This week on Archinect Sessions we’re sharing our inspiring conversation with Theaster Gates. For those of you who aren’t already familiar with Theaster, you’re in for a treat. Theaster Gates often refers to himself as a potter, and while it’s true that he is, through years of training and... View full entry
Archinect Outpost has hosted a plethora of events in its short eight months of operation, each of which has brought the Los Angeles community together to celebrate exciting new publications and design items. We are proud to announce that we have several more to come, from various disciplines and... View full entry
The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission paved the way for Snøhetta to partially redesign Philip Johnson’s Postmodern skyscraper at 550 Madison Avenue Tuesday with a vote backing the contested plan. [...]
The biggest change to the property, which was granted landmark status in July 2018, is the privately-owned public space (POPS) at the ground level.
— Curbed NY
Image: SnøhettaSnøhetta's original proposal to renovate the, now landmark-protected, 1984 icon of Postmodernism at 550 Madison Avenue was met with fierce opposition from architects, preservationists, and critics. An updated design that incorporated much of the feedback was released a few... View full entry
There are little more than 400 African American female architects in a profession of over 110,000. Although an improvement over the roughly 90 that existed when I entered the profession, the current numbers continue to reflect the obvious dearth of women like me. [...] My primary advice to young people is to seek mentorship as early as possible. Take advantage of many architects like myself who are willing to expose you to our studios, our staff, our work, and our own experiences. — Forbes
If you're unaware of her name, you know of her work. Zena Howard's contributions to the architecture profession are rooted in design strategy and advocacy. With over 25 years of experience, the seasoned architect has worked on several notable projects. As Principal and Managing Director of... View full entry
We've all seen them: photorealistic, high-gloss architectural renderings of new, flashy projects, and then—a few years later—the actual, built reality looks nothing like the too-good-to-be-true visualizations the public was sold on. Natural light, the lack of natural light, dust, humidity... View full entry
Tiny houses are promoted as an answer to the affordable housing crisis; a desirable alternative to traditional homes and mortgages. Yet there are many complexities and contradictions that surround these tiny spaces, as I discovered when I began investigating them. — Fast Company
There is something inherently romantic about the nomadic lifestyle cooked up in the 1960's, exemplified by the VW van and the desert campfire. While this relic of America's recent past became, undoubtedly, the inspiration for the Tiny Home movement in recent years, the reasons for its current... View full entry
Residents of flats overlooked by the Tate Modern have lost their high court bid to stop “hundreds of thousands of visitors” looking into their homes from the art gallery’s viewing platform.
[...] the board of trustees of the Tate Gallery said the platform provided “a unique, free, 360-degree view of London” and argue that the claimants could simply “draw the blinds”.
— The Guardian
The judge presiding over the highly publicized case dismissed the residents' demands that parts of the 10th-floor public viewing terrace in the Tate Modern's Herzog & de Meuron-designed extension be closed off to prevent visitors from peeking through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the ritzy Neo... View full entry
Over the weekend, a group of more than 100 protestors demanded that the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum refuse further funding from the Sackler Family. Led by the American photographer Nan Goldin and her organization PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), the activists have been targeting... View full entry
Construction on the future largest hotel in the Benelux just reached another milestone: the behemoth 25-floor, 650-room nhow Amsterdam RAI Hotel, designed by OMA/Reinier de Graaf, has reached its highest point of construction at a height of 91 meters (nearly 300 feet)."The shape of the 91-metre... View full entry
A Holocaust memorial proposed for outside Parliament would have a "significant harmful impact" on the area, the Royal Parks have said.
The landmark is planned to be built at Victoria Tower Gardens on Millbank, alongside the River Thames.
Royal Parks, which looks after the space, said it could not support the plans as the Grade II listed park was a "highly sensitive location".
— BBC
A star-studded design competition ended in October 2017 with the selection of Adjaye Associates and Ron Arad Architects as the winning team to plan the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. South view. © Adjaye Associates and Ron Arad Architects "Adjaye himself said... View full entry
AIA President William Bates has issued a statement praising the efforts of a Green New Deal, an ambitious resolution put forth by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that addresses the immense threat of climate change while stimulating the economy through sustainable job... View full entry
It’s official: The TWA Hotel will start taking reservations on February 14, in anticipation of a soft opening on May 15. [...]
The hotel’s opening will be the culmination of years of work to revive Eero Saarinen’s beloved midcentury landmark. The TWA Flight Center, a stunning example of Space Age architecture, closed in 2001, and has largely been hidden from public view since then, save for a few tours and events here and there.
— Curbed NY
The TWA Hotel at JFK Airport previously on Archinect. View full entry
This week we are joined, in studio, by David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, the hosts of the Midnight Charette podcast. You may be already familiar with their podcast, or perhaps you’ve just heard about the podcast since they released their episode with me a couple days ago. The Midnight Charette... View full entry
For New Haven school teacher Marlene Miller Pratt, whose son was shot and killed in 1998, the effort to build a memorial to victims of gun violence is about building a serene space to remember loved ones. "We wanted to develop an area that was going to be beautiful, so that we wouldn't have to... View full entry
Any visitor to New York over the past few years will have witnessed this curious new breed of pencil-thin tower. Poking up above the Manhattan skyline like etiolated beanpoles, they seem to defy the laws of both gravity and commercial sense. They stand like naked elevator shafts awaiting their floors, raw extrusions of capital piled up until it hits the clouds. — The Guardian
In his latest long-form piece, The Guardian architecture critic Oliver Wainwright shows how the advent of the new 'pencil tower' building type is rapidly transforming New York City's skyline, digs in the history of zoning laws, and explains how "air rights" allow (an abundance of) cash to buy a... View full entry
