Today’s News - Thursday, October 25, 2018

EDITOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow and Monday will be no-newsletter days. We'll be back Tuesday, October 30. (Apologies for late posting - the technology gods are not being kind to us today.)

●  ANN feature: Weinstein has a few issues with Rosenbaum and Zukowski's new tome about Frederic Church's Olana that "combines resplendent photography with essays reflecting architectural myopia - Lederman's finely-detailed and exquisitely composed photos" are "arguably worthy enough to compensate for an architecturally-challenged text."

●  Wagner minces no words about the media's myopic take on "the house that survived Michael" in Mexico Beach, Florida: "It is an urgent architectural warning to all of us that the wealthy will survive a Category 5 hurricane. The rest will be left to stare down devastation, realizing perhaps too late that climate change is class war."

●  Finch makes the case for reconsidering "green-belt land when finding sites for housing - there are plenty of sites that are inaccessible and far from green, the accidental leftovers of designations from yesteryear. Can't we remove the mental cap we have imposed on ourselves in relation to sites?"

●  An impressive editorial initiative written by some of our faves: 8 stories in "The United States of Texas and California" explore pressing themes like immigration, urban policy, and transportation in the run-up to midterm elections. "What's happening in Texas and California is really the story of what is happening in America."

●  CEO of the Greater Sydney Commission Hill makes the case for "why Sydney needs to keep its sheds and industrial lands. A city without them in the right places becomes a city that doesn't work, figuratively and literally" - other cities are "strategically planning to keep their industrial and services land."

●  Beck of Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand looks at "how smart cities are about to rock our world. Are we there yet? The answer is: not quite. But we are well on our way."

●  Okamoto has a great Q&A with Kirschenfeld re: "strategies for designing affordable, high-quality homes for the elderly in markets that favor luxury housing" - his firm "has made it a mission to prove that social housing can be good architecture."

●  Lubell lauds Libeskind's "bold" MO Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania: Aside from "a few missed opportunities - the audacious structure is already starting to act like an urban magnet - an electrifying and inviting game changer" with an "elegant, but not precious, relationship to art and space."

●  Alter parses a new report that "confirms that Modernists were right about sunlight - it is the best disinfectant."

●  Mostafavi will step down as dean of Harvard GSD, and return to the teaching faculty - "one of his priorities when he started his tenure in 2008" was the expansion of Gund Hall, now an H7deM/ Beyer Blinder Belle project.

●  ICYMI: ANN feature (deadline looms!): rise in the city 2018: Call for mentors (no fee; deadline: October 31!) and sponsors for an international student competition to design affordable housing in Lesotho, in Southern Africa.

●  ICYMI: ANN feature: Edward McGraw/Ashley McGraw Architects: Building Abundance: Creating abundance is more than sustainability or resilience, and should be a driving force in architecture.

Weekend diversions (and lots of 'em!):

●  Wainwright cheers former bricklayer Mamani's "party palaces and funky funhouses with pinball machine interiors and animal-shaped facades - an unlikely slice of this trippy, high-altitude world can now be seen glowing through the windows of the Cartier Foundation in Paris."

●  Artemel parses two Paul Rudolph shows in NYC that celebrate "the lonely Modernist at 100 - the content of the Rudolph centenary exhibitions and events are sure to reenergize architectural discussions about tackling the wicked problems of our current era, and his later investigations may show some paths forward."

●  Ciampaglia cheers hip-hop architecture having its "Philip Johnson moment" (according to Bergdoll) in "Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture" at AIANY's Center for Architecture.

●  Oursler's "Tear of The Cloud" offers five video projections that "converge onto the gantry of Manhattan's landmarked West 69th Street Transfer Bridge and its surroundings" (it looks awesome!).

●  Menking cheers "Denise Scott Brown Photographs, 1956 - 1966" - her "photos bring their 'messy vitality' to New York City" (some are very reasonably priced).

●  Yale School of Architecture student-led exhibition "A Seat at the Table" poses the question: "Is the environment in architecture schools, and the field overall, inherently biased against women?"

●  "12 Walls - Architecture and Contemporary Ornament" in Veszprém, Hungary, "asked 12 architects and designers to explore the current roles and boundaries of the ornament" by tackling the blank walls of Schoditsch's currently disused Industrial School as it awaits renovation (great pix).

Page-turners:

●  Zeiger has a few issues with Kallipoliti's "The Architecture of Closed Worlds: Or, What Is the Power of Shit?" It "offers lessons for today by looking at Biosphere 2, 1970s eco-houses, and other microworlds" - Bucky "haunts the pages" (but it's "bookended by her slightly addled introduction and oblique conclusion").

●  Welton cheers an updated edition of Gura and Wood's "Interior Landmarks: Treasures of New York," though laments that the Four Seasons "did not make the cut" ("We had to take it out of the new book because it has changed," sayeth Gura).

●  "The magic that's conjured up when you pair a movie star with a starchitect is celebrated" in Stern and Hess's "Hollywood Modern: Houses of the Stars" - the "captivating" book explores "the fascinating intersection of celebrity and design" (great pix!).

●  Speaking of celebrity and design, Fessier sets out a golf cart tour with Riche to find the "hidden architectural gems in hideaway neighborhoods" showcased in "Mod Mirage: The Midcentury Architecture of Rancho Mirage" (more great pix!).

●  For another Modernist fix, there's "Xenia Simons Miller: Prairie Modernist" explores her impact on the Miller House and beyond: "Hers may be one of the great unsung voices in Modernism."

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To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here ANN feature: Norman Weinstein: Writing About Architecture As If Only Art Matters: A new coffee table book about Frederic Church's Olana combines resplendent photography with essays reflecting architectural myopia. "Frederic Church’s Olana on the Hudson: Art, Landscape, Architecture," edited by Julia B. Rosenbaum and Karen Zukowski...Larry Lederman’s finely-detailed and exquisitely composed photos...arguably worthy enough to compensate for an architecturally-challenged text.- ArchNewsNow.com Kate Wagner: The Palace and the Storm: Architecture and design alone will not save us from climate change: ...news coverage of “the house that survived Michael” ["Sand Palace"] has expressed little outrage about...what it means for class and climate change...For those in power, the residents who couldn’t afford to build hurricane-proof beach houses weren’t worth saving...reducing those merely trying to survive...to poverty porn...the lone house on Mexico Beach...[is] not a beacon of human resilience or a symbol of the power of well-designed architecture as a solution to our climate problems. It is an urgent architectural warning to all of us that the wealthy will survive a Category 5 hurricane. The rest will be left to stare down devastation, realizing perhaps too late that climate change is class war.- The Baffler Paul Finch: We need to consider green-belt land when finding sites for housing: For far too long there has been an assumption that green belt and Metropolitan Open Land are all beautiful landscape that it would be offensive to build on: ...a hot topic...indeed all towns and cities where required demand for dwellings is at odds with land supply...there are plenty of sites that are inaccessible and far from green, the accidental leftovers of designations from yesteryear...Can’t we remove the mental cap we have imposed on ourselves in relation to sites?- The Architects' Journal (UK) The United States of Texas and California: ...the two most populous states, with GDPs that place their economies in the ranks of global superpowers...Their landscapes and their ideologies are etched deeply into the collective consciousness...Both lead the nation in renewable energy and high-speed rail...Their largest cities support - and hinder - equitable urban policy...What’s happening in Texas and California is really the story of what is happening in America. By Diana Budds, Brandon Formby, Patrick Sisson, Amanda Chicago Lewis, Raj Mankad, Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Jenn Swann, Irene Vazquez, Alissa Walker- Curbed Sarah Hill: Why Sydney needs to keep its sheds and industrial lands: We need these industrial land facilities “big sheds” peppered close to where we live. We also need creative and artistic enterprises to add colour and life and opportunities for jobs...A city without them in the right places, becomes a city that doesn’t work, figuratively and literally...Valuable industry and urban services land need protection from competing land uses ..We’re not the first to voice this need: London, San Francisco, Vancouver and New York are all strategically planning to keep their industrial and services land.- The Fifth Estate (Australia) Adam Beck, Smart Cities Council: How smart cities are about to rock our world: What’s the connection between smart cities and sustainability? How about cleaner water, zero waste, smart transport, better engagement with communities and building resilience? Is that a good start? Aren’t our cities smart by now? Are we there yet? The answer is: not quite. But we are well on our way...every week sees a new smart cities strategy turning ideas into reality... -- Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand- The Fifth Estate (Australia) Katie Okamoto: How to Design for Seniors in Increasingly Unaffordable Cities: Jonathan Kirschenfeld about strategies for designing affordable, high-quality homes for the elderly in markets that favor luxury housing: ...architect and founder of the Institute for Public Architecture (IPA), a nonprofit...[his] eponymous firm has made it a mission to prove that social housing can be good architecture.- Metropolis Magazine Sam Lubell: Studio Libeskind Designs a Bold Yet Contextual New Art Museum for Vilnius: The crystalline MO Museum...in the Lithuanian capital, is the crown jewel of a larger cultural renaissance: The audacious structure, dedicated to modern Lithuanian art...is already starting to act like an urban magnet...essentially a deconstructed white box...while the building looks nothing like its historic neighbors, its materials, size...all feel very much at home...an electrifying and inviting game changer for a place that certainly needs one...elegant, but not precious, relationship to art and space...There are a few missed opportunities... -- Do Architects [images]- Metropolis Magazine Lloyd Alter: New study confirms that modernists were right about sunlight - it is the best disinfectant: This is how we got modern architecture and minimalism. After the First World War, a new form of modern architecture appeared, modelled after the new tuberculosis sanitariums where they fought disease with design. They didn't have antibiotics, but they had light, fresh air and openness. Neutra, Le Corbusier and Chareau all designed iconic houses for doctor clients around these principles...a new study that confirms that they were right...- TreeHugger.com Mohsen Mostafavi to Leave Harvard GSD Deanship: The move, effective the end of the 2018-2019 academic year, will conclude Mostafavi's 11-year run leading the Harvard Graduate School of Design...The news comes not long after the school announced a planned expansion to its main building [by Herzog & de Meuron and Beyer Blinder Belle], Gund Hall...one of [his] priorities when he started his tenure in January 2008. The project is reflective of the interdisciplinary direction that [he] brought to the GSD...he will return to the teaching faculty.- Metropolis Magazine Oliver Wainwright: Party palaces and funky funhouses: Freddy Mamani's maverick buildings: With pinball machine interiors and animal-shaped facades, his wild venues have transformed Bolivian architecture. Now the former bricklayer is taking ‘neo-Andean’ style to Paris: An unlikely slice of this trippy, high-altitude world can now be seen glowing through the windows of the Cartier Foundation in Paris, where Mamani has erected a fantastical rainbow ballroom as part of..."Southern Geometries, from Mexico to Patagonia." thru February 24, 2019 [images]- Guardian (UK) A.J.P. Artemel: Remembering Paul Rudolph, the Lonely Modernist, at 100: Maligned and forgotten for a generation, [he] pursued the Modernist project even as it fell from favor: Though much of Rudolph’s work from his early period...has been rehabilitated and rediscovered by new audiences, his later work...remains relatively unknown...Two exhibitions [in NYC]...aim to address this blind spot..."Paul Rudolph: The Personal Laboratory" [at the Modulightor Building thru November 18]..."Paul Rudolph: The Hong Kong Journey" (November 29, 2018 - March 2, 2019) at the Center for Architecture...It is indeed an exciting time to examine this material...the content of the Rudolph centenary exhibitions and events are sure to reenergize architectural discussions about tackling the wicked problems of our current era, and his later investigations may show some paths forward. [images]- Metropolis Magazine Dante A. Ciampaglia: Hip-Hop Architecture’s Philip Johnson Moment: A new show at AIANY’s Center for Architecture makes the case for a growing global design movement that is forging its own canon: "Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture"...Mounted on panels from a deconstructed shipping container hung on graffiti-covered walls are proposals, 3D-printed models, photographs, and art created by 21 practitioners, academics, and students from five countries...they make the case for an international mode of of design that is at once mature and still in its infancy...Barry Bergdoll even went so far as to compare [it] to no less than Philip Johnson’s seminal 1932 Museum of Modern Art exhibition defining International Style." -- Sekou Cooke; James Garrett Jr./4RM+ULA Architects; Zvi Belling/ITN Architects [images]- Metropolis Magazine Tony Oursler’s "Tear of The Cloud" activates a Riverside ruin: ...five video projections converge onto the gantry of Manhattan’s landmarked West 69th Street Transfer Bridge and its surroundings in Riverside Park...sequences range from the Headless Horseman to Timothy Leary, Morse code, the 19th-century utopian community Oneida, digital facial recognition technology, and the Manhattan Project. thru October 31 [images, video]- The Architect's Newspaper William Menking: Denise Scott Brown’s photos bring their “messy vitality” to New York City: "Denise Scott Brown Photographs, 1956 - 1966" on view at Carriage Trade Gallery...They reflect her interest in “automobiles, cities of the American Southwest, social change, multiculturalism, action, everyday architecture, ‘messy vitality,’ iconography, and Pop Art,” all themes throughout her career. thru December 22- The Architect's Newspaper Yale School of Architecture exhibition questions gender disparity in the industry: The student-led exhibition hopes to start a conversation about gender dynamics in the field of architecture: Is the environment in architecture schools, and the field overall, inherently biased against women? That’s the question [posed in] “A Seat at the Table"...student organizers sent two surveys to 86 architecture schools in the U.S. and abroad...Four months later, 779 responses had trickled in, which became the basis of the exhibit. thru November 15 -- #MeToo; YSoA Equality in Design [images]- Curbed New exhibition in Hungary asks young architects to re-investigate the importance of ornament and decoration for today: Lajos Schoditsch's Industrial School is awaiting renovation...Currently sitting in disuse, the late school's undecorated walls has become the perfect site to re-investigate themes...Propelled by postmodernism's comeback and advanced digital design tools, "12 Walls - Architecture and Contemporary Ornament" ...in Veszprém...asked 12 architects and designers to explore the current roles and boundaries of the ornament. thru November 30 -- Paradigma Ariadné; Adam Nathaniel Furman; Andrew Kovacs/Archive of Affinities; Space Popular; MNPL Workshop [images]- Archinect Mimi Zeiger: Why Architects Need to Get Dirty to Save the World: "The Architecture of Closed Worlds: Or, What Is the Power of Shit?" by Lydia Kallipoliti offers lessons for today by looking at Biosphere 2, 1970s ecohouses, and other microworlds...Biosphere 2 is the most infamous...it represents the hope and hubris of re-creating Earth on Earth...[Book] divided into three main sections, bookended by Kallipoliti’s slightly addled introduction and oblique conclusion...Buckminster Fuller haunts the pages...we are all implicated in the inevitable failure to stave off the planet’s cascading systems failure. In a word, we are in the muck. [images]- Metropolis Magazine J. Michael Welton: The Interior Landmarks of New York City: In 2015, Monacelli Press celebrated the 50th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law with...“Interior Landmarks: Treasures of New York"...has been updated...46 interiors carefully chronicled...by Judith Gura and Kate Wood, with sumptuous photography by Larry Lederman. Also included is a catalog of all 120 protected spaces, with names of architects and locations...Alas, one classic slice of modernism did not make the cut in Gura’s second, soft-cover edition.[Philip Johnson's] “The Four Seasons - we had to take it out of the new book because it has changed"..- Architects and Artisans Star Quality: The magic that's conjured up when you pair a movie star with a starchitect is celebrated in the captivating new book, "Hollywood Modern: Houses of the Stars": Michael Stern and Alan Hess not only provide entry into the rarified world of some of Tinseltown’s most beloved personalities, but also explore the fascinating intersection of celebrity and design...its stories weave together the lives of great architects with those of their famous clients..."Two things that you see that are very consistent is the mixture of glam and comfort." -- John Lautner; Arthur Elrod; E. Stewart Williams; Hugh Kaptur [images].- Palm Springs Life Bruce Fessier: Book explores hidden architectural gems in Frank Sinatra's backyard. We set out to find them: Melissa Riche says Rancho Mirage is known for its hideaway neighborhoods...She and her husband, photographer Jim Riche, have collaborated on...“Mod Mirage: The Midcentury Architecture of Rancho Mirage,” and it includes a whole section on neighborhoods hidden in plain sight...She is a little cryptic about the information she divulges about these resort-style communities and their past and present residents. -- William F. Cody; William Krisel; Val Powelson; Donald Wexler; Richard Neutra- Palm Springs Desert Sun Xenia Miller’s design touch: New publication reveals her impact on Miller House: The [house] that has gained international acclaim as a Modernist marvel reached that status in part due to a visionary woman who guided top designers...“Xenia Simons Miller: Prairie Modernist" by graphic designer James Sholly and architectural historian Connie Zeigler...puts [her] in the spotlight as a design leader and patron of the arts. She, like her husband, industrialist J. Irwin Miller, rarely touted their own accomplishments...Her contributions to architecture, design, art and historic preservation in central Indiana are largely unknown by many...“Hers may be one of the great unsung voices in Modernism"... [images]- The Republic (Columbus, Indiana) ANN feature: Edward McGraw: Building Abundance: Creating abundance is more than sustainability or resilience, and should be a driving force in architecture. -- Ashley McGraw Architects [images]- ArchNewsNow.com ANN feature: rise in the city 2018: Call for Mentors and Sponsors: Students are already busy working on their submissions for an international competition to design affordable housing in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, in Southern Africa. Now, mentors and sponsors are needed.- ArchNewsNow.com

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