News

Barry Lehrman shared the news that Leonard Parker FAIA, founder of one of Minneapolis's most significant architecture practices and a well-loved professor at the University of Minnesota, has passed away at after a long illness at 88. He also posted an excerpt from an 1986 Star Tribune interview by Linda Mac:

"Throughout his career, Parker has carried the architecture of a building to the logical conclusion of its function - no more, no less. He has grown more open to the humanizing value of ornament for its own sake, and has begun to detail buildings with a lighter hand; witness the recent Humphrey Institute compared with the earlier "U" law school. Master of the Modern aesthetic, he needs to integrate the values of historic styles with those on which he cut his architectural teeth."

Tarlabasi one of the few remaining places in Istanbul city center where there is affordable housing for the urban poor is being readied for redevelopment. Orhan Ayyüce our resident expert on Turkey writes "just like everywhere else, gentrification has no tears. they call it urban transformation project.. real estate profits is spoken there. people soon to be replaced by urban chic. big part of istanbul is like this. like i say, istanbul has became a rock star of a city."

Team NJ — as the group of architecture, planning and engineering students from NJIT and Rutgers — has built a futuristic-looking, one-story house, using modular, precast-concrete, construction, as their entry for the 2011 Solar Decathlon.

To the news that Frank Gehry’s vision for a series of his signature folded towers placed in the heart of the historic Parc des Ateliers in Arles, France will have to wait – as the project has just been put on hold. Responding to a comment by Orhan Ayyüce about Gehry's ability to work with "existing fabric and public space" . Armen Hogtanian  adds "This one is rather a dess-up and a compliment or a dialogue should I say... I have a great respect for that strategy... "

Jason Muller believes "Zaha Hadid is going to take it, watch." It, being the 2011, Stirling Prize.

Schools/School Blogs
For anyone who will be around the East Tennessee area in late August, Samuel lets us know that University of Tennessee will be hosting a very large open house/ ribbon cutting for the New Norris House. More details on that to follow...

Michael at UC Berkley, reposted some of the intriguing explorations of 'Post Industrial Latent Space' by Bryan Allen, one of two winners of the Branner Fellowship given by the UC Berkeley CED in 2010, who  just returned from visiting the ruins of Chernobyl. Ryan defines Post Industrial Latent Space as 

"the urbis incognita--hidden, forgotten, and ignored ‘wilderness’ of the city inviting exploration and temporary inhabitation. It is present in the hidden, forgotten, illegal, appropriated, and ignored contextual spaces we see every day. This new frontier sits quietly waiting to be explored and experienced. These post-industrial latent spaces permeate the contemporary built environment and present an evolving opportunity for architecture. They exhibit architectural dreams and fears, at once inspiring architecture’s promise and aware of its ultimate entropy. Here the lines between solid/void, building/landscape, inside/outside become ambiguous yet, paradoxically present. In Post-Industrial Latent Spaces we see buildings long after the builders have left, the layers of human detritus peel away and materials and structures begin a temporal existence abstracted by time."

Brendan from University of Toronto admits "My last entry was in December of 2009." After comparing the job search process/prospects in North America and China he ended up taking a job with 3GATTI Architecture Studio. There he worked for Francesco Gatti on a number of projects. Then returned for his 3rd year of schooling. One big realization he had during this third year was that "if you are watching movies while 'working' at your desk, you are probably at studio more than you need to be. You could probably go home, crack a beer, and not suffer the least for it." Now, he's back in China for another round of summer work experience and currently working at OPEN Architecture.

Firms/Work Updates
Kathy Russell, has started a temporary job doing master planning for an Indian reservation and Tima Bell, shared an image from 'back in the day' . . . (the straw bale house).

Paul+O Architects, have completed a dramatic contemporary brick pool house in the grounds of a Victorian country house in Buckinghamshire. Built of Belgian red brick with a steep pitched roof of handmade clay tiles, the new pool house presents itself as a contemporary annex which is sympathetic to the late Victorian red brick house.

Jason Chang, is working on an opera house final mock-up while Kridchanon Jongboriruk, recently worked on some hand drawings of various places in Thailand and Cambodia.

R-House, by Architecture Research Office, transforms a typical gabled roof into a simply folded surface that recalls the appearance and scale of neighboring houses.

Discussion Threads
mehrdad313, wants to know "which architectural journals are valid for submitting paper ???" barry lehrman states he has compiled a list of 89 journals that explore various aspects of the built environment, and that he is "happy to share this list with folks if you drop me a note."

Ryan002, wonders Why Can't You Have a Skyscraper Made of Bricks? won and done williams replies:

Ryan002's report card:
Architecture History: A+
Structures: F-

MixmasterFestus starts a conversation about "Retro-futurism" and taking the future/ He starts with the following: "When did we, as a society, become lazy at imagining the future? Back in the middle part of the last century (and for some time before), people presented (more or less) compelling imagery of a future in which problems were solved with modern technology and exciting new frontiers were opened." de flaneur thinks it is because "yes JG Ballard is depressing. Im not too fond of dystopia, who would want to be there in the summer"

chupacabra needs help stopping a sound barrier wall. MixmasterFestus suggests
"Anyways, I'd strongly recommend hiring an acoustical consultant (preferably one with some design experience, who can make compelling presentations) and maybe a lawyer.  There are ways of further reducing the noise that don't necessarily involve walls (berms - as you mentioned; quiet pavements;"

Finally, Gregory Walker, summarizes the results from the AIA 2011 compensation survey.

"while layoffs are severe (from a high of 240,000 at the end of 2007 to a shade under 156,000 at the end of 2010), for those left in, the worst is likely over (of course this was all written before the collapse of civil discourse in washington) and salaries are tending to stay level (compared to a 5.5% increase in the overall market in the us) if not slightly increasing." citizen offers a "Thanks for posting, Gregory."

Additionally
Check out "Architectural memes”: about influence, legacy and hurry in architecture, via bldgblog.