Archinect - News

Oscar Niemeyer’s masterworks become the backdrop of Pro-Bolsonaro violence in Brazil

2023-01-09T13:26:00-05:00

At least 1,200 protesters were detained for questioning in the wake of the storming of Brazil’s capital buildings, a spokesman for the civil police said on Monday, as the authorities began dismantling the tent city where supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president, had been camping out since he lost October’s election.

Among the buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer reported to be damaged are the Palácio do Planalto (Presidential Palace), National Congress building, and the Supreme Court, which several outlets reported were the primary target of protesters that had camped out in the capital for weeks following the disputed election.

Commentary and videos on social media showed rioters smashing windows and surmounting the roof of the Congressional building, where they unfurled an appeal to Brazil's military to stage an intervention.

The Planalto Palace, considered an architectural jewel by late Oscar Niemeyer and home to .@LulaOficial, is being destroyed by deranged Bolsonaro followers, mockingly known in #Brazil as “Bolsominions” pic.twitter.com/s9HZtnLM6S
— Robert Valencia (@rvalentwit) January 8, 2023 Assault on presidential palace, congress challenges Brazil’s democracy — Oscar Niemeyer’s modernism as stage for right wing insurrection https://t.co/gUffN1aWko
— Carolina A. Miranda @cmonstah@mast...

Design Miami’s first Parisian edition canceled due to 'security problems'

2022-08-01T19:31:00-04:00

Authorities in Paris have put the kibosh on Design Miami’s first Parisian edition after police there cited a lack of security at its planned site, the historic Place de la Concorde.

The concern led to the July 29th denial of permit issuance by the city’s new police chief Laurent Nunez, who extended his predecessor Didier Lallement’s decision from a month prior on the grounds that the area would present “security problems.” As reported in Le Monde, a source familiar with the case feels the real culprit is a fear of France’s Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vest protesters, who previously sparred with police in the same location in a series of public demonstrations that turned violent near the end of 2018.

As a result, the fair’s organizers announced they will be forced to cancel the October event, stating that “the timeline has proved too short to proceed this Autumn.” Organizers also confirmed each exhibitor will be given a full refund and that they are working to find an alternative locati...

Controversial San Jose Flea Market redevelopment gets approval from city council

2021-07-08T19:27:00-04:00

The council’s decision comes after months of significant organizing and protesting, including a two-day hunger strike last week, by vendors who felt that they were shut out of negotiations. It also follows months of mediating between the vendors and the Bumb family by councilmember David Cohen, who represents the district where the market is located.

A large multi-use development project has been proposed for the site, which is adjacent to a BART station, since at least 2007. The site currently hosts a flea market that caters to primarily Spanish-speaking lower-income residents.

Recent protests have combined public outcry to draw some concessions. The Bumb family, which owns the property, will pay $5 million to the vendors as part of an assistance package that will allow them to stay until construction begins.

The Mercury News has more on the story here.

AIA Board of Directors "supports the protests to stop systemic, state-sanctioned violence against people of color. Period."

2020-06-05T18:39:00-04:00

Following a somewhat lukewarm reception to an initial statement released over the weekend from AIA 2020 President Jane Frederick touching on the recent days of anti-racism protests, the American Institute of Architects Board of Directors has issued an in-depth follow-up letter indicating their own support for the movement.

On Thursday, June 4, the AIA National Board of Directors issued the following statement:

To our members,

America’s list of racially motivated murders demand action. Eric Garner. Sandra Bland. Michael Brown. Shantel Davis. Atatiana Jefferson. Laquan McDonald. Tony McDade. Pamela Turner. Korryn Gaines. Trayvon Martin. Tamir Rice. Walter Scott. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd. All murdered, because they happened to be black in the United States of America. There are others, and, sadly, we know there will be more. No words can adequately express the depth of anger, frustration, and national shame for their loss or the more than 1,250 black lives ended ...

Interrogating the "people over property" dichotomy

2020-06-03T18:43:00-04:00

Does the destruction of buildings matter when black Americans are being brazenly murdered in cold blood by police and vigilantes? That’s the question that has been raging on the streets of Philadelphia, and across my architecture-centric social media feeds, over the last two days as a dark cloud of smoke spiraled up from Center City.

Inga Saffron, architecture critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, offers a nuanced look at the relationship between protest, property destruction, and economic development in under-invested areas in her latest column. The article comes as cities around the country grapple with fierce protests seeking to force change in how America's police departments treat African Americans and other people of color. The protests have included acts of vandalism and property destruction on the part of both demonstrators and police.

Arguing that the destruction of buildings can have negative as well as provocative repercussions, Saffron writes, "You can be appalled and heartbroken by our country’s deadly racism, and yet still quake at what the damage to downtown portends for Philadelphia. Racism is built on strong foundations. The momentary satisfaction of destroying a few buildings does nothing to remove those structures. All it does is weaken our city."

AIA, NOMA, and other organizations issue statements of solidarity with Black community

2020-06-01T15:02:00-04:00

Over the weekend as courthouses, monuments, business districts, and public spaces around the country became backdrops to fierce protests seeking justice for the killings of Minneapolis resident George Floyd and other Black Americans at the hands of police, a collection of architecture, design, and built environment groups issued memos commenting on the volatile situation.

American Institute of Architects

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) published a statement from AIA 2020 President Jane Frederick calling for "universal respect and human dignity" in the face of racial injustice.

Frederick wrote:

"As Americans, we are mindful of this nation’s dark history of racial inequality. We are appalled by any actions that further threaten the universal respect and human dignity that everyone deserves. As architects, we remain committed to advancing civil rights protections, fair housing policies, and accessibility in the built world to help achieve the more perfect union we all see...

Hong Kong protestors take aim at Chinese urban surveillance infrastructure

2019-08-26T13:00:00-04:00

Widespread protests focused on countering China's quasi-colonial reign over Hong Kong continued over the weekend, as demonstrators began to take aim at the city's widespread surveillance infrastructure, The Guardian reports.

Organizing in response to reports that Chinese authorities are using smart lampposts to collect personal information, including facial recognition data, on Hongkongers, protesters over the weekend trained their efforts on removing some the city's new smart city infrastructure as local police fired tear gas. Australian news outlet ABC News reports that 400 of the smart lampposts are due to be installed in four of the city's urban districts, including 50 lampposts in the Kwun Tong area, the site of this weekend's protests. During a march this weekend, protestors used electric saws to destroy several of the lampposts, while others topped the lights with ropes.

Protestors in Hong Kong are cutting down facial recognition towers. pic.twitter.com/bTvb8uis7V
— Jordan ...

V&A faces pressure to return donations from Sackler family, tainted by role in opioid epidemic

2019-03-12T14:04:00-04:00

The V&A Dundee is facing mounting pressure to return philanthropic donations tainted by opioid profits. The museum has reportedly received a £500,000 grant linked to the Sackler family, who, as the owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, have been embroiled in controversy for their role in fueling the opioid crisis.

The Sacklers have been active philanthropic donors, giving hefty financial support to a number of prominent art institutions such as the Met, the Guggenheim, the Louvre, the Tate, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and now the one in Dundee as well.

Debates on how organizations should handle donations have escalated in recent months with many beneficiaries feeling the pain. Last month, protests were held at both the Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art demanding the institutions distance themselves from questionable funding sources and remove the Sackler name from their buildings.

The V&A Dundee is among the list of high-profile institutions to be met with simi...

Anti-opioid activists protest Guggenheim's ties to Sackler Family, the prominent art donors making billions from OxyContin

2019-02-11T17:27:00-05:00

Over the weekend, a group of more than 100 protestors demanded that the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum refuse further funding from the Sackler Family. Led by the American photographer Nan Goldin and her organization PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), the activists have been targeting the billionaire dynasty and its pharmaceutical company for promoting the use of OxyContin, a highly addictive, narcotic painkiller that is widely considered to be one of "the most dangerous products ever sold on a mass scale."

The demonstrators took over the museum's iconic atrium on Saturday night, dropping thousands of fake prescription notes from the six-story building while others handed out pill bottles to confused museum-goers. As Goldin staged a die-in on the lobby floor, banners hung from the spiraling hallways with messages such as "SHAME ON SACKLER," and "400,000 DEAD." Afterwards, the protest moved onwards to the Metropolitan Museum, where one of the wings is paid for and named aft...

Black Lives Matter and the politics of protesting in privatized space

2016-01-08T15:15:00-05:00

Mall of America’s ability to so zealously suppress the December 23 [Black Lives Matter] protest there highlights how, in a nation where more and more public life takes place in privatized spaces, the ability to exercise First Amendment rights has become increasingly contingent... Legal arguments that free political speech should be allowed at malls center around the idea that the shopping center has replaced the town square as a place where opinions can be heard and exchanged.

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Paris erupts in riot as taxi drivers protest Uber

2015-06-25T19:24:00-04:00

French taxi drivers pulled out the throttle in an all-out confrontation with the ultra-cheap Uber car service Thursday, smashing livery cars, setting tires ablaze and blocking traffic during a nationwide strike that caught tourists and celebrities alike in the mayhem.

Parisian taxi drivers have taken to the streets, smashing cars and burning tires to protest UberPop, a budget iteration of the car-sharing service akin to UberX in the States. Traffic came to a stop in the French capital, with reports of stranded travelers walking along the highway with luggage in tow, attempting to catch flights out of Charles de Gaulle airport. So far, 70 vehicles have been reported damaged around France and ten people arrested, according to the AP report.

One passenger caught in Thursday's melee was the singer Courtney Love, who tweeted throughout the experience. Love was able to escape via two men passing by on a motorcycle.

Over the past few weeks, taxi drivers have turned increasingly violent in their opposition to the car-sharing service, which they contend unfairly undercuts their business. Unlike Uber drivers, taxi drivers have to pay tens of thousands of euros for certification each year. Drivers are also frustrated by passenger complaints over a lack of t...