Today’s News - Thursday, March 20, 2014
EDITOR'S NOTE: We've only seen postings on Twitter and Facebook - we are so, so saddened by the news that Metropolis magazine's founder and publisher Horace Havemeyer III has passed away. He was an inspiration to so many of us...
• Bozikovic offers one of the best overviews we've seen re: how Bloomberg and his "Bloombergians" turned New York "into a laboratory for urban innovation of all kinds" that "has helped create a new climate where cities see each other as peers and share ideas freely" (a fab read!).
• A study finds that "city main street networks show a drastic shift away from historic patterns of human-scale design"; it's time such patterns "should be considered in contemporary urban design and policies."
• Finch says finding solutions to the "problems that afflict our high streets" requires understanding what the problems are, "something that architects are trained to do, and it can bring fresh thinking into tired areas."
• London's skyscraper boom "ought to prompt greener cities...people need a healthy dose of nature in their urban idylls."
• Green roofs and walls is "a growth area in urban design," and while "Australia has been relatively slow on the uptake of this movement," the "Growing Green Guide" should help move things along.
• dlandstudio's Susannah Drake "is reviving contaminated landscapes with her politically savvy practice" that is "is as much about politics as it is about design research and development."
• Kamin x 2: he gives (mostly) thumbs-up to the rebirth of the 1927 Lake Shore Athletic Club: "while the job is no triumph of historic preservation, it merits praise for creative interior planning and its impact on the cityscape," and "plays an essential supporting role in one of Chicago's great urban design dramas."
• He cheers FLW's S.C. Johnson Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin, opening for the first time to public tours starting in May.
• King gives unequivocal thumbs-up to the restoration of "one of San Francisco's best large buildings": the 1925 former Pacific Telephone HQ "instinctively feels like it belongs," and "still radiates a confident curiosity in how architecture could embody the aspirations of the modern city - and "still feels fresh."
• An in-depth look at Svigals + Partners' challenges in designing a new Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, having "to contend with the extra burden of the horrific crime that unfolded on Dec. 14, 2012. The job was fraught with pain and open to second-guessing."
• Shigeru Ban's Aspen Art Museum "is designed to be part-environmental center, part-ski lift"; its "simplicity doesn't mean that he has sacrificed design" (comments are not kind).
• One proposal for what LaGuardia Airport could look like by 2021 is "a far cry from the current dilapidated 'Third World' facility."
• Rybczynski offers a fascinating history lesson as he explains "why architects tend to struggle in their pursuit of sitting comfort" - as he sits (uncomfortably) in Ando's new Dream Chair.
• RIBA votes to back Brady's campaign to suspend Israel's IAUA from the UIA: "Maybe China will be next but this is the starting point."
• On a lighter note, Patrik Schumacher does a Facebook rant re the Venice Architecture Biennale: it's "an attack on political correctness in architecture and a perceived trend for prioritizing art over form-making."
• Schumacher cheers "a new fast-paced, beautiful-to-look-at" PBS series, "Cool Spaces: The Best New Architecture," premiering in April.
• Call for entries/ RFQ: The 11th Street Bridge Park Design Competition for an old bridge in over the Anacostia River in Washington DC.
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What makes a city work: Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks he knows: His administration...turned New York into a laboratory for urban innovation of all kinds...And now the Bloombergians are preparing to share their lessons with the world...sensitive to urban design and the intangible qualities that make a city great...has helped create a new climate where cities see each other as peers and share ideas freely. By Alex Bozikovic -- Bloomberg Associates- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
City main street networks show a drastic shift away from historic patterns of human-scale design: ...which should be considered in contemporary urban design and policies...Many of today’s main streets are no longer as pedestrian-oriented as they once were. By J. Alexander Maxwell/University of Strathclyde and Charles R. (Chuck) Wolfe [images, links]- London School of Economics and Political Science - American Politics and Policy / LSE USAPP |
Defining the problems that afflict our high streets is as valuable as finding the solutions: Understanding a problem in the round is something that architects are trained to do, and it can bring fresh thinking into tired areas. by Paul Finch- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Skyscraper boom in London ought to prompt greener cities: Our skylines need to go green as well as growing up; Built environment researchers have long understood the value of bringing nature into our urban environments...people need a healthy dose of nature in their urban idylls. By Keith Baker, Glasgow Caledonian University- The Conversation |
Green roofs and walls – a growth area in urban design: As the demand for greener and cooler cities increases, new “green infrastructure” technologies...are coming to the fore...While the Growing Green Guide was written to increase local understanding and skills amongst architectural and design professionals in Melbourne, it is also relevant to a wider Australian audience. By John Rayner, University of Melbourne- The Conversation |
Sea Change: Susannah Drake of dlandstudio is reviving contaminated landscapes with her politically savvy practice...her firm’s work is as much about politics as it is about design research and development. [images]- Architect Magazine |
1927 Lake Shore Athletic Club proves fit for luxury apartments; Lake Shore Drive landmark saved, though much of its interior is not: ...while the job is no triumph of historic preservation, it merits praise for creative interior planning and its impact on the cityscape...plays an essential supporting role in one of Chicago's great urban design dramas. By Blair Kamin -- Jarvis Hunt (1927); Booth Hansen; Wiss, Janney, Elstner- Chicago Tribune |
Frank Lloyd Wright building in Racine to open for tours: ...S.C. Johnson Research Tower will open for the first time to public tours May 2...Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 15-story tower is revered for its treelike internal structure...The tour, which will last two hours, will bring visitors inside several buildings on the S.C. Johnson campus... By Blair Kamin- Chicago Tribune |
How a classic S.F. building was resurrected: One of San Francisco's best large buildings has come back to life...built in 1925...140 New Montgomery endures because of a core architectural truth that applies to any era: Don't be afraid to push design boundaries, but do so in a way that instinctively feels like it belongs...still radiates a confident curiosity in how architecture could embody the aspirations of the modern city. By John King -- Timothy Pflueger; J.R. Miller; Alexander Cantin (1925); Perkins Will; Page & Turnbull; GLS Landscape [images]- San Francisco Chronicle |
In New Sandy Hook School, Newtown Plays Design Role: The team designing the new Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., has had to contend with the extra burden of the horrific crime that unfolded on Dec. 14, 2012. The job was fraught with pain and open to second-guessing. -- Svigals + Partners- New York Times |
A New Lift for Aspen: The Aspen Art Museum, Shigeru Ban's first museum in the U.S., is designed to be part–environmental center, part–ski lift...simplicity doesn’t mean that he has sacrificed design. -- Cottle Carr Yaw Architects [images]- Architect Magazine |
This is what LaGuardia Airport could look like by 2021 — a far cry from the current dilapidated “Third World” facility....Neoscape created renderings for the advocacy group Global Gateway Alliance...based on parameters established by the Port Authority...PA will complete the LaGuardia makeover by 2021. It is expected to pick a firm in the next few weeks for the project. [images]- New York Post |
Tadao Ando and the Dream of the Perfect Chair: Ando's new Dream Chair doesn't exactly live up to its billing. Here's why architects tend to struggle in their pursuit of sitting comfort. By Witold Rybczynski [images]- Architect Magazine |
RIBA backs Angela Brady's Israel suspension call: ...approved a motion calling for the suspension of the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA) from the International Architects Union (UIA)...“Maybe China will be next but this is the starting point.”- BD/Building Design (UK) |
"Architecture is not art" says Patrik Schumacher in Venice Architecture Biennale rant: director of Zaha Hadid Architects has taken to Facebook to launch an attack on political correctness in architecture and a perceived trend for prioritising art over form-making.- Dezeen |
PBS' 'Cool Spaces' delves deep into architecture: ...a new fast-paced, beautiful-to-look-at series, "Cool Spaces: The Best New Architecture," premiering in April promises to take us deep inside the process of building some of America's most advanced buildings. By Mary Louise Schumacher- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
Call for entries/Request for Qualifications/RFQ: The 11th Street Bridge Park Design Competition: Washington DC Launches a Nationwide Competition to Create New Park on Old Bridge over the Anacostia River; open to U.S.-based teams; deadline: April 22- 11th Street Bridge Park |
Magnusson Architecture and Planning: Looking back at the last 30 years and toward the future: MAP has worked hard to create affordable communities that people actually want to live in – not just containers for living. Q&A with the senior leadership...- ArchNewsNow |
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Coop Himmelb(l)au: European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Germany may be the biggest country in the European Union, but so far it has been devoid of any major EU-institutions...ECB) is one notable exception. By Ulf Meyer [images] |
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