I think most exciting thing for designers is this pure absence of design and this incredible presence of life. If you see that combination it is a very profound lesson, I would say. - Rem Koolhaas — OMAofficialchannel
Rem Koolhaas talks to camera about OMA's project in Kowloon, China known as WKCD, West Kowloon Cultural District. You can watch him speak about his 'village' concept, setting up an office on location with young Chinese staff, lessons learned from the context and his adherence to it. View full entry
Portal to the Point Project Advisor Paul Rosenblatt AIA, Principal of SPRINGBOARD Design, is pleased to announce the selection of five finalists for the Portal to the Point Design Ideas Exploration sponsored by Colcom Foundation. The finalists are: Marlon Blackwell Architect, MAYA Design, SCAPE Landscape Architecture, Weiss/Manfredi, and wHY Architecture. — SPRINGBOARD Design
Project Teams Selected for Portal to the Point: A Design Ideas Exploration Portal to the Point: A Design Ideas Exploration is an ‘Idea Generation Project’ funded by Colcom Foundation. Five multi-disciplinary teams have been selected to focus on public art and design in Point State... View full entry
My idea in the master plan was that this was a place of the spirit. This is where people perished. It was not a piece of real estate any longer. You could not put a building there. — featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com
Previously on Archinect: Water On at WTC Memorial & On the 9/11 memorial and its disappointments. View full entry
What hit me there was the awful anticlimax of repetition. A singular moment, the Big Bang that launched a fearful decade, is marked by déjà vu. “Never forget,” this monument exhorts—and then says it again — New York Magazine
Justin Davidson reviews Michael Arad's almost completed 9/11 memorial. He finds that while the original concept was noteworthy for its poetic simplicity, a thicket of bureaucracies, budgets, rules, security fears, agendas, and political interests have dogged virtually every step of the... View full entry
New images of Jean Nouvel's Torre Verre were revealed. George Showman comments "It's frustrating they cut this thing down so it wouldn't offend the tourists on the Empire State viewing platform (well, I love that view too, but always wish there were more tall buildings to look at). The new version is not nearly as beautiful, taken as a monolith...Finally: can't believe there is still the money in high-end real estate to pay for this kind of ridiculous building."
The newest ShowCase features Butaro Hospital in Rwanda designed by MASS Design Group. Besides the locally-sensitive design of the complex, the project is noteworthy for it's emphasis on social design through capacity-building. "Beyond providing access to first-rate healthcare... View full entry
In a week dominated by images of buildings burning to the ground, there have been at least a few people out there still building the things. The press was granted a preview of King's Cross station's new concourse, ahead of its opening in time for the Olympics next year. Designed by architect John McAslan, it is a majestically conceived space which stands alongside the Grade 1-listed sheds and replaces the cramped and grotty 1960s extension that currently serves as the station's entrance. — guardian.co.uk
at its heart, the memorial has come through at least somewhat intact. And at ground zero, that is saying quite a bit. - Christopher Hawthorne — L.A.Times
If anything can be said from a single image above, the upcoming memorial will be highly emotional, meaningful, well visited and worth the wait. View full entry
As Europe continues to battle economic and environmental gloom and doom, nations across the continent are re-evaluating how to build the cities of tomorrow with tight budgets and green mindsets. "We are at a key moment, where we as architects must become activists. We must innovate and help to find new solutions for how people can live well and do well," says Enric Ruiz-Geli, founding principal of Cloud9 architects in Barcelona. — online.wsj.com
Ada Louise has a voice (acerbic defender of the city); Goldberger has a voice (the artful company man); Muschamp had a voice (champion of glamour). Nicolai, alas, has no voice. Kimmelman will need to stake out some critical territory for himself, a voice on the subject. … — Observer
Ms. Julie Iovine an ex editor of NYT's Home Magazine whose quotes were relied upon in this article, noted “There’s a worry now, that someone who is known as an art critic—an appraiser of the object—will be tempted to also treat architecture as an object. It ain’t so!... View full entry
I believe with every fiber of my being that God turned the eyes of the world on Crystal Cathedral because God wants to make a big bold statement, he wants the world to know that he is a God who still does miracles — Reuters
Philip Johnson's masterpiece, the Crystal Cathedral is the subject of bidding wars between Chapman University, Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the retailer Hobby Lobby. Sheila Schuller Coleman, director of ministry at the church and the daughter of Schuller also thinks they can raise the... View full entry
Zaha Hadid's website just received an extreme makeover. A much needed one at that! Her previous website was a commonly-used reference in the "architects have horrible websites" argument. This new one appears to be a huge improvement based on the few minutes I've surfed around. View full entry
If you're going to have a mental breakdown the best place to have it is in Spring and in Cambridge.'These are the words of artist, visionary and outsider architect John Devlin, whose book 'Nova Cantabrigiensis' presents his intriguing vision of a utopian island based on Cambridge, which he considers the ideal city. — Wallpaper
It is with deep sadness that I convey the news of Doug Garofalo’s passing on Sunday July 31, one day before his 53rd birthday. As many in the College and professional architectural community were aware, Doug had been surviving—and, indeed, thriving—with his characteristic humor and quiet dignity since the diagnosis of his illness just over five years ago. — University of Illinois Chicago (Matthew)
GLENN Murcutt, Australia's most internationally recognised architect, famous for the expression ''touching the ground lightly'', won't be able to get his hands near the competition to design a new Australian Pavilion in Venice. — smh.com.au
Will Alsop has announced he is leaving international architecture firm RMJM to form a new practice. The new company, established with fellow RMJM principal Scott Lawrie and covering architecture, masterplanning, interiors, landscape, product and graphic design, involves a number of other staff who worked at Alsop’s division within the firm. — building.co.uk
