Today’s News - Tuesday, October 27, 2020
● Tufts University launches Pandemic Places Project, an online platform offering valuable resources and research for urban planning and design related to COVID-19.
● Grace Farms launches Design for Freedom initiative "involving dozens of experts and leaders from across" the A/E/C industry that "addresses head-on the insidious and chronically-overlooked crisis of systemic forced labor within the building materials supply chain - includes a robust, resource-filled website, a webinar series, and more."
● Wasik wades into how "former malls and abandoned shopping-center sites are in the midst of a repurposing" that "may address the issue of enough affordable senior housing - although only partly" (Dunham-Jones & Williamson weigh in).
● Matt Shaw minces no words about how wrong Trump is when he "says Dems want to ban windows" - referring to proposed energy policy reform to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions - "net-zero energy ambitions and ample glazing are not mutually exclusive, as many recent buildings demonstrate."
● Elissaveta Brandon takes a deep dive into how Houston, which "often ranks among the top 10 most unequal metro areas in the U.S., has been building one of the most extensive - and equitable - networks of parks and greenways in the country" - and other initiatives aiming to improve quality of life in "10 historically under-resourced communities."
● Kamin cheers the Univ. of Chicago's new David Rubenstein Forum by the "purposeful provocateurs" DS+R - an "eye-grabbing pile of stacked boxes - a first pass suggests that it is more than just another superficial, look-at-me icon wannabe. This is a bold building by, and for, bold thinkers" (bird-safe glass included!).
● Happy ending for Mid-century Modern x 2: Hewitt tells the fascinating tale of BassamFellows' restoration of the Schlumberger Research Center administration building, Philip Johnson's first nonresidential commission, sitting vacant for 7 years and suffering water damage, and now the company's HQ for its design studio and showroom.
● Micallef tells the tale of how the Oculus Pavilion, "a Space Age public toilet" in Toronto, "went from architectural gem to sad derelict - and back again. Its derelict state was a melancholy sight, but 'Brighter Days Ahead,' a temporary public art installation by Giaimo Architects, foretells of the pavilion's future."
● On a more worrisome note: The new "Virtual Village" online platform, launched by the non-profit Village Preservation, "offers 36 free history tours of Union Square South - part of their larger efforts seeking landmarks protections - as the city has dubbed this area 'Silicon Alley' and has pushed through many new developments."
● HOK's new $4.1 billion terminal at Salt Lake City International includes "several pieces of industrial-scale art" by Gordon Huether that "bring recognizable elements of the area's landscape indoors. 'Art is very much a part of the architecture.'"
● Hurst reports sad news: London-based Dixon Jones "shuts up shop after 30 years" because of Covid-19 and "a longer-term failure to agree a succession plan" + Tributes + Rob Wilson reviews the firm's impressive portfolio.
● John Cary & Casius Pealer "respond to NCARB's proposal for a 4-year accredited degree - the much larger issue when it comes to making the path to licensure more accessible and inclusive: the structural failure of internship - a primary challenge and obstacle for access to the profession today."
● NOMA x 2: 2020 NOMA Phil Freelon Professional Design Awards honor 5 projects for leadership and social, economic, and environmental design.
● NOMA welcomes incoming President Pugh & recognizes outgoing President Dowdell + 2020 NOMA/NAACP/SEED Awards for built and conceptual projects "that exemplify justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion/JEDI" (scroll down).
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Tufts University launches Pandemic Places Project, a resource for urban planning and design related to COVID-19...website includes valuable resources and research around: economic impacts, tracking the pandemic, and urban design/public spaces. -- Director: Justin B. Hollander, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning- Tufts University |
Shining A Light: Grace Farms launches Design for Freedom initiative to abolish forced labor in the built environment: ...addresses head-on the insidious and chronically-overlooked crisis...within the building materials supply chain...includes a robust, resource-filled website, an upcoming webinar series, educational partnerships at major universities, and more...Involving dozens of experts and leaders from across a broad swath of the architecture, engineering, and construction industry... -- Sharon Prince; Bill Menking- The Architect's Newspaper |
John F. Wasik: Once Meccas of Retail Therapy, Now Homes to Elder Americans: Former malls and abandoned shopping-center sites are in the midst of a repurposing - and one of those new uses is senior housing: The factors driving retail-to-housing transformation were set in motion years ago but have been accelerated by the pandemic [and] online retailing...Will this new wave of...transformation produce enough affordable senior housing for the future? Changes afoot in the new redevelopments may address that issue, although only partly...The only thing that’s undeniable is the demographic wave that shows the expanding need for senior housing. -- Ellen Dunham-Jones; June Williamson- New York Times |
Matt Shaw: Op-Ed: Trump says Dems want to ban windows. He couldn’t be more wrong: He is referring in part to the House Democrats’ plan to reform energy policy, which aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions...by 2050...the building sector - responsible for 40% of emissions in the U.S. - would achieve “net-zero” by 2030...net-zero energy ambitions and ample glazing are not mutually exclusive, as many recent buildings demonstrate...go beyond typical standards for natural light, natural ventilation, and other quality-of-life-enhancing features. -- Frederick Fisher & Partners; Studio Ma; Morphosis Architects; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); WORKac- The Architect's Newspaper |
Elissaveta M. Brandon: Houston’s bid for park equity: The city often ranks among the top 10 most unequal metro areas in the US, but since 2012, it has been building one of the most extensive - and equitable - networks of parks and greenways in the country [Bayou Greenways 2020]: ...[it] has created over 3,000 acres of green space...Complete Communities initiative...to expand access to parks but also quality affordable homes...transit options and more in 10 historically under-resourced communities...50/50 program helped identify which 50 parks out of the 170 needed the most attention...Beyond the Bayous initiative paves the way towards equitable distribution of parks, access and connectivity. -- SWA Group- City Monitor |
Blair Kamin: A pile of stacked boxes at the University of Chicago - exhibitionism or architecture? It's an eye-grabbing pile of irregularly stacked boxes, seemingly designed to land on magazine covers and draw attention - as well as big donations...All those things make me wonder whether the new David Rubenstein Forum...is the real deal or a reversion to the self-indulgent days of “starchitecture” ...a first pass suggests that [it] is more than just another superficial, look-at-me icon wannabe...Its in-out visual rhythms make it an arresting presence, one that seems at home alongside The U. of C.’s quirky towers, even though it lacks their Gothic verticality...This is a bold building by, and for, bold thinkers... -- Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Brininstool + Lynch- Chicago Tribune |
Cate Hewitt: BassamFellows Remodels the Future: The Schlumberger Research Center administration building, designed in 1951 and built in 1952, was Philip Johnson’s first nonresidential commission...By the time [they] were aware of the building, it had already sat vacant for seven years, water damage had ruined areas of the interior...In the midst of renovating and restoring [Philip Johnson’s] Hodgson House, Fellows and Bassam began searching for a permanent home for their business...The PJB has become the company headquarters...as well as its design studio and showroom.- Connecticut Examiner / CT Examiner |
Shawn Micallef: How a Space Age public toilet went from architectural gem to sad derelict - and back again: Coming across the Oculus Pavilion for the first time is like stumbling upon E.T.’s spaceship in a wooded clearing...Its derelict state was a melancholy sight, but a new, temporary, public art installation called “Brighter Days Ahead” foretells of the pavilion’s future...Though delayed by COVID-19, the sunny rays will brighten up fall and winter for a few months until work can begin in 2021...exemplified “the adventurous optimism of the modernist era in Metropolitan Toronto’s early public buildings." -- Alan Crossley & Laurence Cazaly (1959); Giaimo Architects; Brown + Storey Architects- Toronto Star |
New ‘Virtual Village’ platform offers 36 free history tours of Union Square South: Non-profit Village Preservation has launched a new online platform...part of their larger efforts seeking landmarks protections for the “South of Union Square” area, where Greenwich Village meets the East Village...Though much of Greenwich Village, and now even parts of the East Village and Noho, have had historic districts and individual landmark...Union Square South is sorely lacking...concerning for community groups and local neighbors...as the city has dubbed this area “Silicon Alley” and has pushed through many new developments...- 6sqft (New York City) |
Salt Lake City International Constructs 21st Century Terminal: ...unveiled the first phase of its $4.1 billion redevelopment...HOK developed a design...to be functional, affordable and timeless...Several pieces of industrial-scale art bring recognizable elements of the area’s landscape indoors. Airport director notes that artwork by Gordon Huether add a sense of place...“Art is very much a part of the architecture...HOK's Matt Needham predicts that the integration of art and architecture will prove to be timeless...7-story, 5-ton "The Falls" welcomes passengers...with dichroic glasswork that changes color with changing light conditions..."The Canyons" is a series of curved tubes and microfiber panels that bend and sway to evoke the feeling of Utah’s signature geological formations.- Airport Improvement magazine |
Will Hurst: Dixon Jones shuts up shop after 30 years in practice: ...established in 1989 and best known for projects for major British institutions such as the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, [etc.] - shut at the end of last month. Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones...both in their 80s - said the practice had been hard-hit by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as a longer-term failure to agree a succession plan...had not been able to reach agreement with younger colleagues + Tributes + Rob Wilson reviews the work of Dixon Jones- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
John Cary & Casius Pealer: We Need a 3-Year Internship: The founders of ArchVoices respond to NCARB's proposal for a 4-year accredited degree: NCARB CEO Michael Armstrong...calling for “an additional, more affordable entry point into the profession"...[his] emphasis on a 4-year degree obscures the much larger issue when it comes to making the path to licensure more accessible and inclusive: the amount of time internship still takes...intended to last 3 years continues to average over twice as long...structural failure of architectural internship...remains a primary challenge and obstacle for access to the profession today. -- Intern Development Program/IDP; Architectural Experience Program/AXP- Architect Magazine |
2020 NOMA Phil Freelon Professional Design Awards: ...honoring leadership and social, economic, and environmental design. -- Perkins & Will/Yanel de Angel; Moody Nolan/Curtis J. Moody; Studio Figure/Nicholas Brinen; AECOM Detroit/Pierre Roberson; SmithGroup/Dayton Schroeter- National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) |
NOMA Inducts Incoming President Jason Pugh and Recognizes Outgoing President Kimberly Dowdell + 2020 NOMA/NAACP/SEED Awards highlight the built and conceptual projects in architecture, community design, and economic development that exemplify justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion/JEDI (scroll down). -- Höweler + Yoon Architecture/Mabel O. Wilson (Studio&)/Gregg Bleam Landscape Architect/Frank Dukes/Eto Otitigbe; Tulsa Housing Authority/KAI Architects; Valerio Dewalt Train; AIAS Freedom By Design; Lindsey Naganuma/Claudia Monroy-Benitez; Chicago Mobile Makers/Maya Bird-Murphy; Pathways to Equity- National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) / Design Corps Social, Economic, and Environmental Design (SEED) Network |
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