Today’s News - Tuesday, February 2, 2021
EDITOR'S NOTE: It's Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow - meaning 6 more weeks of winter - oh joy (as we look out on 2 feet of snow!).
● Hopkirk reports on the U.K. government publishing a "new model design code to 'bring back beauty'" via a new Office for Place - the hope is that the code "will play a central role in banishing 'ugliness' from new developments" (transition chair - Nicholas Boys Smith of Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission fame).
● Wainwright takes a deep (deep!) dive into the "turbocharged luxury development" causing "Nine Elms disease" plaguing London - "the product of politicians in thrall to property developers" - poor doors and exclusion is "a new form of social apartheid on an industrial scale."
● Bernstein takes issue with NYC "developments that impinge on important institutions or iconic views" and "should be rejected" - he's a "cheerleader" for new projects that have "the potential to be remarkable - both functionally and aesthetically."
● Professor of architecture & author Adnan Z Morshed bemoans South Asia not preserving "its disappearing modernist history" - leaving "cities without stories" that "endow them with their humanity and color. Without these qualities, cities are condemned to the dystopia of uber-identical contemporaneity."
● On a brighter note, Huw Oliver delves into "how Paris plans to become Europe's greenest city by 2030 - transforming itself for Parisians and the planet - few cities anywhere are acting quite as boldly and proactively as the City of Light right now."
● In honor of Black History Month: Writer, researcher & urban planner Pete Saunders profiles "11 Black urbanists every planner should know - the people who have helped us understand how cities work - and how we can help make them better - they should be known and celebrated."
● ASLA is celebrating Black Design Excellence during Black History Month: "Each day, we will be highlighting a different Black landscape architect or landscape architecture project that has had an impact on communities and the profession as a whole."
● DS+R is on a roll: Hopkirk reports that Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Stefano Boeri have landed a €300m redevelopment project in Milan - the firms "triumphed over a starry shortlist" (expect "extensive vegetation").
● Woods Bagot & DS+R won the competition for Adelaide Contemporary - but plans have changed and the team unveils its design for the 124,000-square-foot Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre on the same site (+ another win in Madrid that has been reported in English - yet).
● Deadline: Call for entries: Dezeen Awards 2021: 36 categories + new sustainability categories.
● ICYMI: ANN feature: Samuel G. White: The Architecture of Public Buildings: …good design should not be expressed in terms of style. The key difference between good and bad architecture is quality, not whether the cladding is rusticated limestone or perforated titanium.
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Elizabeth Hopkirk: Government publishes new model design code to ‘bring back beauty’: Office for Place to be established within housing ministry: ...code...will play a central role in banishing “ugliness” from new developments...devised by David Rudlin of Urbed, the Wolfson Prize-winning urbanist...provides a checklist of design principles to consider...such as street character, building type and façade...environmental impact and wellbeing factors...transition board chaired by Nicholas Boys Smith who co-led the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission [with Roger Scruton].- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Oliver Wainwright: Penthouses and poor doors: how Europe's 'biggest regeneration project' fell flat: Few places have seen such turbocharged luxury development as Nine Elms on the London riverside. So why are prices tumbling, investors melting away and promises turning to dust? With around 5,000 homes completed...The results so far are not encouraging...the product of politicians in thrall to property developers...exclusion has been designed into the buildings, streets and public spaces...a new form of social apartheid on an industrial scale. -- Rogers Stirk Harbour; KPF; Zaha Hadid Architects; SOM; Norman Foster/Foster + Partners Frank Gehry; Powell & Moya- Guardian (UK) |
Fred A. Bernstein: Op-ed: New York City developments that impinge on important institutions or iconic views should be rejected: Two developers...hope to build a pair of 39-story towers at 960 Franklin Avenue, in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood...the site is just 200 feet east of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The towers, dramatically taller than anything else in the area, will leave parts of the Garden in shadow nearly every morning of the year...many of its plants will suffer...there are plenty of other places to build, this is a terrific time to build...projects that don’t impinge on crucial institutions or iconic views...- The Architect's Newspaper |
Adnan Z Morshed: Op-Ed: Cities Without Stories: South Asia needs to preserve its disappearing modernist history: ...this campaign of “renewal” looks at the past either with an ambivalence that is tantamount to negligence or with a hostility...historical value of modernist architecture is lost on the public, which alone seems capable of defending it...What accounts for this disconnect? ...we might wonder why the public remains unmoved by the impending demolition of these very public buildings...Stories endow cities with their humanity and color. Without these qualities, cities are condemned to the dystopia of uber-identical contemporaneity. -- Raj Rewal; Louis Kahn; Constantinos Apostolos Doxiadis; Daniel C. Dunham/Robert G. Boughey- The Architect's Newspaper |
Huw Oliver: How Paris plans to become Europe’s greenest city by 2030: From sweeping car bans to vast urban forests, the French capital is transforming itself for Parisians and the planet: Mayor Anne Hidalgo has placed green policies at the forefront [since] 2014. And unlike some other leaders around the world, she is also acting on them...These moves haven’t been without controversy...But the city continues undeterred...lockdowns of the past year have given many cities pause for thought...mayors have capitalised on the lack of traffic to push through drastic measures...few cities anywhere...are acting quite as boldly and proactively as the City of Light right now.- Time Out Paris |
Pete Saunders: 11 Black Urbanists Every Planner Should Know: From the first Black planner to a celebrated photographer, we recognize the people who have helped us understand how cities work - and how we can help make them better: ...historical figures and contemporary pioneers...Some...may not fall within the conventional realm of urbanism...but they should be known and celebrated... -- W.E.B. DuBois; Horace Cayton Jr. & St. Clair Drake; Gordon Parks; John Hope Franklin; Samuel J. Cullers; Dorothy Mae Richardson; Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts; William Julius Wilson; Geoffrey Canada; Mary Pattillo- American Planning Association (APA) |
Celebrating Black Design Excellence During Black History Month: Each day in February, we will be highlighting a different Black landscape architect or landscape architecture project that has had an impact on diverse communities and the profession as a whole...a social media campaign...- American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) |
Elizabeth Hopkirk: Diller Scofidio & Renfro beats big British names to land €300m Italian job: ...triumphed over a starry shortlist to land...redevelopment project in the centre of Milan...Pirelli 39 project...26-storey post-war [office] tower...significantly altered to bring it up to modern environmental standards. A residential tower and a bridge building, both featuring extensive vegetation, will be added to the site....DS+R beat 70 teams from 15 countries...other finalists were David Chipperfield Architects, Heatherwick Studio, 3XN, Vittorio Grassi/Woods Bagot, and Wilmotte & Associates. -- Stefano Boeri Architetti- BD/Building Design (UK) |
Woods Bagot, Diller Scofidio + Renfro unveil designs for Adelaide’s Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre: The design for the [124,000-square-foot] centre originates from Aboriginal concepts of earth, sky and land elements...ground plane will also include [87,000 square feet] of public realm with a native landscape...facade draws inspiration from temporary shelters created by Aboriginal peoples...[firms] originally collaborated on a competition-winning proposal for Adelaide Contemporary, a gallery proposal for the same site...- ArchitectureAU (Australia) |
Call for entries: Dezeen Awards 2021: 36 categories; new sustainability categories; Studios of the Year; Emerging studios of the Year; etc.; early entry deadline (save money!): March 31; standard entry: June 2; late entry: June 9- Dezeen |
ANN feature: Samuel G. White, FAIA: The Architecture of Public Buildings: The aspirations of a program that encourages good design should not be expressed in terms of style. The key difference between good and bad architecture is quality, not whether the structure is clad in rusticated limestone or perforated titanium.- ArchNewsNow.com |
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