Today’s News - Tuesday, May 5, 2020
EDITOR'S NOTE: Giving Tuesday, the global generosity movement, is launching #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of unity taking place today, May 5, 2020, as a response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19; visit https://now.givingtuesday.org/
And apologies for posting so late - the technology gods have been having their fun with us (again).
● de Monchaux & Krotov each pay eloquent (and sometimes humorous) tribute to Michael Sorkin: "Precise prescience was his M.O. He was funnier than I assumed Marxists typically were. It was a winning mode" + "He was not bamboozled by architects, nor by writers. His criticism was scorching."
● Giovannini's rage re: LACMA's "demolition under cover of COVID-19" knows no bounds: "Architecture is not the whim of two guys who think that borrowing swooping architectural curves from 1950s Brazil is cool, damn the cost" - it's time "to reflect on a way forward that will save the museum from institutional self-destruction."
● Fazzare, on a brighter note, offers a look at "London's youngest neighborhood" where "eight architects have designed a city block of new artist and maker spaces - where affordable rent is a guiding principle."
● Kamin takes us on a tour of Chicago's Graceland Cemetery, "an outlet for pent-up pedestrian activity" during lockdown, and "a picturesque expanse that's as notable for its architecture and landscape design as for the notables who are buried there - architects play such a prominent role, both as creators of memorials and subjects of them."
● Speaking of landscapes, "students can now join ASLA free of charge," and will have "access to a suite of educational and professional resources" (after completing a short survey).
● Belogolovsky's audio Q&A with Peter Eisenman, who "reflects on practicing in uncertainty, the notion of authority, and the 'starchitect' myth": "I am not convinced that I have a style."
● James Wines at his curmudgeonly best in the first of Friedman Benda's Design in Dialogue talks with Hobson - part of the Virtual Design Festival: "All cities are becoming exactly alike. A bunch of under-endowed macho men built this world" - and architects' over-dependence on CAD software (cities "are swamped by the exotic shapes you can make with a computer").
● Curbed is being folded into New York Magazine to make it "more sustainable," says parent Vox Media, and will relaunch later this year (now we know what all those furloughs and layoffs are about).
● Fairs reports that ArchDaily has been sold to products platform Architonic: "The two sites will continue to operate as separate platforms. While some online architecture and design media have continued to thrive, others have closed or been acquired."
● On a (much-needed) lighter note, Joshua Glenn catches up with "celebrated cartoonist" Seth (a.k.a. Gregory Gallant) to talk about his "disciplined daydreaming" and "Dominion," a "sprawling display of jaunty model buildings - fashioned of cardboard harvested from FedEx boxes" with some amazing "vernacular architectural details."
● ICYMI: ANN feature: Weinstein cheers Impelluso & Fusaro's "Villas and Gardens of the Renaissance": What better escapist yet relevant book could an architect desire? The splendors of Italian Renaissance architecture illuminate our Dark Age and transform eye candy into brain food.
COVID-19 news continues - ending with some welcome light-hearted news
● "Debating Density: Urban space and the coronavirus crisis" is a new series that kicks off with Bruce Schaller, former NYC Deputy Commissioner of Traffic and Planning; Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute, and Samuel Kling of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs - all well worth the time!
● Lamster makes the case that, with people "strolling, jogging, biking - just happy to be outside," it's time to debunk the tired trope that "'Dallas isn't a walkable city. If there has been a silver lining to the lockdown, it has been to disabuse us of this notion - and adapt our streets to better suit the needs of pedestrians."
● A look at how, "in the peak of social distancing," Linstrom of Davis Partnership Architects has adapted a mental health care facility in Colorado. where technology isn't an option for inpatient care. "That's where design comes in."
● Wainwright cheers the V&A "creating a show for our times, targeting the everyday objects taking on new meaning in the coronavirus age" by launching the "Pandemic Objects" online series.
● V&A curator Cormier takes on home-made signs in the first "Pandemic Objects": "I felt a strange closeness to these signs, a gentle guide - the language is almost always polite -you can often pick out strange, humorous and touching personal affects" - they "tell us a lot about power - who has the right to broadcast their messages and who doesn't."
● Artist and visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger brings us an illustrated guide re: "how to discover the history of your neighborhood, without leaving home" (including "things you need" and the "nice to haves").
● One we absolutely couldn't resist! "Schoolchildren in China make creative social-distancing hats - essentially creating a one-meter zone around them" (we love the balloons!).
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Thomas de Monchaux & Mark Krotov: Precise and Prescient: On Michael Sorkin, 1948-2020: ...Sorkin...is, for me, the pandemic’s first celebrity victim, to the extent that an architecture critic can be a celebrity...Whether he was writing prophetically, or critically, or theoretically, or goofing off...precise prescience was his M.O...[He] was...funnier than I assumed Marxists typically were. It was a winning mode: rigorous but approachable, digressive but never at risk of losing the thread. + His master-planning was the kind that seemed to yield to no one master, that answered to no one plan...was not bamboozled by architects, nor by writers. His criticism for the Village Voice was scorching... -- Terreform; Urban Research- n+1 magazine |
Joseph Giovannini: LACMA: Demolition Under Cover of COVID-19: The Peter Zumthor building is a celebrity structure...all glamour with little content, all camera angles with no square footage...the worst part is that the building sacrifices the art...as COVID-19 has taken over the country...Under the phony pretense that it suddenly cares for the public...[it] claims its intent is to infuse (mostly public) money into the local economy, as though suddenly this deeply selfish boondoggle had an altruistic purpose: job creation...The recklessness and irresponsibility of the project is epic...Architecture is not the whim of two guys who think that borrowing swooping architectural curves from 1950s Brazil is cool, damn the cost...chance to pause...and to reflect on a way forward that will save the museum from institutional self-destruction. -- Michael Govan- Los Angeles Review of Books |
Elizabeth Fazzare: An Inside Look at London’s New Design District Opening This Year: In Greenwich Peninsula, home of the O2, eight architects have designed a city block of new artist and maker spaces with the hopes of opening later this year: London’s youngest neighborhood is rising around the...the Millennium Dome...where affordable rent is a guiding principle. -- Hannah Corlett/HNNA; 6a Architects; Adam Khan Architects; Architecture 00; Barozzi Veiga; David Kohn Architects; Mole Architects; SelgasCano; Schulze+Grassov- Architectural Digest |
Blair Kamin: Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery is an unexpected green oasis, with architecture galore. Don’t miss these monuments: ...a picturesque expanse that’s as notable for its architecture and landscape design as for the notables...who are buried there...has always attracted strollers...[its] value as an outlet for pent-up pedestrian activity that is allowed during...stay-at-home order can only grow...Cemeteries offer a respite from the city, but...the laws of real estate still apply...choice waterfront plots go to the rich and famous. Still, as in cities, there is infinite aesthetic variety...architects play such a prominent role, both as creators of memorials and subjects of them. -- O.C. Simonds; McKim, Mead & White; Dirk Lohan; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; Louis Sullivan; Daniel Burnham- Chicago Tribune |
Students Can Now Join ASLA Free of Charge: ...any students qualifying for Student, Student Affiliate, or International Student memberships can join...Student ASLA members will gain access to a suite of educational and professional resources...To take advantage of free membership, interested students should fill out this short survey.- American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) |
Vladimir Belogolovsky: Peter Eisenman reflects on practising in uncertainty, and the notion of authority...architecture that is detached from responding to a particular function, and the 'starchitect' myth: "I am not convinced that I have a style." [audio]- STIR (See Think Inspire Reflect) |
Benedict Hobson: Cities "are swamped by the exotic shapes you can make with a computer," says James Wines: ...he laments the predominance of digitally created forms in architecture and calls for more buildings that "reach out to people...All cities are becoming exactly alike...A bunch of under-endowed macho men built this world"...But he also laid the blame on architects' dependence on computer-aided design (CAD) software..."you're building some wiggles or convolutions that show you can use your computer well"...acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic will have a huge impact on the built environment...may mean that the kind of public spaces he enjoys may become harder for architects to create. -- SITE/Sculpture in the Environment; Glenn Adamson/Friedman Benda; Virtual Design Festival/VDF- Dezeen |
Curbed folded into New York Magazine: Move makes struggling website “more sustainable,” says parent Vox Media: ...14-year-old but recently hobbled digital publication focused on real estate and urban development, will be folded into New York Magazine on May 1...the company expects to “relaunch Curbed as part of [NY Magazine] later this year"...Curbed’s coverage of the real estate industry will not change under its new umbrella.- The Real Deal (NYC) |
Marcus Fairs: ArchDaily sold to products platform Architonic: ... a deal thought to be worth around €10 million...The two sites will continue to operate as separate platforms...deal comes five years after Architonic was itself bought by Swiss media group NZZ...While some [online architecture and design media] have continued to thrive, others have closed or been acquired by larger media brands or e-commerce players. -- Stephan Bachmann; Tobias Lutz;p Nils Becker; David Assael; David Basulto- Dezeen |
Joshua Glenn: To roam his dominion: A celebrated cartoonist builds a world in ink and cardboard: “In the studio, nothing changes...the outside world barely exists.” This is how Seth, a well-known Canadian cartoonist, responds when I [ask] how he’s been coping with the COVID-19 lockdown...So when the order came to shelter in place...he simply carried on doing “what I always do - just more of it"..."Seth: A Life, All Play" at the Art Gallery of Guelph [last year]...a breathtaking panoply of the artist’s output...[I] was particularly smitten by a sprawling display of jaunty model buildings - fashioned of cardboard harvested from FedEx boxes..."Dominion"...Peering down [its] implied avenues and alleys, you become a flaneur, delighting in vernacular architectural details..."making up this imaginary city might just end up being my life’s work.”- ArchitectureBoston magazine (Boston Society of Architects/BSA) |
ANN feature: Norman Weinstein: Book Review: "Villas and Gardens of the Renaissance" by Lucia Impelluso with photography by Dario Fusaro: What better escapist yet relevant book could an architect desire? The splendors of Italian Renaissance architecture illuminate our Dark Age and transform eye candy into brain food.- ArchNewsNow.com |
Debating Density: Urban space and the coronavirus crisis: Bruce Schaller [former Deputy Commissioner of Traffic and Planning, NYC Department of Transportation]: Density Isn’t Easy. But It’s Necessary: Americans have always had a difficult relationship with urban density. But in a crisis, we need what cities can provide. Nicole Gelinas/Manhattan Institute: In New York City, Density Saves Lives, Too: Before coronavirus transformed urban life, New York had achieved a massive public health success, thanks in part to the city’s now-maligned layout. Samuel Kling/Chicago Council on Global Affairs: Is the City Itself the Problem? There’s a long history of blaming urban areas...for physical and moral ills. But density can be an asset for fighting coronavirus- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities) |
Mark Lamster: With the coronavirus, an opportunity to reinvent Dallas: Faced with adversity, Dallas has always thought big: The idea that “Dallas isn’t a walkable city” is such an accepted truism that you’d think it was our civic motto...If there has been a silver lining to the lockdown, it has been to disabuse us of this notion...people are on [the streets], strolling, jogging, biking...just happy to be outside...should be taking measures to expand accessibility to walkable space...taking immediate steps to implement a linked network of streets closed to automotive traffic...as cities have done...from Oakland to Milan...why not take this opportunity to rapidly paint in bike lanes and adapt our streets to better suit the needs of pedestrians.- Dallas Morning News |
COVID-19’s effect on mental health, future design: ...in the peak of social distancing, mental health care facilities are having to adapt...West Springs Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado...has virtually converted all therapy appointments and group sessions. But for inpatient care, technology isn’t an option. That’s where design comes in...operating under the state guidelines for social distancing is near impossible for effective treatment outcomes...fear and stress...is taking its toll on staff...the shift for architects and health care facilities is toward designing for the next pandemic...to close gaps made clear by COVID-19. -- Robyn Linstrom/Davis Partnership Architects- Colorado Real Estate Real Journal (CREJ) |
Oliver Wainwright: Museum of Covid-19: the story of the crisis told through everyday objects: ...V&A’s collectors are creating a show for our times, targeting the everyday objects taking on new meaning in the coronavirus age: There’s nothing like six weeks of house arrest to give you an elevated awareness of your surroundings...Brendan Cormier has turned his team’s attention to thinking about how the coronavirus has reframed the everyday...[launching] Pandemic Objects, an online series...we may never look at everyday objects in the same way again. [home-made signs, flour & yeast, door handles, Google Street View, toilet paper, streaming services, cardboard packaging, balconies, the sewing machines]- Guardian (UK) |
Brendan Cormier: Pandemic Objects: Home-Made Signs: ...have come to symbolise a stunning shift in the way we experience the public realm...has been one of the most immediate and visible changes to public space during the lockdown...I felt a strange closeness to these signs, a gentle guide - the language is almost always polite...you can often pick out strange, humorous and touching personal affects...The emergence of these signs tells us a lot about a layer of the city that we don’t talk much about anymore...the editorial layer...tells us a lot about power - who has the right to broadcast their messages and who doesn’t.- V&A / Victoria and Albert Museum |
Ariel Aberg-Riger: How to Discover the History of Your Neighborhood, Without Leaving Home: Even during social distancing, you can time-travel back. Here's how I explored the history of my own street: ...there’s a different way to go wide when you can’t go far, and that’s to go back...."The City-dweller's Guide to Time Travel (while under lockdown)" - Things you need; Nice to haves...- CityLab (formerly The Atlantic Cities) |
Schoolchildren in China make creative social-distancing hats inspired by ancient headwear: Designed and handmade by themselves...essentially creating a one-meter zone around them, the ‘wings’ of the hats makes reference to an ancient design worn by Song Dynasty emperors hundreds of years ago. colored and decorated with the pupil’s individual personality...- designboom |
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