Julia Ingalls reviewed "Work on Work" the current exhibition at Los Angeles’ Architecture + Design Museum, co-organized by Gensler and UCLA’s cityLAB. 

Therein she writes "This feeling of being at an un-airconditioned business conference is not helped by the next section of the exhibit, in which the banners stop talking about history and start getting real about Gensler and cityLAB's speculation on the future of the work environment...the privileged and oversimplified overtones of the exhibit, paired with its refusal to envision a more distinguished balance between productivity and (unstructured, unmonitored, human) downtime make it a bit chilling."

Amelia Taylor-Hochberg Editorial Manager for Archinect dissects the upcoming monographic LACMA (by way of the Pompidou) “Frank Gehry” exhibition, opening September 13. Responding to her question about critical distance given Gehry’s involvement, midlander writes "It's inherently difficult to create a critical exhibit on a living architect...Architectural exhibits often depend on process material owned by the architects, so need to be sensitive to how they depict the architect. So long as that relationship is openly stated I think there's no intellectual-ethical dilemma."
 

News

Professor (of two- and three-dimensional design and fine art) Harry Bartnick proposed a "much-needed makeover" for Boston’s Brutalist City Hall. davvid opined "The design is ridiculous and disrespectful to the original architecture. Any proposal that starts from the idea that this is an ugly brutalist building is a nonstarter."

Similarly Jason Buchheit commented "nice idea, horrible execution.  someone should take this on as an architectural project.  right now it's hack." On the other hand Volunteer argued "There are modern civic buildings that have become beloved by the public. The Sydney Opera House comes to mind. The Boston City Hall has had 47 years to gain public esteem and respect and has failed. This building and this Brutalist style has failed the people it was meant to serve and this fault is not some imagined cultural deficiency in the populace that loathes it."

Archinect Sessions tied the bow on Season 1 last week, with episode #40 featuring Thom Mayne and Eui-Sung Yi of the NOW Institute. Now we're working to correct our podcasting tans, but we'll be back with more episodes soon, along with a shiny new format. While we're cooking up Season 2, take this hiatus as an opportunity to do the following:

1. Take this survey to tell us what you thought of Season 1 (and enter to win a copy of the NOW Institute's new book, Haiti Now)
2. Rate us on iTunes and leave a review
3. Binge-listen to all 40 episodes of Season 1 (~2.1 solid days of quality architecture listening!)
4. Tweet us your thoughts on Season 1 / ideas for Season 2 #archinectsessions

CUNY Dean George Ranall isi on leave amid a sexual harassment probe. PlaneJanee noted this was a "serious accusation, he can never recover professionally….Sexual harassment is a predatory character trait in the worst kind of individual, especially in academia!"

Over at the Guardian, geographer Bradley L Garrett wrote about POPS and the privatisation of cities' public spaces. gwharton took an opposing stance based on personal experience in Seattle "the fact remains that downtown parks left under public jurisdiction are unpleasant places to be if you're not homeless or a drug addict..But recently the (private, but non-profit) Downtown Seattle Association has been taking over management responsibility under contract from Parks. The effects have been immediate, positive, and transformational...It's been great, and made me a big proponent of private management of public open spaces."

The AIA kicked off  a new educational campaign called "Know Your Worth", to inform and publicize the value of young and emerging professionals to the profession, and perhaps most importantly, present an unflinching view on unpaid internships – just don't do it. Ken Koense believed this was "smoke and mirrors. The real issue is emerging professional development, and IDP, or whatever NCARB is calling it this month. That's the debate."
 

Firms/Work Updates
Brandon Hubbard who has been lucky enough to work "for several prestigious architecture firms around the world from London to San Francisco" began his new blog The Architect’s Guide with a post titled Top 5 Architecture Job Interview Questions.

Recently Rachel Martinelli shared a sneak peak of graphics she is working on for the AIAS National Advocacy Task Force.
 

School/Blogs
FIUSOA announced ‘Lumifoil’ designed by two Assistant Professors from The University of Texas School of Architecture, Kory Bieg (OTA+) and Clay Odom (studioMODO), as winner of FIU’s Emerging Architects Initiative - Rooftop Competition.

During week 8 of her summer internship at Boulder Associates, gfrank1 helped build/test a cardboard life-size mock-up of a new hospital room for Littleton Adventist. This process resulted in a number of changes/suggestions.
 

Discussions/Threads
bklyntotfc started a thread to discuss Small Firm Health Insurance. As someone who runs "a small office (typically between 1-4 employees) in NYC", bklyntotfc is "trying to get some perspective on what the norm is for small practices". Based on the last two firms he worked at Peter Normand thinks "A flat stipend for health insurance gives more choice to your employees and limits your small firm's risk when bringing on a new team member". Carrera "always paid all of it, hate the idea of nickel-diming employees" while 3tk concluded "Since you don't offer it now, anything would be a plus for your employees.  Something flexible with fixed costs would seem the most fair."

.dwg is designing their own house extension and cladding a portion with thermally treated Ash t & g cladding. Therefore is looking for advice on the best product out there "that gives that best protection from UV rays" to prevent the Ash from fading to a silver grey. Carrera has "always trusted Cabot, they have a clear wood protector that has a good UV component" but pointed out that either way "will need to be recoated every 2 years." 

Everyday Intern reminds "anything offering UV protection will have pigment. Usually a light yellow or amber is the lightest color you'll be able to find. Pigment = protection". Plus has also "heard from one of the 'old timers' in the firm that he's tried just about everything for wood finishes, and Cetol 123 is his go-to product". Later .dwg provided an update, based on "finish samples on separate planks of the wood cladding" is "leaning towards Sikkens".

Finally, sameolddoctor is unnerved by the LA Times report that Architect Frank Gehry is helping with the Los Angeles River master plan, as "Gehry is no regional masterplanner". As a landscape architect Larchinect suspects "Gehry's involvement will be mostly limited to vertical construction, pavillions, icons, bridges, perhaps wayfinding elements which were indicated in the master plan(s) but not fleshed out". Jayness added "I also question how effective Gehry's approach will be. There are significant designers/thinkers who will be a lot more innovative in terms of their understanding of regional physical systems and ecological design."
 

Additionally
Architects for Social Housing weighed in on the neo-liberal agenda, as evidenced by the recent Adonis report, produced for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), which is leading to the largest assault on social housing in London.

"London’s housing ‘crisis’ is not a result of abstract faceless economic forces: it has been carefully prepared and legislated over a number of years to serve the interests and fill the pockets of those who benefit from it. If by ‘crisis’ we mean something that is out of our control, then there is no housing ‘crisis’. There is – in actuality rather than in the ideology of our society – a class war being waged through housing, and so far it is all going to plan."

h/t @subtopes