Archinect - News

Architects comment on Le Corbusier's 100-year legacy

2023-06-26T15:36:00-04:00

Le Corbusier was to architecture what Picasso was to painting, a towering and egomaniacal creative force who transformed his discipline for ever. His buildings have inspired admiration, sometimes devotion. He is an icon, granted the nickname “Corb” or “Corbu” by architects. He has also been vigorously attacked, as a mechanistic fanatic whose ideas inspired inhumane tower blocks and concrete jungles.

In his latest Guardian piece, critic Rowan Moore remembers the 100-year anniversary of the seminal modernist manifesto Toward an Architecture by one of the profession's most revered and controversial figures, Le Corbusier.

Acknowledging that the book's thoughts about the future were now "firmly in the past," Moore asked acclaimed present-day architects about the impact Le Corbusier's work has had on them and which of his buildings was most relevant in their view.

Among the respondees are Pritzker Prize and Gold Medal winners Frank Gehry, Denise Scott Brown, Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron's founding partner Jacques Herzog, Grafton Architects' Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell, Yasmeen Lari, Kate Macintosh, as well as contemporary architects and designers Jayden Ali and Adam Nathaniel Furman.

Hood Century's solitary quest to preserve Black modernist heritage is spurring social media users to action

2023-01-18T13:20:00-05:00

Jerald Cooper, who lives in Cincinnati, wants to recognize and help preserve modern architecture and interior design that have added to the aesthetic and culture of many Black communities. His aim is to make architecture and design more accessible by using layman’s language to break down barriers typically set up by white academics with advanced degrees, and educate more people who are now empowered through social media to comment on the structural beauty of a modernist tower.

The music industry marketing consultant started the passion project after a treasured local West End church was demolished in order to make room for Populous’ $250 million new Cincinnati F.C. stadium in 2019, an act which he calls “infrastructural trauma.” Since then, he has grown an online audience of more than 83,000 followers with his Instagram account Hood Century, offering analysis that breaks down Black modernism into three categories: made for, handed down, and claimed.

The effort places him in line with others, such as the newly-funded Conserving Black Modernism project from the Getty and National Trust for Historic Preservation. Jerald Cooper represents the potential for social media adept architecture aficionados to combat what he called a “lack of knowing” in their own communities. As the former USC architecture dean Milton Curry says, “the complex story of Modernism cannot be fully revealed without new research on its impacts in and on the Black communities that it has t...

Society of Architectural Historians appoints Ben Thomas as its new Executive Director

2023-01-10T17:35:00-05:00

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) has announced Ben Thomas as their new Executive Director. The current Director of Programs for the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) comes to the post with more than 17 years of experience in higher education non-profit work and will replace Pauline Salinga when he steps into office on February 1st.

“Ben Thomas’ deep knowledge of membership organizations and his commitment to diversity make him the ideal person to lead SAH at a transformative moment for the Society,” the organization’s President, Patricia A. Morton, said in a statement. “We are delighted to welcome Ben to the SAH team.”

The roughly 2,300-member strong Chicago-based organization is in the early stages of developing a five-year strategic plan that will rely heavily on Thomas’ extensive past experience with DEI initiatives, fundraising drives, and programming to best position it for “long-term stability and sustainability.”

Related on Archinect: Society of Architect...

A look back at when architects competed for Olympic glory

2021-07-26T16:21:00-04:00

Friday's Opening Ceremony in Tokyo inaugurated the XXXII Olympiad in a dazzling spectacle that drew praise from audiences worldwide even as a growing protest against the games echoed in streets around the city. Kengo Kuma’s National Stadium provided an ample backdrop for this year’s version of a tradition begun in Ancient Greece and revived again by the progressive Olympic movement that fostered an elementary version of the modern-day games at the end of the 19th century.

Pierre de Coubertin’s intents for a combined international athletic and artistic competition traced its philosophy to the Hellenic notions of mind and body harmony and was formally observed until being dissipated by an indifferent OC as the games became more and more commercialized following World War II.

What has since become an annual exhibition saw its fulfillment in the electric arts program that preceded the ceremonial torch lighting that kicks off the Olympics following the Parade of Nations. Featuring an a...

Exploring the difference between history and memory in Renaissance architecture

2020-12-08T14:57:00-05:00

ElDante Winston [...] PhD student in MIT’s History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art program is keenly interested in how spaces designed for violence retain a memory of violent acts in the present day.

"These are places of violence that, when you go to them now, you just watch people mill around and eat gelato," ElDante Winston, a PhD student in MIT's History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art program, says about certain, prominent examples of Renaissance architecture, the subject of his research. "But years ago, someone was hanging right in the center of the piazza, if they weren’t decapitated. And we don’t really think about that, and what that means for the space."

How much does politics affect architecture? An MIT architectural historian explains

2019-09-13T09:00:00-04:00

In a recent news article from MIT News, architectural historian Timothy Hyde explains why "every building is ultimately a compromise.”

Hyde shares, “It’s a compromise between the intentions of architects, the capacities of builders, economics, politics, the people who use the building, the people who paid for the building. It’s a compromise of many, many inputs.”

An associate professor, author, and former practicing architect, Hyde has explored the relationships between architecture, politics, and society throughout his career. Having written two books on the subject, Hyde has spent his time dissecting the topics of modernism and democracy in Cuba during the 20th century and has also found connections between architecture and power in Britain.

Architecture historian Timothy Hyde. Image © Bryce Vickmark

"I really think about myself first as a historian of modernity,” Hyde explains. “Architectural history is the particular vehicle that I use to explore the history of modernity.”

...

Revisiting the “surreal, weirder” spirit of the Bauhaus

2019-03-15T14:32:00-04:00

Many imitators have missed the element of Bauhaus that breathed life into what might have become sterile functionalist designs; the surreal, sensual, irrational, and instinctual spirit of the Bauhaus. [...] If one seeks to emulate the Bauhaus today, it is vital to remember the elements of weirdness, pleasure, and even organized chaos that made it what it was. And, also, the moments where it failed to rise to fulfill its own ambitions and principles.

Many people today recognize the Bauhaus — which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year — for its clean lines and minimalist aesthetic. In this piece, writer Darran Anderson delves into the history of the “other, weirder, irrational” side of the infamous art school.

Celebrated and Detested: 100 Years of Bauhaus

2019-01-21T16:20:00-05:00

“Every child,” lamented Tom Wolfe in From Bauhaus to Our House of 1981, “goes to school in a building that looks like a duplicating-machine replacement-parts wholesale distribution warehouse”. Had there ever been another place on earth, he also said of Bauhaus-influenced America, “where so many people of wealth and power paid for and put up with so much architecture they detested?”

Observer architecture critic, Rowan Moore, on the vast and enduring impact of the "short-lived but longlasting" Bauhaus movement—both the sympathetic and the averse.

The famed school celebrates the centenary of its original founding this year.

Currently at WUHO, “Now What?!” spotlights 50 years of overlooked history of activist architects

2018-09-05T19:20:00-04:00

In looking to the past at professionals in the design and architecture professions, they found that alliances, networks, groups and affiliations were the mechanisms through which architects could become the activists they yearned to be. “[...] we want to show that architects are important allies to activists,” Rafson says. “Those alliances where architects are working as a critical part of the team is what we emphasize.”

The Los Angeles Times takes a closer look at ArchiteXX's “Now What?! Advocacy, Activism and Alliances in American Architecture Since 1968” exhibition currently at the WUHO Gallery. It examines the little-known history of architects and designers who were — and still remain — at the forefront of the profession's participation in the larger civil rights, women's, and LGBTQ movements over the last 50 years.

Chicago Architecture Center opens in new location this Labor Day weekend

2018-08-30T14:25:00-04:00

The oversized skyscraper models in the window, one of them 38 feet tall, are the undisputed stars of the show, but they’re not the only reason to visit the Chicago Architecture Center, the engaging new home of the organization previously known as the Chicago Architecture Foundation. There is also the dramatically expanded Chicago Model, an expanse of mini skyscrapers and other buildings that offers a helicopterlike overview of the city’s sprawling downtown.

Previously announced back in January, the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) will now be open to the public this coming Labor Day weekend beginning Friday August 31. Formerly known as the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the CAC opens in its new location featuring everything architecture in Chicago through tours, programs, and exhibitions.

The building, originally designed by Mies van der Rohe, has been renovated with interiors by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS + GG) in partnership with museum planning and design firm Gallagher & Associates. If you're in the area be sure to check out this new addition to architecture and the city. Plan your visit with more information here.

The home of civil rights activist Rosa Parks is now up for auction

2018-07-27T13:27:00-04:00

In 2016, the Berlin-based US artist Ryan Mendoza and Rhea McCauley, the niece of Rosa Parks, teamed up to save the civil rights activist’s Detroit home from demolition. Now, the structure is heading to another block: the New York auction house Guernsey’s, where it is due to be auctioned tomorrow (26 July) with an estimate of $1m-$3m.

Park's house is part of the 700-lot of African American Historic & Cultural Treasures up for sale at the New York auction house Guernsey’s. McCauley initially bought the house for just $500 back in 2016 reaching out to Mendoza to help preserve the house. In 2017 the structure was safely disassembled and reassembled in Berlin where it was open to the public hosting sound performances inside.

Rosa Parks originally lived in the three-bedroom house with 17 relatives after she left the south in 1957 for Detroit. Mendoza and McCauley have hopes that the house will end up in an institution where it can inspire visitors with Park's life and legacy in civil rights.

Experience Frank Lloyd Wright works online through virtual tours

2018-06-21T15:31:00-04:00

Virtual tours of Frank Lloyd Wright's properties will be available online through Leica Geosystems partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. With technology services from Multivista and Matterport, detailed experiences of the architect's iconic works can be explored from exterior grounds to the interior home, including minute detailing, 3D views, and floor plans.

Taliesin West will be the first property available online here. The endeavor is part of a larger scheme by Leica Geosystems to use digital innovation to capture, document, and preserve architectural history.

TV series Project Impossible showcases unprecedented engineering feats

2018-03-26T17:53:00-04:00

The History Channel will soon air Project Impossible, a series following the next generation of massive engineering projects considered unthinkable only a few years ago. Shot in 14 countries, the first season includes 10 one-hour episodes focusing on undertakings shaping the future of our society. Season one looks at projects tackling sea level rise, and technological breakthroughs like the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).

MOSE wall sea barrier system located in Venice, IT.

The series features engineering feats such as the Venice MOSE wall, a complex sea barrier system made of massive steel flap gates. With the growing threat of sea levels rising, the flaps will also rise from the sea floor to prevent the Adriatic from flooding Venice.

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) located in France.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France is also quite a feat of engineering. This fusion reactor releases huge amounts of ...

Explore Soviet architecture while dancing through Moscow

2018-03-01T14:26:00-05:00

A new tour group fusing Soviet architecture with the latest Russian electronica is launching a series of outdoor parties amid the historic courtyards of central Moscow. Culture group MosKultProg will be holding two events in March, mixing historian Sergey Niktin's historical tour along Moscow's legendary Kutuzovsky Prospekt with sets from St Peterburg-based DJ Egor Holkin.

Moscow keeps expanding its options for exploring the city's mesmerizing architecture: if you've done the virtual/augmented reality tours of never-realized icons of Soviet architecture and already 'Pokémon Go-caught' all the famous figures of Russian history via the Know Moscow.Photo. app, you can now take an architectural walking dancing tour while grooving to epic DJ sets of Egor Holkin.

The organizers behind the concept, TanzProg, plan to bring their edutainment initiative also to other European cities this summer, including London and Paris.

The Moscow That Never Was: new VR/AR tour showcases unrealized icons of Soviet architecture

2018-01-04T15:24:00-05:00

New virtual reality tours are giving Muscovites the chance to see the Russian capital as the socialist utopia envisioned by the city’s Soviet architects. The new project, The Moscow That Never Was, lets visitors glimpse shelved Soviet landmarks as they should have appeared on Moscow’s streets using VR goggles.

The 2-hour virtual/augmented reality tours through central Moscow feature utopian architectural projects that never quite saw the light of day, including the infamous Palace of the Soviets (imagined as the world's tallest building, crowned with a 300-ft Lenin statue), an alternate Lenin Mausoleum, Stalin's eighth 'sisters' skyscraper in Zarayadye Park, the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry HQ on Red Square, among others.

More information about the The Moscow That Never Was tours here.

All images via Retro Futuro.

British architectural historian Gavin Stamp has died at age 69

2018-01-02T14:21:00-05:00

Gavin Stamp, the architectural historian, who has died aged 69, was “Piloti” who wrote the “Nooks and Corners” column in Private Eye magazine; a television presenter of great charm and humour; a conservationist who personally saved one of the finest Arts and Crafts buildings in London; a photographer, draughtsman and writer of prodigious talent.

The architecture community lost historian, writer and broadcaster Gavin Stamp on December 30 2017 due to prostate cancer. Stamp had an immense impact on British architecture and authored several important architectural history books. He was also a television series presenter, co-founder of the Twentieth Century Society, and a key player in the Victorian Society.

Here are some noteworthy social-media tributes:

Find all 30 architectural references in this challenging 3D puzzle

2017-12-21T17:54:00-05:00

Architecture has seen a lot of different styles in the past 3000 years, from the grand temples of ancient Egypt to the small, cubical dwellings of Japan. Fumio Matsumo, a project professor at the University of Tokyo's University Museum, has managed to fit elements from 30 distinct icons of architecture into a single 3D model. As Co.Design reports, Memories of Architecture acts as both a history lesson in design and a challenging puzzle for architecture fanatics.

Each element in Matsumo's design puzzle references architecture history beginning with 18th century BCE at the base and working it's way up to modern day. If you get stuck or just want to know/(cheat) here is a full list of all the iconic buildings represented in the model.

Vincent Scully, prominent architecture historian, dies at age 97

2017-12-01T14:54:00-05:00

Yale art historian for more than 60 years, Vincent Scully died on Thursday night in his Lynchburg, Virginia residence due to complications of Parkinson's disease. His architectural writings had an immense impact on the later half of the 20th century giving context to architecture in culture and society. Known for his theatrical lectures, Scully taught at Yale from 1947 to 1991 where his retirement only lasted a year. By popular demand he returned and taught until 2009, when health related issues caused him to cease lecturing.

Scully promoted strong modernist opinions while also championing contextual and social awareness. His association with the New Urbanism movement stressed his beliefs on the importance of the pedestrian, human-scale construction, and retaining a sense of community. The Vincent Scully Prize is awarded annually and is a testament to his influence over culture as a whole.

'American Architecture and Urbanism' an important work by Vincent Scully published in 1969.

H...

It's Archigram's Future: We are just living in it

2017-11-17T12:39:00-05:00

Archigram can be seen as part of several trends that influence metropolitan life to this day. One was the Pop Art movement, where color, dynamism, fashion, and disposability were presented in graphics as understated as a passing billboard.

While history may be said to define us, it could also be that history paves the roads in which we will ultimately walk. Archigram, known for being an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s and for its neo-futuristic, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist theoretical projects, may, in fact, have been more prophetic than theoretical. While their work has been the precedent for endless variations of conceptual and realized projects, it may also ultimately end up being the destination as well.

Northeastern professor discusses the architectural history of the White House

2017-08-09T15:13:00-04:00

While some presidents have had their personal opinions about the White House, it remains, nonetheless, a central piece of America’s identity. And it remains, in the most literal sense of the word, for three major reasons, said David Fannon, assistant professor of architecture and civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern.

While President Trump is on vacation, the White House is undergoing a $3.4 million West Wing renovation. Just over two centuries old, the home of the President has gone through as many changes as it has residents, maybe even more. David Fannon, an assistant professor of architecture at Northeastern University, explains how the White House remains because:

It is built of durable materials
Continues to be used by people
Has major social significance

Using lasers to decode Gothic architecture

2015-06-23T15:13:00-04:00

[Andrew] Tallon, 46, wasn't the first to realize that laser scanners could be used to deconstruct Gothic architecture. But he was the first to use the scans to get inside medieval builders' heads. "Every building moves," he says. "It heaves itself out of shape when foundations move, when the sun heats up on one side." How the building moves reveals its original design and the choices that the master builder had to make when construction didn't go as planned...