January 2015

↑ California finally breaking ground on first high-speed rail segment

Welp, this hasn't gone smoothly. The first leg of construction broke ground in Fresno nearly a year ago, but California's HSR just lost its previously wholehearted support from California Democrats, and the expensive project faces renewed scrutiny as voters cope with stress from housing and drought.

↑ Jean Nouvel boycotts opening of his Philharmonie de Paris

People called Gehry a prima donna when he flipped off a press conference, but Nouvel's refusal to attend the opening of his own Philharmonie de Paris was less hot-head starchitect move and more, at least ostensibly, a statement of principles: he thought the state of construction just wasn't ready for the opening. C'est la vie.

↑​ Thom Mayne razing Ray Bradbury's house to build his own

Mayne had the modest Cheviot Hills house carefully deconstructed, with remnants made into 451 memorial bookends (a nod to Bradbury's famous book, Fahrenheit 451.)

↑​ Norm's Coffee Shop, an LA Googie icon, is temporarily saved from demolition

Sure, it's no Folk Art Museum, but Norm's is a Los Angeles fixture, emblematic not only of a certain kind of culinary program, but a historic era of LA urbanism. The iconic Googie restaurant officially became an Historic and Cultural landmark in May.

↑​ Architecture for Humanity to shut down

Sad news from the non-profit as all staff were laid off and the San Francisco HQ closed its doors, after the organization "pivoted its mission". AFH officially declared bankruptcy in February, but as many local chapters are run by volunteers independently of the core organization, some have decided to continue running.

↑​ Playing with climate at BIG's "Hot to Cold", now open at the National Building Museum

BIG's "Hot to Cold" organizes the firms' projects by climate, showcasing the firm's style around the world. The exhibition came a few months after designs were revealed for the firm's renovation of the Smithsonian's South Mall in DC. We also spoke with Bjarke Ingels for an Archinect Sessions podcast episode, following our coverage of the exhibition.

↑​ Aaron Betsky To Lead Taliesin West

Betsky's appointment dropped him into the midst of the school's fundraising campaign (ongoing until December 31), seeking to operate independently from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The school could lose its accreditation status if it fails to reach the fundraising goal. We spoke with Betsky about his appointment on the Archinect Sessions podcast.

↑​ Zaha Hadid and New York Review of Books/Martin Filler resolve legal dispute

Filler had falsely referred to thousands of worker deaths in the building of Hadid's Al Wakrah stadium in Qatar – when construction hadn't even begun at the time of his writing. The misinformation stuck around though. It surfaced in an interview with the BBC on the occasion of Hadid winning the 2016 RIBA Gold Medal, prompting her to walk out.

January 2015

↑​ The State of Debt and the Price of Architecture #2

Nicholas Korody spoke with architecture students in various depths of debt, shining much needed light on the dire financial situation that many architecture students find themselves in pursuit of their degree.

↑​ ​UpStarts: Four O Nine architecture and design

Julia Ingalls profiles the young, fresh (they've been around for less than four years), Shanghai-based partnership Four O Nine, designing all kinds of projects across the architectural spectrum in Saigon, Shanghai and beyond.