Today’s News - Wednesday, September 2, 2015
• The 2015 Carbuncle Cup winner comes as no surprise: Ijeh, Wainwright, and architect and urban climatologist Futcher weigh in on Viñoly's Walkie Talkie: "its crimes read like a furious police charge sheet of bad architecture" + "this thuggish comedy villain of a building beat stiff competition in a vintage year for ugly architecture" + "Behind the headlines ridiculing the building for its death ray and wind scoop effects are serious issues that should concern us all."
• Mock parses lawsuits by Chicago and California developers who "are pushing back against affordable housing rules" that could shake things up in other major cities "trying out inclusionary zoning" (is it a case of "too much stick and not enough carrot"?).
• Hume on why Toronto should take a pass on bidding for the 2024 Olympics: the city "isn't ready - economically or emotionally. This is Accidental City" that "still hasn't come to terms with the fact it's a big city, let alone one that should host the Games."
• Chipperfield lands "the prize job to convert the soon-to-be empty US Embassy in London's Grosvenor Square into a hotel."
• In Miami, an Arquitectonica-designed, "starkly imposing private museum designed around a pair of monumental artworks" by Turrell and Serra clears zoning hurdles.
• Loos lauds the comeback of Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum after a "relatively humble $33 million renovation - a prime example of old-fashioned New England thrift - improving what's on hand instead of following the current model of hiring a famous architect to do an expensive new building" (and no more leaks!).
• Eyefuls of Kuma's first project on US soil: Portland's Japanese Garden.
• Australia's WikiHouseAU, a flat-pack timber home put together "by four people with no more than a drill and a mallet - aims to be part of the 'great disruption' with its combination of open source design, human-scale buildability and multiple sustainability elements."
• PrefabNZ sees social housing, schools, and the retirement sector as enormous opportunities for New Zealand's growing prefabricated construction sector to "change market perceptions around the design and aesthetics of prefabricated buildings."
• Makovsky's great Q&A with Herda and Grima re: how the Chicago Architecture Biennial "will act as R&D for architecture and design": "we want to give visibility to those most engaged in taking risks...and who were doing that 20 or 30 years ago - people who were part of a distant, almost forgotten avant-garde."
• Kamin x 2: he cheers Chicago's new Northerly Island Park and its "beguiling lakefront landscape" that justifies Daley's "midnight raid" on Meigs Field: "See ya later, airport for politicians and the privileged class. This land is now your land, Chicagoans."
• After consulting his sources re: who was invited to vie for the Obama library, "I can now name 11 of the firms and observe that they are A) Of high caliber; B) Represent a broad geographic and aesthetic spectrum; and C) Include the established firms one would expect."
• One we couldn't resist: FAT pens the ultimate step-by-step guide to "how to become a famous architect": "choose a name for your cutting-edge design firm. Something punchy, arty, and a little stupid should do" (avoid including "urban" or "studio").
• Eyefuls of the 2015 CODAawards winners honoring "the integration of commissioned art with architecture, interiors, and landscapes" + Sustainable design permeates the Australian Institute of Architects 2015 International Architecture Awards + 2015 Eat Drink Design Awards shortlist from Australia and New Zealand (88 projects - a food truck included).
| |
|
|
|
To subscribe to the free daily newsletter
click here
|
It should never have been built: The Walkie Talkie is a disaster for London and its planning system: As big surprises go, 20 Fenchurch Street winning the 2015 Carbuncle Cup is hardly up with there with a Donald Trump US presidential victory or England winning the next World Cup...Height, scale, context, form, environmental impact, public realm, its crimes read like a furious police charge sheet of bad architecture and if anything summarises what makes a building a Carbuncle, this is it. By Ike Ijeh -- Rafael Viñoly- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Carbuncle Cup: Walkie Talkie wins prize for worst building of the year: The London skyline is dominated by this thuggish comedy villain of a building, which has melted cars and caused winds strong enough to knock people over...it is hard to imagine a building causing more damage if it tried...The building beat stiff competition in a vintage year for ugly architecture. By Oliver Wainwright -- Rafael Viñoly- Guardian (UK) |
Have we learnt anything from the Walkie Scorchie? Behind the headlines ridiculing the Walkie Talkie for its death ray and wind scoop effects are serious issues that should concern us all, says architect and urban climatologist Julie Futcher...20 Fenchurch Street has won the 2015 Carbuncle Cup as much for what it does to street life around its base as for its appearance. -- Rafael Viñoly- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Chicago Developers Are Pushing Back Against Affordable Housing Rules: Lawsuits threaten the city’s new inclusionary zoning laws just two months before they take effect...The Chicago and California cases...could shake up similar inclusionary-zoning plans adopted in other major cities like New York...the practical question in...cities trying out inclusionary zoning is whether developers feel it is too much stick and not enough carrot for building below market rate. By Brentin Mock- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities) |
Let the Games begin - somewhere else: Toronto isn’t ready - economically or emotionally - to host the 2024 Olympics: ...does anyone in this good burg really believe Toronto is capable of pulling off something as big as the Olympics? This is Accidental City...still hasn’t come to terms with the fact it’s a big city, let alone one that should host the Games. Imagine the whining we heard about the Pan Am HOV lanes, multiplied 100 times. We’re reluctant to share the city among ourselves, let alone others. By Christopher Hume- Toronto Star |
David Chipperfield lined up for US Embassy overhaul: ...landed the prize job to convert the soon-to-be empty embassy in London’s Grosvenor Square into a hotel...The building will be vacated by 2017 after US diplomatic staff move to a new embassy building drawn up by Philadelphia-based KieranTimberlake within the Nine Elms regeneration project. -- Eero Saarinen; Yorke, Rosenberg and Mardall (1960) [images]- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Miami private museum designed for Turrell, Serra works clears zoning hurdle: ...Bruce Berkowitz is happy to have survived the white-knuckle roller-coaster ride...zoning officials cleared the way for him to build a starkly imposing private Biscayne Boulevard museum designed around a pair of monumental artworks... By Andres Viglucci -- Arquitectonica [image]- Miami Herald |
The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford Puts Final Touches on a Comeback: ...the country’s oldest continuously operating art museum, founded in 1842...after a five-year, relatively humble $33 million renovation...a prime example of old-fashioned New England thrift - improving what’s on hand instead of following the current model of hiring a famous architect to do an expensive new building...No more leaks. By Ted Loos -- Smith Edwards Architects [images]- New York Times |
Kengo Kuma to redesign Portland’s Japanese Garden: ...his first project on US soil...will preserve the existing gardens while adding new buildings, including a ‘cultural village’... -- THA Architecture; Walker Macy [images]- CLAD (Community of Leisure Architects & Designers) |
Open-source DIY housing launches in Queensland: ...a flat-pack timber home that can be erected by four people in around two days with no more than a drill and a mallet will be prototyped...The WikiHouseAU project is based on a model developed and showcased in the UK...aims to be part of the “great disruption” with its combination of open source design, human-scale buildability and multiple sustainability elements. -- Graham Osborne/Origen Architects; Arup- The Fifth Estate (Australia) |
PrefabNZ and the leaner, greener construction market: Social housing and the retirement sector offer an enormous opportunity for New Zealand’s growing prefabricated construction sector to demonstrate its ability to deliver affordable, sustainable dwellings...One of the big shifts the school buildings will help with...was changing market perceptions around the design and aesthetics of prefabricated buildings.- The Fifth Estate (Australia) |
New Agendas at Chicago's Architecture Biennial: The biennial's directors discuss how the event will act as R&D for architecture and design: ..."we want to give visibility to those most engaged in taking risks and responding to the conditions of the present...and who were doing that 20 or 30 years ago...people who were part of a distant, almost forgotten avant-garde." By Paul Makovsky -- Sarah Herda; Joseph Grima- Metropolis Magazine |
Northerly Island Park: Beguiling lakefront landscape justifies Daley “midnight raid”: See ya later, airport for politicians and the privileged class. This land is now your land, Chicagoans...much-maligned “midnight raid” laid the groundwork for both a stirring park and an ecological wake-up call...Stay tuned. The battle of Meigs Field is over, but...the battle of the Lucas Museum is about to begin. By Blair Kamin -- SmithGroupJJR; Studio Gang Architects [images]- Chicago Tribune |
Piano, Jahn among architects vying for Obama library: ...Barack Obama Foundation declined to identify the firms that were invited...most of them are American and several are from Chicago. Having consulted sources, I can now name 11 of the firms and observe that they are A) Of high caliber; B) Represent a broad geographic and aesthetic spectrum; and C) Include the established firms one would expect to be invited. By Blair Kamin -- Ennead Architects; Robert A.M. Stern; Renzo Piano; David Adjaye; Helmut Jahn; Krueck+Sexton; Ross Barney Architects; Perkins+Will; Tigerman McCurry Architects; Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); Philip Freelon- Chicago Tribune |
How to become a famous architect: ...the procedure is quite simple: First, pay a visit to any well-stocked newsagent. Buy one copy of each design magazine you see there...use these to find out what not to do...choose a name for your cutting-edge design firm. Something punchy, arty, and a little stupid should do. By FAT- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Growing Together: 2015 CODAawards Honor Artists and Designers: Paying tribute to the integration of commissioned art with architecture, interiors, and landscapes... -- Collaboration of Design + Art; Markus Linnenbrink/Gensler; Squint/Opera/Hirsch & Mann/Ennead Architects; Diamond Schmitt Architects/Consullux Lighting Consultants; EDG Interior Architecture + Design/Mohammed Zulkarnaen Othman (Zero); Konstantin Dimopoulos/Houston Arts Alliance; Derix Glasstudios/John Pawson; Jun Kaneko/Derix Glasstudios/Sinclair Hille Architects; WET; Catherine Widgery/Patrick Walker/Carl Daniel Architects/Ohio Gratings/Prolab Digital Imaging [images]- Interior Design magazine |
Sustainable design permeates Australian Institute of Architects 2015 International Architecture Awards: Greenery, prefabricated elements, zero-energy design and repurposing of underutilised space are the key sustainability themes... -- Koning Eizenberg Architecture; Terroir/CUBO Arkitekter; Kerry Hill Architects; Robert Grace Architecture [images]- The Fifth Estate (Australia) |
Shortlist announced: 2015 Eat Drink Design Awards: ...hospitality design excellence and innovation from both Australia and New Zealand. Across six categories, 88 projects made the grade, including a Michelin-starred restaurant, a food truck... [links to images, info]- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
ANN Feature: New Name and New Directions: Boddewyn Gaynor Architects, DPC: Q&A with the firm's principals about the changes they've made, and how they affect the firm’s operations and future plans. [images]- ArchNewsNow.com |
The Broad: Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Dubbed "the veil and the vault," the museum's design merges the two key programs of the building: public exhibition space and the storage that will support the Broad Art Foundation's extensive lending activities. By Kirsten Kiser -- Gensler [images]- ArcSpace |
|
|
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