"The Pritzker prize, the Nobel prize in architecture, is awarded to honor those who build works demonstrating 'durability, utility, and beauty'. This is widely accepted as the yardsticks for good building design. Sadly, many of these foreign architects' works in China display none of these." — chinadaily.com.cn
Marc Jacobs will present Katie Grand the award for fashion innovator of the year. Marina Abramovic will accept the award for Ai Weiwei... for best art innovator. Jonathan Safran Foer will present the food innovator award to — wait for it — Chipotle founder Steve Ells. Other winners include Elon Musk (technology), Joris Laarman (design) and Bjarke Ingels (architecture). Bill Gates and Warren Buffett got the philanthropy award, but will not be at the ceremony. — wwd.com
“The word celebrity and the word architect are basically incompatible. I know it’s come to pass that some of us have become famous, but it’s a temporary condition, a strange pact: We get a lot of attention, but we’re taken less seriously. Journalists seem mostly interested in what brand of shoes I wear.” — NY Magazine
Justin Davidson talks with Rem Koolhaas about the recently released Project Japan: Metabolism Talks, a book of interviews conducted by Koolhaas and the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist.. They also discuss the current state of the profession and the fact that OMA has never completed a building in New... View full entry
Orhan noted that in the language of "architectural poetics, the living room bathes you in a beautiful California light, washes your soul and takes your thoughts into the Pacific Ocean through the large window which sets the elevation on that side. Outside is wide and open, nurturing the peaceful inner space, this is something only great architecture can bless you with and masterfully achieved as in Schindler made experience."
Orhan Ayyüce, reported on his visit to Schindler's 1926 Lovell Beach House which the MAK Center and its brilliant curatorial team were able to gain access to as a 2011 fund raising event. Orhan noted that in the language of "architectural poetics, the living room bathes you in... View full entry
Countless academic studies have argued that studying design at school can be hugely beneficial, even for students who have no intention of becoming professional designers, because it builds their confidence by teaching them communication, planning and visualization skills, which will be useful in any field. Yet relatively few students in America’s cash-strapped public school system are given the chance to study design, or art, especially in deprived areas like Bertie County — New York Times
In many conversations you will hear people say how much they loved Gehry's early work. Here is an early video recorded in 1975 when he talked about his early and few ground breaking projects since he didn't have too many built projects he could talk about. Picture quality is bad but clear sound... View full entry
The Kimball Art Center is one step closer to its expansion and restoration project. A seven-person jury has selected the Top 5 architectural firms to compete for the job. — parkrecord.com
The five firms, which were chosen from a list of 18, are: BIG/Bjarke Ingles Group, New York and Copenhagen, Denmark Brooks and Scarpa Architects, Los Angeles Sparano and Mooney Architects, Salt Lake City Will Bruder and Partners Ltd., Phoenix Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, New York View full entry
Cities are very complex, and what the best designers illustrate is how to give form to sometimes very simple ideas. Good design involves bringing not just a fresh eye to problems but, most of all, listening to the people who live in those communities. We’re talking about a billion people living in informal settlements today — New York Times
[FXFowle Principal Dan] Kaplan explained that much of the design work had been completed for a 35-story tower on the site, and while it will not change significantly, it does require some updating. — New York Observer
Following a land deal with New York City, the U.N. is back to work on building a new tower to house its operations across the street from the under-renovation U.N. Secretariat. Fumihiko Maki, who was selected in a Pritzker-only competition in 2004, is back to work on the project, along with local... View full entry
As architects we don't work for public sector anymore. Metabolists were the last architects worked for the public and communicated among themselves. — Charlie Rose.com
Now 86 and still running his Atlanta-based firm, John Portman & Associates, the architect is the focus of a new documentary, “John Portman: A Life of Building,” which premieres tomorrow at the Architecture & Design Film Festival in Manhattan. Mr. Portman recently spoke with a reporter about his career. — nytimes.com
And for more information about the film go to www.johnportmanfilm.com View full entry
Over the next 5-10 years, what does HUD need to know to improve knowledge gaps that are affecting the execution of good housing and community development policy and practice? — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
From HUD: "PD&R is in the process of formulating our research agenda for the next 5-10 years and would like your input. We invite you to think critically about the following question and respond in one of the four targeted topic areas. To ensure consideration in advance of our upcoming... View full entry
"This year’s Solar Decathlon was a nail-biter of a competition, but in the end the University of Maryland team ultimately triumphed over all the other teams with an elegant, water conservation-focused home called the WaterShed." — Inhabitat.com
Anthony J. Lumsden, a prolific Southern California architect who helped develop new ways of wrapping buildings in smooth glass skins, died Sept. 22 in Los Angeles. eric chavkin shared a personal memory “I remember Tony Lumsden. He taught 5th year studio at SCI-Arc , the time between Cesar Pelli and Alberto Bertolli...Lumsden's after work crits started from later afternoon and lasted to evening , always over-sketching on flimsy. A roll a night. One student after another.”
Sherin Wing, takes A Macro Look at Unemployment and the Economy. In the piece she examines what the architecture profession can do in the face of high unemploymentand the current macro economic conditions. Most importantly, she believes “First, they must stop simply... View full entry
"The Martin House was an extraordinary achievement, and a reason this elaborate and I think very thoughtful restoration is a good thing," Goldberger said. "It's always seemed to me, in a way, that Buffalo is making a kind of public apology for the real disaster of having torn down the Larkin Building.
"This is a very good act of public repentance."
— The Buffalo News