Archinect - News

Hirshhorn ‘Bubble’ risks operating at a loss, internal Smithsonian report says

2013-05-16T13:13:00-04:00

The Hirshhorn Museum’s proposed Seasonal Inflatable Structure, also known as “the Bubble,” a project announced in 2009 and intended as an architecturally and culturally transformative space on the Mall, would operate at a loss in each of three scenarios examined in an assessment done by the Smithsonian.

“We’ve said from the beginning, and the secretary [G. Wayne Clough] has said it, this is a bold project,” said Richard Kurin, the Smithsonian’s undersecretary for history, art and culture. “We’ve encouraged this, but it has to be raised by private money. In terms of doing that, we’re still trying to raise money for construction of the Inflatable Structure. We’ve been at this for some years. We hope its time has come now, but if not, we look forward to a better time.”

Smithsonian hires Bjarke Ingels Group to rethink historic D.C. campus

2013-02-28T16:02:00-05:00

Ingels has been asked to envision a gateway, one that invites visitors to learn, rest and escape and then leads them north to the rest of the Mall. B.I.G. will be responsible for site and building investigations, programming, campus planning, architectural and engineering design concepts and cost analysis. The area "suffers from some notable impediments, and the buildings within the landscape are not utilized in a fully functional and efficient way," the Smithsonian says.

What the White House Looks Like Completely Gutted

2013-02-27T03:12:00-05:00

Harry S Truman inherited a White House that was in horrendous shape. After the British nearly burnt it to the ground in 1814, the construction of 20th-century innovations—indoor plumbing, electricity, and heating ducts—had also taken its toll on the structure. The building was nearly 150 years old, and it showed its age. In November 1948, the building was in a near-condemnable state... So it had to be gutted. Completely.

Diller-Scofidio's Hirshhorn Bubble: One More Chance?

2013-02-07T16:18:00-05:00

As a public-art stunt, the Seasonal Inflatable is troubling. The Hirshhorn should build it anyway.

If and when the Inflatable is first inflated, perhaps in fall 2014—that’s the latest, and perhaps the last, aspirational launch date—the architectural pavilion known informally as the Bubble and somewhat more officially as the Bloomberg Balloon could serve as another kind of proof: that Hirshhorn Director Richard Koshalek’s trust in architecture in art is not misplaced, and that his faith in Washington as a cultural capital is not overdetermined.

Kriston Capps writes a convincing article why Diller Scofidio's Bubble should not be bobbled.

Government Offers to Swap for a New F.B.I. Headquarters

2013-01-31T18:05:00-05:00

For nearly 40 years, the F.B.I. has had its headquarters in a massive example of Brutalist architecture on Pennsylvania Avenue. But the federal government hopes to swap the building and its prime location for a sprawling new home in the suburbs, and there seem to be plenty of developers eager to help make that happen.

The General Services Administration, the federal government’s landlord, held an “industry day” this month to lay out its wish list for new F.B.I. headquarters, drawing more than 450 interested developers, architects, brokers and consultants.

DC's Lorton Prison to be converted into apartments

2012-11-26T15:38:00-05:00

At one time, the dorm housed as many as 40 or 50 prisoners packed together like sardines, according to Caperton. The plan is to convert the space into two or three one-bedroom apartments, which is a considerably more comfortable arrangement than the last residents of the building had. Caperton says that in the 1980s and '90s Lorton Prison had a reputation for being dangerously overcrowded.

Approval for Eisenhower Memorial planned for Washington likely delayed into 2013 amid dispute

2012-11-19T20:24:00-05:00

“I would hate to stop the process and lose the momentum, especially since a lot of time, money, and effort has been expended on this memorial,” he wrote. “However, given the continued opposition with the Eisenhower family, I question whether we can ever resolve the differences ... and whether it would be in our best interest to continue to move forward.”

Preservationists back out before fight over FBI’s Hoover Building even begins

2012-10-29T17:09:00-04:00

The public doesn’t typically consider the Brutalist buildings historical — they consider them ugly. The Hoover Building in particular was named the ugliest building on Earth earlier this year by a travel Web site. And now that Penn Quarter has evolved into a posh residential community, neighbors of the building want it gone.

Board Considers Renovation of Mies's Martin Luther King Library

2012-09-20T16:40:00-04:00

The building, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, is a historical landmark but has been expensive and troublesome to maintain. The library’s management, led by D.C. Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper, has been considering whether it can be renovated or expanded in some way, or if the library needs to find a new home for the central library.

Washington’s landmarks get an landscape architectural guide

2012-09-20T16:35:00-04:00

Smith is one of 20 landscape architects who have helped create a new online guide to the city’s important outdoor spaces, some world famous, others, such as the Civil War memorial at U and Vermont Avenue NW, not as well known. The Web site, The Landscape Architect’s Guide to Washington, D.C., was launched Sept. 13 by the American Society of Landscape Architects, and there is a version for mobile devices.

Interior Secretary Salazar to review Eisenhower Memorial designs

2012-06-08T12:13:00-04:00

The embattled Eisenhower Memorial in Washington has drawn the interest of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who will be reviewing the designs by architect Frank Gehry. The request could result in yet another delay for the project, which has already been plagued by a number of disagreements.

Finalist Entries of DC’s National Mall Design Competition now on Display

2012-04-10T20:48:00-04:00

This week, the Trust for the National Mall opened the exhibition featuring the twelve final design concepts of the National Mall Design Competition in Washington, D.C. [...] The submissions, created by ten of the country’s design heavy hitters, re-envision three prominent National Mall locations: Union Square, Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument Grounds, and Constitution Gardens.

Watch: First Look at the Museum of African American History and Culture

2012-02-22T19:27:00-05:00

When the Museum of African American History and Culture opens on the National Mall in 2015, it will be "not just a record of tragedy, but a celebration of life," as President Obama said during the ground breaking ceremony on the site today.

Obama to speak at African American history museum’s groundbreaking

2012-02-16T13:15:33-05:00

President Obama will speak at the official groundbreaking next week for the Smithsonian's new African American history museum in Washington, museum officials announced. The National Museum of African American History and Culture will be situated on the National Mall and is expected to be completed by 2015 at an estimated price cost of $500 million, half of which is expected to be paid by the government.

Eisenhower Family Raises Objections to Planned Memorial

2012-02-07T18:31:00-05:00

The design shows Eisenhower as a youth gazing out at images of his adult accomplishments against a backdrop of the Kansas plains. But the Eisenhower family objects to the design and is attempting to delay approval of the project in a dispute that has pitted a leading American family against one of the country’s most recognized architects. The family says Mr. Gehry should portray Eisenhower as a man in the fullness of his achievements, not as a callow rustic who made good.

'Unbuilt Washington' exhibit shows rare designs by Jefferson, Wright, Saarinen

2011-11-18T10:24:51-05:00

The exhibit also has models of grandiose never-built projects, like converting more than 62 acres of what's now Foggy Bottom into "The National Galleries of History and Art". "Nothing in the built environment is inevitable," commented Moeller, senior vice president of the National Building Museum. "It's very unpredictable. There are some accidents. Often as not, things don't go according to plan."

American Institute of Architects embraces greater transparency in design

2011-11-11T15:22:45-05:00

“It’s a clear, simple and concise concept,” says Thomas Corrato, project architect with Hickok Cole, the Washington firm that created the design. “The idea was about how to make the space a connection between architecture and the person on the street.” The design also aims at changing how people perceive the profession. “We’re viewed as possibly compared to lawyers, and that’s a low hurdle,” says Michael Hickok, partner in Hickok Cole.

GAO Report's Options For FBI Headquarters: Modernize, Rebuild Or Relocate

2011-11-10T11:41:52-05:00

While the drawbacks of the Brutalist building, dedicated in 1975, have been known for years, two options mentioned in the GAO report, beyond modernizing the existing structure, could spell big changes for the building and downtown. The first: "[D]emolish the Hoover Building and construct a new headquarters on the existing site." And the second: "[A]cquire a new headquarters on a new site."

Why DC's Architecture Is So Boring

2011-11-09T12:02:08-05:00

Architects innovate through design, but developers also innovate by selecting architects and making decisions to invest in new neighborhoods or provide housing forms that they think other developers are neglecting. Although what developers do is not as obvious as architecture, that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences to liming competition among them.

Rethink. Restore. Rebuild. | Trust For The National Mall

2011-09-08T17:19:31-04:00

The National Mall has been loved to death. It is our country’s most visited national park, with more than 25 million annual visitors and 3,000 annual permitted events. This 700-acre park was not built to withstand this level of use and has not received adequate resources to be restored and maintained to a level befitting its role as an irreplaceable piece of our American fabric.

The Trust for the National Mall today launches the official National Mall Design Competition. The 36-week contest will solicit recommendations from across the country about how to best redesign three prominent National Mall sites: Union Square, the Washington Monument Grounds at Sylvan Theater, and Constitution Gardens.

"The National Mall Design Competition is the first step in the implementation of the National Mall Plan," said Caroline Cunningham, President of the Trust for the National Mall. "The National Mall Plan is only one of four in the 220-year history of the park and the Trust is excited to steward this next chapter."

"As one of the earliest public spaces in our nation, the National Mall's facilities and infrastructure require extensive renewal and repair to accommodate the needs of today's visitors," said Bob Vogel, the Superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. "The National Mall Design Competition will be a new chapter, providing sustainable design th...