete list]- Canadian Architect |
The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Names Winners of 41st Interior Design, 22nd Will Ching Design Competitions -- A2 arquitectos; Cox Rayner Architects; Gensler; Perkins+Will; Stonehill & Taylor Architects; jones | haydu [images]- Contract magazine |
Three Finalists Announced for Moscow’s Ukraina Hotel Entryway Competition: The jury appreciated the projects for creating a new symbol for the hotel, while respecting Moscow’s architectural heritage. -- TPO Lesosplav/Malishev Wilson Engineers; ABD Architects/Werner Sobek Moskwa; Studio 44 [images]- Architectural Council of Moscow |
Finalists of the competition to develop Triumfalnaya Square announced: “Two relatively ’easy-going’ projects received the highest rankings." -- ST raum a. Landschaftsarchitektur; Buromoscow; Wowhaus; Kosmos; Magly Project [images]- Architectural Council of Moscow |
Call for entries: Grant/Residency Opportunity – A Social Practice Initiative of Living Resources and Grand Central Art Center; a one-year opportunity to engage the residents in one of two affordable housing communities in Southern California and Phoenix, AZ; open to U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents; deadline: May 23- California State University, Fullerton Grand Central Art Center |
Call for entries: PER/FORM Live Design Competition (U.S. & Canada): create designs that are both aesthetically pleasing and high performing; sponsored by Sefaira, SketchUp, BKSK Architects, Pratt Institute, The Public Society, and Metropolis Magazine; registration deadline: April 2 (submissions due April 21)- PER/FORM Live |
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-- Travel guide: Helsinki: ...known as a 'city of architecture.' By Ulf Meyer
-- Morphosis: Emerson College, Los Angeles: sustainable facility features a host of innovative amenities...defines the College's identity in the center of the entertainment industry. By Kirsten Kiser |
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