March 2015


↑ Vienna plans world's tallest wooden skyscraper

A 76% wood skyscraper, the world’s largest in that material, was designed for Vienna by Rüdiger Lainer and Partner. With a net environmental impact far lower than concrete construction and advanced fire-prevention technologies, the skyscraper has garnered more controversy for its size relative to the rest of the skyline than for its material. 

↑ "A Culture of Fear": U of Manitoba architecture dean to leave amid controversy

Ralph Stern, the then-Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, “declined to seek reappointment” to the position amid controversy. Accused of creating a “culture of fear and retribution,” criticism was leveled at the Dean by faculty and students who accused him of restricting research and directly affecting their personal lives.

↑ How a postmodernist department store is trying to become the youngest monument in Poland

The Solpol department store in Wrocław, Poland served as a case study for a debate on preserving postmodern architecture. The building, with its bold colors and form, quickly became a site of pilgrimage for young architects in its day, but today, affection for postmodernist design is less effusive.

↑ New Gehry mixed-user in the works at "gateway to the Sunset Strip"

A strip mall on Sunset and Crescent Heights in Hollywood will be demolished and replaced by a Frank Gehry-design mixed-use building. Deemed the county’s first “California Environmental Leadership Development project,” the project is on the former site of the Garden of Allah, a classic Old Hollywood hotel that hosted the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Lucius Beebe.

↑ The Pragmatics of Adaptating to Sea Level Rise: The Next Wave @ UCLA

The Hammer Museum and UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability hosted "The Next Wave: Urban Adaptations for Rising Sea Levels,” a discussion about the realities of sea level rise and design strategies to mitigate its impact. 

↑ Take a peek at Tom Wiscombe's "underground" Old Bank District Museum scheme for L.A.

Architect Tom Wiscombe and developer Tom Gilmore teamed up to create a new contemporary art and design museum in Los Angeles, dedicated to housing works by local artists. Sited in the Old Bank District, the project will weave through existing buildings and is slated to be completed in 2017.

↑ Frei Otto wins 2015 Pritzker Prize

The celebrated German architect Frei Otto was awarded the 2015 Pritzker Prize in an announcement made immediately following his death. Otto, who had already been informed of his win, is the first and only architect to date awarded the prestigious prize posthumously.

↑ Michael Graves has died at the age of 80

Michael Graves, the influential postmodern designer, died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 80. Known for his collaborations with Peter Eisenmann, his role as a pedagogue, and his many built works, Graves left a deep mark on the profession.

↑  Eric Owen Moss Bids "Not Farewell But Fare Forward" at SCI-Arc

Before stepping down as the dean of SCI-Arc, Eric Owen Moss gave a farewell address (or a “fare forward” address, according to its title) to a packed hall of students and faculty. Moss punctuated an otherwise average retrospective lecture with proclamations and axioms – but the logic structuring his self-appointment as an advocate of ambiguity and innovation – a rebel, in other words – collapsed under the weight of his need for recognition qua a developed brand. 

↑  Morphosis turns Vals into "Skyscraper Village"

Morphosis announced designs for a “minimalist act” tower in the bucolic Swiss Alpine village of Vals, best known as the site of a Peter Zumthor-designed spa. The tower, which would be the tallest in Europe if built, would be clad in mirrored-glass and house a luxury hotel.

↑  The Met selects David Chipperfield to design its new museum wing

The Metropolitan Museum in New York announced that David Chipperfield would head their latest expansion project. The project comprises an expansion and redesign of the Met’s Southwest Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art, among other potential renovations. 

March 2015

↑  Ghosts of Schindler's past haunt Renee Green's MAK Center exhibition

The artist Renée Green, who’s also a professor at the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT, crafted a thoughtful and sensitive installation at the MAK Center in West Hollywood, which she discussed with Archinect here. Exploring the world and work of Rudolf Schindler, Green investigated broader concerns about the relationship between a building and its context, as well as the individual’s encounter with a space.

↑  Screen/Print #29: trans, "Lust"

We featured the latest edition of the cross-disciplinary journal trans for Screen/Print. Entitled “Lust,” the issue included the piece “Satellites of Love” by Alexis Kalagas, which traces the pursuit of love in urban spaces.

↑  An open letter to Guest Lecture series

Amelia Taylor-Hochberg penned an open letter to architecture universities about their guest lecture series, noting an appeal to celebrity in their curation that often produces less-than-stellar outputs. “Guest Lecture series can come off as a curated compilation of associative value – you lecture at our institution, and both of our statuses get bumped up (hopefully) as a result,” Hochberg writes. “It's likely this isn't the whole intent, but it is the dominant impression.”