ICYMI, Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with IAMAW union organizer, and former SHoP employee, Andrew Daley, as well as Peggy Deamer, founding member of The Architecture Lobby, about the recent resurgence of interest in and organizing around Unionization in Architecture.
Gregory Walker had a few "earnest, not rhetorical" questions including "What are the top conditions a union would want to fix? Specifically - what is the proposed remedy at a place like SHOP"? b3tadine[sutures] offered a lengthy response which concluded "The effort to create stable labor relations, is fundamental to the future of the profession. Workers have a right to safe work environment."
Plus, inspired by Disney’s Encanto, Sean Joyner reflects on the "agency of architecture" and "identity-enhancing places" arguing for an architecture which transcends "the traditional western lens that overemphasizes purism and a kind of fundamentalist formalism” instead aiming for an “architecture that enables, edifies, and enhances."
Final renderings and a project timeline for a Studio Gang led, adaptive-reuse, new-home for University of Kentucky's College of Design were revealed. Orhan Ayyüce sees in the marketing materials
"a design school for the workforce…It merges architects' education and the ‘real world’ in a most graphic and spatial way" he also highlighted "The nostalgic maker marquee and the key program as written in the lower right corner of the video, don't miss it".
The winners of a competition to create a new international symbol of accessibility were not unanimously loved, though ChrisDx did eventually come around "In short, the first may indeed, IMHO, be the best of the lot." Interestingly, sharontoji relayed how at one time they’d "worked extensively with Paul Arthur, well-known authority and designer of pictographic symbols, on this exact project. After some discussion, we too focussed on the open door as the best way to show that the built environment was usable by all."
The AIA (in collaboration with the University of Washington and the University of Minnesota) released a new set of Guides for Equitable Practice but most weren’t impressed. In fact doctor_von_n0strand opined "Until architecture becomes a career that promises fair compensation for professional services and education, and a road to professional recognition and achievement that doesn't involve years of self-abnegation, POC and lower-income people will continue staying away."
Predictably, an update on Gehry Partners Ocean Avenue Project drew the most commentary. citizen took the chance to get on their soapbox "Photos and renderings are nifty! They show (or pretend to) so much. They also can hide even more. How about 1) a site plan, and 2) a ground floor plan? These are essential for understanding any project". Yet, on the other end of things, monosierra wanted to see details as "The relationship between skin, space, and structure varies a lot between Gehry projects. Most of the time, the designs go for regular boxes surrounded by struts propping up a billowing second skin. Some designs have one, twisted skin. The best ones translate the skins' swirls into spatial magic."
Austria-based architecture office querkraft completed anIKEA furniture store in the country’s capital Vienna, whose exterior was inspired by IKEA bookcases. citizen thought it a "Very nice project…Evocative" and was pleased "props to Niall for posting drawings!"
In May, the architectural community lost both, Valerio Dewalt Train founding principal Mark Dewalt at the age of 70 and Provencher_Roy’s co-founder Claude Provencher.
Back in June, Tuan Tran worked on "M.Olympus" while more recently Norman Fellows was working on a "Thinkbelt Mashup".
Looking for work?
Blalock & Partners, "a small firm by design" located in downtown Salt Lake City, has two open Design Architect positions.
EVstudio is looking for folks that want to be "the leading edge of building technology working in our exclusive Modular Studio".
Orhan Ayyüce shared a new story/some photos featuring the latest adventures of Homeboy/Michael Rotondi.
In academic hiring news;
Texas Tech College of Architecture (CoA) released CROP09: SHED, which "gets its name from the modest typology, acknowledging the vernacular, agricultural and industrial built environment tethering Texas to the spaces and places of the Midwest. Furthermore, the issue interprets SHED both as a noun and a verb".
monosierra wanted to discuss a "Very interesting lawsuit and judgment from a case between Marlon Blackwell Architects and the executive architect, HBG after the former's dismissal." Janosh felt it was "pretty clear cut. These HBG dudes are a-holes" and given how blatant and egregious the infringement was, the consensus seems to be that the case is unlikely to significantly change the industry.
Archi-nerd started a thread asking "What is the worst experience you ever had along your architectural path? Let this thread be a collection of traumatic narrations, bitter confessions and acknowledged regrets." archanonymous, RJ87 and Wood Guy kicked things off with some pretty outrageous entries. However whistler and bowling_ball both had a list, along with more than one story involving "a mafia client" or "mob connections"
Later tint quipped "The first 15 years of it." For his part, natematt didn’t feel "anonymous enough for that sort of question".
Finally, monosierra was impressed by 450 Warren by SO-IL "quite the stunning experience but I was surprised to see that their mesh ‘wall’ was code compliant without any guardrails whatsoever…Anyone knows more about this kind of enclosures?" Although there were a few initial skeptics, proto wasn't one of them "sure the loading surpasses code & keeps people from falling. It may be unsettling to some folks looking for a hand rail to steady them, but otherwise, looks cool to me". Will Galloway was on the same page and added
"the building is exceptional and a very large step above normal in this part of the world..About the railing...not sure about NY code, but 5468796 used floor to floor chainlink in their 62M project in Winnipeg without any handrails either, so it seems to be possible even in the mid-west. Can't think of many places more conservative than that."
@m_hotmessgandhi published a real thread aka Degrowth Manifesto for Architecture, "the dominant response of the AEC industry to urgent environmental and human rights injustices, which we see as inadequate, accommodationist, diversionary, and, in some cases, opportunistic…We pledge to recommend the most minimal architectural interventions only, and to discourage clients from building at all whenever possible."
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