Today’s News - Tuesday, December 2, 2014
• ArcSpace brings us Meyer's take on a Davos hotel, a "shimmering pinecone amidst snow-clad pine trees of the Swiss Alps"; a collaboration the "explores tangible connections between the image and architectonic space"; 7 (stunning) modern religious buildings; and book reviews.
• Eyefuls of the 6 finalists in the Guggenheim Helsinki Competition (and nary a starchitect - nor a Finn - among 'em).
• Moore minces no words about what he thinks of the Garden Bridge over the Thames: it "is nothing but a wasteful blight. It is a crowded and overstyled chunk of heavy engineering garnished with urban parsley" (that's just for starters - a real ouch!).
• Kennicott, meanwhile, cheers the Cooper Hewitt's "artful renovation" that "demonstrates the feasibility of creating a fashionably modern museum within a historic building without undue compromise to either the past or the present."
• Kucharek checks out Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton: "a rarefied ark for art - its destiny is to be a self-referential piece, only negotiating its relationship to itself and how it should 'look'...beyond its skin it's quite bourgeois."
• Hess (mostly) hails Ennead's Anderson Collection at Stanford University, "a spacious and informal setting for art."
• Smee heads to Japan "to find out if Japan's celebrated contemporary architects were merely unusually adept at mastering an international design idiom, or if there was something uniquely Japanese about the way they worked" - especially when it comes to building art museums.
• Wainwright cheers a small British firm's library and concert hall in Norway that is "both heroic and humble - taking its lessons from the grain of the town rather than landing on the waterfront like an architectural spaceship sent down from planet Regeneration."
• Kamin gives two thumbs-up's to Beha's remaking of the Chicago Theological Seminary: "One of the finest new works of architecture in Chicago isn't a brand-new, 'look at me' building that teaches valuable lessons about how aged buildings can be creatively reinvented and stitched into the fabric of our lives."
• Eyefuls of BIG's "two-level urban canyon" for the Battersea Power Station development.
• Ferro finds out how decrepit piers inspired Heatherwick's vision for NYC's Pier55, "a sort of aquatic High Line on the Hudson River."
• A fascinating series of interviews with a range of experts re: how NYC is doing with storm-proofing two years after Superstorm Sandy.
• Kotkin considers the "curious comeback of U.S. downtowns": "Nightlife and streetscapes trump florescent light and cubicles."
• Koolhaas lets loose on what he thinks of the rhetoric behind "smart cities": "architecture no longer expresses public values but instead the values of the private sector. It is in fact a regime - the ¥€$ regime."
• Freeman delves deep into what the future of Havana could/may be: "I am willing to hope that the country will profit from the negative example set by so much recent market-centric urban development in other nations...but time is running short."
• Hawthorne explores why Koreatown "is a thriving, charismatic advertisement for a more intensely urban L.A." and "has helped make old buildings cool again."
• Australia's Burra Charter has a "pioneering role in preservation" in other parts of the world - except Europe: "Certainly looking at Germany, one reason for this might be the guidelines' emphasis on involvement of the public."
• Stead and Clark end their three-year research into gender equity in Australian architecture with Parlour Guidelines to Equitable Practice that "provides positive, productive strategies for change."
• Edelson talks to the 2015 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program finalists to find "what inspires them, what past pavilions they're studying, and what they aim to explore in their forthcoming proposals."
• Call for entries: Bamiyan Cultural Centre, Afghanistan, open international architectural design competition.
| |
|
|
|
To subscribe to the free daily newsletter
click here
|
|
-- Oikios Architekten: InterContinental Hotel, Davos, Switzerland: ...a striking landmark. Like a giant, shimmering pinecone amidst snow-clad pine trees of the Swiss Alps. By Ulf Meyer
-- What's New on the Bookshelves? ...beautiful monographs on Aalto and the Eames couple to an insightful issue of CLOG dedicated to Rem Koolhaas...
-- _Marina_Morón: Their work explores tangible connections between the image and architectonic space...
-- 7 Modern Religious Buildings -- O Studio Architects; Atelier Peter Zumthor; Roseta Vaz Monteiro Arquitectos; Jensen & Skodvin Arkitektkontor; Álvaro Siza; JKMM Architects; Richard Meier & Partners |
6 Finalists Revealed in Guggenheim Helsinki Competition: ...both emerging and established practices with offices in seven countries...Though winning practices have been named, they will not be matched to the six designs until the competition is completed. -- AGPS Architecture Ltd.; Asif Khan Ltd.; Fake Industries Architectural Agonism; Haas Cook Zemmrich STUDIO2050; Moreau Kusunoki Architect; SMAR Architecture Studio [images]- ArchDaily |
The Thames garden bridge is nothing but a wasteful blight: ...the impact on the surrounding area will be horrendous...It is not a tranquil walk in woodlands. It is not a genuinely public place. It is not free. It is not a well-conceived piece of transport infrastructure. It is a crowded and overstyled chunk of heavy engineering garnished with urban parsley. By Rowan Moore -- Arup; Heatherwick Studios- Observer (UK) |
Cooper Hewitt design museum’s artful renovation matches mansion to mission: Andrew Carnegie’s 1902 home seemed like an odd place for a design museum. Now, it feels like a good fit...The space remains historic without being static...demonstrates the feasibility of creating a fashionably modern museum within a historic building without undue compromise to either the past or the present. By Philip Kennicott -- Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Gluckman Mayner Architects; Beyer Blinder Belle [images]- Washington Post |
The large glass: Frank Gehry’s Paris gallery...dramatic facade is just an elaborate cloak: Fondation Louis Vuitton...a rarefied ark for art cast adrift from the city on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne...its destiny is to be a self-referential piece, only negotiating its relationship to itself and how it should ‘look’...beyond its skin it’s quite bourgeois; and critically, it’s not shattering our preconceptions but reflecting them. By Jan-Carlos Kucharek [images]- RIBA Journal (UK) |
Crit> Anderson Collection at Stanford University: While it lacks the casual domesticity of the Anderson’s home, where a visitor relaxing on the couch could enjoy the Rothkos, Motherwells, and Thiebauds, Ennead has created a spacious and informal setting for art. By Alan Hess [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Yoshio Taniguchi, Tadao Ando, and the allure of Japanese architecture: I wanted to find out if Japan’s celebrated contemporary architects...were merely unusually adept at mastering an international design idiom, or if there was something uniquely Japanese about the way they worked - and specifically, about the ways they addressed the challenges of building art museums. By Sebastian Smee- Boston Globe |
A new chapter: Small UK practice makes a leap in scale with two vast new cultural buildings – completed on time and within budget...[Stormen library and concert hall in Bodø, Norway]...both heroic and humble...taking its lessons from the grain of the town rather than landing on the waterfront like an architectural spaceship sent down from planet Regeneration...proved...that architects don’t have to have designed a library or opera house to be able to design one. In fact they’ll probably give it more care if they haven’t. By Oliver Wainwright -- DRDH architects [images]- Guardian (UK) |
Chicago Theological Seminary rebirth a sophisticated mix of old, new: One of the finest new works of architecture in Chicago isn't a brand-new, "look at me" building...It's a subtle, sophisticated mix of old and new...that teaches valuable lessons about how aged buildings can be creatively reinvented and stitched into the fabric of our lives. By Blair Kamin -- Riddle & Riddle (1920s); Ann Beha Architects [images]- Chicago Tribune |
Bjarke Ingels Group's public square for Battersea Power Station unveiled: Malaysia Square will form the heart of...Rafael Viñoly's 17-hectare masterplan..."two-level urban canyon"...will link the pedestrianised high street at the centre of Frank Gehry and Foster + Partner's proposal, known as Electric Boulevard, with the southern entrance of the Grade II-listed landmark, which is being revamped by Wilkinson Eyre. -- BIG; Ian Simpson Architects; dRMM [images]- Dezeen |
How Decrepit Piers Inspired Thomas Heatherwick's Vision For A Floating Park: British designer discusses his vision for Pier55, a sort of aquatic High Line on the Hudson River in New York..."Because we’re creating a new piece of landscape, there’s no imperative to make it flat as a pancake." By Shaunacy Ferro -- Heatherwick Studio [images]- Fast Company |
Stormproofing the City: It's been two years since Hurricane Sandy. Natural disasters cause more damage than war. Are we safe? A NYC resident investigates the urban network meant to protect us from future storms ... by interviewing the people within it. By Lilah Raptopoulos -- John O’Grady/Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA); Russell Unger/Urban Green Council; Klaus Jacob; Roland Lewis/Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance [series]- Guardian (UK) |
The Curious Comeback Of U.S. Downtowns: ...not as dominant business hubs. Instead we continue to see not massive construction of new offices but the continued conversion of offices to residential buildings..."Nightlife and streetscapes trump florescent light and cubicles"...Downtowns are back, but more as a lifestyle option than as a dominant feature of the metropolitan landscape. By Joel Kotkin- Forbes |
My thoughts on the smart city: Architecture used to be about the creation of community...architecture no longer expresses public values but instead the values of the private sector. It is in fact a regime – the ¥€$ regime...the greatest innovators in the digital field have created a bland suburban environment that is becoming increasingly exclusive. By Rem Koolhaas- European Commission Digital Agenda for Europe |
History of the Present: Havana: In the looming post-Castro era, Cuba’s capital faces profound social and economic challenges...now stuck with the worst of capitalist inequality and socialist inefficiency...I am willing to hope that the country will profit from the negative example set by so much recent market-centric urban development in other nations...but time is running short. By Belmont Freeman -- Mario Coyula Cowley; Eduardo Luis Rodríguez [images]- Places Journal |
Koreatown's cool old buildings point to L.A.'s future: ...K-town is a thriving, charismatic advertisement for a more intensely urban Los Angeles...Koreatown, like downtown, has helped make old buildings cool again...uses the past without venerating it. It makes do. By Christopher Hawthorne -- Brenda Levin; Sean Knibb; Christopher Pak- Los Angeles Times |
Dreams not Bricks: The Burra Charter and Australia’s pioneering role in preservation: The guidelines have become increasingly influential...have been applied outside Australia in parts of Africa, India, Vietnam and China amongst other places. However they’ve not been so much recognised or applied in the European context. Certainly looking at Germany, one reason for this might be the guidelines’ emphasis on involvement of the public.- Uncube magazine (Germany) |
Gender equity in architecture: What can we do? After presenting the findings from a three-year long research project into the state of gender equity in Australian architecture, Naomi Stead and Justine Clark outline the programs and tools for a more equitable profession...Parlour Guidelines to Equitable Practice...provide positive, productive strategies for change.- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
Getting to Know the Finalists of the 2015 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program: We’ve asked what inspires them, what past pavilions they’re studying, and what they aim to explore in their forthcoming proposals. By Zachary Edelson -- Andrés Jaque; Erin Besler; Brillhart Architecture; Bittertang; Studio Benjamin Dillenburger- Metropolis Magazine |
Call for entries: Bamiyan Cultural Centre, Afghanistan, open international architectural design competition; no fee; cash prizes; deadline: January 22, 2015- UNESCO / Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture |
ANN Feature: Op-Ed: Top of the Heap: Since 1931, the Empire State Building has been New York City's GPS, but with a spate of supertalls obscuring the building, it could become hard to tell Manhattan from Kowloon or Pudong or Shinjuku or Canary Wharf. By Fred A. Bernstein- ArchNewsNow |
|
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window.
External news links are not endorsed by ArchNewsNow.com.
Free registration may be required on some sites.
Some pages may expire after a few days.
© 2014 ArchNewsNow.com