Today’s News - Thursday, August 6, 2020
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tomorrow and Monday will be no-newsletter days - we'll be back Tuesday, August 11. We've taken a break from COVID-19 news today (alas, more to come next week). In the meantime: Stay well. Stay safe.
● Kennicott's eloquent take on the "deft and daring" Eisenhower Memorial (Gehry chimes in, too): "It is unlike any other memorial in Washington, or the world - at night, one can still detect some of the melancholy that was subtly woven into his original plan. My guess is that in a few years, it will be primarily regarded with affection as a green island of old-fashioned geniality in a failing city that was once the capital of the free world."
● Michael Allen, of Sam Fox School of Design, minces no words re: design schools that (and fellow academics who) "offer sweeping public statements" about their solidarity when it comes to improving "societal ills" - but "students are not fooled" and "are reclaiming the political, visionary legacy of design schools in years past."
● Wainwright sees efforts to reform the planning system in England as more like a "race to the bottom. It aims for beauty, quality and affordability, but it will likely unleash smaller, meaner, less affordable homes - and nothing left in the way to stop them" (heed lessons from overseas).
● Simon Jenkins explains why "scrapping regulations in England will unleash a wave of urban sprawl, worsen inequality - and cancel the democratic right of people to exercise some control over the character and appearance of their neighborhood - to be smothered by commissars."
● Glentzer walks us through the "audacious idea" that is Nelson Byrd Woltz's land bridge as it begins construction in Houston's Memorial Park that "will create 25 acres of green space somewhat out of thin air over six lanes of roadway" - Thomas Woltz calls it "the physical manifestation of 'We can do that.'"
● Gamolina's great Q&A with Mecanoo's Francine Houben re: her design process, urban renewal, what makes a good building, and advice for young architects to follow their values: "It's hard work. If we do it well, we can have an impact in a very positive and important way."
● Belogolovsky's 2-part Q&A with Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal - Part 1: He talks about "his unique architecture and its origins, his professional path, and key milestones. 'I try to make all my buildings spiritual. All buildings should inspire people.'"
● Cardinal, Part 2: "A building should be nurturing and protect people within. Architecture should be comforting, protecting, and caring everyone who enters the space" (great pix in both).
● Tanner Morton profiles the amazing Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, the 2020 RAIC Gold Medalist, ranging from her preliminary design for Expo 67 and the preservation of Old Montreal, to "her foundational research on women architects" - also the first woman to be dean of a North American architecture school, and the first woman to garner the "F" in FRAIC (aussi en français).
● Call for entries: 2nd Annual C2A / Creative Communication Award (international): to celebrate creativity, excellence, and outstandingly executed ideas across 18 different categories in communication design; open to professionals and students.
● ICYMI: ANN feature: Samuel G. White: The Legacy of Paul Spencer Byard: The author of "The Architecture of Additions," published 20 years ago, proposed parameters for evaluating additions to historic buildings - more timely than ever considering the proposed Executive Order mandating classical architecture for federal buildings ["architectural pudding" included].
Weekend diversions + Page-turners:
● Gideon Fink Shapiro takes a deep - and fascinating! - dive into Carlos Mínguez Carrasco's "Kiruna Forever" at ArkDes in Stockholm (and online) that explores the forced relocation of the Swedish city that "is more than a gigantic architectural project" - the show "deserves praise for highlighting" the juxtaposition of "the confidence of master planning with the shakiness of people's reactions - and a hidden optimism."
● And because it's August 6: Mark Brown parses "I Saw the World End, " a "powerful 10-minute video artwork" by stage designers Es Devlin and Machiko Weston and commissioned by London's Imperial War Museum to mark the 75th anniversary of nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (powerful, indeed).
● Nate Berg says "move over HGTV" - now we have the new video streaming service "Shelter" - a "mix of nerdy and beautiful, the service focuses exclusively on architecture and design - and not just trivial home makeovers."
● Because we miss him so: The Architectural Review releases "7 carefully chosen" essays by Michael Sorkin from its archive, free for registered users: He "did not idealize architecture - yet he was undoubtedly hopeful for what architecture might achieve, particularly in the fight for social justice."
● Magdalena Milosz parses "Race and Modern Architecture," edited by Cheng, Davis II & Wilson: "It is not easy reading. However, it represents a significant contribution that will aid scholars, educators, practitioners and students in better understanding the role of race in Western architecture and provide a much-needed corrective to the silence surrounding race in architectural education."
● Despina Stratigakos offers an excerpt from her new book "Hitler's Northern Utopia: Building the New Order in Occupied Norway" that "tells the story of how Nazi architects and planners began to build a Nordic empire in Norway," and includes "extraordinary unpublished diaries, photographs, maps, and newspapers from the period" (some included here).
● James Tarmy cheers Ian Volner's "Philip Johnson: A Visual Biography" that demonstrates how "he managed to shape America's architecture to an almost unfathomable degree" (and a good companion to Lamster's "The Man in the Glass House").
● Elizabeth Stamp takes us inside Philip Jodidio's "Zaha Hadid. Complete Works 1979 - Today," updated from the 2009 edition - "there is much more to the late architect's oeuvre than her most famous designs."
| |
|
|
|
To subscribe to the free daily newsletter
click here
|
Philip Kennicott: The new Eisenhower Memorial is stunning, especially at night. But is this the last of the ‘great man’ memorials? Frank Gehry...isn’t dwelling on the turmoil and rancor stirred up by those who opposed his design. He sounds like a happy man...Over the past decade...the project was dogged by controversy...and eventually earned the family’s support...It is unlike any other memorial in Washington, or the world...at night, one can still detect some of the melancholy that was subtly woven into his original plan...it feels a bit like the last memorial of a passing age...My guess is that in a few years...[it] will be primarily regarded with affection as a green island of old-fashioned geniality in a failing city that was once the capital of the free world.- Washington Post |
Michael Allen: Design Schools, Now Is the Time to Answer: Who Are We For? Design and architecture schools have been far slower to make commitments than they were to offer sweeping public statements. In this void, students are reclaiming the political, visionary legacy of design schools in years past: ...power has a way of looking like change long enough to make things stay exactly the same. Art and design students are not fooled...To the public, the universities front solidarity and increased investigation of societal ills. Internally, they double down on protecting their tax-free hoarded wealth...statements aim to make the current uprising relevant to their own sources of power...Hopefully architecture students and faculty members keep pushing. -- Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis- Hyperallergic |
Oliver Wainwright: Race to the bottom: reform to planning system in England could be catastrophic: Government’s dramatic building reforms likely to cut democratic input into the planning process by half: ...there is precious little evidence that any of the new measures could lead to higher quality, more attractive or more affordable homes...proposals look set to deliver the exact opposite...The rule book is also being shredded in the name of “beauty”...It aims for beauty, quality and affordability, but it will likely unleash...smaller, meaner, less affordable homes - and nothing left in the way to stop them.- Guardian (UK) |
Simon Jenkins: Boris Johnson cries 'nimbyism', but his planning changes will be disastrous: Scrapping regulations in England will unleash a wave of urban sprawl, worsen inequality - and leave locals powerless to stop it: Local councils and those they represent...to be replaced by central government “zoning” commissions...commissioners will merely have to designate land as developable, whereupon owners can legally do what they like...It cancels the democratic right of people to exercise some control over their immediate surroundings, over the character and appearance of their neighbourhood...it is a civil right that deserves better than to be smothered by commissars.- Guardian (UK) |
Molly Glentzer: ‘An audacious idea’: Construction begins on Memorial Park land bridge: Houston’s growing reputation as one of America’s leading “green” cities will gain more traction...when construction begins on the much-anticipated land bridge across Memorial Drive...designed to improve safety for humans and wildlife...will create 25 acres of green space somewhat out of thin air over six lanes of roadway...Thomas Woltz calls [it] ..."the physical manifestation of ‘We can do that.’” -- Hare & Hare (1930s); Charles Birnbaum/Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF); Nelson Byrd Woltz- Houston Chronicle |
Julia Gamolina: Being Visionary: Mecanoo's Francine Houben on Urban Renewal, Simple Values, and Star Architects: Q&A re: her design process and what makes a good building, advising young architects to follow their values: "It’s extremely interesting to work with clients on social issues, sustainability issues, food production - it’s creative to bring all of these basic needs together as an architect. It’s hard work...If we do it well, we can have an impact in a very positive and important way."- Madame Architect |
Vladimir Belogolovsky: Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal believes buildings must grow out of nature: Being influenced by his father, a Blackfoot Indian, a forest ranger and hunter, as well as his mother, who imagined for her son to become an architect...he wanted to create buildings that would respond to nature and the organic rhythm of life....Q&A re: his unique architecture and its origins, his professional path, and key milestones: "I studied Art Nouveau. I like that a lot. That was architecture. That was art. So, you can understand my resistance to accept the Bauhaus and International Style...I try to make all my buildings spiritual...All buildings should inspire people."- STIR (See Think Inspire Reflect) |
Vladimir Belogolovsky: “A Building Should Be Nurturing and Protect People Within”: In conversation with Douglas Cardinal: "...a building should be like a woman. In other words, it should be nurturing and protect people within. Architecture should be comforting, protecting, and caring everyone who enters the space...most of my projects are direct commissions. I don’t like entering competitions because there is no connection to the local communities who I always involve."- ArchDaily |
Tanner Morton: 2020 RAIC Gold Medal: Blanche Lemco van Ginkel: ...a champion of modernism and urban design...Through ambitious work such as the preliminary design for Expo 67, the socially minded preservation of Old Montreal, and her foundational research on women architects, her career has left a profound impact on Canada as we know it today...one of the first women to enroll in McGill University’s school of architecture...[inducted] into the RAIC College of Fellows in 1973 - the first woman...the first woman to be Dean of an architecture school in North America... -- Siasia Nowicki/Robert Geddes/Philadelphia CIAM Group for Architectural Investigation; Harmen Peter Daniel (Sandy) van Ginkel- Canadian Architect magazine |
Call for entries: 2nd Annual C2A / Creative Communication Award (international): to celebrate creativity, excellence and outstandingly executed ideas across 18 different categories in communication design; open to professionals and students; deadline: September 30- Farmani Group / IDA International Design Awards |
Gideon Fink Shapiro: Kiruna, Forever Changing: The forced relocation of the northernmost city in Sweden is more than a gigantic architectural project. It is also a test for a society at the crossroads: Sensible master planning conceals the environmental recklessness of the large-scale extractive industry that is at once [its] reason for existence and the cause of its partial self-destruction..."Kiruna, Forever" is dense, layered, and messy in a good way...deserves praise for highlighting its contradictions...juxtaposes the confidence of master planning with the shakiness of people’s reactions...and a hidden optimism. ArkDes, Stockholm, thru February 7, 2021 -- Carlos Mínguez Carrasco; Ralph Erskine; White Arkitekter; Ghilardi + Hellsten Arkitekter; Henning Larsen; Iwan Baan; Artur von Schmalensee- Places Journal |
Mark Brown: Imperial War Museum unveils film marking 75 years since Hiroshima bomb: "I Saw the World End" by stage designers Es Devlin and Machiko Weston tells story of nuclear bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A powerful 10-minute video artwork..The museum commissioned...the piece, which tells the stories and explores the impact of the bombings from different perspectives...was due to be officially unveiled on Thursday morning on a 45-metre screen in London’s Piccadilly Circus but events in Beirut led organisers to cancel.- Guardian (UK) |
Nate Berg: Move over HGTV. This new video streaming service is entirely dedicated to design: "Shelter," launched by Australian actor Dustin Clare, aims to make design-related films and shows available to people who want to know more about how great spaces get made - and not just watch trivial home makeovers: A mix of nerdy and beautiful, the service focuses exclusively on architecture and design...documentaries like "Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect" [and] "Visual Acoustics" [about] architectural photographer Julius Shulman...service has also partnered with Dwell magazine and the Australian sustainable design-focused Green Magazine...- Fast Company / Co.Design |
AR Reading List 020: Michael Sorkin: 7 carefully chosen pieces from our archive, free for registered users...He saw design and criticism as "simply different registers of the same expression"...did not idealise architecture - he was aware that any transformation would not come without a struggle for wider political change - yet he was undoubtedly hopeful for what architecture might achieve, particularly in the fight for social justice.- Architectural Review (UK) |
Magdalena Milosz: "Race and Modern Architecture: A Critical History from the Enlightenment to the Present" edited by Irene Cheng, Charles L. Davis II & Mabel O. Wilson: ...highlights both the pervasiveness of race in modern architecture and its simultaneous omission from the so-called canon of architectural history and pedagogy...Although it doesn’t directly address the Canadian context, [it] touches on American and European cases with which many Canadian readers will be familiar...it is not easy reading. However, it represents a significant contribution that will aid scholars, educators, practitioners and students in better understanding the role of race in Western architecture and provide a much-needed corrective to the silence surrounding race in architectural education.- Canadian Architect magazine |
Despina Stratigakos: "Hitler’s Northern Utopia: Building the New Order in Occupied Norway": In her new book, Stratigakos tells the story of how Nazi architects and planners began to build a Nordic empire in Norway during World War II: Drawing on extraordinary unpublished diaries, photographs, and maps, as well as newspapers from the period, [the book] tells the story of...completed and unrealized architectural and infrastructure projects far beyond the well-known German military defenses built on Norway’s Atlantic coast. -- Albert Speer; Wilhelm Kreis- Metropolis Magazine |
James Tarmy: Why Hasn’t ‘Starchitect’ Philip Johnson Been Canceled? "Philip Johnson: A Visual Biography" shines a light on his enduring architectural legacy, despite a “flirtation” with Nazism: ...it wasn’t the only piece of the superstar architect’s character that was reprehensible...as Ian Volner’s illustrated, 400-page book demonstrates...through each of Johnson’s iterations - as a modernist, socialite, New York power broker, art collector, and finally, corporate postmodernist - he managed to shape America’s architecture to an almost unfathomable degree..."his patronage and his practice anticipated and pushed the field forward at each step"...a companion to major biographies that include Mark Lamster’s "The Man in the Glass House" - goes a long way toward shedding light on Johnson and his enduring legacy.- Bloomberg News |
Elizabeth Stamp: See Inside Zaha Hadid’s Revolutionary Oeuvre: A new book by Taschen surveys the Pritzker Prize-winning architect’s process, including her paintings and drawings - which are works of art in their own right: ...there is much more to the late architect’s oeuvre than her most famous designs. Philip Jodidio...explores her groundbreaking career in "Zaha Hadid. Complete Works 1979-Today"...which updates the monograph first published in 2009...Also on display are the architects product designs, exhibitions, and installations.- Architectural Digest |
ANN feature: Samuel G. White, FAIA: Additions to Historic Buildings: The Legacy of Paul Spencer Byard: The author of "The Architecture of Additions," published 20 years ago, proposed parameters for evaluating additions to historic buildings - more timely than ever considering the proposed Executive Order mandating classical architecture for federal buildings.- ArchNewsNow.com |
|
|
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.
© 2020 ArchNewsNow.com