Today’s News - Thursday, November 29, 2018

EDITOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow and Monday will be no-newsletter days. We'll be back Tuesday, December 4 (December already?!!?).

●  ANN feature: rise Up: Sponsors are cheering on their student/architect teams working to find low-cost, sustainable housing solutions in the rise in the city 2018 design competition - but there are still teams that need sponsorship. Join those who are already reaping the rewards of the partnerships!

●  Brussat bashes Moore's attack on Scruton: "He has crafted an utterly despicable if entirely predictable attack. This is not criticism but character assassination."

●  Corcoran considers "acts of hate," such as the racist vandalism of the African Burial Ground National Monument in NYC, which "highlight architecture's role in framing history" and "the role of memorial spaces."

●  The Oakland A's promise a "'bigger than baseball' mega-ballpark" (and a whole lot more) on the Oakland, California, waterfront, designed by BIG (tweeted John King: "Given the shameless knockoff of its VIA 57 West in NYC, I'm guessing Bjarke Ingels didn't spend a whole lot of time on this proposal" - ouch!).

●  Buday proffers a not-very-optimistic future by channeling Howard Roark and how he "would tackle climate change": "The end is nigh - now is an excellent time to panic There's nothing like a crisis to bring out the hero in all of us - Roark would say solving the unsolvable is what imaginative architects do every day."

●  On a more optimistic note, a new AIA report finds that, in "tracking their predicted building design performance" for 2017, "architects and engineers participating 2030 Commitment see progress in carbon reduction."

●  Heathcote parses the Apollo Awards 2018 Museum Opening of the Year: "It is occasionally said that the age of the blockbuster museum is over. Then along comes the Louvre Abu Dhabi - Nouvel has avoided cliché and obvious symbolism, always reinterpreting and creating something new, futuristic and surprising -.this is a stunning architectural spectacle."

●  Bernstein outlines Fentress Architects' cylindrical design for U.S. Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, themed "What Moves You," which will include a ride by Virgin Hyperloop One, while AS+GG's "central event space beneath a 65-meter-high dome - will dwarf the 69-foot-high U.S. pavilion."

●  Caldwell cheers the 5th SarasotaMOD Weekend for continuing "to appeal to a range of interested parties," and parses the festival's focus on Paul Rudolph.

●  Crosbie celebrates Rudolph's 100th birthday with a reprise of a 1988 interview re: the 25th anniversary of "his most controversial project" - the Yale Art and Architecture building (and much, much more): "I don't think of it as an object. I think of it as participating in urbanism" (he thought of himself "as a very bad teacher").

Deadlines:

●  Call for entries: AIA Chicago's Disruptive Design international competition: New solutions to affordable housing - 3-part competition (no fee).

●  Call for entries: Reimagining the DL&W Corridor International Design Ideas Competition to transform the abandoned, 1.5-mile elevated rail corridor in (no fee, but be sure to read Disclaimer at the end of the Competition Brief).

●  Call for entries: The Forge Prize: 2019 AISC Vision in Steel for Architectural Excellence (U.S. & Canada).

●  Call for entries: Urban Zoo Coworking Design Challenge: design the interior concept for a new chain of coworking spaces set to launch their first location in Riga, Latvia (early-bird registration deadline looms!).

Weekend diversions:

●  Speaking of Rudolph: "Paul Rudolph: The Hong Kong Journey" (where "most of his projects went unbuilt") opens today at NYC's Center for Architecture.

●  "Now What?! Advocacy, Activism & Alliances in American Architecture since 1968" opens today at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco: it is "the first exhibition to examine the little-known history of architects and designers working to further the causes of the civil rights, women's, and LGBTQ movements of the past 50 years."

●  For "Maya Lin: A River Is a Drawing" at the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, Lin has created "a series of new works and ambitious site-specific installations that invite visitors to interact."

Page-turners:

●  Welton cheers Suckle & Singer's "Cocktails and Conversations: Dialogues on Architectural Design" that compiles 40 sessions of the AIANY program: "No lectures. No pedagogy. No theories. Just cocktails and conversation. They're all in first-person, and they're all intriguing. You have to mix your own drink. But thankfully, the recipes are all there" (full disclosure: yours truly was Consulting Editor).

●  Hewitt hails Curl's "controversial" but "cogent and well-argued" book, "Making Dystopia" that "doesn't look kindly on the narrative presented by the major historians. If we ignore books like Curl's, our cities and landscapes will continue to get the same insipidly abstract designs - and our profession won't advance to meet the challenges of this troubled century."

●  Moore sits down with Archigram's Cook, Greene, and Crompton to "discuss - and defend - their legacy" and the 300-page (and astounding!) "Archigram: The Book": "Perhaps their biggest gift to architecture is an attitude."

●  Sisson has his own Q&A with Cook; Greene, and Crompton re: lots of things - and "Archigram: The Book" that "ticks all the coffee table boxes, and reads like a more colorful, creative, and upbeat view of where modern design should be headed."

●  Lutyens picks his faves, "from the monumental to the modest," found in Jodidio's "Green Architecture" that looks at "how cutting-edge architecture also draws on age-old traditions."

●  Keane is very keen on Meredith & Sample's "An Unfinished Encyclopedia of Scale Figures without Architecture" that "offers a whimsical, non-linear, and exhaustive glimpse of people - and sometimes aliens, animals, or Rorschach blots - in architecture through the eyes of some of the greatest designers in history."

Tweet

To subscribe to the free daily newsletter click here ANN feature: rise Up - be part of the solution for Africa's housing crisis: Sponsors are cheering on their student/architect teams working to find low-cost, sustainable housing solutions - but there are still teams that need sponsorship. Join those who are already reaping the rewards of the partnerships!- ArchNewsNow.com David Brussat: Rowan Moore’s attack on Roger Scruton: ...[he] has crafted an utterly despicable if entirely predictable attack...most readers will have no idea of the false impression that Moore purposely conveys of Scruton. This is not criticism but character assassination...If it had not been for the style wars set into high gear by Prince Charles’s “carbuncle” remark, there would probably be no Build Better, Build Beautiful Commission for Scruton to head. That would be dandy for Moore, except that there’d be fewer classicists to bash.- Architecture Here and There Heather Corcoran: Acts of Hate Highlight Architecture's Role in Framing History: Vandalism in New York sparks discussion about the role of memorial spaces - not just as symbols of recognition and remembrance, but as forums for conversation: Earlier this month, a racist message was scrawled on a sign at the African Burial Ground National Monument...the crime, and the community response that followed, has served as an important reminder of the role architecture should play in shaping historical narratives and healing the wounds of the past. -- Rodney Leon; Pascale Sablan; Equal Justice Initiative; MASS Design Group- Architectural Record A’s propose ‘jewel box’ ballpark for waterfront, Coliseum redevelopment: The Oakland A’s are set to unveil a “bigger than baseball” mega-ballpark: A’s call for control of both the 55-acre Howard Terminal waterfront site and 111-acre Coliseum site [as] essential if the team is to deliver on its promise of a “100% privately built ballpark"...deal would include “significant community benefits”...Designed by...BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, the ballpark is a deliberate throwback to the turn-of-the-century diamonds... -- James Corner Field Operations; Gensler [images]- San Francisco Chronicle Richard Buday: Heroism and the Quest for Sustainability: How Howard Roark Would Tackle Climate Change: Finding some new and different meanings from "The Fountainhead": Business-as-usual is...why, over decades, sustainable design has had little to no impact reducing global warming...It is time for architects to come around, to break the habit of designing minimally resilient habitats. We’ve reached the final act of this saga, and the end is nigh...now is an excellent time to panic. There’s nothing like a crisis to bring out the hero in all of us...Roark would say solving the unsolvable is what imaginative architects do every day. -- Archimage- Common Edge Architects and engineers participating 2030 Commitment see progress in carbon reduction: ...according to a new report released by the American Institute of Architects (AIA)...tracking their predicted building design performance...found a savings of 17.8 million metric tons of carbon over the 2030 baseline during the 2017 reporting period...the same amount of carbon that would be sequestered in 21 million acres of forest in the U.S. each year...also equates to an annual cost savings of $3.2 billion in operating cost over the 2030 baseline...560 projects met the 2017 target of 70 percent energy savings or above and 99 projects reached net zero.- Boston Real Estate Times Edwin Heathcote: Museum Opening of the Year [Apollo Awards 2018]: It is occasionally said that the age of the blockbuster museum is over. Then along comes the Louvre Abu Dhabi...Jean Nouvel has managed to create something that is loaded with references to local culture...but he has avoided cliché and obvious symbolism, always reinterpreting and creating something new, futuristic and surprising...this is a stunning architectural spectacle, a very fine museum...- Apollo Magazine (UK) Fred A. Bernstein: An Expression of Movement: Fentress Architects’ Design for U.S. Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai: The cylindrical building will include a ride by Virgin Hyperloop One: ...transportation-themed exhibitions (the official title is “What Moves You”)...expected budget for the pavilion is $60 million...Other American firms represented at the expo will include Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Their Al Wasl Plaza - a central event space beneath a 65-meter-high dome - will dwarf the 69-foot-high U.S. pavilion. [images]- Architectural Record Kenneth Caldwell: Sarasota Modern: Paul Rudolph and beyond: Modernism celebrations and conferences are becoming more numerous...the challenge for organizers is to make it continue to appeal to a range of interested parties...SarasotaMOD Weekend...made a convincing case that it is taking the challenge seriously. -- Sarasota Architectural Foundation; Paul Goldberger- The Architect's Newspaper Michael J. Crosbie: To Celebrate His Centenary, A 1988 Interview with Paul Rudolph on His Most Controversial Project: On the 25th anniversary of building’s completion, the architect spoke for the first time about the Yale A&A’s checkered history: He discussed his most controversial creation for the first time since its completion, his views on architectural education, and the nature of architecture: "I don’t think of it as an object. I think of it as participating in urbanism."- Common Edge Call for entries: Disruptive Design: New solutions to affordable housing - 3-part competition (international): disrupt conventional housing design, creating next-generation starter homes; no fee; cash prizes; Phase 1 deadline: January 31, 2019- AIA Chicago / Chicago Housing Policy Task Force Call for entries: Reimagining the DL&W Corridor International Design Ideas Competition: Multi-Use Urban Nature Trail & Greenway in Buffalo, New York: ...transform the abandoned, 1.5-mile elevated DL&W rail corridor connecting Buffalo’s downtown with its waterfront; no fee, registration required; open to professionals and/or students; cash prizes; deadline: February 15, 2019- Western New York Land Conservancy Call for entries: The Forge Prize: 2019 AISC Vision in Steel for Architectural Excellence: proposals for visionary designs using steel as the primary structural component; open to designers practicing in the U.S. or Canada. Individuals or the Team Lead should be an emerging professional, in the process of licensure or within 10-years of licensure; Stage 1: up to three $10,000 stipends; Grand Prize: $20,000; deadline: January 16, 2019- American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) / Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Call for entries: Urban Zoo Coworking Design Challenge (international): design the interior concept for a new chain of coworking spaces set to launch their first location in Riga, Latvia, creating the interior identity of the brand that can be applied to each subsequent location to open; cash prizes; earlybird registration deadline (save money!): December 7, 2018 (final registration deadline: February 8 - submissions due February 19, 2019 )- Bee Breeders (formerly HMMD/Homemade Dessert) / Urban Zoo Coworking Never-Before-Seen Paul Rudolph Work: "Paul Rudolph: The Hong Kong Journey" at the Center for Architecture in New York: While most of his projects went unbuilt, his designs during this period reflect his "life-long pursuit of scale in high-rise buildings," according to the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation...Curated by Nora Leung of Hong Kong–based Chau Ku & Leung Architects and Engineers; thru March 9, 2019- Architect Magazine "Now What?! Advocacy, Activism & Alliances in American Architecture since 1968": the first exhibition to examine the little-known history of architects and designers working to further the causes of the civil rights, women’s, and LGBTQ movements of the past fifty years. California College of the Arts, San Francisco, thru December 14 -- ArchiteXX; Lori Brown; Andrea J. Merrett; Sarah Rafson; Roberta Washington.- California College of the Arts (CCA) "Maya Lin: A River Is a Drawing": a groundbreaking exhibition...focusing on the theme of the Hudson River. With the Museum’s architectural features and location along the banks of the river as a potent backdrop, Lin will create a series of new works and ambitious site-specific installations that invite visitors to interact. Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, thru January 20, 2019- Hudson River Museum J. Michael Welton: Cocktails and Conversations: The Book: It’s a simple enough concept: Invite 100 architects to AIANY’s Center for Architecture. Introduce a bartender. Have him mix a drink...and share it with the audience. Then introduce a world famous architect and a well-known journalist...No lectures. No pedagogy. No theories. Just cocktails and conversation, on Friday night in Manhattan...just in time for the holidays, Abby Suckle and William Singer have compiled all 40 sessions into "Cocktails and Conversations: Dialogues on Architectural Design"...They’re all in first-person, and they’re all intriguing. The only drawback? You have to mix your own drink. But thankfully, the recipes are all there. [images]- Architects and Artisans Mark Alan Hewitt: Was Modernism Really International? A New History Says No: It ought to be alarming to well-educated observers...that so many architectural writers and younger practitioners believe they are well-informed about 20th century architectural history...a controversial new assessment..."Making Dystopia: The Strange Rise and Survival of Architectural Barbarism" by James Stevens Curl...doesn’t look kindly on the narrative presented by the major historians...[It presents] a cogent and well-argued history of the period before 1945 that should revise our understanding of how the “International Style” was invented and mythologized...If we ignore books like Curl’s our cities and landscapes will continue to get the same insipidly abstract designs we have lived with for decades, and our profession won’t advance to meet the challenges of this troubled century.- Common Edge Rowan Moore: The world according to Archigram: The hugely influential collective mixed 1960s space race ideas with British provincial humour to visualise ‘pulsating’ mobile cities of the future. 50 years on, three surviving members discuss - and defend - their legacy: The occasion of this gathering is "Archigram: The Book," a 300-page compendium of the magazines and related works...Cook does most of the talking, even when questions are directed at others...[They] resist the most common charge...that they dealt in unbuildable fantasies...Perhaps their biggest gift to architecture is an attitude. -- Peter Cook; David Greene, Dennis Crompton; Warren Chalk; Ron Herron; Michael Webb- Observer (UK) Patrick Sisson: How a group of radical ’60s architects designed the future: How the Archigram architectural collective, profiled in a comprehensive new book, designed for a more radical, and random, future: ...comprehensive in its scope, "Archigram: The Book," a new exploration of the influential and imaginative ’60s British architecture collective, ticks all the coffee table boxes. It’s a big, bold look back...work still looks decidedly like the future, half a century later...reads like a more colorful, creative, and upbeat view of where modern design should be headed...Curbed interviewed members...to gauge how they see their work now, and how they have, or have not, predicted the world of today. -- Warren Chalk; Peter Cook; Dennis Crompton; David Greene; Ron Herron; Michael Webb [images]- Curbed Dominic Lutyens: From a glass house in Connecticut to a sustainable school in a Balinese jungle, how cutting-edge architecture also draws on age-old traditions: " Green Architecture" by Philip Jodidio: ...many green buildings today tap into age-old traditions of harnessing heat...or by gaining thermal mass through use of thick stone or mud. The book also celebrates technological ways of controlling global warming caused by construction...Here is a selection of its projects, from the monumental to the modest. -- 24 Architecture; Emilio Ambasz; Nikken Sekkei; Kengo Kuma (Philip Johnson, 1956); Junya Ishigami; Marco Casagrande; Ecosistema Urbano; Heberle Mayer; PT Bamboo Pure/Meranggi Foundation [images]- BBC (UK) Katharine Keane: The Human Form in Architectural Drawings: "An Unfinished Encyclopedia of Scale Figures without Architecture" by MOS Architects' Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample: ...more than 1,000 depictions of people from architectural renderings by 250 designers including Lina Bo Bardi, Frank Lloyd Wright, Zaha Hadid, I.M. Pei, Santiago Calatrava, Tatiana Bilbao, and Bjarke Ingels...offers a whimsical, non-linear, and exhaustive glimpse of people - and sometimes aliens, animals, or Rorschach blots - in architecture through the eyes of some of the greatest designers in history.- Architect Magazine

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

© 2018 ArchNewsNow.com