Today’s News - Thursday, September 27, 2018
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow and Monday (World Architecture Day!) will be no newsletter days. We'll be back Tuesday, October 2 (technology gods willing!).
● ANN feature: Fritz & McDuffie look at the essentials to repurposing, and reinvigorating old, outdated, or abandoned campus buildings - magic can happen.
● Finch parses "a miserable summer for architectural deaths": Venturi (along with Scott Brown) "didn't merely affect the architectural weather - they brought about climate change - we lost Will Alsop" and Australian Kerry Hill, "another fine architectural designer" (with mentions of Stirling Prize and Kuma's V&A Dundee).
● From across the Big Pond, Farrell, Gough, Till, and others offer eloquent tributes to Venturi.
● We rarely do this, but plan to spend some time with this one: "Ethics" - ArchitectureBoston magazine's deep dive into the many shifting facets and fascinating history of ethical practice (the days when it was illegal for architects to advertise (!) and prices were fixed (!!) - tip of the hat to Renée Loth et al.).
● British architects "are concerned a loss of diversity will lead to 'boring conversations and dull design' after the ARB recorded a 42% fall in registrations from non-British EU architects since the Brexit vote."
● Kamin parses plans for a (big!) sign on the proposed Salesforce Tower in Chicago: "Are we in for a repeat performance of ridiculously oversized, in-your-face T-R-U-M-P sign? I don't think so. There are more important things to worry about, like the design quality. In a perfect world, buildings would not need signs."
● King x 2: He queries engineers and the head the Transbay Joint Powers Authority about why the structural steel beam in the $2 billion Transbay Transit Center is cracked (and now they've found a second crack!).
● He offers a rather humorous take on "why San Francisco's sinking Millennium Tower is now a top tourist destination" - he hates to admit that it shows "architecture can be irrelevant in terms of a building's renown" (it's also "a metaphorical comeuppance for the 1%").
● O'Donnell delves into why Austin, Texas, is "the fastest-growing city in America fueled by sustainable investments" and initiatives, including a pre-LEED green building program - it's "a shining example" for other cities.
● Two we couldn't resist: A tiny Swiss village, with 12 residents, 11 of whom are over 65, is "on the verge of becoming a ghost town," but architect Giacomazzi hopes to help turn the entire town into a fairytale-like hotel.
● A fun slide show/essay about New Jersey, "the spiritual home of the American diner. If you're after chrome decor, comfort food, infinite coffee refills, and cheery service, you've come to the right part of the U.S."
Winners (and cheers!) to all:
● Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critics Saffron and Campbell share the 2018 Vincent Scully Prize - they are among "a crop of voices that is becoming an 'endangered species'" (they'll be queried by Kamin at the National Building Museum on Oct. 29).
● Grimshaw wins RIBA's 2019 Royal Gold Medal for his lifetime's work.
● Aravena wins the 2018 RIBA Charles Jencks Award "for his socially minded work."
Weekend diversions:
● Edelson x 2: He picks the 9 top events, exhibitions, and tours from the 8th Archtober - NYC's month-long celebration of architecture kicks off on Monday.
● He parses the ongoing (and "sprawling") Istanbul Design Biennial that "wants to change how we learn to design."
● The 12th Annual Sydney Architecture Festival kicks off tomorrow, and ends with the annual World Architecture Day Oration on October 1.
● Three reasons to head to Canada: BIG's 2016 Serpentine Pavilion opens in Toronto: the fiberglass "unzipped structure" presents "Unzipped," a showcase of large-scale models of 10 Westbank projects.
● "Scripts for a New World: Film Storyboards by Alessandro Poli" at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal showcases his "anti-architecture" from the 1960s and '70s.
● In Quebec, the Reford Gardens/Jardins de Métis International Garden Festival presents "Go Outside and Play!" with seven new landscape designs that encourage visitors to play.
● Novakovic parses MoMA's "Towards a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948-1980": "Beckoning the eye in every room" are Valentin Jeck's "dramatic, saturated photographs" depicting "buildings and monuments that reach out from the landscape like relics of some alien civilization" (great read)
● Hilburg parses Harvard GSD's "Urban Intermedia: City, Archive, Narrative" that "shines light on gaps in urban studies - enjoy the fruits of urban research from four cities" that "compares and contrasts the history and growth of each city to find commonalities and differences."
● Rose cheers "Renzo Piano: The Art of Making Buildings" at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, that showcases the "high-flying high priest of hi-tech" and "the austere architectural pioneer's greatest hits."
● Eyefuls of Ezra Stoller's fabulous photographs from the "Pioneers of American Modernism" exhibition in Moscow.
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INSIGHT: Deborah Fritz & Rebecca McDuffie: Essentials to Repurposing & Reinvigorating Old, Outdated, or Abandoned Campus Buildings: Some see repurposing existing buildings as limiting and lackluster compared to new construction, but magic can happen when the essence, character, and value of an existing building is re-imagined as flexible and sustainable for future use.- ArchNewsNow.com |
Paul Finch: Robert Venturi’s ideas were more powerful than any number of buildings: Venturi and Denise Scott Brown didn’t merely affect the architectural weather - they brought about climate change: This has been a miserable summer for architectural deaths...we lost Will Alsop...There has been little comment about the passing of another fine architectural designer, Kerry Hill, an Australian... [images]- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
"Robert Venturi’s book radically changed architecture" - Farrell and Gough lead tributes: Leading UK figures have paid tribute to the influential Postmodernist pioneer... -- Denise Scott Brown; Terry Farrell; Jeremy Till/Central Saint Martins; Piers Gough/CZWG; Julyan Wickham; Max Dewdney/Max Dewdney Architects- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
"Ethics": ArchitectureBoston, examines the many shifting facets of ethical practice: Victoria Beach: “Dilemmas of design: The means, ends, and aesthethic lens of architecture. Jay Wickersham: Just Practice: “Profit or the Public Good?”: a history lesson in how the profession was forced to untangle ethics from financial self-interest + more. Gregory O. Minott: “Do the Right Thing”: Whitney M. Young Jr.’s speech at the AIA's 1968 convention is as relevant now as it was 50 years ago. Jess Smith: “Say Something”: a new human resources approach called Bystander Training. Daniel Perruzzi: “When to say no”: How one firm made the choice to bow out of a commission- ArchitectureBoston (Boston Society of Architects/BSA) |
Ella Jessel; Architects warn of ‘dull design’ following drop in registrations from EU: Architects are concerned a loss of diversity will lead to ‘boring conversations and dull design’ after the ARB recorded a 42% fall in registrations from non-British EU architects since the Brexit vote: ...will be a ‘massive loss’ to the profession...Danish practice Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects...[has] seen a ‘significant increase’ in the number of applicants from the UK...'London’s loss is Copenhagen’s gain.’- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Blair Kamin: A Sign on the Proposed Salesforce Tower in Chicago? So what? Let’s worry about important things: ...are we in for a repeat performance of ridiculously oversized, in-your-face T-R-U-M-P sign? I don’t think so. There are more important things to worry about, like the design quality of the riverfront tower that the...software giant could occupy and the public spaces at its base...The superb site demands an extraordinary response, a work of civic design, not an ordinary plaza...In a perfect world, buildings would not need signs. Their architecture alone would distinguish them. -- Pelli Clarke Pelli- Chicago Tribune |
John King: What went wrong at the Transbay Transit Center? Here are some possibilities: It’s too early to know why the structural steel above the bus deck is cracked, but here are a few starting points on what might be involved.- San Francisco Chronicle |
John King: Why San Francisco's sinking Millennium Tower is now a top tourist destination: ...[it] has mortified its owners and entertained just about everyone else. Add such twists as...oddly cracked window on the 36th floor, caused by who knows what, and the saga shows no signs of ending anytime soon. It also shows, I hate to admit, that architecture can be irrelevant in terms of a building’s renown...What began as a development project becomes a metaphorical comeuppance for the 1 percent.- San Francisco Chronicle |
Kathleen O'Donnell: Where Sustainability Meets Prosperity: The fastest-growing city in America is fueled by sustainable investments: Austin, Texas, is a shining example...the Lone Star State’s capital provides a thoughtful framework for other cities to consider when crafting sustainability initiatives...recognizing that buildings, public space, and infrastructure are all critical contributors to a thriving population...developing a draft landscape code that will heavily incentivize green infrastructure. -- Wendy Dunnam Tita/Page- AIArchitect / American Institute of Architects |
The tiny Swiss village that wants to become a hotel: The tiny mountain village of Corippo, arranged higgledy-piggledy on the green slopes of southern Switzerland's Verzasca valley, looks like something out of a fairytale. But here, in what is Switzerland's smallest municipality, the citizens are facing a harsh reality. What was once a thriving farming community of around 300 people has dwindled to just 12 residents, 11 of whom are over 65...on the verge of becoming a ghost town...set to become the country's first "albergo diffuso," or scattered hotel. -- Fabio Giacomazzi Studio d'architettura- CNN Travel |
The diner capital of the world? New Jersey is the spiritual home of the American diner, with more diners than in any other state. But what does the future hold for these calorific local institutions? "Diners are part of our mythology," said Michael C Gabriele, author of "The History of Diners in New Jersey."...there are still more than 500 of them dotted across NJ. If you’re after chrome decor, comfort food, infinite coffee refills and cheery service, you’ve come to the right part of the U.S...White Mana Diner, a circular, UFO-like building that was once the future of the diner - and fast food...first appeared at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, as part of a demonstration on how fast food could be served.- BBC (UK) |
Robert Campbell and Inga Saffron Recognized with the 2018 Vincent Scully Prize: The National Building Museum celebrates...Two Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critics...he for the Boston Globe and she for the Philadelphia Inquirer - a crop of voices that is becoming an "endangered species." Another member of this club, Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune, will be moderating a discussion between the two prize winners at the National Building Museum on Oct. 29.- Architect Magazine |
Nicholas Grimshaw wins RIBA's 2019 Royal Gold Medal: Architect honoured for lifetime’s work...He is probably best known for the Eden Project and the International Terminal at Waterloo Station, but he and the practice he founded in 1980 have completed numerous projects spanning the globe. + citation by Simon Allford/AHMM [images]- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Alejandro Aravena wins 2018 RIBA Charles Jencks Award: Chilean architect and Elemental co-founder...won the Pritzker Prize in 2016 and curated the Venice Biennale in 2016, has been recognised for his socially minded work in areas such as social housing, poverty, conflict zones and the environment. [images]- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
Zachary Edelson: 9 Top Events, Exhibitions, and Tours from This Year’s Archtober: New York City's month-long celebration of architecture - which includes films, tours, lectures, discussions, and more - kicks off October 1st: Now in its eighth year...has multitudinous options for practitioners and casual architecture fans alike: From the always-entertaining “Pumpkitecture! Architectural Pumpkin Carving Competition”...there’s almost certainly something for everyone. -- Center for Architecture: "Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture"; Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF); etc.- Metropolis Magazine |
Zachary Edelson: The New Istanbul Design Biennial Wants to Change How We Learn to Design: The sprawling biennial’s installations highlight how designers can find new sources of knowledge and collaboration: ...each of the show’s venues (each dubbed a “school” and organized around a loose theme) has a strong anchoring example. thru November 4 [images]- Metropolis Magazine |
12th Annual Sydney Architecture Festival, September 28-October 1: includes The Architecture Symposium, presented for the first time in Sydney, and the annual World Architecture Day Oration on October 1- Sydney Architecture Festival |
BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group’s 2016 Serpentine Pavilion Opens in Toronto: Following its original installation in London...fiberglass “unzipped structure” will showcase large-scale models of 10 Westbank projects in “Unzipped...free and open to the public through November 2018. [images]- Architect Magazine |
Relive the Radical Design Movement with Film Storyboards by Alessandro Poli: An exhibit dedicated to the Italian architect and artist's work is on display at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal: In the 1960s and '70s, Italian architecture students fed up with Modernism established a counterculture movement dedicated to futuristic and conceptual interpretations of architecture and urban planning..."anti-architecture"...His current research explores the relationship between art and architecture. "Scripts for a New World: Film Storyboards by Alessandro Poli" thru January 20, 2019 [images]- Architect Magazine |
Bringing Design Into Play: ...at the Reford Gardens/Jardins de Métis [Quebec], the International Garden Festival is presenting seven new landscape designs that build upon the concept of play...the installations follow a theme that encourages visitors to “Go Outside and Play!” thru October 7 -- Marta Milà Pascual/Marc Torrellas Arnedo; Carson Isenor/Anna Thomas; Katie Strang/Christine Dewancker/Craig Van Ravens; Hatem+D; Josep Congost/Louis Sicard; HUMÀ Design/Vincent Lemay; ISO Architects [images]- Canadian Architect |
Stefan Novakovic: Second World Problems: At the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)..."Towards a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948-1980" conjures a vision of Balkan utopianism where the aura of concrete takes on almost mythic qualities...Beckoning the eye in every room, Valentin Jeck’s dramatic, saturated photographs (commissioned by the museum) depict buildings and monuments that reach out from the landscape like relics of some alien civilization. thru January 13, 2019 [images]- Canadian Architect |
Jonathan Hilburg: "Urban Intermedia: City, Archive, Narrative" at Harvard GSD shines light on gaps in urban studies: ...enjoy the fruits of urban research from four cities: Berlin, Istanbul, Mumbai, and Boston. [The show] is the product of four years of research, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and compares and contrasts the history and growth of each city to find commonalities and differences...spearheaded by the GSD’s Eve Blau...Höweler + Yoon Architecture handled the installation design...meant to encourage viewers to dig deeper. thru October 14 [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
Steve Rose: "Renzo Piano: The Art of Making Buildings" - high-flying high priest of hi-tech: From the Pompidou Centre to the Shard, this exhibition showcases the austere architectural pioneer’s greatest hits: For those familiar with his work, there is a wealth of depth and context to dive into here...novices might have to work harder to get a sense of the finished buildings. Architecture is always difficult to communicate within the confines of a gallery. Royal Academy of Arts, London, thru January 20, 2019 [images]- Guardian (UK) |
Memorable monuments to American modernism - in pictures: Photographs from the Pioneers of American Modernism exhibition of works by the outstanding American architectural photographer Ezra Stoller - on at the Lumiere Brothers Centre for Photography, Moscow until December 2 [images]- Guardian (UK) |
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