"If there was any lingering doubt that Brutalism — the architectural style derided for everything the name implies — was back in fashion, the “Atlas of Brutalist Architecture” quashes it with a monumental thump. At 560 pages representing some 878 works of architecture in over 100 countries, the outsize volume is part reference tool, part coffee table book, and certainly part of an ongoing design trend favoring big, big books." — Los Angeles Times
It has been remarkable to see the dramatic change in public opinion towards brutalist architecture in the last few years. Not only has the style shed its identity as a blight on the majority of modern cities, but dozens of products have recently entered the market in honor of these monumental... View full entry
The Museum of Contemporary Art announced Wednesday that it will close its Pacific Design Center location next month after exhibiting architecture and design at the West Hollywood satellite for more than 20 years.
MOCA will continue an architecture and design program, but at its Grand Avenue and Geffen Contemporary locations in downtown L.A., board Chairwoman Maria Seferian said in a statement.
— LA Times
In a dense patch of Culver City lies Second House, the newest home built by the Los Angeles and New York-based architecture office of FreelandBuck, run by David Freeland and Brennan Buck. Given the fact that the home is on a small lot without the affordance of views to the nearly... View full entry
An attorney for [Gehry] was in court on Friday where a judge granted the restraining order. The man — who The Blast has chosen not to identify — has been ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Gehry [and his wife Berta] for the next five years...Gehry claimed the man has traveled to his Los Angeles office multiple times and inquired about employment. The visits from the man morphed into more aggressive forms of communication, including multiple death threats against Gehry sent by email. — The Blast
Gehry's office has been contacted for a request for comment. View full entry
For many architects, much of one's work depends upon the visual possibilities where space can transform. Often overlooked, many designers forget what it is like to design buildings and structures for the blind or hearing impaired. Universal accessibility and inclusive design methods are being... View full entry
The LA-based practice Hodgetts + Fung and Seattle-based practice Mithun have announced that they will merge, effective today. The Culver City office has updated its name, reflecting the new change, to Mithun | Hodgetts + Fung. Hollywood Bowl / Los Angeles, CA [H+F project; image courtesy of... View full entry
While Buckminster Fuller and his geodesic domes may have gotten special mention in Jeff Bridges' recent Golden Globes speech, his oldest extant lattice-shelled structure is in the news for a less glorious reason. Now under serious threat, the Dome at Woods Hole and the accompanying Nautilus... View full entry
The weather in Hawaii is fickle, always shifting depending on the island, the time of day, and the direction of the trade winds. How to design a building in such a place? One must account for the abundant sunshine, the humidity of the air, the salt of the sea, and the damp layers of maritime fog that settle around the smoky mountain peaks. For Vladimir Ossipoff, whose brand of midcentury modernism would define Hawaiian architecture, the answer lay in simplicity. — Artsy
Though Vladimir Ossipoff may not be a household name in the continental United States, his work has become the stuff of legend in the Aloha State. Producing over 1,000 buildings in Hawaii throughout his 60 year career, Ossipoff championed a style of architecture now described as 'Tropical... View full entry
Bjarke Ingels' transformation of a 100-meter-tall incinerator into a social and cultural hub in the heart of Copenhagen is set to open this coming spring. An example of what the Danish architect refers to as 'hedonistic sustainability', the waste-to-energy plant will not only be the cleanest in... View full entry
ICYMI, Shane Reiner-Roth attended Summit LA18 and offered some thoughts on LivingHome YB1, an immaculately designed first full-scale prototype ADU, by Yves Béhar. Contrary to what some might think Erik Evens argued "this seems to be a pretty credible attempt at prefabricated housing...And... View full entry
What is the role of curation in today’s architecture & design disciplinary framework? The guest curator program aims to produce a conversation through making & curating that begins to analyze traditional modes and models of curating architecture & design. The Guest Curator Program... View full entry
One of 2019's most anticipated buildings, the Shed, has announced it will launch its opening season on April 5th, 2019. The new art center—designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Rockwell Group in a collaborating role—will offer interdisciplinary programming, hosting exhibitions, lectures... View full entry
With full theatrical trappings—nu-age Philip Glass music, smoke machines, mood lighting--the Eisenman team unveiled to the crowd a scale model of the building, which produced a light show to rival a Laser Floyd spectacular.
These dozen red-hued Death Star beams [...] were to be placed on the building and neighboring structures, flashing, blinking, sweeping across downtown like some insane city-scale laser security system.
Three years later, it was opened.
Sans lasers.
— Docomomo US
Nathan Eddy, architecture documentary director and most recently a driving force to save Philip Johnson and John Burgee’s AT&T Building in New York, pens a delightful review of Peter Eisenman's 1990 competition-winning proposal for the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus... View full entry
Last week, the final piece of the third and highest apex of Jean Nouvel’s first residential skyscraper was anchored and installed over Midtown. 53 West 53rd Street now stands 1,050 feet tall, and is currently the 7th-tallest skyscraper under construction in New York City. — New York YIMBY
If the introduction of 432 Park Avenue, the 1,300-foot-tall Rafael Viñoly and SLCE Architects-designed apartment tower wasn't a jarring enough addition to the New York skyline, the completion of a controversial second building will soon normalize the movement towards ultra-tall residential... View full entry
If you don't know his name, you probably know of his work. Verner Panton's iconic designs have noted him an innovator in furniture as well as atmospheric design. Deemed the "bad boy" of Danish design, Paton's rise as an icon in contemporary design broke through social convention. His take on... View full entry
