Ever since Mies Van Der Rohe's groundbreaking designs popularized the deceptively simple glass facade, architects have experimented with the incorporation of the material in their designs. Some, such as PLP Architecture, have opted to create commercial buildings that utilize an almost entirely... View full entry
Zaha Hadid Architects is not going away quietly, but cogently. In a statement forwarded by the Japan Olympic Committee, ZHA details the origins of what would eventually become the budget fracas over the cancelled New National Stadium, noting that early in the design process "we advised the JSC... View full entry
The transformative effect of removing cars from a dedicated street or urban center and creating a pedestrian-friendly area isn't a new idea, but it's a popular one. Sydney, Australia has decided to repurpose its relatively trafficky George Street into an elegant shopping and walking area bisected... View full entry
A new high-rise building called the Freedom Pyramid will change the face of Jerusalem’s downtown area. The project, conceived by architects Daniel Libeskind and Yigal Levi, will see a multi-purpose tower comprising commercial shopping and residential units atop the old Eden theater.
The idea for a high-rise at this location, adjacent to Mahaneh Yehuda market, first hit headlines in 2011. But a Jerusalem municipal committee only now approved the construction.
— israel21c.org
Correction: Studio Daniel Libeskind has informed us that the correct project title is "The Pyramid." The incorrect title "Freedom Pyramid" has been the result of an unauthorized press leak.Studio Daniel Libeskind also provided us with new renderings of the project as well as some more information... View full entry
According to a statement issued on Zaha Hadid's website, the project-ending cost of the New National Stadium is not the fault of the design, but rather the "inflated costs of construction in Tokyo, a restricted and uncompetitive approach to appointing construction contractors, and a restriction on... View full entry
The project, estimated at 400 million euros, or $433 million, features designs by the architects Eva Jiricna, Richard Meier and John Pawson, in addition to the 10 emerging firms, three of which are Czech and seven that are British. — The New York Times
In a fifty-one minute conversation with New York Times critic Michael Kimmelman, Bjarke Ingels does little to dispel his reputation as a media-friendly starchitect who dances his way around thorny design issues by reminding everyone of the rose. When Kimmelman brings up the wind issues that an... View full entry
Zaha Hadid, the architect whose plans for the National Stadium have been scrapped, hopes to remain involved in the planning for the centerpiece for the 2020 Olympics, the Japan Sport Council said Thursday.
The council said Jim Heverin, a director of Hadid’s company, conveyed her wishes on a fact-finding visit to Japan following the cancellation. [...]
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Japan faces a ¥5.9 billion bill for the work done so far and contracts already signed.
— japantimes.co.jp
Despite Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pulling the plug on Hadid's stadium design last week due to the unforeseen astronomical costs, the Japan Sport Council is nonetheless on the hook now for ¥5.9 billion (nearly $48 million) for the work that had already been done so far by various... View full entry
He’s Mr. Lifestyle of the rich and famous, do you want a piece of him? No not Britney Spears, but rather world-renowned architect Renzo Piano. Visitors to the recent Piece by Piece: Renzo Piano Building Workshop at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai were engaged in the evolution of the... View full entry
With a list of over 90 participants and partners including U.K.-based Assemble, Jimenez Lai, Jeanne Gang, Archinect and Sou Fujimoto, the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial will open to the public on October 3rd. Officially billed as "North America’s largest international survey of... View full entry
According to the AIA, while the demand for multi-family housing has slowed, many other design sectors, especially those related to institutional facilities, have prompted a significant increase in the architectural billings index, from 51.9 in May to 55.7 in June. To provide perspective, the... View full entry
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) is pleased to announce that Marilys Nepomechie, Professor of Architecture in the College of Architecture + The Arts at Florida International University (FIU), has begun her term as ACSA President for 2015-2016 academic year. [...]
Bruce Lindsey, teacher and administrator at Washington University in St. Louis, is also starting his term as Vice President this month.
— acsa-arch.org
The ACSA announcement goes on to say: "As president of ACSA, Nepomechie has vowed to address the challenges facing ACSA schools, including diminishing institutional funding to support faculty and student work; a need to increase student and faculty diversity; the imperative to facilitate broad... View full entry
Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena has been named architecture director of the 2016 Venice Biennale, in a decision made by Biennale's Board on July 18. Known for award-winning architectural work under his own Santiao-based firm, Alejandro Aravena Architects, Aravena also serves as the executive... View full entry
Swedish furniture designer and architect, Bruno Mathsson, built two summer houses between 1960 and 1965, that have slowly decayed into disrepair. Mikael Olsson has photographed both houses over the past decade [for his] book, Sodrakull Frosakull. — lushpad.com
Bruno Mathsson's furniture designs are perhaps most recognizable by their mixture of curved wood and woven textile, and his architecture led Sweden's modernism movement. Two of his major works are his own homes, Frösakull and Södrakull, for which Olsson's book is named.Take a peek inside the... View full entry
Listen, I advocate for an utter dissolution of the term architect. I think an architect’s skills are completely wasted on making buildings. But I don’t see it as weakening the profession, I see it as strengthening. It means that the profession can find traction in other fields: the architect as strategist, as politician, as planner; the architect as curator or editor or writer, as activist or storyteller. Finding ways to operate in other disciplines just gives us much more agency. — Tank Magazine
This is the direction we're headed and I agree with it. If you want to design and erect buildings, be a Registered Architect. If you get the education of an architect and want to improve the world in all kinds of other non-materiallly-based ways, you're an architect.h/t to Javo Cado. View full entry