Today’s News - Wednesday, March 6, 2019
● Betsky's eloquent tribute: "How Kevin Roche made capitalism beautiful. Not everything he designed was a work of genius," but "most of the buildings still command respect, and we should be grateful for that legacy."
● Hurst considers "why architects need to wake up to the carbon emergency - architects and others in the built environment seem to have lost interest," though "some progress has been made - there is a new role for architects here if they choose to grasp it" (comments definitely worth a look, too!).
● On a brighter note, NRDC & IMT's City Energy Project has resulted in "a free, interactive toolkit" based on "the best practices discovered when 20 U.S. cities" participated in the project.
● NYC business leaders "call for Amazon to reconsider HQ2 pull-out - despite the significant political opposition," the company "would still be welcomed and public support remains."
● Meanwhile "Amazon's HQ2 deal isn't looking great for Arlington County" in Virginia: No living wage guarantee for construction workers, and "no need to contribute to affordable housing fund. It's almost as if Arlington is afraid to ask for favors after Amazon reconsidered" its NYC deal and withdrew at the last minute.
● A great round-up of reports from the Fortune and Wallpaper* Brainstorm Design conference that includes OMA's Shigematsu, Gehl's Søholt, and Heatherwick (among others).
● A round-up of "major projects transforming Australia's smaller cities and towns poised to have a regenerative and transformative effect" on tourism, universities, and culture (a subterranean opal museum included).
● Renzi brings us eyefuls of IA and Studio O+A's new McDonald's HQ in Chicago: "What sounds (and looks) like the paradigm-shifting headquarters of Silicon Valley startup is in fact the home of an iconic corporation founded in the 1950s" (great pix!).
● Guimapang looks at how retailers are turning to architects "to aid them during the retail revolution," and "find ways to make retail stores relevant and interesting."
● Diaz parses Safdie's "horizontal skyscraper" in China - "the biggest and one of the tallest sky bridges in the world - the Crystal is the complex's fifth skyscraper, albeit a horizontal one."
● An ancient river in Athens "paved over as part of the post-war urban development drive could see the light of day again - the idea is now a firm plan that has won some 'important allies.'"
● A good reason to head to NYC next week: New York Build 2019 is free to attend and features 200+ speakers, 200+ exhibitors, a Skills & Recruitment Hub, and more.
● Brussat parses "Salingaros on archiCULTure - establishment architecture is not so much a profession as a cult. Students of architecture are brainwashed. They are taught to reject their intuitive respect for beauty."
● Dickinson takes us on a video tour of "Lost New Haven" that "wends through the epochal shifts in our place, the buildings that defined our landscape and that have been swept away by changes."
● Lange lauds Julia Morgan, the "pioneering female architect" who "was used to skepticism about her abilities - 'all the biases against her she turned into assets,'" sayeth Julia Donoho.
Winners all:
● MASS Design Group & Hank Willis win the competition to design the MLK and Coretta Scott King memorial on Boston Common: "The Embrace" is a "22-foot-high pair of clasped bronze arms - a literal point of reflection that surprises but doesn't overwhelm."
● The shortlist of "five site-specific, low-impact design proposals" for the 2019 NGV Architecture Commission will be presented on March 21, during Melbourne Design Week.
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Aaron Betsky: The Box-and-Grid Man: How Kevin Roche Made Capitalism Beautiful: The late architect, with partner John Dinkeloo, took the reins from Eero Saarinen and went on to become our best corporate architect: ...turned headquarters into monuments that were also livable places...Not everything Roche designed was a work of genius...Whatever the final result, however, the work...was always meticulously thought out....Most of the buildings still command that respect, and we should be grateful for that legacy. [images]- Architect Magazine |
Will Hurst, Ella Jessel, Richard Waite: Why architects need to wake up to the carbon emergency: What can you do to mitigate the huge impact of construction on climate change? ...architects and others in the built environment seem to have lost interest...some progress has been made...Yet the focus on eco-design we saw over a decade ago has dissipated...Architects are only a small part of the global system which got us to this point and it would be wrong to single out the profession or berate them for neglecting this subject...there is a new role for architects here if they choose to grasp it.- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
New resource library helps cities boost buildings' energy efficiency: The free, interactive toolkit was built on the best practices discovered when 20 U.S. cities participated in the City Energy Project... -- Institute for Market Transformation (IMT); Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)- Smart Cities Dive |
NYC business leaders call for Amazon to reconsider HQ2 pull-out: ...published an open letter urging the company to come back after its surprise withdrawal last month...letter...said that despite the significant political opposition to the plans for New York’s Long Island City neighborhood, Amazon would still be welcomed in the city and public support remains.- Smart Cities Dive |
Amazon’s HQ2 deal isn’t looking great for Arlington County: No living wage, no need to contribute to affordable housing fund: It’s almost as if Arlington is afraid to ask for favors after Amazon reconsidered its deal in New York and withdrew at the last minute.- The Verge |
Fortune and Wallpaper* Brainstorm Design conference: Why Bad Design Is Important: To improve the world...Alice Rawsthorn focuses on the dark side of design + Tokyo's Toranomon Hills Station Tower: Shunning a 'Bento Box' Approach to Architecture: OMA architect Shohei Shigematsu...how collaboration enabled the massive new urban hub + To Design a Better City, Consider an 'Eye-Level' Perspective: Helle Søholt [Gehl] wants city planners to put residents' quality of life first + 'Oddness Is Okay.' Thomas Heatherwick on the Secret to Successful Urban Design; etc.- Fortune magazine |
The future is regional: Major projects transforming Australia’s smaller cities and towns: ...a range of future projects poised to have a regenerative and transformative effect on the regions in three key ways. Tourism. Universities. Culture as a catalyst. -- Strategic Consultancy Group; NAAU Studio; Enlocus andscape architects; John Wardle Architects; TCL; Glenn Murcutt/Wendy Lewin; McBride Charles Ryan; Room 11; 1+2 Architecture; Philp Lighton Architects; Aspect Studios; Hames Sharley; Cox Architecture; Richard Kirk Architects/Charles Wright Architects/I14 Architecture; Wilson Architects/Clarke and Prince; EJE Architecture; Denton Corker Marshall; Hassell- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
Jen Renzi: IA Interior Architects and Studio O+A Collaborate on McDonald's New Chicago Headquarters: What sounds (and looks) like the paradigm-shifting headquarters of a venture-funded Silicon Valley startup is in fact the home of an iconic Fortune 500 corporation founded in the 1950s...The only catch was having to complete the ground-up project within the client’s aggressive 18-month timeline. [images]- Interior Design magazine |
Katherine Guimapang: Retail stores are changing. Brands call for architects to aid them during the retail revolution: ...some brands are trying to find ways to make retail stores relevant and interesting...If brands want their brick and mortar spaces to thrive, focus is shifting towards how space can be genuinely intriguing and engaging...It's not only about capturing the sale but capturing the experience of the brand in the built environment. -- Snarkitecture; Arthur Mamou-Mani; Li Xiang/X+Living Architecture Design [images]- Archinect |
Jesus Diaz: See China’s groundbreaking $4.8B “horizontal skyscraper”: The project, designed by Moshe Safdie, is the biggest and one of the tallest sky bridges in the world: ...echoes the architect’s famous $5.7 billion “SkyPark” at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore...connecting independent skyscrapers with a bridge of entertainment and recreation spaces...the Crystal is the complex’s fifth skyscraper, albeit a horizontal one...part of a larger development called Raffles City Chongqing... [images, videos]- Fast Company / Co.Design |
Athens to open up ancient river: ...could see the light of day again, thanks to a collapsing tramline in the centre of the Greek capital...River Ilisos was mentioned by Plato, and saw philosophers from Socrates to the Cynics teach on its banks. But it was paved over as part of the post-war urban development drive...the idea...first floated in November, is now a firm plan that has won some "important allies." -- Nikos Belavilas; Athens Anaplasis; Urban Environment Laboratory- BBC News |
New York Build 2019: ...free to attend and features 15,000+ registered attendees, 200+ speakers, 200+ exhibitors, 8 conference theatres, AIA CES approved training workshops, the Skills & Recruitment Hub...officially supported by the State of New York March 12 -13- New York Build |
David Brussat: Nikos Salingaros on archiCULTure: Architecture today, at least establishment architecture, is not so much a profession as a cult...."a ‘rewiring of the students’ neuronal circuits'"...that’s what cults do...Students of architecture are brainwashed. They are taught to reject their intuitive respect for beauty...Now the cult is beginning to leak: keeping the feedback loop closed has grown more difficult. -- James Stevens Curl/“Making Dystopia: The Strange Rise and Survival of Architectural Barbarism"; "Anti-architecture and Deconstruction"- Architecture Here and There |
Duo Dickinson: Lost New Haven: Traveling Through Time: Cultures change, so our buildings evolve. Some buildings that we loved are torn down for the next use. And history is lost forever...This illustrated talk wends through the epochal shifts in our place, the buildings that defined our landscape and that have been swept away by changes. [video]- The New Haven Preservation Trust |
Alexandra Lange: Overlooked No More: Julia Morgan, Pioneering Female Architect: Morgan, who was the first woman to earn an architect’s license in California [in 1904], was a prolific designer of hundreds of buildings, namely the Hearst Castle at San Simeon: ...[she] was used to skepticism about her abilities. But she built up her reputation with projects now known around the world...“all the biases against her she turned into assets,” said Julia Donoho... -- Bernard Maybeck [images]- New York Times |
Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group plan MLK and Coretta Scott King memorial: A monumental sculpture symbolizing the love and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King will be erected in the historic Boston Common..."The Embrace"...22-foot-high pair of clasped bronze arms...reminiscent of Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate (a.k.a The Bean) in Chicago’s Millennium Park...a literal point of reflection...that surprises but doesn’t overwhelm. [images]- The Architect's Newspaper |
2019 NGV Architecture Commission shortlist announced: The National Gallery of Victoria...selected five site-specific, low-impact design proposals...Architecture Commission is an annual installation of a site-specific work of temporary architecture... -- Alter Atlas Architecture; Aspect Studios and Trias; Edition Office and Yhonnie Scarce; Lee Yang Yang and Louise Allen; Ursula Chandler Architects and Marko Radosavljevic- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
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