[ed] How 'public' space is lost "Casting a wary eye on the four-week-old Occupy Wall Street encampment, a group representing some of the city's most influential landlords plans to ask the city to revamp the rules governing privately owned parks, including removing a requirement that they be open 24 hours a day." — WSJ
We tend to underestimate The political power of physical places. Then Tahir Square comes along. Now it is Zucotti Park. — NYT
We're excited to announce the next round of Archinect Sessions, to kick off on Saturday, October 22nd, at the Neutra VDL House, in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, collaborating with Cal Poly Pomona.Archinect Sessions is a series of discussions with architects, academics and other interesting individuals... View full entry
What little new housing that's being built in this country right now is being closely geared to the ways the American economy -- and its society -- are changing. Fewer sprawling suburbs. More urban living.
And in Kansas City, Mo., a nod to demographics. Developers there are building homes that cater to a very specific changing family dynamic.
— marketplace.publicradio.org
The Paul Stallan Studio have been commissioned by the Diocese of Motherwell to prepare refurbishment and restoration proposals for Grade ‘A’ listed Gillespie Kidd & Coia R.C. Church St. Bride’s, in East Kilbride. This Scottish interpretation of the brutalist style of 1960’s architecture is one of the finest buildings to be produced by one of the most influential Scottish practice of the era. — Paul Stallan Studio
We are looking at the work of very good if far from famous architects doing remarkable work right here at home—not starchitects toiling away on the other side of the planet, cooking up schemes that may well never get built. [...] It was not that long ago that Mr. Kimmelman was writing a column called "Abroad," dealing with artistic matters in Europe. Now, here he is, plying local waters, reminding the world [New York[ is still the place to be and build. — New York Observer
Arieff discusses how sustainability issues -- climate change, peak oil, declining resources -- suffer when they're thought of as trends; why Julius Shulman deserves to be in a sustainability hall of fame for his photographs showing how architecture is about buildings and people; and why, after years at the top of Dwell's masthead, she's done writing about gorgeous Italian closets and kitchens. — theatlantic.com
I live here because L.A. is ugly... If I lived in a great beautiful city, why would I do art? I always have to be slightly angry to do art and L.A. provides that. — L.A. Times
Architects are tackling the problems of the concrete jungle with ambitious schemes using green technology to grow forests in the sky — ft.com
We're excited to be the media sponsor again this year for the super-awesome SMIBE short film competition. Films should be 3 minutes max in length and and can be produced in any motion image medium. Entry is free. Deadline is December 31, 2011. Ten finalists will be selected to be featured on... View full entry
In a not too distant future, hordes of blood-drenched zombies are on the horizon, mindlessly roaming the deserted streets, trying to get into your house and eat your brains. Sucks if your house isn't fully zombie-proof by then, right? So head over to the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition voting page and root for your favorite entries. Or get eaten alive. Voting ends October 21. — bustler.net
Here's the direct link to the ZSHC voting page and just some of our favorite entries below. View full entry
Walker showed his idea around. The response was near freezing.
"So far, people don't like them," he says. "They say, 'I want something I recognize.'
"The baby boomers are coming of age, and I always imagined that they were more design-minded than they turned out to be."
Or they just haven't caught up to Gordon Walker.
— seattletimes.nwsource.com
A Seattle architect designs a house for him and his wife to grow old in, and realizes he's way more cool than most other senior citizens. View full entry
Orhan Ayyüce, alerts Archinect to the fact that recently LADOT “erected traffic signal in front of historically significant Neutra VDL House in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. No notification was ever sent to institutions, individuals and organizations in charge of the house which is open to public.” Janosh believes “That's so audacious that it's the perfect example of LADOT's total detachment from the world outside of traffic engineering. Cars, after all, can't appreciate architecture.”
Guy Horton, author of Contours, Archinect's featured series on the business, politics, and culture of architecture, gets real regarding our current economic situation. He states "discussions about the recession in the architecture field have been less than up-front and honest. Much of this... View full entry
Recenly erected traffic signal in front of historically significant Neutra VDL House in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. No notification was ever sent to institutions, individuals and organizations in charge of the house which is open to public. — Orhan Ayyuce
As architects we struggle to add public value in architecture so that our profession survives and makes us worthwhile, the people who are in charge of infrastructure, as in this case, the traffic engineers, don't see any value in something like the historic home of the modern... View full entry
The world’s most-famous architect sailed into a storm of old-fashioned Washington controversy this week.
At a public conversation Wednesday at the National Archives, Frank Gehry encountered hostile questions from audience members about his designs for a memorial to Dwight David Eisenhower planned for a prominent spot on Independence Avenue, just south of the Mall.
— washingtonpost.com
