Archinect - News

Michael Kimmelman on Public Squares

2016-04-01T14:40:00-04:00

Squares have defined urban living since the dawn of democracy, from which they are inseparable. [...] I don’t think it’s coincidental that early in 2011 the Egyptian revolution centered around Tahrir Square, or that the Occupy Movement later that same year, partly inspired by the Arab Spring, expressed itself by taking over squares like Taksim in Istanbul, the Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona, and Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan.

Editor's Picks #278

2012-08-21T11:50:00-04:00

Reacting to Tatzu Nishi’s concept for Discovering Columbus, Donna Sink exclaimed "Wow, I love the interior environments he makes for these installations! The existing piece is so out-of-place." The conceptual piece will consist a living room six stories up in the air wrapped around the historic statue of Christopher Columbus found in Columbus Circle, NYC.

In the latest edition of the UpStarts: feature FreelandBuck aka David Freeland and Brennan Buck (an architectural design practice based in New York and Los Angeles affiliated with Yale School of Architecture, Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) and Woodbury University, ed. wow that is a lot of affiliated withs...) discussed; their first built project, "scale jump moments", the impact of the recession on the architecture + construction industry and finally the importance of "Making work" via email with Orhan Ayyüce.

Jason Muller shared "While I was studying for my undergraduate in Architecture at Woodbury University in Burbank California, my second year design architecture studio was tough by David Freeland and it was one of the best and inspiring experiences of my life."

House KE12 is the focus of the latest Showcase. The project by SoHo Architektur is in Memmingen Germany. It is a townhouse with two housing units, designed as a “three-window house”. ...

Thomas Balsley on NYC’s greater obligation

2011-12-21T22:34:00-05:00

Putting aside the legal and constitutional issues that have been the focus of the Zuccotti debate, design really can help balance the competing imperatives of openness and order. And in fact Zuccotti Park’s particular design manages this relatively well—it certainly can’t be faulted for having made the recent situation any worse.

In light of the recent attention paid to the concept of POPS and the struggle over the usage rights of public space, Thomas Balsley (one of the foremost landscape architects in NYC, who happens to have designed more Privately Owned Public Spaces, than anyone else) shared his thoughts on the vital importance of POPS to the urban fabric of the city. He also opines on what their future should hold. Finally, Balsley hopes that rather than turning POPS into a scapegoat the recent controversy surrounding POPS will serve to focus the attention of designers, policy makers and the public on the need for NYC to "to create a new and more innovative kind of public space to do what POPS can’t."