Archinect - News

Rothko Chapel closes for its big overhaul

2019-02-28T13:22:00-05:00

The Rothko Chapel in Houston, founded in 1971 by the art patrons John and Dominique de Menil as an ecumenical site for both reflection and activism, will be closing on Monday for the rest of the year for the first phase of a $30 million restoration and campus expansion by Architecture Research Office.

New York-based firm Architecture Research Office (ARO) was selected in 2016 to be in charge of the restoration work.

"During the closure, work inside the Chapel will include modifications to the entryway and vestibule, enhanced audio, security and fire systems, replacement of the existing skylight and updates to the overall lighting design to allow for heightened illumination and an unimpeded interaction with the artwork," reads the announcement about the temporary closure, beginning Monday, March 4, on the Chapel's website.

Image via Wikipedia

"These upgrades will ensure more access and engagement with Mark Rothko’s extraordinary paintings and will improve the visitor experience as a whole. These preservation efforts will bring the experience of the Chapel closer to the founders’ and artist’s original intentions."

The building is scheduled to reopen in winter 2019.

The city as fulfillment center: architects envision New York after Amazon

2018-11-28T14:19:00-05:00

One of ARO’s two concepts shows a huge white building emblazoned with the Amazon logo. [...] It’s a never-ending fulfillment center that the architects dub “Continuous Fulfillment.” According to ARO principals Adam Yarinsky and Stephen Cassell, the idea is an homage to a 1969 concept from the Italian radical architecture firm Superstudio called “The Continuous Monument.” The idea posits that technology will render the built environment uniform, turning buildings into white monoliths.

The billion-dollar cat is out of the bag, and Amazon will soon be ascending on Long Island City, New York and Crystal City/Arlington, Virginia to split its anticipated, tax-incentivized HQ2.

As both regions prepare for the new neighbor to move in, Fast Company asked AIA New York State firm of the year, Architecture Research Office (ARO), to envision an Amazonian New York. The firm provided two (rather dystopian) tongue-in-cheek concepts.

Architecture Research Office to update the Rothko Chapel

2016-10-25T14:09:00-04:00

The Rothko Chapel in Houston, a masterpiece of midcentury architecture, houses 14 panels by the revered artist Mark Rothko. But the Chapel is in need of some TLC, from fixing the HVAC system to improving the lighting. The New York-based office Architecture Research Office (ARO) has been selected to oversee the renovations.

In addition to bringing the mechanics of the Chapel up-to-date, ARO will retool the entrance vestibule and renovate the Chapel’s skylight. They will also design a master plan, which will include modifications to an outdoor plaza and a reflecting pool that contains the Barnett Newman sculpture “Broken Obelisk”. The master plan also includes several nearby bungalows.

ARO has a proven track record when it comes to light-weight, highly-sensitive restoration projects. Back in 2013, they renovated a 19th century cast-iron warehouse used by Donald Judd as his studio and home until his death in 1994. While extensive renovations were required, ARO updated the building with ...

Unfolding dumpling design with Architecture Research Office

2016-02-05T15:09:00-05:00

'The dumpling maker has a structural problem,' says Jason Kim, a project manager at ARO. 'The skin has to be thin enough where you have the right ratio of meat to skin, but strong enough to hold together.'

"How do the principles of architecture and design apply to dumplings?" Sporkful has a quick chat with dumpling fanatics Architecture Research Office about how particular design concepts can structurally improve the Lunar New Year food staple. Maybe you'll learn a trick or two on how to eat the seemingly gravity-defying soup dumpling, too.

If you don't want to listen to the whole episode — although you should still give it a listen because, hello, dumplings — ARO's interview starts around 13:25.

More about food and architecture on Archinect:

Chicago Rethinks Rules for Developers to Increase Affordable Housing

2014-12-12T15:34:00-05:00

the new [Affordable Requirements Ordinance] would require that at least 25 percent of affordable units be built on site, removing the ability to opt out totally. [...] Developers would also be allowed to meet the affordable unit requirement by building or rehabbing on other lots within a mile of the main site. The aim is to create affordable units in the neighborhoods where they’re most scarce, rather than to continue to concentrate them in the city’s poorer communities.