Archinect - News

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: December

2015-12-31T09:13:00-05:00

The most influential, controversial, historic and puzzling news items of December, 2015:

↑ "7,000 construction workers will die in Qatar before a ball is kicked in the 2022 World Cup," new ITUC report finds

This staggering statistic brings much needed attention to the dire human rights violations that too often accompany rapid urban development. While labor conditions in Qatar's construction industry are so onerous that they have come, at times, to effectively qualify as slavery, Zaha Hadid's 2022 World Cup stadium is not being implicated specifically in these predictions. Hadid has repeatedly had to rebuff false accusations of worker deaths on the stadium, rooted in a "mistake" published by the New York Review of Books.

↑ Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture reaches fundraising goal of $2M, working towards independence from foundation

The school began fundraising for independence back in December 2014, so that it could operate outside of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Indep...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: November

2015-12-30T11:36:00-05:00

November 2015

↑ Cut away confusion from your NYC commute with these beautiful subway maps

Navigate NYC's subway system with this handy resource that's also easy on the eyes. Locally based architect Candy Chan rendered the city's subway stations into a growing collection of lovely 3D maps, drawings, and diagrams in her "Project Subway NYC".

↑ BIG, SANAA, Lacaton & Vassal pre-qualified to compete in designing new Aarhus School of Architecture

The Aarhus School of Architecture is planning for a redesign. In addition to the three teams led by BIG, SANAA, and Lacaton & Vassal, three more teams will be selected to advance to the restricted design contest, currently scheduled to begin next fall.

↑ Architect Paul Michael Davis shares his favorite pitstops around Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood

Seattle isn't always as "sleepy" as it appears if you know where to go. Aside the obvious tourist hotspots in central downtown, locally based architect Paul Michael Davis shared his favorite go-to spo...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: October

2015-12-29T16:35:00-05:00

October 2015

↑ SANAA's meandering "River" community center opens to the public

SANAA's gleaming "River" community center, which Archinect first mentioned in 2012, finally opened its doors to the public. While the building is generally favored, Archinector Will Galloway shared an op-ed by architecture critic Alexandra Lange that questions the role of community in its design.

↑ Bjarke Ingels and the challenges of designing Two World Trade Center

This post highlighted an in-depth profile on the "Superstar Architect transforming NYC's skyline", Bjarke Ingels, who's been making headlines again for his proposed scheme for Two WTC. Needless to say, the article sparked heated discussion among Archinectors on Ingels and starchitect-ness.

↑ An environmental psychologist on why boring design is bad for your health

In this article, environmental psychologist and neuroscientist Colin Ellard wrote about the negative effects of boring street design and the resulting "boredom epidemic" among city dwe...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: September

2015-12-28T20:42:00-05:00

September 2015

↑ Deborah Berke named Dean of Yale School of Architecture, will succeed Robert A.M. Stern in 2016

Not many news on Archinect sparked as much excitement as the announcement of Deborah Berke as the new Yale Architecture Dean, effective July 1, 2016. Commenters debated how the school’s direction might shift after current Dean Robert A.M. Stern passes on the baton.

↑ First big-name architects confirmed for Obama Presidential Center

It’s prediction time! The Barack Obama Foundation sent out RFQs for the Chicago Presidential Center to a host of confidential firms, and now it’s “Guess Who’s On That List!”

↑ LA's redesigned Petersen Automotive Museum: so bad the public will love it?

"The Guy Fieri of buildings” ranks among the most beloved debate topics this fall. Like a Rorschach test for the built environment, Archinectors simply won’t get tired of chipping in their immediate allegories.

↑ Traveling to Chicago soon? seDURST's Scott Durst shares his favorite go-to spots around town...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: August

2015-12-27T19:55:00-05:00

August 2015

↑ Let Jürgen Mayer H. help plan your next trip to Berlin with his own travel tips

Archinect kicks off its new series of city travel tips for the architecturally inclined traveler put together by architects that call each featured city home. For the inaugural list of must-see destinations, we’re excited to have famed German architect Jürgen Mayer H. share his favorite spots in Berlin.

↑ Start 'em young: teenaged son picks architect for family's house

Next time you build a home for your family, make sure your kids get to look over the architect’s shoulder. And keep an eye on that budget, will ya?

↑ Coating the LA reservoir in "shade balls" will save 300M gallons of water

The sustained historic drought in California was on everyone's mind in August, and the LA reservoir "shade balls" would have made an excellent entry to Archinect's Dry Futures competition.

↑ Introducing Liberland, an aspirational libertarian micro-nation along the Danube

One of August’s hottest posts was the annou...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: July

2015-12-26T11:41:00-05:00

July 2015

↑ New satellite images show progress in China's island-building project

New satellite images were revealed in July that showed the extensive project China is making with its island-building project in the “South China Sea.” An important shipping route, the disputed waterway has increasingly become the focal point for geopolitical tension in the region and internationally.

↑ Architecture in crisis: reports from Greece

Last summer, Greece faced historic protests and elections oriented around its continuing debt crisis and precarious position within the EU – eventually resulting in the election of the Alexis Tsipras-led Syriza party. In the immediate aftermath of a national referendum over accepting harsh bailout conditions (the results of which were ultimately not honored), Archinect reached out to some Greek members, inquiring about how recent political events and the economic crisis has affected the profession.

↑ Zaha's Tokyo Olympic Stadium cancelled – Abe calls for a redesign...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: June

2015-12-25T11:40:00-05:00

June 2015

↑ Foster's Out, Ingels' In: BIG-Designed Two World Trade Center to House News Corp. and 21st Century Fox

In perhaps one of the biggest (and most hotly debated) pieces of news of the year, Bjarke Ingels replaced Norman Foster on the design of Two World Trade Center.

↑ Paris erupts in riot as taxi drivers protest Uber

You guessed it: Courtney Love is part of one of the most highly commented-on stories on Archinect this year. When French taxi drivers collectively lost their merde and started smashing up Uber vehicles and rioting in the nation’s capital, some altruistic Parisians helped Love to safety. Also, the notion of a fair wage/exploitation/infrastructural change lit up the comments section.

↑ North Korean architect of new Pyongyang airport reportedly executed by Kim Jong Un

This piece on Kim Jong Un executing an architect was one of the most widely read posts of the year.

↑ Photos from the "Bigger Than a Breadbox" opening reception

Archinect’s own “Bigger Than a Breadbox” compe...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: May

2015-12-24T11:40:00-05:00

May 2015

↑ The new $2.5 billion plan to rebuild the historic Penn Station

A proposal by Richard W. Cameron – principle designer at Atelier & Co. – to rebuild the historic Penn Station spurred a lively conversation on Archinect. The famed-Beaux Arts building was demolished over 50 years ago, but the fight to preserve the structure is often credited with spawning the modern preservationist movement.

↑ When the pressure is on, dedicated architecture students show how to power nap like a pro

Architecture school is famed for denying its students sleep – although one could argue the culture surrounding this is unnecessary, unproductive, and likely dangerous. A tumblr was started to collect students dozing at their drafting tables, and this posting highlights some of the best snapshots.

↑ NCARB will resolve "Intern Architect" title debate at AIA National Convention

“Intern architect,” a title traditionally attached to an architect working towards licensure, but not yet licensed, came under scrut...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: April

2015-12-23T18:31:00-05:00

April 2015

↑ 2015 Wheelwright Prize awarded to Erik L’Heureux

Harvard GSD’s $100,000 Wheelwright Prize was awarded to Erik L’Heureux, whose “winning proposal, ‘Hot and Wet: The Equatorial City and the Architectures of Atmosphere’ examines the traditional and modern building strategies in five dense cities in the equatorial zone -- a timely topic when rapid urbanization and climate change are on the rise.”

↑ Jack White studied at the GSD, and other celebrities' hidden architectural pasts

For April Fool’s day, Archinect took a break from tedious reality and instead delved into the architectural “pasts” of some celebrities.

↑ Richard Serra engages with the Qatari desert landscape in his new sculptural piece

Not content to dominate every single ground floor museum space in the Northern Hemisphere with his sculptures (this may be an exaggeration), artist Richard Serra unveiled new Qatari-desert specific artworks

↑ Pompidou responds to "fascist" Le Corbusier claims

This post on Le Corbusier’s pot...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: March

2015-12-22T19:11:00-05:00

March 2015

↑ Vienna plans world's tallest wooden skyscraper

A 76% wood skyscraper, the world’s largest in that material, was designed for Vienna by Rüdiger Lainer and Partner. With a net environmental impact far lower than concrete construction and advanced fire-prevention technologies, the skyscraper has garnered more controversy for its size relative to the rest of the skyline than for its material.

↑ "A Culture of Fear": U of Manitoba architecture dean to leave amid controversy

Ralph Stern, the then-Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, “declined to seek reappointment” to the position amid controversy. Accused of creating a “culture of fear and retribution,” criticism was leveled at the Dean by faculty and students who accused him of restricting research and directly affecting their personal lives.

↑ How a postmodernist department store is trying to become the youngest monument in Poland

The Solpol department store in Wrocław, Poland served as a case study...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: February

2015-12-22T12:13:00-05:00

February, 2015

↑ 10 Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Nominated to UNESCO World Heritage List

The buildings are the first modernist architecture structures to be nominated, and not a bit too soon – many of the FLW structures are desperately in need of attention to fix significant structural decay.

↑ AIA announces upcoming national television advertising campaign

Featuring the AIA's "Look Up" campaign, the ads are meant to raise general awareness of the architect's significance and benefit to society – a kind of PSA to value architects (and ultimately get them more work). It's the AIA's answer to "Why do we need architects?"

↑ YAP 2015 winner Andrés Jaque/Office to install "Cosmo" at MoMA PS1 this summer

The pavilion is described as "a moveable party artifact that is also biochemically engineered to filter and purify 3,000 gallons of water in a period of four days," and provides the setting for PS1's "Warm Up" summer party series. Jaque was later selected to take part in the Chicago Architectu...

2015 ~ A Year in Architecture, A Year in Archinect: January

2015-12-21T19:05:00-05:00

January 2015

↑ California finally breaking ground on first high-speed rail segment

Welp, this hasn't gone smoothly. The first leg of construction broke ground in Fresno nearly a year ago, but California's HSR just lost its previously wholehearted support from California Democrats, and the expensive project faces renewed scrutiny as voters cope with stress from housing and drought.

↑ Jean Nouvel boycotts opening of his Philharmonie de Paris

People called Gehry a prima donna when he flipped off a press conference, but Nouvel's refusal to attend the opening of his own Philharmonie de Paris was less hot-head starchitect move and more, at least ostensibly, a statement of principles: he thought the state of construction just wasn't ready for the opening. C'est la vie.

↑ Thom Mayne razing Ray Bradbury's house to build his own

Mayne had the modest Cheviot Hills house carefully deconstructed, with remnants made into 451 memorial bookends (a nod to Bradbury's famous book, Fahrenheit 451.)

↑ Norm'...