Friday, August 22:

• Zaha Hadid sues architecture critic Martin Filler over book review: Hadid is responding to allegedly defamatory comments made by Filler regarding her 2022 World Cup stadium in Qatar.
• The Demolition of 5 Pointz Has Begun: The "Graffiti Mecca" was slated for demolition last November, when the property owners' "broken window" theory justification beat out the artists' protests. Two residential towers will be built in 5 Pointz's place.
• Study confirms LA is least affordable city for rentals in US: Depressing UCLA study confirms that in the city with the highest proportion of renters in the country, the average renter spends nearly 47% of their income on rent. The news is part of a nearly fifty year old trend in the renting market.

Thursday, August 21:

• Lego House in Billund, Denmark, begins construction by laying giant Lego brick–shaped foundation stones: Even if BIG hadn't designed it, Bjarke would have laid the first brick.
• Istanbul's 'illegal' towers to be demolished after landmark court ruling: The city has seen a slew of sometimes unlawful, often outrage-inducing new developments in the midst of booming construction.
• Rubber Duckie, you make globalization so much fun: Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's giant inflatable duck visited the port of Los Angeles this week, part of a world tour including stops (baths?) in Beijing, Sydney and São Paulo.
• Architects can now be held liable for building defects, rules California Supreme Court: The decision came from Beacon Residential Community Association v. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, filed in response to structural defects in an SF condo complex that made it, at times, uninhabitable. This doesn't affect developer or contractor liability, which of course still stands.

Wednesday, August 20:

• Why Portland Is Building a Multi-Modal Bridge That Bans Cars: Tilikum Crossing was designed to meet light-rail demands, and will also accommodate city buses, streetcars, pedestrians and bike traffic.
• Deborah Sussman, designer, has died at age 83: The environmental and graphic designer that brought us the look of 1984's Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Sussman was a bold and bright force in the design world, starting her career with the Eameses in the 1950s. She was professionally active up until her death.
• Rockaway Pipeline Stirs Controversy: Construction is now underway on a pipeline to bring natural gas to New York City, set to run underneath the Rockaways — a borough often aligned with ideas of resilience and sustainability, post-Hurricane Sandy. Opponents of the project cite prior pipeline accidents and shady dealings by the affiliated contractor, Williams.
• Architecture Billings Index increased in July, "Highest Mark Since 2007": Good news, marking a continued trend in rising ABI during the last three months.

Tuesday, August 19:

• Melbourne named world’s most liveable city for fourth consecutive year: According to bang-up grades in healthcare, infrastructure, education, and murder rates, from metrics taken by the Economic Intelligence Unit's "Liveability Survey". Vienna, Vancouver and Toronto (in that order) took the next three top spots.
• Jason Young Appointed as New Director of the University of Tennessee School of Architecture: Previously an associate professor at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Young is also the leader of YARD, a design and research practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Olafur Eliasson turns Louisiana MoMA into a 'Riverbed': The Danish-Icelandic artist created a riverbed throughout the museum's gallery, complete with running water. The Louisiana museum sits on Denmark's eastern coast, and on a clear day you can see across the Øresund to Sweden.
• Moscow Puts Iconic Shukhov Tower on Protected Landmark List: Previously, the modernist landmark was threatened with demolition, supposedly under pressure by real estate developers. Muscovites voted via smartphone on the tower's fate, and prominent architects joined the conservation effort.

Monday, August 18:

• Exhibition Explores the Design of Protest Movements: The “Disobedient Objects” exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London samples protest ephemera from the 1970s onward, focusing on the objects that intersect with visual art aesthetics.
• Ambitious L.A. Parks Plan Will Require Coordination of 88 Cities: The proposed networking of waterways, bikeways, green spaces and walking trails would connect the San Gabriel Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in a "emerald necklace". The plan has roots in the unrealized Olmsted-Bartholomew scheme from the 1930s, which attempted to provide green public spaces to a rapidly-growing Los Angeles.
• Madrid's Museo Reina Sofía plans another expansion: The museum will expand its permanent collection space by the end of 2015, bringing together Jean Nouvel's extension with the Francisco Sabatini-designed museum.