When I finished my studies, I decided I wanted to go into urban planning and I moved to LA. It seems funny, but I really played down the fact that I’d won this competition. I was afraid it would make me look like a graphics guy, rather than an urban designer. I didn’t even mention it on my résumé. Also, the symbol itself languished for a while. I remember seeing it once on a bank statement, but then it disappeared. — ft.com
The Financial Times has an interesting story about Gary Anderson, an engineer/architect/urban planner that designed the famous recycling logo in a competition in 1971. View full entry
This laboratory, as Mr. Hill calls it, for small-space, sustainable and — it must be stressed — high-end living is the first tangible product from his fledgling company, LifeEdited. It comes with an awkward manifesto that nonetheless manages to gather an armful of social and economic trends and philosophies, including happiness research, the booming field of collaborative consumption and data on the proven efficiencies of cities. — nytimes.com
New changes to the contentious design for the Eisenhower Memorial were publicly unveiled on Tuesday at a session in Washington. Architect Frank Gehry made the adjustments following complaints by members of the Eisenhower family that the design put too much emphasis on the former president's upbringing in Kansas and not enough on his accomplishments as a military and political leader. — latimes.com
After five months of positive readings, the Architecture Billings Index slipped back into negative territory during April, an indication that demand for design services declined.
The score for April was 48.4, compared with 50.4 in March.
— online.wsj.com
MovingCities interviews Dutch architect John van de Water – NEXT ARCHITECTS China – about his book “You can’t change China, China changes you” [010 publisher, 2012]. The book is a a formidable page-turner telling the story of a three-year long architectural discovery... View full entry
Yesterday's gray sky and drizzle couldn't keep anxious press away from the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art where Argentine artist and architect Tomas Saraceno was officially debuting his new project "Cloud City". A sculptural constellation of 16 geodesic pods, Cloud City "floats" above the museum's roof anchored by steel cables... The futuristic construction features over 100 planes... — Inhabitat
Copenhagen-based firm COBE, represented by architect Dan Stubbergaard, is the 2012 winner of Scandinavia's prestigious architecture prize, Nykredit's Architecture Prize of DKK 500,000 (USD 86,000). — bustler.net
This 34,000-square-foot regional health facility located in an under-served neighborhood in southwest Atlanta combines under one roof a primary care clinic, a behavioral health clinic, childcare facilities, a dental clinic and a workforce community center. In doing so, it projects a holistic idea... View full entry
To some, it seemed an unlikely fit, Gehry designing a memorial honoring Ike, but that impression was always based on two misunderstandings. There is a vulgar idea that Gehry is all about flamboyant buildings, radical structures acclaimed by critics but derided by common sense. The popular perception of Ike is no more accurate. — washingtonpost.com
For retailers, daylight offered one additional advantage the advertisements did not mention: the implication of moral virtue. Large department stores were described as cesspools of fraud, filth, poor working conditions, child labor, anti-competitiveness, potential press censorship (because of their advertising clout), disease, drunkenness, savagery, prostitution, suicide and darkness. A well-lit interior, it was said, could do much to counter such negative associations. — Places Journal
Earlier this year on Places, Keith Eggener assessed the career of the now forgotten early 20th-century Kansas City architect Louis Curtiss, and argued that Curtiss's obscurity has less to do with intrinsic merit than with the politics of professional reputation. In a new article... View full entry
The latest Showcase feature profiles the Summer House in Austria by Judith Benzer Architektur, the design of which is oriented by the cubature of the Kellerstöckel (wine house), typical of the Southern Burgenland region. stroke123 liked it but wondered "how does the roof shed water? Waterproof membrane and concealed gutters and downspouts?".
The latest Showcase feature profiles the Summer House in Austria by Judith Benzer Architektur, the design of which is oriented by the cubature of the Kellerstöckel (wine house), typical of the Southern Burgenland region. I particularly loved the detailing for sharp edges of the cubature... View full entry
McCoy had the opportunity to create a school and then witness its foibles, its meanderings, and opine about its legacy. — Architectural Record
Alexandra Lange reviews the recently published Piecing Together Los Angeles: An Esther McCoy Reader. The book is the first published collection of her writings and includes out-of-print essays, articles, short stories, as well as previously unpublished lectures, correspondence, and... View full entry
“As a housing commissioner we feel like we’re trying to plug a lot of leaks in the dike,” said Nick Fish, a Portland city commissioner in charge of the housing bureau and parks and recreation. And the city’s budget has still not recovered from the downturn. Habitat, especially in east Portland, he said, is filling the gap. — NYT
Kirk Johnson examines how a depressed real estate market on Portland along with a recent gift by local businessman John Gray, has enabled Habitat, the nonprofit housing group, to think big. The organization has been buying up property on the city’s struggling east side in the process... View full entry
Spanish architect Rafael Moneo has been declared the 2012 laureate of the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. The announcement was made today in Oviedo, the capital city of the Principality of Asturias, Spain, on Moneo's 75th birthday. The prestigious awards program aims “to reward the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanistic work performed at an international level by individuals, institutions or groups of individuals or institutions”. — bustler.net
Style among the office's 60 employees tends to favor clean lines and a neutral palette. "The rumor is that you have to wear a white top with black—commonly what Richard himself wears," said Alison Macbeth, a junior designer at the firm. "But it's not that way." — The Wall Street Journal
