Archinect - News

Editor's Picks #314

2013-05-07T13:14:00-04:00

Over at the LA Times, Christopher Hawthorne reported on LACMA Director Michael Govan’s plan’s for $650-million new building by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor...Eric Chavkin commented "New construction has always been fundraising tail that wags the museum dog. Big names to draw bigger money...Now that AMPAS is leveraging it's Oscar prestige to be a part of LACMA, a new name to entice donor dollars is Zumthor, a name that means absolutely nothing to most.

News
Michael Z Wise reviewed the newest edition of Albert Speer, Architecture by Léon Krier for the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Wise concluded his review "Though he is again bemoaning a contemporary inability to regard classicism in a detached manner, it is Léon Krier who is in a delirious thrall to a malevolent aesthetic".

Will Galloway was surprised "wow, i didn't need another reason to dislike krier, but this one certainly seems more than enough to set aside any other complaint about the guy and never revisit them. its amazing that someone could hate modernism so much that even hitler's vision for the world seems palatable to him. nasty". For his part Steven Ward
argued "I'd rather see the swastika redeemed for its original associations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika) than see any redemption of Speer's work. It's not that the style(s) from which he borrowed were bad so much as his intentional bombastic over-scaling of everything. These buildings were meant to communicat...

LACMA taps Zumthor for $650-million new look

2013-05-01T14:08:00-04:00

At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, an acclaimed Swiss architect is hoping to pull off what an acclaimed Dutch one could not. Next month LACMA will publicly unveil a $650-million plan by Pritzker Prize winner Peter Zumthor for a dramatic new museum building along Wilshire Boulevard.

Editor's Picks #312

2013-04-23T12:37:00-04:00

The LA Times reported that Renzo Piano, Los Angeles architect Zoltan Pali and officials from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled preliminary designs for a $300-million film museum. Eric Chavkin concluded "A toy chest of architectures related only by location. From the Bruce Goff Japanese Pavilion to the black box Mies bookstore to Hugh Hardy's disco streamlined moderne to Luckmans sorry start. Renzo Piano's 'back-to-the-future cinema spheres just continues the trajectory"

In an essay titled UNEXPECTED COSTS ~ Big ticket design software versus alternate methodologies, Ann Lui a designer and freelance writer reflected on the fact that "Not twenty years ago, if you wanted to start your own firm, you could do so on a Mayline drafting board in your basement...Today, my partner and I sit on our couch as we write up a wishlist of basic softwares we might need for a fledgling practice...tally the price tags, and the bottom line drops like an anvil: just over $15,000".

mfischer3387 echoed curtkram, "its much tougher to start an architecture business than most other fields, because yes, the start up costs are enormous, as outlined in the article. I would argue that software package costs are not necessarily always for the benefit of design, but for liability purposes". Other commentator's like Jeremy Miller offered advice "You could get the Revit LT suite for about $1,800...Also, Archicad has a rental model...Be creative" and Steve Sanderson (founding par...

At LACMA, art on a grand scale

2012-07-09T12:22:00-04:00

Its character is determined not just by the color and texture of the boulder itself but also by the detailing and proportions of the ramp. To experience the piece, you descend the ramp, you stand in the shadow of the rock and then you ascend. That trajectory is an architectural one; in fact, Heizer has been upfront that he takes cues in his work directly from architecture.

Heizer's Rock 'n' Roll: on the Road

2012-02-29T12:32:00-05:00

I’m just happier than heck to see this thing go.- logistical superintendent Rick Albrecht

As the rock’s massive, centipede-like transporter inched onto Granite Hill Drive, lit by over 300 string lights, the mood was less public art project and more engineering-feat-meets-the-Rose Parade. More than 100 people –- truckers, police escorts, media and museum workers, as well as art lovers and general looky-loos -– gathered to see the rock off. A helicopter hovered above, cutting the crisp night sky, and nearby parked cars honked in celebration.

Noticeably missing was the reclusive artist himself, who lives in Nevada.

“There’s nothing he can really do to help now,” said LACMA Director Michael Govan. “But he’s excited.”

Previously

Heizer's Rock 'n' Roll: on the Road

2012-02-29T12:32:00-05:00

I’m just happier than heck to see this thing go.- logistical superintendent Rick Albrecht

Noticeably missing was the reclusive artist himself, who lives in Nevada.

“There’s nothing he can really do to help now,” said LACMA Director Michael Govan. “But he’s excited.”

Previously

405 Freeway closure exposes the limits of Los Angeles' mobility

2011-07-12T02:37:04-04:00

...doesn't the general freakout over the shutdown suggest, in and of itself, its fundamental folly? It hurts to lose the 405 even for a weekend not because freeways are so valuable or because we love them so much but because we've painted ourselves in a corner in terms of mobility. We have left ourselves no escape hatches or viable alternatives.

LA Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne eyes impending automotive doom.

Follow the link for a thoughtful piece on "the city's great synecdoche" and how its future might impact architectural landmarks.

John Lautner (1911-1994) Turns 100

2011-05-11T13:38:30-04:00

The John Lautner Foundation is pleased to present the John Lautner Turns 100 series this July 16-November 13, 2011. In celebration of what would have been John Lautner’s 100th birthday on July 16, 2011, the series will showcase Lautner’s extraordinary body of work while informing and inspiring the public about the importance of preserving it.