Shivihah Smith’s East Baltimore neighborhood, where he lives with his mother and grandmother, is disappearing. The block one over is gone. A dozen rowhouses on an adjacent block were removed one afternoon last year. [...]
For the Smiths, the bulldozing of city blocks is a source of anguish. But for Baltimore, as for a number of American cities in the Northeast and Midwest that have lost big chunks of their population, it is increasingly regarded as a path to salvation.
— nytimes.com
In light of yesterday's decision to allocate a chunk of the $13 billion JPMorgan Chase mortgage settlement to anti-blight measures across the country, I also recommend this NPR interview with Jim Rokakis, director of the Thriving Communities Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. NPR host Melissa Block... View full entry
The results are in for the Workplace of the Future Design Competition, presented by Metropolis and Business Interiors by Staples. The design competition questions the blurred definition of the workplace and the present-day possibility that work can be done just about anywhere now, with wireless and cloud technology readily available. With this in mind, entrants were challenged to design an ideal workspace fit for the mobile work environment. — bustler.net
The jury, which featured Tom Krizmanic — a principal at STUDIOS Architecture — and other esteemed members in leading corporations, selected three winning projects: ↑ First place: Vertical Flux: The Office Tower as Fluctuating Atmospheres by Joseph Filippelli ↑ Runner-up... View full entry
This sponsored post is brought to you by Digital-Tutors: You are a Progressive Designer. Seeking out new ways to grow your skills and push your creative limits is what you do. When you need to learn a new design software or subject, watching random YouTube videos or paying hundreds of dollars to... View full entry
The creaky staircase was covered in plastic, as was the living room furniture, but the bones were still there: pressed paper wainscoting in the hall, thickly painted moldings. We often got in trouble for walking too loudly in our clompy shoes up to the top floor at night. — Alexandra Lange
Last week Alex Calderwood, cofounder and creative force behind the Ace Hotel, was found dead. He was 47. The first Ace Hotel opened in Seattle in 1999, under Calderwood's direction... When Calderwood and his team took the company east, to New York, Calderwood brought his friends, design duo Roman & Williams, on board to design the space. Here, Robin Standefer of Roman & Williams remembers Calderwood's design legacy. — fastcodesign.com
The City of Taipei successfully landed the bid — after being the only city to do so — in becoming the next designated city for World Design Capital 2016. The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) made the official announcement during its 28th General Assembly on Monday, Nov. 18.
Previous cities who received the appointment include Torino (2008), Seoul (2010), Helsinki (2012) and the upcoming WDC in Cape Town (2014).
— bustler.net
Previously: City of Taipei takes the first hurdle towards becoming the next World Design Capital in 2016 View full entry
Like one skyline perched on another, the latest mega-building by Rem Koolhaas towers over the starchitect playground of Rotterdam. But why was it even built? — theguardian.com
CalArts two-day symposium on “The Politics of Parametricism” opened last Friday with a conversation between Reinhold Martin, associate professor at Columbia University’s GSAPP, and Patrik Schumacher, partner at Zaha Hadid Architects. Their debate, while at times tending more... View full entry
From the COLDSCAPES design competition earlier this year, an exhibition of the winning designs is currently on display hosted by the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative — a timely event as the weather grows colder in the U.S.
Last Friday's exhibition opening also celebrated the book launch of "COLDSCAPES: Design Ideas for Winter Cities", the sixth volume in CUDC’s Urban Infill Book Series.
— bustler.net
The COLDSCAPES exhibition will be open for one month at Star Plaza in Cleveland, Ohio. View full entry
The latest edition of Showcase; featured a complete redesign of the Law Faculties and Central Administration Buildings at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), by CRAB Studio. NewsWith Architecture for Humanity's experience helping communities beyond the relief phase of disaster... View full entry
The winners of the 2013 Structural Awards were revealed last Friday during a ceremony event [...] in London. Hosted by The Institution of Structural Engineers, the annual Structural Awards recognize the talents, the challenging environments, and the invaluable contributions of the world's best structural designers.
Twelve winners from around the world were honored this year, with the Taizhou Bridge in China winning the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence — the highest title.
— bustler.net
Previously: The Structural Awards - 2013 Shortlist View full entry
Designed by Louis Kahn in 1972, the Kimbell is considered the greatest American museum building of the 20th century. Understandably, the new $135-million addition by Renzo Piano, which at 101,000 square feet (9,383 square meters) just about doubles the Kimbell’s space, has been anticipated with trepidation. — bloomberg.com
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and Make It Right honored the winners of their Innovation Challenge on Nov. 15 at the Innovation Celebration in New York City. The challenge was established in 2012 as a chance for innovators to reinvent and respond to the issues on how building products are designed, manufactured, and consumed. — bustler.net
Starting from 144 applicants to 10 finalists, the jury chose four winners:1st place: bioMASON biobrick2nd place: Ecovative Mushroom Insulation3rd place tie: ECOR Universal Construction Panels and ROMA Domus Mineral PaintsEcovative is also the winner of the 2013 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. View full entry
A year after gathering ideas on how a eurozone country could leave the single-currency bloc, the organisers of the 2014 Wolfson Economics Prize are plunging into Britain’s highly politicised housing debate and challenging people to design a garden city.
Offering £250,000 in prize money, entrants are required to answer: “How would you deliver a new garden city which is visionary, economically viable and popular?”
— FT.com
A new book, “The Houses of Louis Kahn” (Yale University Press, $65), provides an architectural bridge between the personal and the professional stories, focusing on the nine houses Kahn completed, and designs for two dozen more. The story told by the authors, George H. Marcus and William Whitaker, is one of warm client relations, attention to the smallest domestic detail and a philosophical search for the best arrangement of rooms to call home. — nytimes.com
