The city’s Brutalist buildings, in contrast, are widely considered eyesores by the general public.
These buildings often have a shared ownership of common facilities. And because many owners think that selling their units collectively is a better financial bet than investing in a conservation or retrofitting plan, the buildings have largely fallen into disrepair because no one wants to pay for short-term upkeep.
— The New York Times
Mikes Ives reports for the NYT on the not-so-bright future Singapore's aging stock of 1970s Brutalist buildings faces in a city whose global trademark famously is shiny and new.The aging Pearl Bank Apartments was the tallest and densest residential high-rise in Singapore at the time of its... View full entry
The UK government thinks it has got to the heart of the housing crisis: the problem is, new homes just aren’t beautiful enough. “Build beautifully and get permission,” says the housing minister, Kit Malthouse. “Build beautifully and communities will actually welcome developers, rather than drive them out of town at the tip of a pitchfork.” — The Guardian
According to housing minister, Kit Malthouse, the key to solving the housing crisis in the UK is “putting beauty at the heart of our housing and communities policy.” On November 3, 2018, the initiative to champion beauty when building better homes was announced through the "Building Better... View full entry
A new mixed-use dubbed as the “KoolKiel” by MVRDV is in the works to redevelop a former industrial site in Kiel, Germany. The 65,000 m2 project will use a flexible design system to accommodate for future needs of the community as the area develops. The site of KoolKiel is currently occupied... View full entry
Thomas Heatherwick’s 150-foot-tall, honeycomb-shaped climbable public art installation at Hudson Yards is set to open for public climbing in March along with the complex’s Shops and Restaurants on March 15. Known for some time as “The Vessel,” the bronzed steel and concrete structure has no official title as of yet. — 6sqft
Thomas Heatherwick's highly anticipated bronzed steel and concrete structure will have its public debut on March 15th. Having been in the headlines for the past few months the project's most recent update lies in what the structure will be officially named. According to a source from 6sqft, the... View full entry
Hedge funder Ken Griffin has closed on a massive penthouse at 220 Central Park South, paying a record-shattering $238 million, according to sources familiar with the deal.
The Citadel founder has long been rumored as the buyer of the condominium’s most lavish spread — a 23,000-square-foot quadplex encompassing the 50th through 53rd floors of the limestone tower, developed by Vornado Realty Trust and designed by Robert A.M. Stern. The asking price was $250 million.
— The Real Deal
After Ken Griffin dropped a sweet quarter billion on his new NYC digs, he didn't appear entirely penniless and recently secured a few other neat places to crash when traveling to London, Chicago, or Miami. "Earlier this week, he reportedly scooped up a house in London for around $122 million,"... View full entry
Plans for a new Vancouver Art Gallery—in the works for more than a decade, and feared by many to have stalled indefinitely—received a major boost this week with the announcement of a $40m lead gift from the local philanthropic Chan family. In recognition of what the institution’s director Kathleen Bartels called an act of “extraordinary generosity”, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s new building will be named the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts. — The Art Newspaper
On the occasion of the impressive Chan family gift announcement, the Vancouver Art Gallery also presented the anticipated final designs for its new 300,000-square-foot home, which is ever so slowly inching closer to realization. West Georgia Street entrance © Herzog & de MeuronHerzog &... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect... View full entry
Authored and published by Zupagrafika, and now featured in our Downtown LA retail store and online at Archinect Outpost, these miniature versions of brutalist structures from former Eastern Bloc countries can now rest easily on your desk or bookshelf. House of Soviets (Kaliningrad, Russia)... View full entry
The developers behind the distinct supertall at 432 Park Avenue want to take a second shot at altering New York City’s skyline. Harry Macklowe submitted last week a preliminary application to the city’s planning department for a 1,551-foot-tall skyscraper between 51st and 52nd Streets in... View full entry
Award-winning Swiss-French architect Bernard Tschumi has completed the Tianjin Binhai Exploratorium, a massive new museum that will be joining MVRDV's futuristic library as one of five main attractions in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin's growing recreational district. Photo by Kris... View full entry
In this beguiling new gallery in the Engadin valley, it is hard to tell where nature ends and artifice begins. It is located on the site of a 12th-century monastery, in a rambling complex of buildings... The young architects Chasper Schmidlin and Lukas Voellmy have concocted a magical place where the historic fabric, contemporary art and the raw geology of the landscape collide. — The Guardian
Exterior. Photograph: (c) Studio Stefano Graziani, courtesy Muzeum Susch, Art Stations Foundation CHThough the outside of this gallery in the remote Eastern section of Switzerland appears perfectly ordinary, stepping past its entrance reveals a world of difference. Interior. Photograph: Studio... View full entry
Chicago's West Loop neighborhood celebrated the inauguration of its very first public library last Thursday. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the two-story library — which is the City of Chicago's 81st branch — was once part of the Harpo Studios campus and was donated to the city... View full entry
[...] a demolition application was filed for 270 Park Avenue, the current, but not for long headquarters of JPMorgan Chase. The filing is a pivotal step for the bank, which plans to replace the 1.5 million-square-foot Modernist tower with a 2.5 million square foot supertall skyscraper designed by Lord Norman Foster. — CityRealty
The clock is ticking for the midcentury modernist HQ of banking giant JPMorgan Chase: despite preservationist and environmental concerns, the fate of 270 Park Avenue appears sealed, and the 50-story structure is likely to become the world's tallest building ever to be intentionally demolished... View full entry
“We just don’t build houses like we used to.” Whether we’re criticizing an individual home or a wave of boxy buildings, it’s a common lament... It’s a statement that contains some truth, but it also misses crucial context about the material conditions, functionality, and style trends of the past. — Curbed
Kate Wagner, the writer and critic behind McMansion Hell, has turned their sights towards an often-uttered statement about the current state of architectural craftsmanship: "We just don't build houses like we used to." Listen to our conversation with Kate on Archinect Sessions: Wagner... View full entry
Today, The Barbican, along with the London Symphony Orchestra and Guildhall School of Music & Drama, released images of the Diller Scofidio + Renfro-designed London Centre for Music. DS+R was first announced as lead architect for the project back in 2017, and teamed up with Sheppard Robson... View full entry
