Architect and educator, Ray Kappe FAIA, passed away yesterday. The renowned architect experienced lung failure due to many bouts with pneumonia in recent years. Kappe founded the Department of Architecture at California Polytechnic State University of Pomona before leaving in 1972 to... View full entry
Beijing's latest, hotly anticipated skyscraper opened to the public today: the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Leeza SOHO tower already made a big splash in architectural media long before it was even finished with its 623-foot-tall, full-height atrium (the world's tallest) and spectacular... View full entry
At a total investment of 24 billion yuan (S$4.65 billion), the 1.12 million square metre (sq m) Raffles City Chongqing is Singapore’s largest single development in China. In addition to the 235,000 sq m retail podium, the integrated development comprises the 201 unit Ascott Raffles City Chongqing serviced residence, 380 room InterContinental Raffles City Chongqing hotel, 150,000 sq m of Grade A office space and 1,400 luxury residential apartments. — The Business Times
After reaching structural completion only a few months ago, the Safdie Architects-designed $3.4 billion Raffles City Chongqing megadevelopment recently celebrated its phased opening. An earlier September soft opening of the enormous five-story shopping mall reportedly attracted a whopping... View full entry
This post is brought to you by FLEXFORM The new Romeo sofa, designed by architect Antonio Citterio was launched at the this year's Salone del Mobile Milano. The Romeo sofa’s delicate lines, proportions and details — like the tapered cast aluminum feet and subtle grosgrain piping that... View full entry
The budget committee of Germany’s lower house of parliament yesterday approved additional funding for Berlin’s planned Museum of the 20th Century, designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, after estimates for the construction costs spiralled to €364m from €200m. — The Art Newspaper
According to The Art Newspaper, the new Herzog & de Meuron-designed museum in Berlin's central Kulturforum arts district is needed because "the Neue Nationalgalerie can only display about a quarter of Berlin’s vast stores of 20th-century art at any given time." Current situation at the planned... View full entry
“Shoji’s architectural background was instrumental to these large projects,” Thomas T.K. Zung, who became a partner of Mr. Sadao’s in the firm Buckminster Fuller, Sadao & Zung Architects, said by email. “Shoji’s accomplishment was his service to two geniuses, Bucky and Isamu,” Mr. Zung added. “Shoji was an architectural samurai — he understood them both and added to their mix, without need or benefit of self-glory.” — The New York Times
Architect Shoji Sadao, who played a major role in bringing some of the most famous designs by Buckminster Fuller and Isamu Noguchi into the world, passed away in Tokyo at the age of 92 on November 3. As one of Fuller's most important collaborators, Sadao applied his mathematical and... View full entry
Plans for a new 1,422-foot-tall tower designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture haven taken a step forward in Chicago, where developers Golub & Co and CIM Group have unveiled their latest iteration of the spire. The four-sided tower is wrapped by curved and flat exposures and... View full entry
Crown [Hotel] Sydney designer Chris Wilkinson also likened Sydney to a “21st century Venice on steroids” but warned we cannot simply rely on the harbor’s natural assets to keep tourists happy...The Crown Sydney at Barangaroo will be a landmark tower and feature Sydney’s most luxurious hotel. — The Daily Telegraph
"With the rise in popularity of selfies and Instagram moments these architectural landmarks are becoming more and more an important representation of the city," Wilkinson told The Daily Telegraph, in reference to the Sydney Opera house and other popular destinations. The designer... View full entry
In celebration of his 50-year-long career, Australia's Pritzker Prize-winning architect consecrates the achievement with the opening of this year's MPavilion. The structure embraces Murcutt's fundamental approach to architecture, touching the ground lightly while thoughtfully considering the... View full entry
The general public supports existing licensing requirements for architects.That's what a recent study commissioned by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) has concluded, according to an NCARB news release. The study, conducted for NCARB by Benenson Strategy... View full entry
In October, the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) hosted their 47th Annual NOMA Conference in Brooklyn. With more than 1,200 registered attendees, this year's event was the largest for the organization. To conclude the conference, the organization celebrated a banquet... View full entry
Architecture, which benefits from intensity and focus, will never be easily slotted in the nine-to-five day. If support systems can evolve and grow, I think the potential for new models of leadership will continue to expand to include an even more diverse community. I am impressed by the breadth and depth of architects that are emerging—both male and female—who are simultaneously teaching, practicing, raising families, and publishing incredibly remarkable work. — Weitzman School of Design
An excerpt of an interview of Marion Weiss, principal and co-founder of Weiss/Manfredi, by Franca Trubiano, associate professor of architecture, and graduate student Ramona Adlakha, has been published by the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. The interview is an... View full entry
Associate professor Derek Hoeferlin has been named chair of the landscape architecture and urban design programs in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Hoeferlin, who joined the Sam Fox School’s College of Architecture and Graduate School... View full entry
Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals, the hotel and spa in Switzerland, was designed intentionally devoid of clocks so that visitor's sense of time would be suspended and immeasurable. Completed in 1996, there is a legend about a mountain in the village of Vals that is said to have a mountain that... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core If you want your clients to respect and treat you like the expert you are, instead of as an employee or subordinate, then you need to set clear and consistent boundaries with them. Far too often, we don’t take the time to think through the consequences of... View full entry
