Archinect - News

LMN completes overhaul of Buxton Center to connect with history and ecology of Pacific Northwest’s Bainbridge Island

2024-02-13T11:50:00-05:00

LMN Architects has completed an extensive renovation and expansion of the Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Described by the team as marking “a new era for performers and the arts community in the Pacific Northwest,” the center has been upgraded with a renovated main auditorium and lobby.

Image credit: Lara Swimmer

Visitors to the center are greeted by a new two-story lobby enclosed by a wood and glass curtain wall, responding to the site’s woodland context. Above, a wave-form roof and ceiling plane displays an exposed wood structure, tying the new program spaces together to give the building a clear identity.

Image credit: Lara Swimmer

“The roof and ceiling plane echoes the region’s architectural vernacular and is expressive of the building program,” said LMN Architects principal Mark Tumiski about the scheme. “We took advantage of the scale and tectonic identity of the original structure...

Frank Gehry’s new SELA Cultural Center design inches forward in Los Angeles

2023-12-21T17:31:00-05:00

The proposed Gehry Partners design of the new SELA Cultural Center in South Gate, Los Angeles, is moving forward with approvals from the L.A. Board of Supervisors.

The project forms a major part of the Rio Hondo portion of the Lower Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan, which is contained in the larger 51-mile-long master plan designed by Gehry to run from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro.

According to Urbanize LA, who reported on the recent approval: “The site sits on the south side of Imperial Highway, and near other upcoming Los Angeles River projects such as South Gate's 30-acre 'Urban Orchard.' Additionally, the cultural center would sit a short distance from the right-of-way of Metro's West Santa Ana Branch light rail line.”

SELA Cultural Center master plan. Image courtesy Gehry Partners & OLIN.

The project will be executed at 85,000 square feet with a site plan from OLIN. Details include an outdoor terrace deck and space for cultural events. Another pavilion structure at ...

Zaha Hadid Architects inaugurates Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre in southern China

2023-12-06T18:53:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has shared photos of its newly inaugurated Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre in southern China.

The project integrates three separate facilities for art, scientific education, and culture into one coherent design with a 1,200-seat grand theater, 500-seat Black Box theater, science center, and art museum arranged symmetrically on a central axis.

A central plaza area bifurcates the larger and smaller venues of the design while serving as the connective foyer of all three new spaces. All five buildings at the site are supported by just 22 columns that were fabricated off-site in two varieties.

The separate functions of the center are further woven together via the network of reticulated shells forming the roof structure, which also evokes the chevron form of migratory bird patterns in the region while covering the complex's four wings. Additional public spaces were also created at the site thanks to the careful...

Four design teams shortlisted for former KKK site reclamation project in Texas

2023-10-11T17:51:00-04:00

A four-finalist shortlist for Transform 1012 N. Main Street’s adaptive reuse and racial equity project has been announced as part of a multiphase selection process that will eventually deliver the new Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing to Fort Worth, Texas.

The chance at redesigning what was once the Ku Klux Klan Klavern No. 101 Auditorium will fall on a proposal that best expresses and reflects the group’s reclamatory mission while “[prioritizing] community, equity, and collective healing in the design of the space” above all other considerations of site and material.

“The exceptional quality of the submissions prompted us to expand the initially envisioned shortlist from three to four teams and to extend our selection deadline for a few days,” Ben Crawford, the Chair of Transform 1012’s Design Architect Selection Committee, added. “We are thrilled to welcome these architects to Fort Worth to see how they could be a partner in reimagining the processes for enacting th...

MAD designs culture and arts center in China inspired by mountainous tea fields

2023-09-15T11:55:00-04:00

MAD Architects has unveiled their design for the Anji Culture and Art Center near Shanghai, China. Set in a region containing a United Nations Habitat Award, the project is envisioned as a “transitional connecting space between the natural and built environments of the region,” including a city, river, and mountains.

Image credit: MAD Architects

Covering an area of 1.6 million square feet with a construction area of 1.3 million square feet, the center is composed of six venues: a Grand Theater, Conference Center, Leisure Center, Sports Center, Youth Activity Center, and Art Education Center. The venues are spread out beneath the center’s “bamboo leaves roof” and are surrounded by the region’s unique green tea fields.

Image credit: MAD Architects

MAD describes the center as a “porous meeting space that will be accessible to the public from all directions and at all times of day.” Arranged along an axis, the center’s central corrid...

EskewDumezRipple designs Baton Rouge’s Burden Welcome Center as a ‘retreat to nature’

2023-08-09T11:21:00-04:00

EskewDumezRipple has released images of their newly-designed Burden Welcome Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Located adjacent to the city’s Botanic Gardens, Rural Life Museum, and the LSU AgCenter, the 9,230-square-foot center is intended to “provide visitors with an overview of the many destinations dispersed throughout the 440-acre property in the heart of Louisiana’s capital city.”

Image credit: EskewDumezRipple

Described by the team as a “contemplative retreat to nature,” the center incorporates a series of glass walls on the far side of the entryway to capture views of the surrounding scenery. The design also features a 7,200-square-foot open-air central courtyard wrapped by a sheltered outdoor space.

Image credit: EskewDumezRipple

Inside, the center will hold 3,000 square feet of multi-purpose space, 1,000 square feet of gallery space, an occupiable green roof, a small dining area and café, a gift shop, visitor restrooms, and offices for botanic gardens administrative staff.

Im...

LMN Architects' Seattle Aquarium expansion receives $1M Murdock Trust grant

2023-07-17T16:59:00-04:00

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust gave the Seattle Aquarium a $1 million grant toward the construction of the new Ocean Pavilion, the Trust announced Tuesday.

The grant will support the completion of the Seattle Aquarium’s new $160 million Ocean Pavilion, which was designed by LMN Architects. The expansion will add 50,000 square feet of exhibits, theatrical spaces, and support areas. It will integrate a series of public pathways that provide vertical connections between multiple levels of plazas. The pavilion sits adjacent to the Seattle Aquarium’s current location on the Seattle waterfront. Construction on the project began in 2020 and is currently in Phase 4, which entails the creation of the interior habitats and spaces, the public rooftop, the elevator and stairs, and the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and animal life support systems.

Previously on Archinect: LMN Architects’ 'sweeping' Seattle Aquarium expansion sees significant construction progress

The Ocean Pavilion forms part of a $750 million project by Seattle to redevelop the city’s waterfront, which includes the creation of public parks and cultural spaces. The pavilion has...

Selection process detailed for historic reuse of former KKK site as a cultural arts center in Fort Worth

2023-06-29T19:56:00-04:00

Transform 1012 N. Main Street, the non-profit coalition responsible for a new reclamation project targeting a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium in Fort Worth, Texas, has just announced the next phases of the selection process for an architect who will eventually deliver The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing in what is being pitched as an "act of reparative justice" for the community.

Eight months after the process began, work will now continue towards the ultimate goal of creating a unifying cultural hub replete with state-of-the-art performance spaces, arts educational offerings, room for social service organizations that work with LGBTQ+ youth, a maker space, and exhibition areas dedicated toward social justice programming.

The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing Exterior. Concept rendering by MASS Design Group. Courtesy of Transform 1012 N. Main Street.

The space is named in honor of Fred Rouse, a local Black man who was lynched by a white mob in 1921, t...

Sou Fujimoto's Ishinomaki Cultural Center offers a poetic space to a community looking to heal and remember

2023-06-22T14:48:00-04:00

Sou Fujimoto Architects has shared photos of the firm’s recent Maruhon MakiArt Terrace design in Ishinomaki, Japan.

The project sought to rebuild an important piece of the region’s cultural infrastructure that was destroyed by the devastating earthquake and tsunami, which claimed the lives of more than 3,000 local residents there on March 11th, 2011.

Image: © Masaki Iwata and Sou Fujimoto Architects

Responding to a brief that called for a revitalizing centerpiece for the city of 147,000, the design team created a 140,000-square-foot building that plays host to two 1,254- and 300-seat theaters, exhibitions areas, a public gallery, and learning spaces for a variety of different users.

Image: © Masaki Iwata and Sou Fujimoto Architects

A poetic linear arrangement is created as repeated gable ends combine with alternating “chimney-like” rectangular forms connected by a 170-meter (557-foot) long entrance lobby along the south orientation.

...

New Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance building is completed behind a playful stone facade

2023-06-01T11:43:00-04:00

Construction has been completed on the new Ari Kushner Building at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Designed by Tel Aviv-based HQ Architects and New York's HWKN Architecture, the scheme is housed in what the team calls an “elegant, playful, stone facade” to bring a “sense of unity and a contemporary, welcoming identity” to the academy’s campus.

Image credit: Dor Kedmi

The 27,000-square-foot cultural building houses new choreography, jazz studios, vocal and opera studios as well as a 115-seat music recital hall, equipping the campus with a central performance venue that it previously lacked. Externally, the development is defined by a “curiosity-generating” facade that extends in front of both the existing building and the new addition, constructed of unfinished Jerusalem stone blocks turned 45 degrees on their side.

Image credit: Dor Kedmi

“It balances the geometric order, natural materiality, and intentional imperfection all in a...

LMN Architects’ 'sweeping' Seattle Aquarium expansion sees significant construction progress

2022-12-14T11:34:00-05:00

Construction has commenced on the $160 million expansion to the Seattle Aquarium. Designed by LMN Architects, the new Ocean Pavilion is expected to open in 2024, and will form part of the campus’ vision of becoming “the world’s first planet-positive aquarium.”

Project construction led by Turner. Video courtesy of Turner Construction.

Along the waterfront, the pavilion’s massing is formed of sweeping geometries that integrate a series of public pathways. The multi-level plazas created by the landscape will become part of a network of open spaces along the waterfront, including the adjacent Overlook Walk designed by James Corner Field Operations, Miller Hull, Jacobs, and the City of Seattle.

Image credit: LMN Architects

Inside, the new waterfront pavilion will include 50,000 square feet of immersive exhibits, theatrical spaces, and support areas, in what LMN call an “engaging human environment linking the city, waterfront, and ocean.” The central exhibit of the pavilion will be the 3...

OMA's Harajuku Quest center performs an urban balancing act in Tokyo

2022-11-03T13:30:00-04:00

Construction has begun on the OMA-designed Harajuku Quest project in Tokyo. The 84,000-square-foot mixed-use scheme will contain commercial and cultural functions set within a building form shaped by two differing urban contexts that interact with the site.

Concept diagram. Image credit: OMA

To the south, the Harajuku Quest site is bound by Omotesando, an imposing axial thoroughfare defined by wide tree-lined sidewalks, and a string of flagship retail stores occupied by global brands. In response, OMA’s scheme addresses the street with a “monolithic, transparent face” where a setback towards the top brings light to the interior, and a setback at the ground encourages pedestrian movement through the site.

Concept diagram. Image credit: OMA

Section diagram. Image credit: OMA

To the north, meanwhile, the site addresses Oku-Harajuku, a more intimate “village” townscape defined by tight, organic streets and smaller-scale buildings occupied by independen...

Construction begins on Zaha Hadid Architects’ meandering Jinghe art center

2022-10-18T12:37:00-04:00

Construction has commenced on the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Jinghe New City Culture & Art Center in China, following a ground-breaking ceremony on September 16th, 2022. Zaha Hadid Architects won the international competition to design and deliver the scheme in June, which will serve as a new cultural and arts destination for the burgeoning Jinghe New City tech hub.

Rendering by ATCHAIN courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

As we reported in June following news of ZHA’s commissioning, the new center is organized as a series of “flowing volumes, layers, and surfaces interconnecting with courtyards and landscapes.”

Rendering by ATCHAIN courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

“The Jinghe New City Culture and Art Center will promote the highest standards of construction throughout the city,” said one government official about the scheme. “Creating a variety of new public spaces to serve the community, the project demonstrates Jingue New City’s determination to provide architecture and urbanism ...

Former KKK auditorium to be reborn as a cultural arts center in Fort Worth

2022-05-20T15:28:00-04:00

A Texas-based, non-profit by the name of Transform 1012 N. Main Street (Transform 1012) has announced the purchase of a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be converted into The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing, a new cultural hub and space for reconciliation and reclamation for the community.

The auditorium, located at 1012 N. Main Street, originally opened in 1924, when Fort Worth had one of the largest KKK memberships in the United States. It served as the group’s headquarters in Texas and was designed to intimidate Black, Hispanic, and immigrant residents returning home from the city center.

The acquisition served as the driving force behind the formation of Transform 1012 in 2019. The non-profit is a coalition of local arts, grassroots, and service organizations as well as pro bono partners and individuals. The purchase of the building was made possible by a significant donation from the former owners and a grant from the Rainwater Char...

Italy launches unprecedented anti-seismic plan to protect churches under threat from earthquakes

2022-03-30T14:51:00-04:00

Cathedrals, churches and basilicas across Italy are at risk of being razed by earthquakes that could strike at any moment. But the government is on a mission to protect some of the country’s most significant and vulnerable religious buildings from disastrous seismic shocks. A new national project backed with €250m from Italy’s multibillion-euro pot of EU Covid-19 recovery funding is unprecedented in Europe for its scale and reach, officials believe.

In one of Europe’s most earthquake-prone countries, the anti-seismic plan will allow the Italian culture ministry’s heritage safety department to distribute resources around the country that will mitigate the impact of future disasters. Straps and chains will be wrapped around bell towers and shock-absorbing blocks will be fixed to foundations. Project grants will be assigned to around 250 of the 840 structures owned by Italy’s Religious Buildings Fund. The ministry will assess buildings based on their historical value, importance for local communities, and vulnerability to damage.

This initiative is backed by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, a €191.5 billion ($213.7 billion) investment package from the EU focused on addressing judicial, administrative, and energy reform. Funds are being channeled into “macro-projects” aimed at preserving and rejuvenating Italy’s cultural sector....

The Italian state is converting a notorious 18th-century prison into a new cultural center in Tuscany

2022-02-02T13:04:00-05:00

The Italian state is spending €70 million ($86 million) to rehabilitate structural remains at Santo Stefano and neighboring coastal sites. At the former, the government is building an open-air museum that will illustrate the site’s dark past, along with gardens and conference rooms that will be used for seminars and events focused on cultural and political themes.

The cultural center will be located inside the site of a former 18th-century prison originally constructed under the reign of King Ferdinand IV in a now aging village called Santo Stefano. The project is being overseen by the state’s cultural minister Dario Franceschini and mirrors efforts in America and Georgia to convert sites with less-than-humanistic original purposes into centers of art and culture that make education about the uses (and abuses) of the sites a part of their public program. The Romanesque panopticon was built to allow for constant monitoring of its inmates known for housing anti-fascists who were exiled there during the Mussolini era.

Another government official told The Art Newspaper that part of the new cultural center will include a "School of High Thoughts, that welcomes all the best training experiences on human rights, the dignity of the person, and justice.” The project is being named after progressive former European Parliament president David Sassoli, ...

MVRDV hopes this will become Shenzhen's newest new cultural resource

2021-11-30T20:26:00-05:00

As part of ongoing development authored by the Vanke Research Center in Shenzhen, MVRDV has revealed the completion of a refurbished factory building that will help transform a former industrial site into what it says will be one of the city’s most important community hubs.

Located in the city’s Nantou district, the 11,000 square meter Idea Factory development will serve as a much-needed fount of cultural exchange for the city of over 12.5 million.

Image © Xia Zhi

A revealed concrete core structure makes up the new facade lined with loggias and centered by a wood-cladded semicircle protruding balcony located on the fourth floor of the building’s east-facing side.

Image © Xia Zhi

Topped off by an atypical public garden that is divided by a bamboo-walled maze, the building’s rooftop is outfitted with a number of different spaces including a glassbox performance venue, gym, tea house, play and dining areas. Finally, a giant chessboard and dance floor complete the program, with a fair am...

White Arkitekter's new mass timber tower opens as the world's third tallest wooden building

2021-09-28T17:23:00-04:00

A new Swedish tower is pushing boundaries for mass timber design in an effort to create a “public living room” for one small city just south of the Arctic Circle.

The Sara Cultural Centre is the second tallest wooden building in any Scandinavian country and the third tallest in the world behind Voll Arkitekter’s 18-story, 280-foot Mjøstårnet near Oslo and the 276-foot HoHo Tower in Vienna.

Located in Skellefteå, the 246-foot Centre plays host to an art gallery, museum, library, and theater in a multi-volume carbon-negative building that also features welcoming amenities like a high-rise restaurant, hotel, and spa.

Image courtesy White Arkitekter

Two different construction systems were developed by White Arkitekter to complete the tower using a combination of glue-laminated columns and beams together with CLT cores, modules, shear walls that work together to distribute the shear load using as little material as possible. According to the architect, the combination of the two systems...

Frank Gehry's LUMA Tower opens in Arles

2021-06-25T17:43:00-04:00

Frank Gehry’s latest cultural project has finally opened in Arles, leaving Southern France with a shimmering tribute that the famed architect says is inspired by its most famous resident.

The LUMA Tower is opening today on the foundation’s 27-acre campus after a 13-year planning effort to give the Parc des Ateliers the centerpiece it had been missing since its founding by collector Hoffman in 2013. Officials are hoping for a Bilbao Effect in the tucked-away Provençal city noteworthy for its place in art history, a vision mayor Patrick de Carolis says will shape life in the former home of Vincent van Gogh.

“It’s also an extraordinary challenge that Arles now has to rise to in terms of having the infrastructure, including hotels and transport, to welcome the visitors it will attract,” he told The Guardian. “Now we have to be able to match that level of ambition.”

Clad in 11,000 stainless steel panels, the 183-foot tower rises above the surrounding rooft...

MVRDV unveils “Music Mountain” for Eindhoven

2021-05-25T09:29:00-04:00

MVRDV has unveiled their design for Eindhoven’s Heuvel shopping center, creating a cultural green quarter for the Dutch city. The scheme is defined by a “glass mountain” of cultural functions topped by a rooftop park, offering a sustainable solution for both the outdated shopping center and the Muziekgebouw music venue located within it.

Image: MVRDV

Under MVRDV’s vision, the site is transformed into an urban quarter for shopping, culture, and recreation. The existing buildings are expanded and broken open, allowing for a better connection with surrounding public spaces and cultural buildings. The covered passages of the shopping center are replaced with open streets, making the quarter an active part of city life, while the accessible roofscape creates a park that adds to the area’s appeal.

Image: MVRDV

Above the shopping center, the existing Muziekgebouw will form a stacked cultural building under a “glass mountain”. The glass mountain forms an eye-catching landmark, while also ...

More than a meeting space: Moody Nolan to lead the renovation of Greenwood Cultural Center

2021-04-13T20:19:00-04:00

The importance of rebuilding and reclaiming America's Black communities is essential to honoring and understanding how social justice and design reform can improve the systemic and racial histories of cities across the nation. The Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is no exception.

On June 1, 1921, the deadly and destructive events of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is still to date a tragic example of racial violence and domestic terrorism in U.S. history. While the tragedy and loss should not be forgotten and the lives lost continue to be honored, the Greenwood District persevered and rebuilt its community. Now, in 2021 the historic district announces its plans for the renovation of the Greenwood Cultural Center.

On April 12, 2021, the City of Tulsa announced the selection of award-winning architecture firm Moody Nolan to lead the Greenwood Cultural Center's renovation. If you visit the Center's website, it's the following statement that amplifies...

Woods Bagot and Diller Scofidio + Renfro unveils Adelaide's new 'space for gathering and storytelling'

2021-02-16T15:50:00-05:00

In 2018 Woods Bagot and Diller Scofidio + Renfro's design proposal was selected as the winning entry for the Adelaide Contemporary International design competition. Both firms describe the center as a "new cultural paradigm that showcases the past, present, and future of Aboriginal cultures while supporting contemporary art practices and events across disciplines."

Located on Kaurna land, the arts and cultural center pulls its design reference from the "wurlie" or "humpy," temporary shelters used by Aboriginal Australians. Its facade resembles an interwoven "basket-like nest" that sits atop a set of columns anchoring the structure with a courtyard at its center. The three-story building will house exhibition spaces as well as areas for gathering and performance spaces.

Artistic render of AACC. Image courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot

Charles Renfro of DS+R and Woods Bagot principal Rosina Di Maria share their experience and excitement towards the project. "Our rol...

Balbek Bureau morphs 100-year-old church into contemporary cultural center

2019-12-11T18:56:00-05:00

Located in a bustling area of the city, historic San Francisco landmark #204, The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been repurposed into a multi-functional architectural complex. Intended to be a launchpad for young startups to live, work, socialize, and develop with like-minded people, Kyiv-based Balbek Bureau imagined a multi-use space that could be used for events such as lectures, hackathons, presentations, exhibitions, and more.

The design group had to analyze and restore portions of the space in accordance with its historical past and had to be sure that any modifications proposed did not disturb the exterior envelope of the building. Primarily an interiors project, Balbek Bureau sought to emphasize the the architectural historicity of the space by contrasting it with inherently modern shapes, shown through the furniture and other additions to the main hall.

As a whole, the complex includes a three-level residential building, now a co-living space, a freestanding education c...

BIG and Freaks' MÉCA in Bordeaux creates a budding cultural hub

2019-07-05T17:05:00-04:00

The Maison de l'Économie Créative et de la Culture or MÉCA is Bordeaux's newest cultural hub. Costing €60m, the site will house a performing arts center, a creative agency for books, cinema, and audiovisual media as well as housing three prestigious French associations the ALCA, OARA, and FRAC regional art center. When BIG and Paris-based architecture firm FREAKS were chosen for the project in 2012, both studios devised a plan to construct a structure that would connect three art institutions to create the ultimate contemporary hub for multi-disciplinary practice in Bordeaux's Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

MÉCA is a waterfront venue fit for visitors to enjoy a celebration of art, film, and performance. The center embodies a flowing structural loop connecting each institute. According to a recent press release by BIG, "The building is conceived as a single loop of cultural institutions and public sp...

Snøhetta, WCIT, and AECOM to redesign Honolulu cultural center

2019-06-28T16:06:00-04:00

Snøhetta, WCIT, and AECOM have unveiled renderings depicting the team's efforts to re-imagine the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu via the creation of a new master plan for the 22-acre complex.

The designers are working to reposition the 64,000-square-foot cultural and arts center in order to update the venue into a state-of-the-art facility. Built in 1964, the Modernist-era structure is marked by sweeping archways, super-scaled columns, and an undulating concrete roof.

The project will bring new performance and exhibition spaces as well as a sports pavilion, new parking structures, and reconfigured public outdoor spaces to the site. A new lobby and expanded food and beverage areas are included in the plan, as well.

Image © Moare.

A timeline for the project has not been unveiled.

HENN's winning design gives the largest cultural center in Europe a makeover

2018-10-29T19:43:00-04:00

The Gasteig, the largest cultural center in Europe, will undergo an intensive renovation and remodeling. After 30 years of use, the Gasteig will be redesigned by the team at HENN. Opening in 1984/85, the centre welcomes an estimated two million visitors annually. Originally designed by the architecture partnership of Raue, Rollenhagen, Grossmann and Lindemann, its red brick design may not have been a visual showstopper. However, the building's role as Munich's cultural hub is what it's revered for.

Image © HENN

Having been chosen to renovate a structural icon within the community, HENN focused on redesigning the center by introducing a new architectural element to the building. Highlighting the role of the center's interior, HENN's design proposal features a glazed bridge that focuses on uniting existing areas of the building. The transparency of the bridge creates a new visual perspective enabling the the Gasteig to open up to the city and create a welcoming feel.

Interior space I...

National Museum in Rio De Janeiro suffers massive fire after reported neglect

2018-09-05T13:50:00-04:00

Hours after an immense fire consumed the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, a crowd of protestors gathered in front of the wrecked institution on last night (3 September) to protest the financial neglect that led to its demise. The 200-year-old historical building lacked an efficient sprinkler system—a result of years of incremental budget cuts by the Brazilian government—and was quickly gutted when the blaze erupted shortly after the museum closed to visitors on Sunday (2 September).

Current Brazilian president Michel Temer and former president Rousseff are being blamed for a failure to properly maintain the National Museum in Rio De Janeiro after a consuming fire broke out 3 days ago. In the aftermath of the flames the museum's facade has mostly survived, yet aerial shots reveal most of the roof has collapsed with interiors full of rubble.

Only 40 days prior to the fire, an architect wrote to federal authorities reporting the buildings neglect such as exposed wires and other structural issues asking for immediate measures to be taken.

NEH announces $13.2 million in grants for cultural infrastructure

2018-08-10T18:04:00-04:00

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has just announced $13.2 million in grants for cultural infrastructure. 29 U.S. cultural institutions were awarded with matching grants including libraries, museums, archives, colleges, universities, historic sites, scholarly associations, and other cultural institutions which build institutional capacity for long-term sustainability. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation was among those awarded, receiving a grant of $576,106.

DC's African American History and Culture Museum allowing walk-ins in April

2018-04-06T13:45:00-04:00

If you still haven’t been able to sneak your way into the newest museum on Washington DC’s National Mall, April may be your best bet. Last week, the museum announced that the month would feature Walk-Up Wednesdays, allowing people who haven’t scored entry passes to go into the museum on a first-come, first-served basis, a pilot program to test no-pass entry.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture located in Washington DC opened back in 2016, and has been solidly booked ever since. To help visitors gain entry who were unable to procure tickets, the museum is introducing Walk-Up Wednesdays for the month of April.

Founding director Lonnie G. Bunch III stated, “We don’t want to disappoint our visitors by reaching capacity and having them wait in long lines for space to become available inside the galleries. The goal of this pilot program is to provide greater access for the public while maintaining the safety and security of our visitors.”

Inside Frank Gehry and Thomas Krens' hybrid Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum

2018-02-20T14:25:00-05:00

Picture the World Trade Center near the Empire State Building near Fenway Park near London's Tate Modern. Now picture trains zipping past the architectural icons. That is the vision world-famous architect Frank Gehry and museum developer Thomas Krens are trying to bring to North Adams, in the form of the Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum.

With the aim of developing North Adams, Massachusetts as a cultural destination, Frank Gehry and Thomas Krens released plans last summer for their hybrid Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum. The initial concept has now developed into an entire model showcasing more of what the museum will look like.

The model museum features 164 buildings showcasing contemporary architecture by 71 international architects. Interwoven amongst these building 12 rail lines will run 107 operating model trains.

The proposed museum houses this entire set up in one 670-foot-long gallery stretching the length of 2.5 football fields. Buildings will be constructed at a 1:48 scale including iconic structures such as the Seagram Building in Manhattan or the Brooklyn Bridge. The tallest building, the One World Trade Center, will reach 40 feet tall.

The trains and buildings will also be surrounded by video-projected landscaping blending the physical models into a seamless background. The...