Archinect - News

Editor's Picks #365

2014-04-30T15:24:00-04:00

News

Dave Heller spoke with Inga Saffron about not just architecture but "city life criticism". Evan Chakroff asked for tips "Has anyone compiled a good 'top ten' of her articles?"

Quondam replied "Links to Saffron's articles appear almost weekly within ArchNewsNow's daily collection of worldwide architecture news. The articles themselves, however, may not have a broad audience appeal because they are, for the most part, very Philadelphia centric. What is significant though, is that a local newspaper still publishes the work of a critic that is so in tune"...

Referring to the Catalog #1 of the Los Angeles Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism Orhan Ayyüce warned interested buyers "for now, the aim is first limited and numbered edition of 100".

The NYT published an editorial by John Freeman Gill, which points out similarities between the fate of the Laing Stores (sometimes called the Bogardus Building) and the current FolkMoMA discourse/proposals. Steven Ward proposed a future PS1 competi...

The Folly of Saving What You Kill

2014-04-24T13:12:00-04:00

[...] MoMA has said it would detach and preserve the facade’s 63 textured copper-bronze panels. One might suppose that salvage is preferable to annihilation, but before we get too comfortable with such piecemeal preservation, it is worth noting that the panel-by-panel disassembly and storage of an architectural treasure’s metal facade has been tried before in New York City, with comically disastrous results. Who around here remembers the Laing Stores?

Editor's Picks #364

2014-04-22T21:24:00-04:00

For the latest edition of the Working out of the Box feature Archinect talked with Emily Fischer, Founder of Haptic Lab.

In the interview she explains how she started "The very first quilted map I made was designed to be a wayfinding tool for the visually impaired; my mother was diagnosed with glaucoma and macular degeneration while I was a student at TCAUP”.

Fred Scharmen commented "Those kites are amazing!".

Meanwhile issue #12 of Screen/Print highlighted The Cairo Review's "Future of the City" along with One:Twelve (the student-run journal from the Knowlton School of Architecture) seventh issue, Black and White.

News
As demolition of the Folk Art Museum began Amelia and Paul moderated a conversation between Archinect Contributors Ken Koense and Donna Sink, Quilian Riano and Lee Rosenbaum, who writes about art museums for the Wall Street Journal.

vado retro was curious "Would we have the same outrage say if a hospital were the ones tearing down the FAM...Our response of outrage is a...

Coming Soon to MoMA, Lots of Knocking Next Door

2014-04-14T15:28:00-04:00

The Museum of Modern Art’s controversial decision to demolish a neighbor, the former American Folk Art Museum, is about to become reality. On Monday, scaffolding and protective netting will begin to go up around the folk art building, at 45 West 53rd Street, the museum confirmed on Friday. [...] The building’s facade will be removed first, panel by panel, and taken to storage. Its future remains uncertain. Demolition is expected to continue through the summer.

Previously

MoMA will preserve Folk Art Museum's facade

2014-02-12T14:32:00-05:00

Contrary to what you may have read lately, the Museum of Modern Art is intent on carefully preserving the former American Folk Art Museum next door. At least, the part of it that is most recognizable to the public: an 82-foot-high sculptural ensemble of 63 panels, cast in a gorgeous copper-bronze alloy [...] “We will take the facade down, piece by piece, and we will store it,” Glenn D. Lowry, the director of the Museum of Modern Art, said in an interview last week.

WATCH: Diller, Lowry, critics, writers and more discuss MoMA's expansion plans

2014-02-04T18:31:00-05:00

As reported last week by Archinectors Ayesha Ghosh and Alex Stewart, a discussion regarding MoMA's expansion plan and the intended demolition of the American Folk Art Museum took place at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, an appropriate venue for a conversation rife with implications for the ethics of preservation, real estate development and the architectural profession. The aim was to create an opportunity for public discussion of what has been criticized as a unilateral move by MoMA, and investigate the supposed necessity of the Folk Museum's demolition.

The conversation was presented by The Architectural League, in partnership with the Municipal Art Society and the AIA, New York Chapter. Watch the entire discussion below, featuring:

Glenn Lowry (Director of the Museum of Modern Art), Ann Temkin (The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture), Elizabeth Diller (principal of Diller Scofidio + Renfro), Reed Kroloff (director of the Cranbrook Academy...

Elizabeth Diller, MoMA discuss expansion and Folk Museum's demolition with slice of NY architectural community

2014-01-29T15:46:00-05:00

The controversial plans to demolish the American Folk Art Museum in service of MoMA's expansion rumbled along last night, at a panel discussion hosted jointly by the Architectural League, the Municipal Art Society, and the AIA's New York chapter.

Catch-up on news surrounding MoMA's expansion here:

Archinect contributors / Parsons MArch students Ayesha Ghosh and Alex Stewart attended the event, taking notes and logging thoughts. The following is their report.

* updated February 3, 2014: You can also find a video of the entire discussion, courtesy of the Architectural League, at the bottom of this post.

A Conversation on the ...

Architects and critics bristle at DS+R's Folk Museum sacrifice

2014-01-09T18:20:00-05:00

Yesterday, DS+R announced in their proposal for MoMA's redesign that the American Folk Art Museum would have to be demolished. Backlash from the #folkMoMA community quickly arose: architects and critics called the choice callous and unsustainable, outraged not only by the Folk Art Museum's destruction but also the design that would take its place, and its impact on New York's (and DS+R's) reputation.

We've gathered a slew of responses to the proposal, both indignant and accepting, from Archinect contributors and beyond, and will be following developments closely. Here are a few of those thoughts:

From the Archinect news post, American Folk Art Museum will be razed in Diller Scofidio + Renfro's MoMA expansion:

Donna Sink: "All of DSR's previous work is tarnished by this."

Darkman: "This solidifies Rem Koolhaas as the best architect-thinker of our time, for his original MoMA proposal, "MoMA, Inc." "

thebeigecity: "As for the Folk Art Museum - it was cramped and cloying, ov...

American Folk Art Museum will be razed in Diller Scofidio + Renfro's MoMA expansion

2014-01-08T18:42:00-05:00

[Diller] had great respect for the Folk Art Museum, calling it a “bespoke” design tailored to the needs of the museum. She went through several scenarios on how to integrate the museum in the expanded footprint. [...] Adapting the Folk Art Museum building, however, would basically compromise the building’s interior beyond recognition. [...] The architects would have had to destroy the Folk Art Museum building in order to save it.

In what looks like the kiss of death for the #folkMoMA movement, Diller Scofidio + Renfro's design for MoMA's expansion will necessitate the destruction of the neighboring American Folk Art Museum, as proposed today in a MoMA press conference. The initial threat to the Folk Museum was made last spring when MoMA announced its redevelopment plans, provoking a widespread preservationist movement among architects, rallying under #folkMoMA.

To catch-up on #folkMoMA's history, see #8 in Archinect's coverage for the Top 13 Issues of 2013.

Here are some concept sketches for the new MoMA, via Architect Magazine (image credit: Diller Scofidio + Renfro).