Today’s News - Thursday, July 14, 2016
EDITOR'S NOTE: Joyeux 14 juillet! Tomorrow and Monday will be no-newsletter days. We'll be back Tuesday, July 19.
• It's a Stirling kind of day as Heathcote weighs in on the 2016 Stirling Prize shortlist, which shows "a creeping conservatism" - but it's "a good list, no duds, no token gestures."
• Wainwright's Stirling take: it's "the perennial ordeal of comparing apples and oranges" (and savors he some "deliciously buttery brick").
• Campanella and Rosen take a deep statistical dive into post-Katrina architecture: "everyone seems to have an opinion of what post-Katrina architecture and urbanism ought to look like - but no one has conducted an architectural census and analyzed what, 10 years later, it actually looks like" (fascinating read!).
• Murphy finds little to marvel at in the "real estate speculation, ugly architecture, and gentrification" in Austin - much of it is "cringe-worthy"; the good news: "some architects are working to change market realities, or at least their aesthetic dimensions."
• Bevan makes the case for recognizing "the value of PoMo buildings before the wrecking balls start to swing."
• On a brighter note, Meier's "stunner" - the Douglas House on Lake Michigan - is now on the National Register of Historic Places (fab photos - and our kudos to McCarthy and Myers' four-year restoration!).
• AIBC gets serious about going after those who unlawfully claim to be "architects" or offer "architectural" services without proper accreditation.
• Eyefuls of the AIA/HUD Secretary Awards for four outstanding housing projects (great presentation).
• Weekend diversions:
• Goldhagen cheers "Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible" at the refurbished Met Breuer, and intriguingly explores how each illuminates the other.
• Kamin cheers "Rounds," the winner of the fourth annual "Ragdale Ring" competition: "My two cents? Go" - it's "a charmingly sinuous object, as innocent as a child's doodle."
• "Temp'L," this summer's MoMA Young Architects Program winner in Seoul, uses an old ship to illustrate "the beauty - and potential - of recycling, and its creator's fascination with vessels" (very cool).
• "Dick & Rick: A Visual Primer for Social Impact Design," a free downloadable book, is a guide to social impact design practice that concludes with "the best motto yet for urban designers: don't be a Dick."
• Nobel's "qualms" about manifestos turn to "skepticism" after reading "After the Manifesto" - it barely addresses "that the infrastructure or platforms that allowed would-be revolutionaries to shout effectively no longer exist. No one is reading your manifestos."
• Hatherley hails "Towards a Typology of Mass Housing in the USSR 1955-1991" that offers "an intriguing and scientific exploration of both the banality and possibility of mass-production" (though he's a bit "uncomfortable about a chic luxury object" telling such a tale).
• Serraino x 2 re: "The Creative Architect: Inside the Great Midcentury Personality Study" (both great reads/audio).
• Benninger receives the Great Master Architect of India award, and launches his "Architecture for Modern India," which "explores his personal approach to urban design."
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Stirling Prize shortlist dominated by higher education: Contenders...reveal a creeping conservatism: This is a good list, no duds, no token gestures...The default position of the prize has always been tasteful and modern. It might not always be interesting but at least it’s consistent. By Edwin Heathcote -- Herzog & De Meuron; Wilkinson Eyre; Michael Laird Architects + Reiach & Hall; Loyn & Co; Caruso St John; dRMM Architects [images]- Financial Times (UK) |
Glass wedding cake or London's best stairs? The RIBA Stirling prize shortlist: ...includes a library, university buildings, a gallery, a controversial estate and a concrete stealth home in a hill: Tasked with the perennial ordeal of comparing apples and oranges, this year the judges’ challenge is as difficult as ever. By Oliver Wainwright -- -- Herzog & De Meuron; Wilkinson Eyre; Michael Laird Architects/Reiach and Hall; Loyn & Co; Caruso St John; dRMM Architects [images]- Guardian (UK) |
14 to 1: Post-Katrina Architecture by the Numbers: The postdiluvian landscape contains little cutting-edge design but rather an abundance of familiarity and replication. What does this reveal about New Orleans society? ...everyone seems to have an opinion of what post-Katrina architecture and urbanism ought to look like...but no one has conducted an architectural census and analyzed what, 10 years later, it actually looks like. By Richard Campanella with Cassidy Rosen [images]- Places Journal |
How real estate speculation, ugly architecture, and gentrification shape Austin’s urbanity: Some of the architectural results are cringe-worthy...Architectural services are seen as inessential...architects do work that matches the fees, with mediocre results...The good news is that some architects are working to change market realities, or at least their aesthetic dimensions. By Jack Murphy -- Anthony Alofsin; Alan Gonzales; Jared Haas/Un.Box Studio [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Why we need to recognise the value of Postmodern buildings before the wrecking balls start to swing: Stern, white Modernism was out of favour and in came the PoMo show pony...architecture with shoulder pads...Sober design mavens were appalled by...its apolitical betrayal of Modernism’s ideals..."“Unless we can turn around recent trends, we seriously risk obliterating Britain’s best PoMo heritage." By Robert Bevan -- Twentieth Century Society; Ian Pollard; James Stirling; John Outram; CZWG; Julian Wickham; Terry Farrell; Michael Graves [images]- Evening Standard (UK) |
Richard Meier's Lake Michigan Stunner Receives Historic Designation from the National Register of Historic Places: Douglas House was restored over a period of four years by its current owners: Michael McCarthy and Marcia Myers...undertook an ambitious renovation project, in consultation with Meier’s office, that spanned four years. [images]- Curbed |
AIBC tries to maintain dignity behind the word architect: Since April, the Architectural Institute of British Columbia has issued almost 20 illegal practice findings and launched three civil lawsuits against [those] who are claiming to be architects or who are providing some form of "architectural" services.- Journal of Commerce (Vancouver) |
AIA/HUD Secretary Awards recognize four outstanding housing projects: ...awards demonstrate that design matters, and the recipient projects offer examples of important developments in the housing industry. -- David Baker Architects; Landon Bone Baker Architects; buildingcommunityWORKSHOP; FabCab [images]- American Institute of Architects (AIA) |
Concrete Future: “Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible"...at the Met Breuer, resonates profoundly with the architect’s vision for the building: ...in the context of [his] muscular building...the works on display couldn’t look fresher...Beyer Blinder Belle “burnished” rather than restored Breuer’s design...Now [it] pulses, sensuously...The stubborn building shines with unapologetic grittiness. It overflows with authenticity. By Sarah Williams Goldhagen [images]- Art in America |
Playful variation on ring forms performance space at Ragdale in Lake Forest: There's something about a ring, the kind that gathers people in a circle..."Rounds" is at once architecture, landscape architecture, sculpture, a piece of outdoor furniture and a theater in the round...My two cents? Go...a charmingly sinuous object, as innocent as a child's doodle. By Blair Kamin -- Greg Corso/Molly Hunker/Syracuse University [images]- Chicago Tribune |
Shinslab Architecture recycles a ship for MoMA’s Young Architects Program in Seoul: ...entitled ‘Temp’L’...Flagging up the beauty - and potential - of recycling, the piece also illustrates its creator’s fascination with vessels; at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA).[images]- Wallpaper* |
“Don’t Be a Dick” May Just Be the Best Motto Yet for Urban Designers: How can community-engaged practitioners be a part of breaking down persistent barriers and building the capacity of communities...to take ownership of the neighborhood’s future? Well, one thing they shouldn’t do is be a Dick...the playful conclusion of a new...guide to social impact design practice...a free downloadable book, "Dick & Rick: A Visual Primer for Social Impact Design"... By Danya Sherman -- Equity Collective- Next City (formerly Next American City) |
"After the Manifesto: Writing, Architecture, and Media in a New Century" edited by Craig Buckley: ...reinforced my qualms about the manner in which contemporary architects effect change. After weighing the essays...my qualms turned to skepticism...few essays...address the fact that the infrastructure or platforms that allowed would-be revolutionaries to shout effectively beyond their own subcultural frontiers no longer exist...So, architects, let your buildings be the messengers of your ideas. No one is reading your manifestos. By Philip Nobel- Architectural Record |
"Towards a Typology of Mass Housing in the USSR 1955-1991: The Set" by Philipp Meuser, Dimitrij Zadorin, Katia Sheina: ...explores the astonishing achievements and costs of Soviet efforts to rehouse an entire country within 30 years...The thoroughness...can be measured by...catalogue of types, each...treated with the detail and reverence more often given to a Mies...an intriguing and scientific exploration of both the banality and possibility of mass-production. By Owen Hatherley [images]- Icon (UK) |
The Mind of an Architect: a conversation with Pierluigi Serraino, architect and author of "The Creative Architect: Inside the Great Midcentury Personality Study"; personality psychologist Ravenna Helson, who worked at the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research; ; and Oshin Vartanian, a creativity and cognition research specialist at the University of Toronto. [images, text, audio]- 99% Invisible |
Measured Genius: One-to-One with Pierluigi Serraino, author of "The Creative Architect: Inside the Great Midcentury Personality Study": [he talks] about the context of psychological research in the 1950s and the evolving personality behind being a “creative” architect.- Archinect |
Acclaimed architect Christopher Benninger launches book on architecture: ...has worked extensively in India, is a recipient of the Great Master Architect of India award..."Architecture for Modern India" explores [his] personal approach to urban design.- Indian Express |
ANN feature: Return of the Broken Pediment: A review of three recent books involving the life of Philip Johnson: "Architecture's Odd Couple: Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson" by Hugh Howard; "Partners in Design: Alfred H. Barr Jr. and Philip Johnson" by David A. Hanks (ed.); "1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War" by Marc Wortman. By Christian Bjone- ArchNewsNow.com |
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Top Podcasts For Your Summer Listening: Why not combine both relaxation and architectural thought with some podcasts on Architecture and Design. We've listed our favorites here so you can stay up-to-date over your summer break. |
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