Today’s News - Thursday, January 28, 2016
EDITOR'S NOTE: Very early tomorrow morning we will be catching up with old friends (and mainlining caffeine) at Contract magazine's 37th Annual Interiors Awards Breakfast, so there will be no newsletter. Monday will also be a no-newsletter day, but we'll be back Tuesday, February 2 (Groundhog Day!).
• Bernstein weighs in on "The Weight of Sacrifice" World War I memorial: Weishaar's "biggest 'move' is turning the plaza into a lawn - but otherwise he has no desire to eradicate Friedberg's design"; meanwhile, Pershing Park "has become a cause célèbre" for TCLF.
• Hume minces no words when it comes to what seems to be in store for Toronto's Gardiner Expressway: "When the easternmost stretch is rebuilt," instead of the hoped-for demolition, "it will be faster and freer than ever. While other cities explore ways to get drivers out of cars and into transit, Toronto does the exact opposite."
• Ingalls ponders why the Pritzker is "such a big deal": while it "does have all the ingredients it needs to mint prestige, its significance is ultimately based on how it is perceived - and prestige is not immune to deflation."
• Zeiger finds a few high points in DS+R's Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, but "matched against the spatial drama of both the Ciampi building and The Broad, it comes up pale - an unrequited architecture - a building wishing it was more than the sum of its parts, of its pasts."
• Gilmartin cheers Koning Eizenberg's new Pico Branch Library in Santa Monica: it's an "experiment in neighborhood connectivity" with a "spirit of quiet assertion" that works for all.
• Plans for a National LGBT Museum move from Washington, DC, to NYC: "When we had to rule out identifying a space near the Mall, it was no longer a museum in the nation's capital, it was a museum in the city of Washington."
• Dickinson profiles Yale's incoming Dean Berke: she "is in the club, while not being of the club," and "radiates confident pride and a steely resolve to make a great place better."
• Six (very cool) projects win the 2016 SEED Award for Excellence in Public Interest Design.
• Weekend diversions:
• Kamin cheers "Our Most Distinguished Outcast: Frank Lloyd Wright and 'Wendingen'" at the Art Institute of Chicago: this "fine small show" is "especially worth seeing in conjunction with 'The City as Image: The 1909 Plan of Chicago' - the juxtaposition of the two shows is telling."
• Also in Chicago, "Architecture of Independence: African Modernism" at the Graham Foundation "explores the complex history and legacy of modernist architecture in sub-Saharan Africa during the 1960s and 1970s" (some great pix!).
• Carr can't say enough about "Case Work: Studies in Form, Space & Construction by Allied Works Architecture" at the Denver Art Museum: "The models are works of art in their own right. It's an effective approach: The best idea or solution is seldom achieved following straight line."
• Moore may quibble with who he thinks are "maverick" architects, but he cheers on "Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British Architecture" at London's Royal Academy ("shape-makers, the iconists, the whooshers" vs. "rectangularizers, the whisperers").
• Wainwright x 2: "Walter's Way: The Self-Build Revolution" at the AA focuses on self-build pioneer Walter Segal, whose "pioneering principles, largely since forgotten, are enjoying a revival in the very same borough - pointing the friendly way out of a housing crisis."
• He says "Creation from Catastrophe: How Architecture Rebuilds Communities" at RIBA is an "ambitious snapshot of how architects have helped (or cashed in) after calamities."
• Lari, a leading Pakistani architect featured in "Creation from Catastrophe," calls for aid agencies to "stop shipping in mass-produced, pre-fabricated shelters after disasters and help people rebuild their villages with local materials" (and she should know!).
• In celebration of the opening of "Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture" at the Bellevue Arts Museum, Arcade republishes Cava's 2004 Q&A with several Northwest architects who worked with Kahn (informative - and amusing).
• Ferguson considers Goldberger "the most readable and sensible architecture critic there is," and says "Building Art" is "authoritative and endlessly interesting new biography," but as for Gehry: the "chief purpose in his breakthrough work was mockery and satire" (huh?!!?).
• Sorabjee's winning essay "The Wandering Women" is about Bombay, "where the intersection of loitering and gender identity potently demonstrates why occupation of physical and, increasingly, digital space is still a radical act."
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WWI Centennial Commission Selects "The Weight of Sacrifice" for Memorial in Washington, D.C.: ...saving Pershing Park has become a cause célèbre, with The Cultural Landscape Foundation...neglect is no excuse for demolition...Joseph Weishaar’s biggest “move” is turning the plaza...into a lawn...believes the change is necessary to make the park functional, but otherwise...he has no desire to eradicate M. Paul Friedberg’s design... By Fred A. Bernstein -- Sabin Howard; GWWO; Phoebe Lickwar [images]- Architectural Record |
With the Gardiner Expressway, everything new is old again: When the easternmost stretch...is rebuilt...it will be faster and freer than ever. While other cities explore ways to get drivers out of cars and into transit, Toronto does the exact opposite...The 21st century is barely 16 years old and already we’ve had enough. The past looks better than ever. By Christopher Hume- Toronto Star |
Why is the Pritzker Prize such a big deal? ...[it] does have all the ingredients it needs to mint prestige. The problem is that the coin of the realm needs to circulate widely in order to remain relevant...[its] significance is ultimately based on how it is perceived by the public and the larger architectural community, and prestige is not immune to deflation. By Julia Ingalls- Archinect |
Crit> Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive: Mimi Zeiger takes a look at Diller Scofidio + Renfro's new design and adaptive reuse of a historic printing plant: ...as BAMPFA is matched against the spatial drama of both Mario Ciampi building and The Broad, it comes up pale - Depression-era architecture jazzed up with a shiny, stainless-steel skin...an unrequited architecture - a building wishing it was more than the sum of its parts, of its pasts. But the pragmatic holds sway. [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Crit> Pico Branch Library: Koning Eizenberg Architecture creates a new library model in Santa Monica: ...architectural elements serve multiple functions in an easy orchestration that...hadn’t anticipated...its experiment in neighborhood connectivity is most significant in this spirit of quiet assertion - that a building can possess a multitude of functions, but is only successful in doing so if it remains a place of enjoyment and discovery for everyone. By Wendy Gilmartin/FAR Los Angeles (FAR frohn&rojas) [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
National LGBT Museum abandons plans for D.C., sets sights on New York City: ...organizers looked north after learning the museum would not be eligible for tax breaks in D.C...“When we had to rule out identifying a space near the Mall, it was no longer a museum in the nation’s capital, it was a museum in the city of Washington"...considering three sites in New York...- Washington Business Journal |
Deborah Berke, First Woman To Lead Yale's School Of Architecture: ...[she] is in the club, while not being of the club...After nearly 30 years with a foot in both building and teaching, Berke radiates confident pride and a steely resolve to make a great place better...leading Yale's architecture students through a period of dramatic change. By Duo Dickinson -- Robert A.M. Stern- Hartford Courant (Connecticut) |
2016 SEED Award for Excellence in Public Interest Design Winners Announced: ...six projects have been selected in 3 Texas Counties; Democratic Republic of Congo; Chicago; New Orleans; Tucson, Arizona; and Kilifi, Kenya -- RAPIDO Pilot Program; Wheeler Kearns Architects; MASS; Mtree Architecture; Mary Hardin/Drachman Design-Build Coalition/Richard Eribes- Design Corps / Social, Economic, Environmental Design Network (SEED) |
"Our Most Distinguished Outcast: Frank Lloyd Wright and 'Wendingen'": ...a neat little show about an avant-garde Dutch magazine that celebrated Wright while his reputation in the U.S. was near its low ebb....There are some faults...Even so, this is a fine small show, and it's especially worth seeing in conjunction with another small Art Institute exhibit, "The City as Image: The 1909 Plan of Chicago"...juxtaposition of the two shows is telling... By Blair Kamin- Chicago Tribune |
"Architecture of Independence: African Modernism": ...explores the complex history and legacy of modernist architecture in sub-Saharan Africa during the 1960s and 1970s...commissioned photographs by Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster...based on the book project "African Modernism: Architecture of Independence" by architect Manuel Herz... [images]- Graham Foundation (Chicago) |
Show at Denver Art Museum reveals architectural creativity: "Case Work: Studies in Form, Space & Construction by Allied Works Architecture"...The models are works of art in their own right...to explore concepts that will become artful buildings...It's an effective approach: The best idea or solution is seldom achieved following straight line. By Jim Carr [images]- Denver Business Journal |
What a maverick architect is made of: A Royal Academy exhibition...highlights a void in contemporary architecture: For at least two decades...much of British architecture has been divided into two camps. On one side the shape-makers, the iconists, the whooshers...on the other the rectangularisers, the whisperers, the purveyors of calm, measured, careful order...is that all there is? A glimmer of an alternative is suggested by "Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British Architecture"...“maverick” is a dubious word. Like...“English eccentric”, it diminishes and trivialises. By Rowan Moore [images]- Observer (UK) |
Self-build pioneers: the estate pointing the friendly way out of a housing crisis: ...the singular vision of architect Walter Segal lives on in Lewisham - and the families who built their own homes are inspiring a future generation in search of affordable housing in Britain..."Walter’s Way: The Self-Build Revolution"...the project’s pioneering principles, largely since forgotten, are enjoying a revival in the very same borough; at the Architectural Association, London. By Oliver Wainwright -- Architype [images]- Guardian (UK) |
"Creation from Catastrophe: How Architecture Rebuilds Communities" - architectural vision from the ashes: An ambitious snapshot of three centuries of floods, fires, earthquakes and tsunamis - and how architects have helped (or cashed in) after calamities: ...the exhibition can do little more than skim the surface of each story, but there are some interesting nuggets; at RIBA, London. By Oliver Wainwright -- Arata Isozaki; Daniel Burnham; Kisho Kurakawa; Kenzo Tange; Shigeru Ban; Toyo Ito; Kengo Kuma; Kazuyo Sejima; Yasmeen Lari; NLÉ; Alejandro Aravena/Elemental [images]- Guardian (UK) |
Architects call for radical rethink on rebuilding after disasters: Aid agencies should stop shipping in mass-produced, pre-fabricated shelters after disasters and help people rebuild their villages with local materials...a leading Pakistani architect says: Yasmeen Lari...has helped survivors of floods and quakes build around 45,000 low-cost homes and shelters...Her designs feature in..."Creation from Catastrophe" (at RIBA, London) -- Shigeru Ban; Alejandro Araveno/Elemental; NLÉ- Thomson Reuters Foundation |
Our Architect: Working with Louis Kahn: "Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture" opens at the Bellevue Arts Museum...In celebration...we're revisiting past articles...Here [from 2004], JM Cava interviews Northwest architects who worked with Kahn. -- Thomas Hacker; Pat Piccioni; Gary Moye; Anthony Pellecchia; Richard Garfield- Arcade (Seattle) |
Big Budget Items: The starchitectural landscape of Frank Gehry: Paul Goldberger in this authoritative and endlessly interesting new biography ["Building Art"]...likes Gehry a lot...from Sydney Pollack's worshipful documentary "Sketches of Frank Gehry"...to Barbara Isenberg's "Conversations with Frank Gehry" make it clear that the architect's chief purpose in his breakthrough work was mockery and satire...I'm not going to contend with Goldberger, the most readable and sensible architecture critic there is; but the idea of Gehry as a anti-antitraditionalist is unconvincing. By Andrew Ferguson- The Weekly Standard |
"The Wandering Women" by Maya Sorabjee: ...takes us to Bombay, where the intersection of loitering and gender identity potently demonstrates why occupation of physical and, increasingly, digital space is still a radical act...evokes...the near universal component of women’s experience of public space; the winning essay in the UO writing competition- Urban Omnibus |
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Pattersons Associates: Len Lye Centre, New Plymouth, New Zealand: The building's design, with its sculptural steel exterior and subtle kinetic interior light shifts, embodies and personifies Len Lye and his body of work. By Kirsten Kiser [images] |
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