It appears that cities of today, and especially big cities, all around the world, are all struggling with similar problems, as they all have developed huge territories - their metropolitan or "greater" areas - during the twentieth century that cannot be properly understood by anyone in terms of their form, but that now need to be recognized as something that truly exists, because it is a form that is in perpetual transformation and without limits. — http://www.monu-magazine.com

This week, as Goldberg’s famous work is pulled apart by wreckers, nothing about its loss seems symmetrical or graceful. Within 40 years, the building transitioned from a proud symbol of civic renewal and design innovation to the victim of old-fashioned Chicago politics. The controversy surrounding the demolition of Prentice, however, injected the preservation movement into an urban design discussion with a presence not seen in a long time. — nextcity.org

In 2009, a pair of academics, Kim Steele and Sherry Ahrentzen, collaborated on “Advancing Full Spectrum Housing,” a comprehensive design guideline for housing adults with autism. (An expanded book on the topic is scheduled to come out next year.)

Perhaps the first development to closely follow their template is Sweetwater Spectrum, a residence for 16 adults whose abilities and disabilities span the full range of autism. — nytimes.com

The striking exoskeleton structure of the upper section is an interwoven network of supports that vary in thickness and lend a natural aesthetic to the yacht’s external appearance; evoking the organic structural systems found in nature.

This exoskeleton connects the various levels and decks seamlessly via expressive diagonals. Where traditional yacht design adheres to a strict horizontal order, Hadid has created an intense connectivity between the various decks and elements of the design. — superyachts.com

Meier supplied the project’s master plan, doing without the sculptural gymnastics he’s known for -- at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and elsewhere -- to keep costs down.

The firm designed a clean-lined four-story box, one of the first two buildings that have opened for the present school term.

Rough and smooth brick patterns echo a mix of clear and translucent glass to make a surface composition as rich as a Mondrian painting. — Bloomberg

Mark Benjamin, President and CEO of Santa Monica-based Morley Builders, died on September 29, 2013 in a tragic airplane accident that also took the life of his son Lucas Robert Benjamin and two other lives [...]

A memorial service will be held for Mark and Luke on Sunday, October 20, 2013 at 3:30 p.m., with a reception following, at the California Science Center, 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles. — Morley Builders

When Doris Sung was growing up she had several ideas about how architecture was supposed to be. From what she knew it was static, immovable, and didn't allow much room for experimentation and creativity. Fast-forward several years later, and Sung is now wildly experimenting with building mediums and metals, computer software, and nature itself to create interactive designs that respond to environmental stimuli, essentially coming to life. — The Creators Project

Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki has gathered a throng of designers including Toyo Ito, Sou Fujimoto, Kengo Kuma and Riken Yamamoto to oppose the design of Zaha Hadid's 2020 Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

Maki, who was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1993, has organised a symposium where Japanese architects will protest against the scale of the proposed 80,000-seat stadium, which is set to become the main sporting venue for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games. — Dezeen

Articles like “A Star Architect Leaves Some Clients Fuming” shouldn’t make us architects defensive about our work. It gives a deserved death blow to the “starchitect” and all the unhelpful stereotypes that come with it.... The image that architecture is done by a single genius has never conformed to reality, but particularly in today’s practice — relying as it does on extended technical expertise — it is ridiculous to attribute the design to a single genius. — nytimes.com

If Jørn Utzon did not exist, we would have to invent him. His story, mostly the legend of that single and singular building, the Sydney Opera House, provides the enduring foundational myth for all contemporary architectural practice. Utzon is our sage Kenobi, our renegade Solo, our heroic Skywalker, all in one. He looked the part, too: an architect out of central casting in the Gary-Cooper-as-Howard-Roark mould, as tall as Rem Koolhaas, as beautiful as Jacques Herzog, as Danish as Bjarke Ingels. — architectmagazine.com

The Jury announced the list of participants of the second stage.

During the press conference on October 1, 2013 competition Jury announced the names of 10 participants of the second phase of the International competition for the architectural concept of museum and exhibition complex of the New National centre for contemporary arts. — New NCCA