As one of the first major structures built during Rotterdam's post-World War II reconstruction efforts, the centrally located Groot Handelsgebouw is a marker of the city's vision for urban development through the end of the 20th century, functioning both as an office complex and monument. Adjacent... View full entry
The University of Virginia announced today that Ila Berman has been appointed the dean of the School of Architecture. Currently a tenured full professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, as well as a principal of SCALESHIFT design in Toronto, she will assume the role Aug. 15. [...]
Berman succeeds Dean Elizabeth K. Meyer, who will return to the faculty at the end of a two-year term.
— news.virginia.edu
Previously: Elizabeth K. Meyer named dean of University of Virginia School of Architecture More dean-ish stories in the Archinect news: Dean Frederick Steiner leaves UT Austin for Penn Design due to new "campus carry" gun lawDeborah Berke named Dean of Yale School of Architecture, will... View full entry
“The lots that determine the Flatiron shape have previously been avoided since the resultant interiors are unusual and not easy to market,” Patrice Derrington, director of the Center for Urban Real Estate at Columbia University, wrote last week in an email. “However, ‘as needs be’ developers are attending to these less favorable sites, as they eke out every last possibility.” — The New York Times
As new New York City real estate gets increasingly rare and pricey, architects are facing unusual design challenges. Herewith, some of most expensive, tiniest, and outré in NYC design news:My Micro NYC Apartment Complex Is Officially RentingNew York's Megatowers: Nothing but 'Vertical... View full entry
If you're in London Friday, you can celebrate the late, great Zaha Hadid at a public memorial held at the Magazine restaurant at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. Between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., visitors can sign books of condolence and pay respects to her surviving family members, which include her... View full entry
Who better to master plan the campus of the The Williams College Department of Art and Museum of Art than daily watercolorist (and architect) Steven Holl? In addition to expanding William College's art presence in the region, the study's goals include shaping the campus space to connect interior... View full entry
A group of fourth-year Ball State architecture students are refurbishing a former meth house in the Thomas Park-Avondale neighborhood in Muncie as a studio project.
The studio class is working with ecoREHAB, a local nonprofit that provides sustainable rehabilitation of housing and neighborhoods. “The whole goal is to revitalize the community more so than to earn money,” said Taylor Sheppard, a senior architecture major.
— The Ball State Daily
For more on drugs in architecture:Narquitectura: Inside the Fortified Palaces of Mexico's Drug LordsPowering Mumbai with Magic Mushroomsa new memorial to the victims of [drug war] violence View full entry
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced architect Phyllis Lambert as the 2016 recipient of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize [...]. Dubbed as the "Joan of Architecture", Lambert is widely recognized for founding the Canadian Centre for Architecture and her role as Director of Planning for the iconic Seagram Building (which she commissioned Mies van der Rohe to design), among her other initiatives that advocate for architecture's cultural value. — bustler.net
More of Phyllis Lambert in the Archinect news:2015 Phyllis Lambert grantees Pelletier de Fontenay to expand on winning Insectarium Montreal proposalPhyllis Lambert named as 2014 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipientPhyllis Lambert steps down from Canadian Centre for Architecture View full entry
After Alejandro Aravena accepted the Pritzker Prize yesterday, his firm Elemental released four open source plans for low income housing that, according to the firm's website, balance the constraints of "low-rise high density, without overcrowding, with possibility of expansion (from social... View full entry
Yesterday, the Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena was awarded the Pritzker Prize during a ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Known for his socially-engaged practice, Elemental, Aravena will also serve as the curator for this summer's Venice Biennale.“The work of this... View full entry
"It's a triple whammy," [Hadid] told the BBC Radio 4 in February. "I'm a woman, which is a problem to many people. I'm a foreigner — another problem. And I do work which is not normative, which is not what they expect. Together, it becomes difficult."
Like any high-profile architect, Hadid was expected to produce strong, functional designs. But as a woman, she also faced the added pressure of having her work interpreted as some sort of gender statement.
— Los Angeles Times
More on Archinect:Zaha on Zaha: "I always thought, you know, I should do well because the work is good."“We just loved her”: Frank Gehry remembers Zaha HadidFun game: spot the double-standards in this Zaha-bashing piece!Zaha Hadid: 'Being an Arab and a woman is a double-edged sword' View full entry
Caruso St John, Stanton Williams with Asif Khan, and BIG in a team with Hawkins\Brown have been shortlisted to design the Museum of London’s new home in Smithfields.
The shortlisted teams saw off 80 entries from more than 140 practices and were chosen based on their relevant skills and experience, in particular of significant cultural projects.
The competition will create a £150 million new base for the Museum of London in the historic West Smithfield market.
— architectsjournal.co.uk
Also selected:Lacaton & Vassal Architectes with Pernilla Ohrstedt StudioDiener & Diener Architekten with Sergison Bates Architects, East Architecture and Graphic Thought FacilityStudio Milou architecture with RL & Associés, Axis Architects and Alan Baxter AssociatesRead more articles... View full entry
In the land of Prada, a clinical precision prevails; here, even the bathroom — a trippy 16-foot-high cube with walls and ceiling covered in salvaged vintage mirrors endlessly reflecting the Mod brown 1960s plumbing fixtures — is an opportunity for whimsy — NYT - T Magazine
Nancy Hass traveled to Tuscany, to visit the home(s) of architect Roberto Baciocchi. Although he has spent the past decades responsible for the look of Prada stores worldwide, his personal residence features; furnishings that span centuries, textured surfaces and velvet. View full entry
A group of German architects and planners has started a campaign to rebuild the Wolf House, widely seen as a link between van der Rohe’s early, more conventional designs and his later buildings, like the Barcelona Pavilion and the Farnsworth House, that would redefine modern architecture. [...]
But the plan has run into resistance from other architects and scholars who say that the Wolf House would be too hard to reconstruct [...].
— nytimes.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Two of a kind: photographer Robin Hill contemplates the Farnsworth House and Glass House simultaneouslyRedesign of DC's main Mies library tip-toes around the good and the badDavid Chipperfield pledges to carefully "optimize" Mies van der Rohe's Neue... View full entry
Foster + Partners’ plans for the overhaul of London’s Grade II-listed Whiteleys shopping centre have got the go-ahead – despite opposition from locals.
Westminster City Council approved the contentious scheme last night, but will now look into setting conditions concerning the scale of two residential towers that form part of the proposal, alongside a gym, hotel, cinema and new shops.
— thespaces.com
For more on listed projects, take a look at previous coverage here:Another Grade II listed building loses its protected status in north east EnglandSex Pistols graffiti secures famous Tin Pan Alley building Grade 2* listed status View full entry
Zaha Hadid will rightfully go down in history for the tremendous mark she made on architecture. But buildings weren't the only things she designed.In fact, for the majority of her career, she worked at smaller scales, whether with painting, furniture design, or some other venture. One of her first... View full entry
