Not to worry, Gowan said, we’ll just pop in extra entrances if and when we need them. — Los Angeles Review of Books
Veteran architecture critic Joseph Giovannini writes a long format, meticulous, repetitious, detailed, campy, foxy, fundamental, accurate, conjectural, civic, economic, organizational, institutional, back of the house, sobering, exemplifying, nerdy and most serious to date criticism of LACMA... View full entry
France's best-known 20th century architect, Le Corbusier, was a "militant fascist" who was far more anti-Semitic and a fan of Hitler than previously thought, two new books reveal.
[...] the latest, far more damning, revelations have shocked admirers and threaten to cast a shadow over commemorations of the 50th anniversary of his death. [...]
"Hitler can crown his life with a great work: the planned layout of Europe."
— telegraph.co.uk
He donated millions to the University of Michigan’s health care center, medical school library and college of architecture and urban planning; to Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; and to Brown University’s public policy and American institutions program. He led a $75 million expansion of the Detroit Institute of Arts, and was a director of the Detroit Symphony and other cultural organizations. — nytimes.com
Just last week, Taubman was still attending the groundbreaking of the new wing of the Art & Architecture building at University of Michigan's Taubman College Architecture and Urban Planning. View full entry
This combination of high-tech and hands-on making would be repeated over and over in the process of designing, curating and fitting out the wing — NYT
Last month Alexandra Lange reviewed the Corning Museum of Glass’s new 100,000-square-foot Contemporary Art + Design Wing, by Thomas Phifer and Partners. View full entry
Jean Nouvel, the famed French architect, on Thursday lost a court battle against a £280 million Paris concert hall he designed but whose architecture he claimed had been "martyred" and "sabotaged".
Mr Nouvel boycotted the January opening of the Philharmonie de Paris, an ultra-modern building in the French capital's eastern Parc de La Vilette, accusing project managers of cutting corners to save money during its completion.
— telegraph.co.uk
Previously:Jean Nouvel files for court order against Philharmonie de Paris disputeJean Nouvel boycotts opening of his Philharmonie de Paris View full entry
Eisenhower Memorial Commission chairman Rocco Siciliano will step down as leader of the board but will remain a member [...]
Siciliano, who is 93, is a World War II veteran who served as a special assistant to Eisenhower in the White House ... The commission’s founding chairman, he suggested the board elect Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) to succeed him. [...]
“We need a tough Marine like him to bring this project to conclusion.”
— washingtonpost.com
This is the latest bump in the tumultuous saga that is Gehry's Eisenhower Memorial, however it doesn't necessarily mean the project will suffer more delays. Siciliano's suggested successor, Roberts, assured his fellow commissioners in an email that Eisenhower's family was coming around to the... View full entry
Laura Amaya published an interview with Alfredo Brillembourg, founder and co-director of Urban-Think Tank. Therein he signed off with this hopeful statement "I would say we are, now in the 21st century, in the expanded field of architecture. We are challenged, but we believe that this is one of... View full entry
Far from reducing his workload or resting on his considerable laurels, the 80-year-old Meier and his partners are also wrapping up construction on several other projects, including the HH Resort and Spa in Gangneung, South Korea; the Leblon office building in Rio de Janeiro; the 140-unit Rothschild Tower in Tel Aviv; the Cittadella Bridge in Alessandria, Italy; and Teachers Village, a mixed-use development in Newark, New Jersey. — The Real Deal
Norman Foster‘s 88-story tower, destined for the last unoccupied site of the World Trade Center complex, could finally get the legs it needs to move forward. Media giants News Corporation and 21st Century Fox, both headed by Rupert Murdoch, are in talks with the Port Authority and developer Larry Silverstein to make the long-stalled 1,349-foot skyscraper their next home. — 6sqft
The move would give 2 WTC what it needs to resume construction as required by the Port Authority—namely a solid anchor tenant. View full entry
Mixing both Asian and Western design, Mr Chan has developed his own style...which often aims to blur the lines between the inside and outside of a building, often utilising - in very simple terms - lots of courtyards. — BBC News
Golda Arthur profiles Principal, Chan Soo Khian and explores the 'Neo-tropical architecture' and luxury apartments of SCDA Architects. The firm has also launched Bistro Soori, a restaurant located at the ground level of beneath SCDA Singapore. View full entry
Earlier today, Patrik Schumacher of Zaha Hadid Architects posted a nearly 1,400 word polemic on Facebook denouncing contemporary architecture criticism and defending the “star-system” that has been instrumental in his firm’s success in the last few decades. Instead of “seeing conspicuity... View full entry
“What is it that you can do in a pavilion that you can’t do in a building? Buildings – you don’t want them to move. How can we get this structure to respond in a very subtle way to the weather and perhaps amplify the sound of the wind moving through it?” — theguardian.com
Whipsawing from tragedy to triumph, British architect and former Future Systems partner Amanda Levete has been awarded the design of the MPavilion, Australia's sprightly so-called version of the U.K.'s Serpentine Pavilion. Levete founded her current firm, Amanda Levete Architects, in 2009 after... View full entry
To promote its Nightstop program, in which volunteers offer homeless people ages 16 to 25 spare beds, homelessness charity Depaul UK launched a poster campaign Thursday that uses the architecture of buildings to help win the hearts and minds of passersby.
Publicis art director Dan Kennard and copywriter Ben Smith told me in an email that the idea for the design came from “that quite true observation that in life, there are two sides to pretty much every story.”
— Slate.com
Somewhere between a supergraphic and a PSA lies the ever-developing territory of outdoor advertising, an area in which Publicis London is making thoughtful, eye-catching displays. View full entry
The phrases "public housing" or "low-income housing" do not generally conjure thoughts of architectural innovation. [...]
But it doesn't have to be that way, as several recent housing developments in Los Angeles prove. Instead, they pose the question: What if low-income housing was perceived as leading the vanguard of innovative, responsive architecture?
— kcet.org
Related: Michael Maltzan Looks to the Future View full entry
“[Directors are] projecting a future by imagining how it would look in ruins,” said Michael Hays, a professor of architectural theory at Harvard. “All the flesh has been removed and you just see the architectural bones. I’ve always thought Portman’s buildings would make very beautiful ruins, because the essence of them is so powerful and so direct.” — The Atlantic
In this larger piece about how Atlanta has become a favored setting for dystopian cinema, Harvard professor Michael Hays shares an unusual perspective on the work of John Portman as cinematic harbinger of doom. View full entry
