ArchNewsNow

Today’s News - Wednesday, July 11, 2018

● Hosey pens an eloquent and heartfelt tribute to his friend and classmate Constance Adams, the space architect and "design outlaw" whose work "broke the law of gravity - she redefined the concept of 'universal design.'"

● Goldberger offers a thoughtful take "inside the fight to build the Lucas Museum" - and the "futuristic flamboyance" of Ma Yansong's design: "given its history, it might just as well be called the Flying Dutchman" -.

● A fascinating look at what went into creating Flight 93 National Memorial's massive chime tower that "will feature chimes on a scale unseen anywhere else in the world" - with links to chime simulation and live webcam (definitely worth a listen!).

● King x 2: He cheers plans to revamp San Francisco's Civic Center: "it's heartening that the city now is working to enliven the landscape - embarking on its most ambitious effort yet to rethink the public realm for the district as a whole."

● He gives (mostly) thumbs-up to SF's "new, brash" tower: Heller Manus's 181 Fremont, "with the troublesome exception of an ill-treated public plaza, seems almost frisky. There's an odd mix of swashbuckling big moves and fussy small ones. The upside is that there's nothing formulaic, unlike some of the glassy neighbors."

● Tchikine takes a deep - and fascinating - dive into the histories and changing attitudes about Rome's fountains: Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" and a Fendi fashion show "underscore the uneasy relationship between historic fountains and their modern audiences" - are they "utilitarian structures or mere ornaments; works of sculpture or architecture?" (fab photos and archival drawings!)

● Sam Jacob Studio is tapped to design the new Cartoon Museum in London, which "heralds a new, more public-facing phase for the institution" ("fun and vibrancy" included).

● Eyefuls of a new double-helix exhibition center in China - an irregular spiral that recalls the structure of DNA.

● Thistleton warns that the U.K. "would go from world leader to backwater" if a proposed combustibles ban goes through - it "could spell end of CLT" (cross-laminated timber).

● Mortice, on a brighter note, explains why stadiums made of wood could be the next big thing in sports architecture: "Endlessly modular and made of ultralow-impact mass timber" would make them "less a hallowed temple of sport and more a casual and mutable community resource."

● Inspired by traditional shotgun houses, Process Architecture designs houses in Orlando for recovering drug addicts: an Aspire House had to cost under $200,000 each, be low-maintenance, and fully accessible.

● If "prefab houses were once the 'Holy Grail' of design - why aren't there more of them?"

● NBBJ "teamed up with a brain scientist to draw up a better office space design - while some of the neuroscience tips were already part of architects' thinking, many of the ideas were new."

● Wilkins explains why "looking at buildings can actually give people headaches" (it's an urban jungle out there).

● Salingaros & Masden ponder Christopher Alexander and the "criteria for an intelligent architecture - ask the question: does this building make me feel more or less alive?" (or does it bring on a headache?).

Winners and finalists abound:

● Christian de Portzamparc takes home the 2018 Praemium Imperiale in Architecture.

● Iranian architect Alireza Taghaboni wins the inaugural Royal Academy Dorfman Award for promising architects.

● Teams from Spain, Malaysia, and Budapest win the Kemeri National Park Observation Tower competition.

● Eyefuls of the top three entries in the Revolution of Dignity Museum competition in Kiev, hailing from Berlin, Kiev, and Paris.

● Finalists in the Detroit Institute of Arts and Midtown Detroit, Inc. competition to reimagine the campus that connects 12 iconic Detroit cultural institutions hail from Paris, Boston, and Minneapolis.

To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here

Obituary: Lance Hosey: Remembering Space Architect and “Design Outlaw” Constance Adams: Her work, including her projects for space habitats, broke the law of gravity: ...she redefined the concept of “universal design” to apply to both terrestrial and extraterrestrial places... thrived on big, bold questions. She was hungry and tenacious enough not to let the confines of the profession stop her from forging her own path, and she had one of the most inspired careers of any architect.- Metropolis Magazine

Paul Goldberger: George Lucas Strikes Back: Inside the Fight to Build the Lucas Museum: After five tumultuous years, construction on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is finally underway...but his project has landed in the least likely of cities: ..given its history, might just as well be called the Flying Dutchman...finally come to rest in Los Angeles, a location that carries no small degree of irony...for years he made something of a fetish of avoiding Los Angeles as much as possible. -- Ma Yansong/MAD Architects; Urban Design Group [images]- Vanity Fair

Building Flight 93 National Memorial’s Massive Chime Tower: The Tower of Voices, being erected in Pennsylvania this summer, will feature chimes on a scale unseen anywhere else in the world: ...a 93-foot-tall musical instrument has been an enormous technical challenge...brought together music theory experts, a chimes artist, an acoustical engineer, wind consultants, mechanical engineers and chime fabricators... -- Paul Murdoch Architects- Smithsonian magazine

John King: Civic Center makeover: Here’s the plan to revamp the heart of SF: ...it’s heartening that the city now is working to enliven the landscape...embarking on its most ambitious effort yet to rethink the public realm for the district as a whole. All these efforts are creative and overdue...The larger challenge is to tie together the spaces, which exist in very different settings...the emphasis on serving people already in the area - with thoughtful design that has flair - offers lessons as San Francisco focuses on the district’s public realm. -- Lawrence Halprin (1970s); CMG Landscape Architecture; Gehl Studio; Kennerly Architecture; Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture [images]- San Francisco Chronicle

John King: New nimble, brash SoMa tower fits neatly into surroundings: ...181 Fremont, with the troublesome exception of an ill-treated public plaza, is happily nimble despite its size...seems almost frisky...What’s missing...are the well-integrated design details...There’s an odd mix of swashbuckling big moves and fussy small ones...The upside is that there’s nothing formulaic, unlike some of the glassy neighbors. -- Heller Manus; Marta Fry Landscape Architects [images]- San Francisco Chronicle

Anatole Tchikine: When in Rome ... : In the historic fountains of the Eternal City, the relationship between water, architecture, and the body is always complicated: The Fellini film and Fendi show underscore the uneasy relationship between historic fountains and their modern audiences...along with their monumental role in the urban fabric came uncertainty about their architectural status: were fountains utilitarian structures or mere ornaments? Were fountains works of sculpture or architecture? [images]- Places Journal

Sam Jacob Studio to design the new Cartoon Museum in London: ...heralds a new, more public-facing phase for the institution..."design brings a real sense of fun and vibrancy to the visitor experience." [images]- Wallpaper*

China. A double-helix exhibition centre: In Zhengzhou Linkong Biopharmaceutical Park, WSP Architects designed the building to recall the DNA’s structure: ...an irregular spiral... [images]- Domus

Combustibles ban could spell end of CLT, warns architect who helped pioneer it: Anthony Thistleton says UK "would go from world leader to backwater" with collapse of CLT [cross-laminated timber]: ...designer of the world’s largest CLT building, said that the proposals would stop CLT being used for the structure of residential buildings over six storeys. -- Waugh Thistleton- BD/Building Design (UK)

Zach Mortice: Why Stadiums Made of Wood Could Be the Next Big Innovation in Sports Architecture: ...an incredible breakthrough for building technology. Endlessly modular and made of ultralow-impact mass timber...low-carbon construction...can offer shocking strength-to-weight efficiencies, even compared to steel and concrete, allowing for ever-larger and taller buildings that require less carbon to produce and build...modular flexibility hints at multipurpose stadiums...less a hallowed temple of sport and more a casual and mutable community resource. -- Rubner Holzbau; Bear Stadiums [images]- ArchDaily

Process Architecture designs low-cost houses in Florida for recovering drug addicts: ...had to meet stringent design requirements, including a budget of under $200,000 per dwelling...a prototype rehab house, called the Aspire House...Rigid parameters were established...The home would need to accommodate three residents...needed to be low-maintenance and fully accessible...architects drew inspiration from traditional shotgun houses... [images]- Dezeen

Prefab houses were once the 'holy grail of design.' So why aren't there more of them? “The idea was that it would be the answer for modern, affordable, mass-produced housing. We’ve seen far fewer prefab factories than what we expected.” -- Winn Design + Build; Mimi Hoang/nARCHITECTS; Mark Giarraputo/Studio Z Design Concepts; Joseph Tanney/Resolution: 4 Architecture; Prefab Partners; Robert M. Gurney; Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects [images]- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Brain scientist helps design better Seattle workspaces: A Seattle architecture firm teamed up with a brain scientist to draw up a better office space design: NBBJ teamed up with molecular biologist John Medina...[he] taught the architects about 200 neuroscience nuggets...while some of the neuroscience tips were already part of architects’ thinking, many of the ideas were new. [images]- KING 5 News (Seattle)

Arnold J. Wilkins: Looking at buildings can actually give people headaches. Here's why: ...the human brain evolved to effectively process scenes from the natural world. But the urban jungle poses a greater challenge for the brain, because of the repetitive patterns it contains...it is more difficult for the human brain to process them efficiently...they are less comfortable to look at...our brains use more oxygen when we look at scenes which depart from the rule...this may explain why some designs give us headaches...Perhaps it's time for the rule of nature to be incorporated into the software that is used to design buildings and offices.- CNN Style

Nikos A. Salingaros & Kenneth G. Masden II: The Legacy of Christopher Alexander: Criteria for an Intelligent Architecture: Asking the question: does this building make me feel more or less alive? ...we need to cast off the industrial-modernist paradigm and the myopic/idiosyncratic vision of others. Contrary to what starchitects claim, our technology does not dictate any particular architectural style. We discover an informational content in traditional architectures that speaks to us on a human level.- Common Edge

Christian de Portzamparc Selected as 2018 Praemium Imperiale Laureate for Architecture: ...given by by the Japan Art Association...for his “imaginative architectural style"...- ArchDaily

Alireza Taghaboni wins first Royal Academy Dorfman Award for promising architects: Iranian architect...wins the £10,000 prize...founder of Tehran-based Next Office is lauded for building an impressive range of projects... [images]- Dezeen

The Kemeri National Park Observation Tower competition results announced: ...proposals for a buildable observation structure along the park’s boardwalk system. -- Ernesto Urquízar Quesada/María Cervantes Lardón (Spain); Nathira Haja (Malaysia); Hunor Albert Szántó/Fanni Zita Salamin/Budapest University of Technology and Economics [images]- Bee Breeders (formerly HMMD/Homemade Dessert) / Nature Conservation Agency of Latvia

The top three entries of the Revolution of Dignity Museum competition in Kiev: ...1st Prize going to Berlin-based Kleihues + Kleihues Gesellschaft von Architekten...the team's proposal will be realized. -- BURØ/architects (Ukraine); Lina Ghotmeh Architecture (Paris) [images]- Archinect

Finalists chosen for Detroit’s Midtown cultural campus redesign: ...chosen in the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) and Midtown Detroit, Inc. (MDI) competition to reimagine the campus that connects 12 iconic Detroit cultural institutions...Each of the firms has secured Detroit-area partners working in diverse roles... -- Agence TER (Paris); Mikyoung Kim Design (Boston); TEN x TEN (Minneapolis)- The Architect's Newspaper

ANN feature: Girl UNinterrupted Presents Equity Survey Findings, Launches Tips Manual at the AIA Conference on Architecture 2018: From Young Female Designers to Firm Leaders: The Boston Experiment: What's possible when you bridge the gap between young female designers and leaders in architecture? Key takeaways from Boyadzhieva and Chun's illuminating equity survey findings.- ArchNewsNow.com

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.

Yesterday's News