"The internationally-renowned director Wim Wenders devotes his new film to Graubünden architect Peter Zumthor. Work on the project will take several years to complete. A taste of the film will be available August at the Venice Biennale." — Suedostschweiz

...Sandra Burga, the project’s client and coordinator, gave an introduction on the scope of the design project, discussed her background in Peru, t... and the project directives to be accomplished within the time period for the design charette and the duration of the project (projected to be completed around 2014, 2015)... 'provide sustainable, innovative, and transformational development to various areas in need, building structures, in which people live, work, learn, heal, and gather…' — UrbDeZine

The canopy can look like a lot of architecture for such a small project, but that’s partly its value: to put Cazucá on the map and create a de facto town square beside the school (made of shipping containers, serving a population in which a quarter of the children are malnourished, I was told by the school’s principal). Now children play soccer under the canopy and clean up the square every day, and there’s a vegetable garden with tomatoes and herbs. — nytimes.com

The tower, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, will contain offices, exclusive residences, a luxury hotel, restaurants and a viewing gallery across 72 floors which can be occupied.

There are a further 15 levels which make up the 'spire' - six of which have the potential to be used, with another nine exposed to the elements.

The 1,016ft skyscraper was inaugurated by the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of Qatar, Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, and The Duke of York. — dailymail.co.uk

A UK friend is writing "a little book" on architectural losers. Such a British idea. He's collecting the under-talented and the under-appreciated, the beaverers-away in an unappreciated style. To which my predictable response is: how many volumes can you run to? How, from the myriad, will you choose? — theage.com.au

The Battery Conservancy invites students and professionals from the Americas (North, Central, South and the Caribbean), to design an iconic moveable outdoor seating element. The winning design will be fabricated for use in The Battery, the 25-acre park at the tip of Manhattan, which annually welcomes six million visitors. — The Battery Conservancy

The boxy Prudential Center, built in the 1960s, has never been a darling of architecture critics. But Yale University architectural historian Elihu Rubin says the massive redevelopment project represents a key historical moment when — at the height of white flight and automobile sprawl — a mega-corporation made an unlikely investment in the future of cities. — radioboston.wbur.org

... the buyer will be contractually obligated to shell out over $10 million to execute a detailed, 80-page list of renovations, ranging from a handful of new peepholes to a sweeping overhaul of the buildings’ bathtubs. On top of that, the buyer must deposit just over $2.5 million into an escrow account that HUD can access in the event that repairs are not on schedule, as evidenced in the illustrated quarterly progress reports the buyer will be required to send. — artinfo.com

One afternoon, three mellow residents — Anita Inglese, 86, Marilyn Amdur, 85, and Joan Ruberti, 81, all widows — talked about the offerings of the alley. “It’s nice for us,” Ms. Inglese said. “We need places to walk to."...“I’ve been in all the places,” Ms. Amdur said. “One thing that’s good is they put in this long bench. You need to rest sometimes.”...Ms. Ruberti said, “I love it because everything is brand new.” — NYT

Rowan Moore lamented the lack of nuance and complexity in both the design and historical memory represented by the new RAF Bomber Command memorial in Green Park, London. For his part drmatthewhardy disagreed with Mr. Moore, writing “I don't think anyone expects Rowan Moore to approve of anything classical. This is a fabulous war memorial and an impressive and poignant reminder of the crews and their overwhelming sacrifice

CLIPS OF SEATTLE LIBRARY: INTERVIEW WITH HOMELESS MAN AND SHOTS OF STRUCTURE.
This footage is part of a feature length Documentary film that I am making about my father Rem Koolhaas. — vimeo.com

“The form was reinvented to an extent,” says Yanni Loukissas, a postdoc in MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS). And while the question of exactly which design changes should be credited to Utzon or Arup’s firm has been a matter of some dispute, the building, Louskissas says, stands as “an example where the engineer was instrumental in reshaping the project.” — web.mit.edu

When, in 2005, he was asked to propose a long-term lighting strategy for the city of Durham, the architect Jonathan Speirs, who has died of stomach cancer aged 54, insisted that what the council really needed was a light and darkness strategy — guardian.co.uk

Norman Foster told the Sunday Times: “Carlos is a great dancer who is inspiring the regeneration of an iconic ruin of early modernism outside Havana.” — Building Design