Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG and master of promotion, is the subject of a new documentary, titled BIG TIME. The filmmakers have released a first trailer, which centers in part around an MRI scan of Ingel’s head. Apparently, he suffered a concussion.Check it out here:BIG TIME - International... View full entry
After serving two influential five-year terms, USC's Qingyun Ma will remain on the faculty but step down as the Dean of The School of Architecture on July 1st, when he will be replaced by Milton Curry. According to the L.A. Times:Curry arrives from the University of Michigan Taubman College of... View full entry
[...] Peter Zumthor spoke with LACMA CEO [...] Michael Govan about the concepts behind his plans for LACMA's future presentation of its collections. Peter last spoke at LACMA in 2013 in conjunction with the exhibition The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA, when we were in the very early stages of thinking about LACMA's new building. Since that time, Peter and Michael have been working on the concepts behind the building, and Peter and his team have been refining the plans. — Unframed
The building design has a come a long way since its earlier, deliberately dark "inkblot" style."As for the change in color from dark to light?," Unframed writes, "Peter's thinking has evolved along with the building, and he wanted it to be elemental, with a mineral tone, very substantial but not... View full entry
A self-described “unlicensed architect” who splits his time between Tokyo and New York, [Hiroshi] Sugimoto has brought his monastic Modernist aesthetic to life through the firm New Material Research Laboratory, which he co-founded with the architect Tomoyuki Sakakida in 2008. “Most of my ideas are illegal,” says Sugimoto, who considers it Sakakida’s job “to make it look like it’s legal.” — The New York Times
A photograph by Sugimoto. Credit: Hiroshi Sugimoto View full entry
In tough competition with leading Norwegian offices (Snøhetta, Jensen & Skodvin, Jarmund Vigsnæs and Carl Viggo Hølmebakk) the young practice Transborder Studio wins the invited competition for an extension of the Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities. The center is... View full entry
Although certain architects have attempted to inject humor into the profession, architecture is generally not known for its slapstick and wry timing, which makes the pairing of interviewer Michael Ian Black (formerly of classic comedy show The State) and Yale Dean of Architecture Deborah Berke... View full entry
The government won't identify companies until contracts are awarded around June 1 — and even then, only the winners — but some bidders released plans on their own — Yahoo News / AP
Although many political agendas have trickled into the realm of design, the border wall continues to be a hot topic for architects. Since the inception of this project, social media has highlighted the "We Won't Build Your Wall" campaign, which has been prevalent at a number of architectural... View full entry
The architecture giant Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) has announced that they will open a new office in Dubai, a move intended to further their presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The office will be led by Thomas Behr, who will oversee all operations in the... View full entry
Dr Sumaya Bint Sulaiman Al Sulaiman has become the first woman in Saudi Arabia to be appointed dean of a design college. Al Sulaiman now heads the College of Design at the Imam Abdul Rahman Bin Faysal University
...the highest administrative position for a Saudi woman at a public college or university was vice-dean, except at Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University, an exclusively for women university in the capital Riyadh.
— Gulf News
Dr. Al Sulaiman's appointment at the University of Dammam College of Design last month is one of two groundbreaking university dean appointments in Saudi Arabia. She was appointed days after Dr. Dalal Namnaqani, who became the first woman to become dean at the Taif University College of... View full entry
As we discussed at the Witte, the EPA’s “Energy Star,” indoor air quality, and materials safety programs directly support the design and construction industry each and every day.
The proposed EPA budget eliminates funding for these programs and will severely impact the ability of engineers and architects to meet client demands, fulfill our contractual obligations, and carry out the duties of our licensure to protect the public.
— Letter from David Lake via The Rivard Report
In response to a letter in which Texan Republican Congressman Lamar Smith told David Lake that he gets all of his news from a "biased liberal media," Lake not only kindly (and eloquently) rebutted this inaccuracy, but also encouraged the Congressman not to defund the EPA if he still wants to live... View full entry
What sets apart high-performing architecture firms from their award-lacking brethren? Not surprisingly, a commitment to excellence, which according to the AIA is measured by several factors, including an emphasis on sustainability and diversity. While the full report details the findings from a... View full entry
What's the most efficient, ethical, and sustainable way to remake public spaces? If you're in Nariobi, Kenya this May 3-4th, you'll have the opportunity to answer that question by attending the "Making Cities Together - The City We Need through Safe, Inclusive and Accessible Public Spaces"... View full entry
According to a newly released press statement, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne has been named the first “Critic at Large” at Pratt Institute’s Graduate Architecture and Urban Design program (GAUD). The position was created “to expand discourse across the GAUD curriculum and... View full entry
Over the years, we’ve done stories on all sorts of people, but to our knowledge we have never done one on a late middle-aged man who dresses in biker gear with visible tattoos and sterling-silver skull rings. And certainly not one who also happens to be fluent in French and advanced mathematics.
No, Peter Marino is one-of-a-kind.
— CBS
60 Minutes did a special on the leather-clad architect Peter Marino, which they then transcribed and put online. The interview was conducted by Steve Kroft.Some choice quotes from the episode:On his infamous look:"It’s a decoy.""Thinking out-of-the-box goes along with dressing out-of-the-box... View full entry
The Isamu Noguchi Museum announced London-based architect John Pawson and Japanese-born painter Hiroshi Senju as the 2017 recipients of the honorable Isamu Noguchi Award, which recognizes individuals whose work embodies the collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and cross-cultural qualities of influential landscape architect and artist Isamu Noguchi. — Bustler
First awarded to Norman Foster and artist Hiroshi Sugimoto in 2014, previous recipients of the award also include architect Yoshio Taniguchi and industrial designer Jasper Morrison (2015) and Tadao Ando and Elyn Zimmerman (2016). Learn more about the 2017 recipients on Bustler. View full entry