Today’s News - Thursday, August 13, 2015
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow is a "floating" no-newsletter day - we'll be back Monday, August 17.
• Zeiger checks out what some of the players in the L.A. River saga are saying about Gehry wading into the water; some are oh-so politically correct, others - not so much.
• Miranda tries to grok why planners in the 60s decided to run a freeway through L.A.'s "prettiest park."
• Seattle was all set to move forward with Corner's waterfront plan - until "a new kid on the block" decided to "shake things up" with an alternative proposal (High Line-style park included).
• Appelbaum considers his own Superstorm Sandy experience in Lower Manhattan that has him "rethinking Jane Jacobs in the era of climate change," and finds himself defending the kind of density "that would make Jacobs spit."
• A look at how the Archive Institute is using urban planning and architectural history "to prevent numerous infectious diseases through the redesign of urban housing."
• The Committee for Sydney's chief executive lays out some of the "game-changers for affordable housing" in a new initiative, "A City For All" (inclusionary zoning included).
• Davidson x 2: he explains why mandatory inclusionary zoning may be the "dullest, most important phrase in New York": though it's a "cryptic string of words," it "could make the city both more desirable and more affordable" (carrots and sticks included).
• He spends more than one wine-laced lunch with Nouvel and pens a most intriguing profile of the "master without a style": "What makes him interesting is the interaction of his talent and his flaws - the fact that an architectural genius can also be an egomaniacal sculptor" (a great read!).
• Rogers hits out at the cancellation of Hadid's Tokyo stadium: "Japan lost its nerve."
• Libeskind gets a green light for his 26-story, mixed-use "Pyramid" (literally!) in Jerusalem ("the requisite boutique hotel, and a rooftop observatory and restaurant" included).
• Call for entries: Black Rock City (Burning Man) Street Plan Design Competition (who could resist!).
• Weekend diversions:
• Betsky ignored the naysayers who told him to skip SelgasCano's Serpentine Pavilion because it's "a meaningless structure. I was pleasantly surprised. These architects seem to just wanna have fun, and, what is more important, make us wanna have fun too."
• Darley is fairly dazzled by Murcutt's "Touch the Earth Lightly" in Glasgow: "to find the work of that quiet, thoughtful soloist, glowing out of the darkness of the Lighthouse's reticent yet generous warehouse space is a considerable treat."
• "Sydney Modern Project" at the Art Gallery of NSW shows off "the art gallery that Sydney is not getting" - along with the one it is.
• In South Jakarta, "Supermodels" celebrates a century of Dutch design and architecture.
• "Oscar Niemeyer: The Man Who Built Brasilia" is a "huge retrospective" at Tokyo's Museum of Contemporary Art.
• Art museums across New Orleans remember the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, but "they barely seem to be about Katrina at all"; many "ruled out so-called disaster porn because of what they could trigger."
• McDonald's "Conservation for Cities: How to Plan & Build Natural Infrastructure" is "a practical manual for anyone interested in the benefits of integrating natural infrastructure into our cities."
• Can DiCaprio and Scorsese pull of "Devil in the White City"?
| |
|
|
|
To subscribe to the free daily newsletter
click here
|
Into the Current: AN asks local designers and developers to respond to the news that Frank Gehry is at work on the LA River master plan. By Mimi Zeiger -- Mia Lehrer; Yuval Bar-Zemer/Linear City Development; Allen Compton/SALT Landscape Architects; Paul Habibi/UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate; Catherine Gudis/Project 51; Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation- The Architect's Newspaper |
'The prettiest park in Los Angeles' and why a freeway runs through it: ...the craziest freeway placement...in Boyle Heights. In this historic Los Angeles community...city planners saw fit to run a stretch of the 5 Freeway right through Hollenbeck Park in 1960...a dissonant juxtaposition of urban planning elements: a bucolic city park, with fountains and quacking ducks, paired with the grinding gears of stop-and-go traffic on the 5, which runs right overhead. By Carolina A. Miranda [images]- Los Angeles Times |
A competing vision to James Corner Field Operations' Seattle waterfront plan is going before City Council August 17: ...a new kid on the block is trying to shake things up...Initiative-123...is leading a competing vision to the Corner plan...calls for a mile-long, six-acre elevated High Line-style park... “it is going to create serious problems, with the millions of dollars that have already been spent"... [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
In Defense of Density: Rethinking Jane Jacobs in the Era of Climate Change: ...my experience after Superstorm Sandy suggests density can support the formation of urban community...as America reckons with the true cost of fossil fuels, urban density becomes more defensible - even desirable...Policymakers and designers must take care to craft that density in a way that protects everyone, not just the highest bidders. By Alec Appelbaum- The Dirt/American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) |
When Urban Planning Plays Doctor: Archive Institute works to prevent numerous infectious diseases through the redesign of urban housing in Haiti, Cameroon, Bangladesh and elsewhere...builds from architectural history, and the past informs their current innovations. -- Peter Williams/Architecture for Health in Vulnerable Environments- Next City (formerly Next American City) |
‘Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning’: The Dullest, Most Important Phrase in New York: Could there be a more soporific or cryptic string of words...And yet it’s an exciting concept...could make the city both more desirable and more affordable, an apparently insoluble paradox...new proposal offers a carrot of subsidy and a stick of obligation... By Justin Davidson- New York Magazine |
Five steps for tackling housing affordability: Housing pornography has returned to Sydney: ...creating more sub-market rental stock is something that can achieved by imaginative collaboration between the public, private and not-for-profit sectors...Committee for Sydney's new housing initiative, A City For All: Five game-changers for affordable housing in Sydney. The game-changers include... By Tim Williams/Committee for Sydney- Sydney Morning Herald |
Jean Nouvel Is a Master Without a Style: ...his buildings are so distinct, and redefine their genres so thoroughly, that they don’t seem like products of the same imagination. “If they can’t figure out who it is, that means it’s me"...What makes him interesting is the interaction of his talent and his flaws - the fact that an architectural genius can also be an egomaniacal sculptor...“Architecture is the art of utilizing constraints. If you can do whatever you want, then it’s not architecture anymore.” By Justin Davidson- New York Magazine |
Richard Rogers: ‘Japan lost its nerve over Zaha’s Tokyo stadium’: ...has hit out at the move to drop Zaha Hadid Architects from the £1.3 billion Tokyo Olympic Stadium..."will not only result in a poorer quality stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but also in damage to Japan’s international credibility, and reputation as a promoter of world-class architectural design."- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Yet Another Modern City Approves a Pyramid-esque Skyscraper: The “Pyramid” Will Be the Newest Addition to Jerusalem’s Skyline: ...set to become its second-tallest building...mixed-use 26-story, 345-foot luxury tower...will include a public plaza with upscale shopping at ground level, 200 apartments, the requisite boutique hotel, and a rooftop observatory and restaurant. By Kristin Hohenadel -- Daniel Libeskind/Studio Libeskind; Yigal Levi [images]- Slate |
Call for entries: Black Rock City (Burning Man) Street Plan Design Competition (international): Stage 1 deadline: December 31- Black Rock City Ministry of Urban Planning |
SelgasCano and the Critical Importance of Casual Architecture: Is it OK for a piece of architecture to be just fun? ...people I spoke to...told me not to bother to go see it. It is a meaningless...structure...clunky in its construction and gaudy in its appearance...I was pleasantly surprised. The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is a delight, and part of what makes it so much fun is that it meanders and moseys along, has no focus...It is, in other words, the complete modern folly. By Aaron Betsky [images]- Architect Magazine |
"Touch the Earth Lightly": ...to find the work of Glenn Murcutt, that quiet, thoughtful soloist, glowing out of the darkness of the Lighthouse’s reticent yet generous warehouse space is a considerable treat...His drawings are shown here at a scale that allows visitors to study the care of rendition and the powerful working of his disciplined, fluent hand. By Gillian Darley- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Art Gallery of NSW designs that didn't make it: giant lightsabers, subterranean voids: It's the art gallery that Sydney is not getting...four unsuccessful concepts for the $450 million expansion of the Art Gallery of NSW, called "Sydney Modern Project" on display along with the successful winning proposal by Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA. -- Sean Godsell; Rahul Mehrota Architects; Kengo Kuma and Associates; Kerry Hill Architects- Sydney Morning Herald |
"Supermodels": ...celebrates a century of Dutch design and architecture through the use of 3D-printed miniature models of furniture, iconic architectural landmarks and modern versions of the Dutch dollhouse...offers an overview of the creativity of Dutch designers, artists and architects while showing that the fame of the current generation originates from a rich history of design...at Erasmus Huis in Kuningan, South Jakarta until Aug. 29- The Jakarta Post |
"Oscar Niemeyer: The Man Who Built Brasilia" Arrives in Tokyo: This huge retrospective covers Niemeyer's entire career, including models, images and documentary clips from his earliest life up until his death in 2012 at the age of 104; at Museum of Contemporary Art By Justin Quirk- Huffington Post |
Forget The Wreckage: Museums' Hurricane Katrina Shows Look At How City Has Moved On: ...art museums across New Orleans felt compelled to remember...the 10th anniversary...[some] seem surprisingly understated, at least to outsiders' eyes. In fact, they barely seem to be about Katrina at all...ruled out so-called disaster porn...because of what they could trigger.- NPR / National Public Radio |
Nature: The Savior of Cities? "Conservation for Cities: How to Plan & Build Natural Infrastructure" by Robert McDonald: ...a practical manual...using conservation for cities...rooted in the concept of ecosystem services, the many benefits nature can provide us. This is in contrast to conservation in cities, which refers to protecting biodiversity in areas or urban growth; and conservation by cities, the act of making cities more efficient in resource-use and expenditure. By Yoshi Silverstein- The Dirt/American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) |
Devil in the Details: Can DiCaprio & Scorsese Recreate "Devil in the White City"? Erik Larson's beloved book will finally exit development purgatory after years of inaction and a multi-studio bidding war...We know Leo's playing the bad guy [H.H. Holmes]...who should be cast for the parts of Burnham, Root, Frederick Law Olmsted and others?- Curbed |
|
7 Out-of-the-Box Factories: Some disrupt the expected factory architecture typology through playful and unexpected materials while others challenge conventional forms. -- SANAA; Zaha Hadid Architects; Peter Stutchbury; Foster + Partners; Renzo Piano Building Workshop; Santiago Calatrava; Richard Rogers and Partners (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners) [images] |
|
|
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.
© 2015 ArchNewsNow.com