These setbacks toughened her demeanour. [...] Her toughness soon gave her a reputation for being a “difficult woman”. Following an intense period of building in the 1950s, De Silva’s contracts dried up, while [Geoffrey] Bawa’s rocketed. Ismeth Raheem, an architect who worked closely with Bawa in the early years, recalls De Silva telling him on several occasions: “I was dismissed because I am a woman. I was never taken seriously for my work.” — The Guardian
While Minnette de Silva's influence can be seen in the more progressive architecture in Colombo in her native Sri Lanka, “her contribution to architecture has been only belatedly – and sometimes begrudgingly – acknowledged,” writes Shiromi Pinto in The Guardian. Throughout her career... View full entry
Heritage experts warn that restoring Notre Dame de Paris after the devastating fire of 15 April will be so complex that it could take a decade or more, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to “rebuild the cathedral more beautiful than ever” within five years. — The Art Newspaper
While President Emmanuel Macron has an obvious political interest in reopening the severely damaged Notre Dame Cathedral for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, experts call for patience and reject improbable deadlines. Notre Dame's north rose window dates back to around 1250. Image: Wikipedia.A... View full entry
Two recently released video games are updating the SimCity model to better incorporate the complex relationship humans and cities have to nature and its precious resources. The first, Islanders, has users generate a city on an island with a limited amount of resources. Users are given a set... View full entry
Trained as a painter, Buffalo-based artist Kurt Treeby has since turned his interest in fiber work and architecture into an opportunity to reflect on loss in the built environment, recreating buildings in plastic canvas and yarn—often as tissue boxes. — CityLab
For those saddened by the loss of important works of architecture, Kurt Treeby is creating a tissue box to help mourn the misfortune. Buildings such as the BEST products showroom designed by SITE and Paul Rudolph's Shoreline Apartment complex are being transformed by the artist, who turns the lost... View full entry
Conceived to handle fewer than 200,000 passengers, the replacement Penn Station is today the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere, through which more than 600,000 commuters pass each day — an experience as humiliating and bewildering as Grand Central remains inspiring and exalted. — The New York Times
NYT architecture critic Michael Kimmelman takes a look back at the triumphal arrival of the former Pennsylvania Station by McKim, Mead & White in 1910, its steady decline in the following decades, the consequential replacement with the current solution—a disappointing product of mid-century... View full entry
Seattle’s construction frenzy turned deadly Saturday afternoon when a tower crane working on a new Google campus fell like a thunderbolt from the roof of a South Lake Union building, smashing into six cars and killing four people. — The Seattle Times
"The four-building, 607,000-square-foot project will house a new Google Seattle campus, and also include about 150 new apartments," reports The Seattle Times about the tragic incident at a South Lake Union site at Fairview Avenue and Mercer Street. "Construction began in 2017 and is set to be... View full entry
Three weeks after we announced that Peter Zumthor's vision for LACMA has been approved, a suite of updated renderings have been released by the Swiss Studio that are significantly more detailed than those preceding them. Ground-level perspective, with Japanese Pavilion visible on the right... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Spring 2019 It's time for Archinect's latest Get Lectured, an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back regularly to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want... View full entry
Michael Wolf, a German photographer whose work showed how people live in major cities such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Chicago and Paris, died this week at the age of 64. He is best known for his 2003-2014 series, Architecture of Density, which captured the repetitive architectural patterns of Hong... View full entry
Held annually for nearly 50 years, the AIA San Francisco Design Awards celebrate and recognize the outstanding architecture and design achievements of Bay Area individuals and organizations, as well as related professionals from afar who contribute to the framework of the Bay Area's built... View full entry
Construction at One Seaport, aka 161 Maiden Lane, has been noticeably paused for the past several months.
[...] new reports have revealed the 670-foot-tall building is actually leaning three inches to the north, leading to a series of legal disputes between Fortis Property Group, LLC, the developer, and Pizzarotti LLC, the current contractor. The project is being designed by Hill West Architects while Groves & Co is serving as the interior designer.
— New York YIMBY
"It remains unclear how this will affect the plans for 80 South Street directly next door," writes Michael Young for New York YIMBY about the unclear fate of the 670-foot-tall tower which structurally topped out last September. "There is a question of whether One Seaport should remain standing or... View full entry
Los Angeles and New York City-based architectural office FreelandBuck expand on their exploration of three-dimensional drawing with their new site-specific installation, Over View. On display at Museum Lab adjacent to the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, the ceiling installation is a... View full entry
Twenty projects from around the world have been shortlisted for the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture, which highlights building concepts in parts of the world with significant Muslim populations. Presented every three years, the $1 million prize is unique for being one of the largest... View full entry
Warner Bros. has sweeping plans to expand its Burbank headquarters by acquiring a nearby studio complex and moving into two Frank Gehry-designed office towers fashioned to look like icebergs floating alongside the 134 Freeway. — Los Angeles Times
Rendering: Sora, image courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP. "Once upon a time, Hollywood Studios had an important architectural presence in the city—they were like monuments to the movie-making process," the LA Times quotes Frank Gehry saying. "With this project, I was trying to recapture that... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)... View full entry
