It was beautiful. It was a wreck. It blistered on the rocky hillside: a perfect dome, gray weathered concrete and granite connected by a bridge to an eroded staircase. The day was warm and bright, the interiors were crumbling and stuffy. Some rooms contained odd bits of dusty ’60s Italian modern furniture, bright-green glazed tiles and faded taupe cushions. An Italian paperback copy of Patricia Cornwell’s “Cause of Death” was left on a kitchen countertop. — New York Times Style Magazine
The death of Monica Vitti on 2 February 2022 has brought up many stories of "the Queen of Italian cinema" whose relationship with Michaelangelo Antonioni gave birth to a dome house known as La Cupola by Italian architect Dante Bini's company Binishell. In this five years old... View full entry
A proposed Downtown high-rise with a design inspired by California's redwood trees has taken a key step forward, following the publication of a Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment for the project. — Urbanize Los Angeles
Designed by Koichi Takada Architects, with MVE + Partners serving as architect of record, and RIOS as landscape architect, the 40-story tower located at the southwest corner of 11th and Hill streets in the South Park neighborhood will replace a two-story warehouse. The glass and steel building... View full entry
The “Black History Is LA History” map includes the Calvary Baptist Church of Pacoima, which was founded in 1955 by civil rights activists Rev. Hillery T. and Rosa L. Broadus, who moved from Arkansas to the San Fernando Valley. The two were involved in the local fair housing movement and helped organize the NAACP’s San Fernando Valley chapter. — Spectrum News Los Angeles
The map, launched by Los Angeles Controller Ron Galperin, highlights key infrastructure like the Paul Revere Williams-designed Theme Building at LAX as well as cultural landmarks like Watts Towers Arts Center and the restored Crenshaw Wall. The focus on sites that are publicly-owned and... View full entry
MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas and Theobert van Boven of Van Boven Architecten are leading the transformation of their old high school Gymnasium Beekvliet in the Dutch village of Sint-Michielsgestel. The main element of this design by the two alumni is a colorful, flowing addition... View full entry
The eyes of the world will soon turn to the new Populous-designed National Speed Skating Oval as the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics prepare to kick off in Beijing. As the only new permanent venue at this year’s games, the 'Ice Ribbon' takes its place in line with the National... View full entry
The first details for the design of the 2022 Serpentine Pavilion have been released. Designed by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, and titled Black Chapel, the scheme draws inspiration from the industrial kilns of the English midlands, resulting in a cylindrical wooden structure with a... View full entry
The Italian state is spending €70 million ($86 million) to rehabilitate structural remains at Santo Stefano and neighboring coastal sites. At the former, the government is building an open-air museum that will illustrate the site’s dark past, along with gardens and conference rooms that will be used for seminars and events focused on cultural and political themes. — ARTnews
The cultural center will be located inside the site of a former 18th-century prison originally constructed under the reign of King Ferdinand IV in a now aging village called Santo Stefano. The project is being overseen by the state’s cultural minister Dario Franceschini and mirrors efforts... View full entry
The blizzard over the weekend dumped more than two feet of snow in many areas, while also inflicting major damage to communities along the Massachusetts coastline. In Truro, a house was left suspended on stilts over a beach after violent waves from the blizzard’s storm surge essentially washed away its remaining foundation. — 7News Boston WHDH
The home was once owned and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and was subject to a hastened attempt late last week by the homeowner to stabilize its pilings and prevent a total loss after a January 17th storm eroded nearly 20 feet of beach from the front of the property. A 2016 profile of the beach... View full entry
When old office blocks are demolished, their steel frames are typically smelted down to be recycled, emitting thousands of tonnes of carbon in the process. But at One Broadgate, the steel beams that once framed the London headquarters of inter-dealer broker TP Icap Plc will instead be salvaged from the site and recycled by developer Fabrix. Chief Executive Officer Clive Nichol says the example proves it’s possible to “apply the circular economy to structural elements of buildings.” — Bloomberg Green
Fabrix has purchased 139 tons of steel from the contractor behind the demolition of One Broadgate and plans to use it on other projects in London. The process, known as urban mining, recovers and resells raw materials from waste products. Related on Archinect: How 'Anthropocene mining'... View full entry
One of architect Bernard Tschumi’s most significant Parisian developments is getting an iconic new addition called the HyperTent that will enhance its status as one of the best concentrations of significant architecture in the Western hemisphere. Set upon the podium of one of the park’s... View full entry
As a follow up to the recent surprising news that insurance giant Lloyd’s of London may be considering a potential exit from the award-winning Lime Street headquarters designed for them by late architect Richard Rogers in the late 1970s (opened in 1986), The Architect’s Journal UK is now... View full entry
After years of stops and starts, triumphant announcements and long silences – there is finally momentum, once again.
Gallery officials are meeting regularly with the city, city hall is re-examining the term of the lease agreement, a public open house is scheduled for March, and shovels could be in the ground next year.
All it took was a single private donation – of $100-million.
— The Globe and Mail
The firm’s repeatedly revised design was originally set to be its first commission in the country for an expansion effort that has been mulled since first being announced in 2014. Vancouver Art Gallery has been balking at the effort since the early 2000s without naming a winner. Herzog & de... View full entry
Holocaust Museum LA's proposed $45-million expansion has taken a small, but important procedural step forward. Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks issued a notice of exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act for the proposed Jona Goldrich Campus, which would expand upon the museum's existing subterranean building in Pan Pacific Park. — Urbanize Los Angeles
The proposed Belzberg Architects-designed project includes the expansion of the existing museum and the construction of a new pavilion. The pavilion will include a new learning center, a dedicated theater to showcase an installation by the USC Shoah Foundation, a 200-seat theater, two classrooms... View full entry
An aging financial relic in London’s Canary Wharf is about to become the capital city’s next high-profile retrofit project thanks to a new plan from WilkinsonEyre. Architects’ Journal UK is reporting that the firm will lead a massive retrofit of the 21-year-old structure after the... View full entry
The new Veterinary Building at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences at Campus Ås has officially opened in Oslo, Norway. It is the largest overall development in the university and college sector in Norway ever. The project was developed for government real estate manager... View full entry
