It once seemed like a herculean, if not insurmountable, challenge – raising $600 million or more for an ambitious modernist building to serve as the new home for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Skeptics abounded when plans were first announced three years ago. But momentum now seems to be shifting in LACMA's favor with the announcement this week of two major donations that will push the fundraising campaign near the halfway point.
— Los Angeles Times
The donations together amount to the largest the museum has ever received. Elaine Wynn, a major collector and co-chair of the museum, pledged $50 million. Former Univision chairman A. Jerrold Perenchio has promised to give $25 million for the project.Both donations hinge on the successful launch... View full entry
If you want evidence that London’s renters are being taken advantage of, look no further than a new social media campaign. Launched Monday, the #rantyourrent hashtag encourages London’s overcharged and poorly housed tenants to visually detail the bad conditions they’re expected to put up with in return for large sums of monthly rent.
The results, detailed in a new Tumblr called Vent Your Rent, make for sobering viewing.
— citylab.com
More articles on London and the housing crisis here:The root of London's housing crisis lies beyond its bordersLondon's housing crisis is creating a chasm between the rich and poorLondon's Bleak Housing View full entry
[Project leader Zena] Howard focuses on all of the aspects of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, but hones in on the porch, which happens to span 200 feet and it serves as an transitional space between the outside and inside of the museum.
“I think that the porch is…quintessential America,” [...]
“This project—not only given the scale, the complexity, the political and contextual sensitivities—is an amalgam of all the problems that we, as architects, love to solve”
— blackyouthproject.com
Related on Archinect:What architecture means to Zena Howard, project leader of the National Museum of African American History and CultureDavid Adjaye talks about woven architecture and his new D.C. museumObama to speak at African American history museum’s groundbreakingWatch: First Look at the... View full entry
As the Nepalese government continues to face criticism for the slow pace of the country’s reconstruction, Nepal’s prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli announced today that the reconstruction of key heritage sites in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur is to finally begin, the Associated Press reports. — The Art Newspaper
A year after the devastating quake, there is some good news in Nepal. As this article notes,The World Monuments Fund (WMF) also announced today that it, in collaboration with American Express, was financing the rebuilding of the 16th-century Char Narayan Temple, which was reduced to rubble by the... View full entry
The observation deck won’t be finished for a few years yet. If you want to see the future of New York, walk north along the High Line, round the curve at the rail yards, and turn your back to the river. Amid the highway ramps and industrial hash of far-west Manhattan, a herd of cranes hoists I-beams into the sky. This is Hudson Yards, the largest private real-estate development in United States history and the test ground for the world’s most ambitious experiment in “smart city” urbanism. — Shannon Mattern | Places
Last year, I reviewed Mattern's book Deep Mapping the Media City, in which she delves into some of the issues surrounding so-called "smart cities." Check out the review here.For more on the implementation of surveillance and other technologies in the city, check out these... View full entry
It has been more than 50 years since anyone has served time in the old Lincoln Heights Jail. The five-story building on San Fernando Road next to the L.A. River has been vacant for much of that time but now the city is launching its most recent effort to find new uses for the historic landmark as efforts are underway to restore the river and build new projects and parks along its banks.
The city is seeking ideas and concepts for the 229,000-square-foot complex...
— the Eastsider
In a RFI, the city stipulates that there are a number of hurdles that will have to be removed before reuse, such as possible structural renovations and removal of toxic substances.The city also put forth a list of new possible uses:Technology or creative office (e.g. biotechnology)Clean tech or... View full entry
On the long approach from the sea, the flowing, horizontal silhouette of this all-concrete structure, bracketed fore and aft by leaning walls, stands out from the heavyset classicized buildings along the waterfront promenade [...]
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the site on Sunday, calling it a masterpiece. The absence of Ms. Hadid, 65, who died on March 31 without ever seeing the finished terminal, was keenly felt both days.
— NYT
The city of Salerno, some 60.5 km south of Naples, gained a major new architectural icon this week. A 50,000 sq. ft., €15 million maritime terminal, it's also the first project by ZHA to be inaugurated after their principal Zaha Hadid passed away last month.Before the inauguration ceremony... View full entry
Though the [Vanna Venturi] house has been nominated for the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, Stecura said it is being sold without any protections against alterations inside or out. [...]
Cross your fingers and hope for the best. [...]
there is no broader strategy in place — in the museum world or among the nation's leading historic preservation groups — to protect the most important works of 20th-century residential architecture from the vagaries of the market
— Christopher Hawthorne – latimes.com
Related on Archinect:The price of keeping Britain's 'Downton Abbeys' from crumblingLe Corbusier's Cité de Refuge in Paris to reopen after restorationChicago's Marina City designated official landmark status — it's about time!"Stop the unpermitted demolition": Roche Dinkeloo's shiny UN Plaza... View full entry
Just in time for Earth Day, the AIA and the Committee on the Environment (COTE) revealed a new set of Top Ten Green Projects for 2016. Over the last two decades, the annual awards program is considered to be the profession's most rigorous awards program for sustainable design excellence throughout the U.S.
The jury chose the projects that best convey a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology.
— Bustler
Here's a peek of the winners:Rene Cazenave Apartments; San Francisco by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and Saida + Sullivan Design Partners, Associated ArchitectH-E-B at Mueller; Austin, TX by Lake|Flato Architects, H-E-B Design + Construction, Selser Schaefer ArchitectsThe J. Craig Venter... 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
International sports federations expressed concern Tuesday over problems with venues for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, including power failures at the gymnastics arena this week.
Members of the Association of Olympic International Sports Federations reviewed preparations for the Rio Games, which open in less than four months on Aug. 5.
"They miss some very important details in each field of play," ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said at the group's annual meeting.
— cbc.ca
Another tragic setback occurred yesterday when a seaside section of a recently inaugurated elevated bike path collapsed after being hit by a powerful wave, killing two people and injuring at least three others. A possible third victim may have been swept out into the ocean.More Rio 2016 headlines... View full entry
Two years ago, a disastrous fire broke out in the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Building, the jewel of the Glasgow School of Art’s campus. Now, after sifting through the damage, outlining a careful restoration plan and finding the funds, the Glasgow School of Art has announced that the building will... View full entry
Workers have almost completed mounting the copper paneling on the American Copper Buildings (née 626 First Avenue), the new tilting, two-towered development on Manhattan’s East Side, but their most striking feature—a three-story, 100-foot-long skybridge—is still open to the elements. [...]
The skybridge itself, though, is designed to be the showstopper. The architects placed a 75-foot lap pool on the bridge, so residents can swim 300 feet in the air [...].
— bloomberg.com
↑ Interior rendering of the skybridge pool area on the 29th floor. ↑ Exterior rendering of the SHoP-designed towers with the skybridge spanning the 27th to 29th floors. (Image: JDS Development; via bloomberg.com)↑ JDS Developers hope to have the towers completed in 2017.Images via the... View full entry
The Landmarks Preservation Commission is set to consider a proposed $190 million renovation to the Ford Foundation...Although many aspects of the building have long been outdated...it is health and safety, not aesthetics or technology, that initially drove the foundation’s plans. The city has given Ford until 2019 to bring the building up to code for fire safety and handicapped accessibility... — Curbed
“...But since they had to scratch the building’s surfaces, Ford Foundation president Darren Walker and his staff decided to go further, upgrading not just by adding sprinklers to the ceilings and greater access to the atrium, but new security, new lighting and mechanicals, and a new spatial... View full entry
In Azure Magazine's annual AZ Awards, architects, designers, manufacturers, and students across the globe have a shot at getting their best work internationally recognized. Now in its sixth edition, the AZ Awards competition continues to grow. This year's call for submissions reeled in... View full entry