Friday, August 15

• Farewell to the Old Okura: The famous Hotel Okura, built in the 1960s in a distinctive fusion of modern and traditional Japanese styles, is closing in response to prohibitive earthquake retrofits and larger, newer hotels in the area.

• Samsung Acquires SmartThings, A Fast-Growing Home Automation Startup: SmartThings, an aggregator for all "smart" internet-connected devices in the home, cost Samsung an estimated $200 million —chump change in comparison to Google's $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest.

Thursday, August 14

• One ridesharing app to rule them all: Ridescout moves into the competitive world of rideshare: Ridescout aggregates hundreds of ridesharing services to compare trips, and will now include "carpool" options that can help users share trips. The announcement comes after last week's news that Uber and Lyft are now both offering carpooling services.
• Revisiting the American Folk Art Museum controversy, through comics: A thoughtful and diplomatic look at AFAM's history after its demolition, courtesy of artist and animator Sam Grinberg.
• University of Maryland postpones Architecture Library closure after backlash: Citing budgetary issues, safety concerns and lack of use, the library's closure has been postponed until January.

• New Google Satellites Could Be Able to See Your Face from the Sky: The US government has allowed commercial satellites to collect imagery at a higher than ever resolution.

Wednesday, August 13

• Eisenhower memorial, politics as usual: In the latest in the ongoing tussle around Gehry's design, Congress is unwilling to release sufficient funds for the project to move forward. They even issued a report questioning design specifics, and whether finances for the project have been handled effectively. Background on this ongoing kerfuffle can be found here.

Tuesday, August 12

• Oakland Hires Its First “Chief Resilience Officer”: Part of the Rockefeller Foundation's "100 Resilient Cities" initiative, the CRO in Oakland is responsible for safeguarding the city against threats from earthquakes and encroaching sea levels, as well as other measures related to sustainability.
• Amale Andraos to succeed Mark Wigley as GSAPP's new dean: Principal of the NYC firm WORKac, Andraos has been an associate professor at GSAPP since 2011, and will succeed Mark Wigley as dean.

Monday, August 11

• Koolhaas' missing Fundamental is alive and kicking in "House Housing" exhibition: The Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture responds to this year's Venice Biennale theme with an exhibition on land use and real estate in 20th century America.
• Ten years on, Athens 2004 gives Greece little to cheer: Many of the monumental facilities built for the 2004 Olympics have been abandoned, leaving many to question whether the nearly $11 billion price tag was worth it.