Archinect - News

Los Angeles honors President Obama with renaming of two roads

2018-09-05T16:13:00-04:00

Rodeo Road will be renamed after President Barack Obama, city leaders decided this week. But it’s not the first roadway in LA that lawmakers agreed to name after the 44th president. In 2017, the state legislature approved a resolution to designate the stretch of the 134 freeway that runs between Pasadena and Eagle Rock as the President Barack H. Obama Highway. A year later, however, there’s little evidence of that decision.

A 3.7 mile stretch of road in Los Angeles, now called Rodeo Road, will be renamed Obama Boulevard honoring the country’s first African American president. Located in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhood, the road was chosen for its significance in the black community and its relation to a 2007 rally site Obama held at the beginning of his campaign.

Obama Boulevard is not scheduled to be fully renamed until Presidents Day in 2019. Another Obama named stretch of road in Los Angeles is also awaiting new signage. A stretch of the 134 freeway running between Pasadena and Eagle Rock has been approved to be named the President Barack H. Obama Highway, however the money for new signage has yet to be raised.

Thom Mayne Young Architects Program is extended for third semester

2018-02-14T18:53:00-05:00

Morphosis has announced the educational initiative led by the firm’s Pritzker Prize-winning founder, Thom Mayne Young Architects, has been extended through the remainder of the 2017-2018 academic year in partnership with Hall Elementary School in Bridgeport, CT.

Students in the Thom Mayne Young Architects Program. Image: Google.

This program enables 6th grade students who participated last semester to continue developing their design skills in this 12-week course. The after-school classes are led by Pratt Institute architecture students, and task the students with creating a beautification proposal for their classroom. Each student received a new Pixelbook laptop donated by Google with state-of-the-art design software to develop their design skills.

An architecture model produced by a student in the Thom Mayne Young Architects Program. Image: Morphosis.

Students will demonstrate their grasp of architectural concepts and their mastery of design software in mid-term and final presenta...

Trump administration scraps Obama's Local Hiring Program

2017-08-31T20:26:00-04:00

The program was tested in states like New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania and involved viaduct construction, pavement rehabilitation and highway development projects. The study was extended for five years in January, just before President Trump took office. Advocates of local employment allowances say hiring from the neighborhood helps offset longstanding racial and gender imbalances in the construction industry.

The Trump administration is relinquishing another Obama-era regulatory provision, which was proposed in 2015 aiming to allow cities to set aside work for local residents on federally funded public works projects. No reason has been given for the Department of Transportation termination of the initiative, set to take effect tomorrow,

As President Obama leaves the White House, a closer look at his urban policy legacy

2016-12-30T18:04:00-05:00

City residents and urbanists had reasons to believe Obama would usher in a new urban era. [...] Now, as he leaves the White House, Obama’s legacy is being evaluated on many fronts, including within the realm of urban policy. In a new book called Urban Policy in the Time of Obama, academics appraise his successes and failures. CityLab spoke with the book’s editor, James DeFillippis, an associate professor in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects selected to design the Obama Presidential Center

2016-06-30T13:23:00-04:00

The Obama Foundation has selected Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (TWBTA) to lead the design team for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, and Interactive Design Architects (IDEA) to be their partner as they begin this exciting project. TWBTA stood out in their commitment to explore the best ways of creating an innovative center for action that inspires communities and individuals to take on our biggest challenges.

The husband and wife team of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) first started their practice back in 1986, with Paul Schulhof becoming the firm's third partner in 2013. The thirty person team is headquartered in New York.

"We believe that architecture is the coming together of art and use, and can bring a sense of grace to life," the architects state in the announcement. "The greatest buildings are places, which contribute to more than their particular task by elevating and improving the world.

"We are deeply moved by the mission of the Obama Foundation and the role the Center can play in empowering that mission. It is a joy, an honor, and a responsibility to create a place that reflects the optimism and integrity of the President and the First Lady."

TWBTA have designed a number of notable and highly-praised institutional projects in the past, including the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, and the Center for the A...

How will President Obama's move to require overtime pay change architecture?

2016-05-31T19:44:00-04:00

For decades, bosses [in certain professions] have groomed their assistants to be the next generation of big shots by working them long hours for low wages. Call it the “Devil Wears Prada” economy, after the novel depicting life working for a fictionalized Anna Wintour, the longtime Vogue editor. But now, with the Obama administration moving to require time-and-a-half overtime pay for most salaried employees making less than $47,476 a year, that business model is suddenly under assault.

"The change presents more than an economic challenge for the companies that rely on the willingness of young, ambitious workers to trade pay and self-respect for a shot at a prestige job down the road."

The article doesn't explicitly reference architecture, but as Archinect's past coverage on the state of internships in the field makes clear, it could. Many firms employ a business model that involves underpaying interns and other young workers – or not paying them at all.

Like many of the employers quoted in the article, some architects contend that this culture breeds better architects in the long run. Additionally, since some firms won't be able to afford overtime hours, their interns will end up getting less "training time" (and fewer opportunities to impress the highers-up).

Thoughts?

For related coverage, check out these links:

China and US compete to invest in a newly-opened Cuba

2016-03-17T15:39:00-04:00

The American government’s relaxation of its 56-year embargo against Cuba and the inauguration of direct flights from China has triggered a race to invest in the island’s tourist infrastructure [...] There are reports that China’s Suntime International Economic Trading Company will go ahead with a luxury hotel in Havana, in a joint venture Cuba’s state tourism agency, Cubanacán. The size of the hotel is reported variously at 600 to 650 rooms, with Suntime investing up to $150m

While diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US have thawed during the Obama administration, the embargo still remains in place effectively. But companies like Marriott International (whose chief executive will accompany the President on his historic visit to the island later this month) are optimistic that Cuba will soon be a major investment opportunity.

China, meanwhile, also has it's eyes on the (Raúl) Castro-ruled country as well. For the sake of Havana and other Cuban cities' remarkable architectural heritage, here's hoping Cuba doesn't become the site for an ersatz-hotel-arms-race.

For related news, take a look at some other Cuba-specific Archinect content:

It's Money March here on Archinect! Have you ...

Paul Goldberger, advisor for the Obama Presidential Center, says Obamas prefer "modern and refined" over a "traditional" building

2016-02-10T13:38:00-05:00

MCP: How would you characterize the President and First Lady’s architectural taste, as best as you can tell up to this point? PG: Modern and refined. They like modern things quite genuinely. They do not want a traditional building... there’s a certain kind of, let’s say tailored modernism, that they respond best to. But they’re interested in a range of things, and they’re also very interested, as they should be, in somebody who they will feel comfortable talking to.

Paul Goldberger was first offered to advise the Obama Foundation in the selection of the Presidential Center's architect by Penny Pritzker, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, who also happens to be the niece of Jay Pritzker – founder of the Pritzker Prize in 1979.

Get caught up on the selection process for the architect of Obama's Presidential Library:

University of Chicago will reportedly win race for Obama Presidential Library

2015-05-04T18:38:00-04:00

President Obama will choose the University of Chicago as the site for his presidential library, according to several reports and sources close to the Obama family. The proposal from the University of Chicago in Chicago’s South Side Hyde Park neighborhood, which is near where the Obamas have a home, their daughters attended grammar school and Michelle Obama worked as a vice president of the university’s medical center, is the apparent winner, reports and these sources say.

Previously

2014 Chicago Prize winners envision the Obama Presidential Library

2015-02-13T18:06:00-05:00

Although an American president has the right to having a dedicated Presidential Library, it's no surprise that the museum-library-shrine typology can spark debate and criticism regarding its true civic purpose. As plans for the Barack Obama Presidential Library appear to slowly take shape, the Chicago Architectural Club organized the 2014 Chicago Prize ideas competition that invited architects to send their own speculative designs of the Obama Presidential Library. The latest competition aimed to initiate further discussion on how the presidential library typology can be reimagined.

At the end of the competition, the jury (listed at the bottom) selected two winners and three honorable mentions:

↓ WINNER: Zhu Wenyi, Fu Junsheng, and Liang Yiang

↓ WINNER: Aras Burak Sen

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

↓ Design Team: Dániel Palotai

↓ Design Team: Drew Cowdrey and Trey Kirk

↓ Design Team: Ann Lui and Craig Reschke

To find out more, click here.

2014 Chicago Prize Jury:
Andy Metter (Epstein); Brian Lee (SOM); ...

CALL FOR ENTRIES: What do you think the Obama Presidential Library should look like?

2014-11-17T21:51:00-05:00

The Chicago Architectural Club launched its 2014 edition of the Chicago Prize ideas competition this past weekend: design the Barack Obama Presidential Library! From the lively discussion (if not frenzy) surrounding a Barack Obama Presidential Library possibly being built, the Chicago Prize invites architects and designers to send ideas of how the U.S. Presidential Library building typology should be reinvented.

The Chicago Prize 2014 competition aims to spark debate on the typology of the presidential library. Speculative proposals will fulfill functions like housing a collection of artifacts and documents relating to the president’s life while also providing educational infrastructure and framework for outreach and community programs.

Entries are due by January 10, 2015. The winner will be announced and exhibited at an opening event at the Chicago Architectural Foundation in February 2015.

Now's the time to bring the best of your clever ideas to the table.

Obama's presidential library: four radical visions of the future from top architects

2014-10-21T13:19:00-04:00

Barack Obama still has two long years left to cement his legacy as something between “yes we can” and “at least I tried”. Regardless of how history remembers him, Obama will always represent a shift from the old guard, an idealistic starting point for what (and who) future presidents could be. For now, though, his official museum, his keeper of secrets: couldn’t that still be a tangible change we can believe in? At least an architectural one?

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien presented with National Medal of Arts by President Obama

2014-07-30T21:04:00-04:00

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien were honored with the prestigious National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). As the highest award bestowed to artists and arts patrons by the U.S. federal government, the medal specially recognizes individuals or groups for their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the country.

President Barack Obama individually presented the medals to Williams, Tsien, and all the recipients during the recent awards ceremony at the White House in Washington D.C.

Read on for more info:

"Billie Tsien and Tod Williams [were acknowledged] for their contributions to architecture and arts education. Whether public or private, their deliberate and inspired designs have a profound effect on the lives of those who interact with them, and their teaching and spirit of service have inspired young people to pursue their passions"

The list of notable medal recipients also included:

Julia Alvarez, Noveli...

Obama to push for infrastructure funding

2014-07-15T16:22:00-04:00

Obama has proposed a $302 billion, four-year transportation spending plan that is paid in part by closing corporate tax loopholes [...] The White House maintains that 65% of U.S. roads are rated in less than good condition, 25% of bridges require significant repair or can't handle today's traffic, and 45% of Americans lack access to transit.

HOK Unveils Obama Presidential Library Proposal

2014-06-25T17:46:00-04:00

HOK has just unveiled its design for the Obama Presidential Library. Although several institutions in Chicago have submitted their own bids for the new museum and library, the global architecture and engineering office states that it submitted this design in coordination with the Museum Campus Foundation, which is an organization comprised of a number of community groups located in Bronzeville.

Obama library officials allow parties to make their bid

2014-03-20T17:36:00-04:00

The foundation established to lead the development of President Obama’s library and museum opened the door Thursday for institutions and groups to begin making a pitch to host the site. The Barack Obama Foundation issued its long-awaited Request for Qualifications on its newly named website, inviting applicants to provide information about how their proposal would impact the community and how it would reflect the president’s vision.

Obama names critic of Gehry’s design to Eisenhower Memorial Commission to oversee DC project

2013-09-04T13:07:00-04:00

President Barack Obama is appointing a known critic of the planned Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial design to serve on the federal commission that oversees the project. The White House announced Obama’s intent to appoint former National Endowment for the Humanities chairman Bruce Cole last month, but it drew little attention while Congress was in recess. Cole led the humanities endowment under former President George W. Bush.

Hawaii fights for Obama presidential center

2013-05-08T12:54:00-04:00

The president still has three years in office, but eventually his thoughts will turn to what comes afterward. [...] A presidential library has to be easily accessible to scholars and visitors, so Chicago has a clear advantage. That’s why Honolulu’s leaders named their public campaign carefully: The Hawaii Presidential Center Initiative, not a presidential library.

Previously: The LA Times' Christopher Hawthorne reviews the "fittingly blunt" Bush presidential library

President Obama Appoints Michael Graves to Key Administration Post

2013-02-04T13:52:00-05:00

President Obama said, “These fine public servants both bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles. Our nation will be well-served by these individuals, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Vinton G. Cerf – Member, National Science Board, National Science Foundation
Marta Araoz de la Torre – Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee
Michael Graves – Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
Laurie Leshin – Member, Advisory Board of the National Air and Space Museum
Lynne Sebastian – Member, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Obama only 8 years out of student loan debt #dontdoublemyrate

2012-04-24T20:07:00-04:00

For the first eight years of our marriage, [Michelle and I] were paying more in student loans than what we were paying for our mortgage. So we know what this is about. And we were lucky to land good jobs with a steady income. But we only finished paying off our student loans—check this out, all right, I’m the President of the United States—we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago.

#dontdoublemyrate

Watch: First Look at the Museum of African American History and Culture

2012-02-22T19:27:00-05:00

When the Museum of African American History and Culture opens on the National Mall in 2015, it will be "not just a record of tragedy, but a celebration of life," as President Obama said during the ground breaking ceremony on the site today.

Obama to speak at African American history museum’s groundbreaking

2012-02-16T13:15:33-05:00

President Obama will speak at the official groundbreaking next week for the Smithsonian's new African American history museum in Washington, museum officials announced. The National Museum of African American History and Culture will be situated on the National Mall and is expected to be completed by 2015 at an estimated price cost of $500 million, half of which is expected to be paid by the government.

Norman Foster buys President Obama’s summer retreat, Blue Heron Farm, for $22 million

2011-12-05T15:53:00-05:00

Lord Norman and Lady Elena Foster of Thames Bank in Great Britain purchased the 28-acre “gentleman’s farm” in West Tisbury for a whopping $22 million last month, The Vineyard Gazette reports. According to the broker who handled the sale, the new owners do not intend to rent the property to the first family — or anyone else.

Obama touts Chicago architecture, Pritzker family in Pritzker Architecture Prize speech.

2011-06-03T11:51:11-04:00

Referring to Tom Pritzker, Obama said, "Now, as Tom mentioned, my interest in architecture goes way back. There was a time when I thought I could be an architect, where I expected to be more creative than I turned out, so I had to go into politics instead."

Cameron Sinclair Becomes Advisor to Obama Administration

2011-05-20T11:51:16-04:00

Earlier this month, the Obama Administration under the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) launched the advisory committee on voluntary foriegn aid (ACVFA). On that list advisors was none other than Cameron Sinclair, a person who has revolutionized the way we think and speak about people and architectural spaces, and actually acts and implements these thoughts and words into reality.