Today’s News - Thursday, September 21, 2017
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow and Monday will be no-newsletter days. We'll be back Tuesday, September 26.
● In this particularly vicious hurricane season, the Architects Advocate network's Jacobs calls for architects to take action, "guided by our common humanity, we must do all we can to help ease the devastation that future storms will bring."
● NYC's Mayor de Blasio puts forth a proposal that "would make energy-efficient heat and water systems mandatory by 2030," but it faces "an uphill battle" with tenant advocates, and is unclear about what it "means for architects and building owners whose structures have yet to be built."
● Three of the six firms contracted to build prototypes of Trump's U.S.-Mexico border wall have a "spotty history" of defrauding the government and more (doesn't this foster confidence in our industry and government - not!).
● Lange applauds Cornell Tech's new Roosevelt Island campus, with buildings that "wear their sustainability on their sleeves," and their "palpable generosity that goes beyond the numbers."
● Budds also cheers Cornell Tech, and the buildings "meant to nurture real-world innovations, in some cases through architecture itself" (no ivy-covered ivory towers here).
● Hume has a most interesting conversation with urban planner Beasley re: why "Toronto could lose its role as world city" because "leaders want to turn it into a suburb," and why "the most important prerequisite for success is optimism. Without it, planners are wasting their time - and ours."
● Kamin gives (mostly) thumbs-up to AS+GG's "flexible, intimate and innovative" The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier: it is "a solid example of working creatively within severe constraints of time, budget and a challenging site."
● ULI's upcoming fall meeting explores "Getting Cities Right" - check it out now: registration fee increases after tomorrow.
● Definitely check out the AIA's 2017 I Look Up Film Challenge winners - and cast your vote for People's Choice Award.
Weekend diversions:
● The traveling exhibition "Harry Seidler: Painting Toward Architecture" takes center stage at CCNY Spitzer School of Architecture, opening Monday with a Q&A with Kenneth Frampton, Abby Suckle, Jeremy Edmiston, and curator Vladimir Belogolovsky.
● Meanwhile, at NYC's Bard Graduate Center Gallery, "John Lockwood Kipling: Arts & Crafts in the Punjab and London" is the first major exhibition to examine the too-long overlooked designer, architectural sculptor, curator, educator, illustrator, and journalist (and Rudyard Kipling's father).
Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA:
● Bakare considers the sprawling Getty-led initiative to be the "perfect exhibition for Trump's America," and "could not feel more timely."
● "Albert Frey and Lina Bo Bardi: A Search for Living Architecture" at the Palm Springs Art Museum "explores the undeniable similarities between the two architects' works, even though they never met" (Arpter's reissued version of Bo Bardi's Bowl chair is also part of the exhibition - we want one!).
● LACMA puts the spotlight on California and Mexico's shared design cultures in "Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915 - 1985."
Chicago Architecture Biennial
● Kamin claims that the Biennial "no longer can be accused of indulging in the city's long tradition of windy braggadocio," and is "thick with strong ideas - some offerings could - and should - be built today" (lots of pix!).
● Hawthorne has a great Q&A with Biennial artistic directors Johnston and Lee re: their "dense and ambitious portrait of contemporary architecture, and how the profession must move beyond what simply looks cool" (and dealing with some easy, some difficult "for not a very good reason" architects).
● Bernstein picks 15 of his fave "takeaways" from the Biennial: "mini-dissertations (at maxi-scale)"; "new buildings with old souls"; "architecture in the service of architecture"; and then some.
● Sisson picks "10 things we loved" at the Biennial: "model skyscrapers, funky churches, and more."
"Never Built New York"
● Schwab is quite taken by the 1:1200 scale miniatures inserted into the Queens Museum's historic Panorama: "Lit from below in eerie blue light, they look like architectural ghosts, some of which have been mourned and many more of which would have been true disasters" (lots of pix!).
● Heinrich has a grand time exploring "plenty of grand ideas to be regretted": some "never stood a chance," but "are still magical to think about" - and some other ideas "are hair-raising."
● Rollings finds "Never Built New York" a "parallel New York full of architectural wonders, whether better off unbuilt or not."
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After Irma and Harvery, Architects Advocate Network Calls for Action: In the wake of two devastating hurricanes, the grassroots group is pushing for design and policy responses: ...co-founder Tom Jacobs said..."guided by our common humanity, we in the architecture and design community must do all we can to help ease the devastation that future storms will bring.”- Metropolis Magazine |
Mayor de Blasio Has a Big Plan for Cutting Emissions from New York’s Buildings: The proposal would make energy-efficient heat and water systems mandatory by 2030: ...tied to the mayor’s bold “80 x 50” plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050...with tenant advocates already expressing concerns about the potential for increased rents...the measure may face an uphill battle. It’s also unclear what the proposal means for architects and building owners whose structures have yet to be built.- Architectural Digest |
Half the companies contracted for border wall defrauded the government: ...recently awarded contracts to six firms to build concrete and non-concrete prototypes of a U.S.-Mexico border wall promised by President Trump...reports revealed that two...were convicted of defrauding the government and one firm countered a lawsuit by injured subcontractors with the argument that [a worker] was an undocumented immigrant. This spotty history spells trouble for a process that is already fraught with controversy and estimated to cost billions of dollars.- The Architect's Newspaper |
Alexandra Lange: Cornell Tech's new NYC campus puts sustainable architecture into practice: A look at the new, $2 billion campus that’s set to transform Roosevelt Island: These buildings wear their sustainability on their sleeves...the methods used to make this peninsular campus low-impact and highly sustainable are to be applauded...Buildings that sustain a city both give and take, with palpable generosity that goes beyond the numbers. -- Morphosis; Weiss/Manfred; Handel Architects; Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM); James Corner Field Operations [images]- Curbed New York |
Diana Budds: The City Of The Future Is In Beta Testing At Cornell Tech: ...testing a number of new approaches to urban design - which could see adoption throughout the city: ...its landscaping is designed to soak up rain...buildings are meant to nurture real-world innovations, in some cases through architecture itself...The invisible hand guiding the design...is sustainability and resiliency. -- Morphosis; Weiss/Manfredi; Handel Architects; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); James Corner Field Operations [images]- Fast Company / Co.Design |
Christopher Hume: Toronto could lose role as world city, says urban planner: ...Larry Beasley, is adamant. The most important prerequisite for success...is optimism. Without it...planners are wasting their time - and ours...[he] expresses serious skepticism about Toronto..."it doesn’t embrace new ideas”...leaders want to turn it into a suburb,..Brampton is a suburb that wants to become a city...change can’t occur by ignoring the suburban point of view, and imposing an urban mentality...the final report won’t be unveiled until next spring...That’s when Brampton will see its future for the first time.- Toronto Storeys |
Blair Kamin: Flexible, intimate and innovative, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare has its opening night: ...a solid example of working creatively within severe constraints of time, budget and a challenging site...Like all good theaters, the Yard accentuates the drama on stage and the connection between audience and actors. -- Benjamin Thompson Associates/VOA Associates (1994); Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Charcoalblue; James Corner Field Operations [images]- Chicago Tribune |
Getting Cities Right: ULI Explores What's Working at 2017 Fall Meeting Oct 23-26 in Los Angeles: discussions on urban issues such as housing affordability, gentrification, the rise of suburbs, driverless technology, demographic shifts, and new economic drivers - all with a focus on the short - and long-term implications...- Urban Land Institute (ULI) |
AIA names 2017 I Look Up Film Challenge winners: Top 3 films to be screened at Architecture and Design Film Festival, September 26 in Chicago. Grand Prize: Myles Kramer, director, "Community by Design: Skid Row Housing Trust," featuring Michael Maltzan Architecture, Brooks + Scarpa Architecture, and Killefer Flammang Architects...watch their compelling films, and cast your vote for People’s Choice Award until October 6. [link to videos]- American Institute of Architects (AIA) |
"Harry Seidler: Painting Toward Architecture": traveling exhibition traces the work of Australia’s most prominent architect of the 20th century, Harry Seidler (1923-2006); it examines his distinctive place and hand within and beyond modernist design methodology. CCNY Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture thru November 22 -- Vladimir Belogolovsky- City College of New York (CCNY) |
"John Lockwood Kipling: Arts & Crafts in the Punjab and London ": ...first major exhibition to examine [Rudyard Kipling's father] - designer, architectural sculptor, curator, educator, illustrator, and journalist - whose role in the 1`9th-century Arts and Crafts revival in British India has received little attention. Bard Graduate Center Gallery, NYC, September 15, 2017 through January 7, 2018 [images]- Bard Graduate Center Gallery (NYC) |
Lanre Bakare: Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA - the perfect exhibition for Trump's America: From themes of borders and immigration to its role in a city dealing with conflict between its Latino communities and the art world, this large-scale Los Angeles exhibition could not feel more timely...there are hopes that some of the butting of heads between elements of the art world and the communities they serves can ease; thru January 2018- Guardian (UK) |
Frey and Bo Bardi’s Midcentury Masterpieces on Display at the Palm Springs Art Museum: A new exhibition explores the undeniable similarities between the two architects’ works: ...both are expats...And, though they never met, the designers both craved a modernist environment in their adopted hometowns..."Albert Frey and Lina Bo Bardi: A Search for Living Architecture" draws parallels between their affinity for contemporary structures with the economic utility of simple materials; thru January 7, 2018 [images]- Architectural Digest |
LACMA Highlights California and Mexico’s Shared Design Cultures: "Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915–1985" explores the reciprocal influences of both lands. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, thru April 1, 2018 -- Charles and Ray Eames; Richard Neutra; Luis Barragán- Metropolis Magazine |
Blair Kamin: 2nd architecture biennial shines light on present by looking at the past: The Chicago Architecture Biennial no longer can be accused of indulging in the city's long tradition of windy braggadocio...thick with strong ideas and is more tightly curated and organized than the inaugural version..."Make New History"...reveals many things about the current state of an art that shapes our lives...offers imaginative responses to the urbanizing present...some of the show's offerings could - and should - be built today; thru January 7, 2018 -- Sharon Johnston/Mark Lee/SJohnston Marklee [images]- Chicago Tribune |
Christopher Hawthorne: "A biennial is not an all-star team": Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee on "Make New History": This year's artistic directors of the second Chicago Architecture Biennial, a dense and ambitious portrait of contemporary architecture, talk about emerging themes in architecture, the spare and primitive designs in the show and how the profession must move beyond what simply looks cool. -- Johnston Marklee- Los Angeles Times |
Fred A. Bernstein: The Top 15 Takeaways from the Chicago Architecture Biennial: The Biennial: ...showcases more than 100 innovators who answered the call to “Make New History”...this show is post-post-modernism...There are plenty of works...that make art from architecture - literally.
thru January 7, 2018 -- Sharon Johnston/Mark Lee/Johnston Marklee [images]- Architectural Digest |
Patrick Sisson: Chicago Architecture Biennial: 10 things we loved: Model skyscrapers, funky churches, and more architecture abound at the second edition of this sprawling event...“Make New History"; thru January 7, 2018 -- Sharon Johnston/Mark Lee/Johnston Marklee- Curbed |
Katharine Schwab: The Crazy Unbuilt Architecture That Almost Transformed N.Y.C.: "Never Built New York" looks at dozens of buildings that never were: ...curators have installed 1:1200 scale miniatures of these lost buildings into the tiny avenues and streets of the historic Panorama...Lit from below in eerie blue light, [they] look like architectural ghosts, some of which have been mourned and many more of which would have been true disasters. Queens Museum thru February 18, 2018 -- Sam Lubell; Greg Goldin; Christian Wassmann- Fast Company / Co.Design |
Will Heinrich: Remember When They Wanted to Build a Parking Lot Over the Hudson? ...“Never Built New York,” a thought-provoking tour of models, drawings, and newspaper headlines at the Queens Museum...brings to light plenty of grand ideas to be regretted...Some ideas that never stood a chance are still magical to think about...Other far-fetched ideas are hair-raising; thru February 18, 2018 -- Greg Goldin; Sam Lubell; Christian Wassmann [images]- New York Times |
Jackson Rollings: Queens Museum show brings unrealized architecture to life: "Never Built New York": ...highlights unrealized architectural gems and urban design...Architects will find in [the show] a parallel New York full of architectural wonders, whether better off unbuilt or not; thru February 18 -- Sam Lubell; Greg Goldin; Christian Wassmann [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
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