The Milwaukee Art Museum is due to reopen on 24 November after a 14-month, $34m renovation that brings the institution back from the brink. When the museum made the unorthodox decision to begin planning an expansion at the height of the recession in 2009, mould flourished, floors buckled and ceilings leaked in the two buildings that housed the permanent collection. [...]
Roberts says: “People who know our museum will not believe that this is the same museum.”
— theartnewspaper.com
Related news on Archinect:Private money attracts big-name architects to design new museums in BeirutLeading up to its September-20 opening, Christopher Hawthorne reviews the new Broad museumA black museum for "The White City of the North": Moreau Kusunoki Architectes selected to design Guggenheim... View full entry
Although Steven Holl Architects' design for Copenhagen harbor's pedestrian bridge linking twin skyscrapers won the city's competition back in 2008 and has already been honored with a 2010 Progressive Architecture Award, the rather tight-lipped global economy delayed its construction. However, the... View full entry
The long-rumored Apple store at the gateway to the North Michigan Avenue shopping district won't be a 2.0 version of the famous glass cube that forms an iconic entry into the retailer's Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan. It will be more like a high-tech version of Frank Lloyd Wright's quintessentially Midwestern Prairie Style homes, with river views to boot. — The Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune obtained a draft report from Chicago's Department of Planning and Development that details plans for a new Apple store alongside the river and adjacent to the Michigan Avenue bridge. Moving away from the iconic minimalism of its flagship Manhattan store, the Foster +... View full entry
The City of London skyline is to be dominated by a newcomer after the latest version of a tower formerly known as the Pinnacle or Helter Skelter received the green light from planners.
The revived building, officially known as 22 Bishopsgate – or simply 22 – will be the tallest building in the Square Mile at 278 metres (912ft) [...].
The new design scrapping the expensive curved-glass panels at the top was the work of PLP Architecture.
— theguardian.com
Previously: Arrested development: London's tallest building-to-be slated for demolitionRelated London news on Archinect:Canary Wharf may be host to western Europe's tallest residential towerSouthwark planners nix 'crude and literal' rocket-shaped flats3(00) feet and rising: an aerial video tour... View full entry
Evidently, the Big Apple is packed with big buildings, and several more are on the way. National Geographic created a spiffy interactive infographic called "The New New York Skyline" that envisions which towers are sprouting up along the Manhattan skyline in the next few years. Scroll sideways and... View full entry
A persistent water leak is among the problems that have delayed the opening of the mall, which was supposed to be operating by now, to the first half of 2016. It is the latest setback to bedevil the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, the $3.7 billion rail terminal that will also house Westfield’s $1.4 billion shopping center. [...]
The latest twist involves water penetration around the construction site of 3 World Trade Center, an office tower abutting the hub, which began in late summer.
— nytimes.com
Related on Archinect:Massive 'spine' skylight in Calatrava's WTC Oculus nears completionThere's a chance the Hudson is leaking into the WTC siteNYMag talks to Santiago Calatrava about his WTC Station, budget, reputation View full entry
This is The Oppidum, a massive 323,000 square foot property with plans for a spectacular estate. What lies hidden beneath, carved deep in the mountain is the largest residential doomsday shelter in the world. [...]
The planned luxurious underground compound on two levels includes a total space of 77,500 sf with 13 foot high ceilings. The layout features one large 6,750 sf apartment and six 1,720 sf apartments.
Construction on the secret facility began in 1984, at the height of the Cold War.
— forbes.com
Related on Archinect:It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel luxurious): high-end apocalypse sheltersA top-secret Czech bunker used by the Soviet army opens to the publicSubculture of Americans prepares for civilization's collapse View full entry
In suburbs, cities and rural areas, [big-box stores] can present a reuse and rehab conundrum, particularly as retailers become more sophisticated about controlling leases and redevelopment. [...]
With the big-box model, stores are rarely remodeled. [...]
A kind of “retail cannibalism” emerges, where companies compete for market share with ever-shinier facades that leave aging stores behind as the asphalt fades.
— minnpost.com
More on the fading development of big-box stores:A supermall grows in fracking countryFor in that death of malls, what dreams may come? Archinect Sessions #32, featuring special guest co-host, Nam Henderson!Dead Malls and Shopping DinosaursDead-malls and the return of Main Street View full entry
But Bickels’s lasting legacy was more technical...For those who care about spaces — like Hultén, Piano and countless other international visitors over the decades — the combination of intimate, varied rooms and light sources make for a kind of ur-museum, not grand but perfectly executed. — NYT
James McAuley explains how Mishkan Le’Omanut (designed by Samuel Bickels) in Ein Harod, has inspired some of the 20th century’s most iconic buildings. Especially, with regards to the use of natural light within museum architecture. View full entry
Last month, Seth Pinsky, Executive Vice President at RXR Realty, shared a presentation regarding the development of the long-planned rehabilitation and conversion of Pier 57 aka “SuperPier.” According to him, the 450,000-square-foot development will invest $350 million of private capital to redevelop the structure, and in return create hundreds of jobs, generate millions of dollars of revenue for the Hudson River Park Trust, and create a new destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike. — 6sqft.com
Throughout its history, Kitchener has often imagined big plans for its urban development, but since the 1960s most of these grand plans for downtown Kitchener only ever found form in the Market Square Shopping Centre. Market Square is the most complete and concrete repository of Kitchener’s attempts at re-imagining itself in the postwar period. — Numéro Cinq
Nathan Storring, a writer, artist, designer, and assistant curator of the Urbanspace Gallery in Toronto, writes a thorough critique of the redevelopment, destruction, and rebirth of the downtown core in Kitchener, Ontario. The issues and concerns, raised in his essay in microcosm, can be applied... View full entry
Over the last few years, we’ve all finally admitted that hospitals are depressing, sometimes toxic places...[But] what if the solution is to redesign the building itself?...Since the late 1980’s, hotels—not hospitals—specifically designed for sick people have been popping up throughout Scandinavia. In [some countries,] a patient’s stay is free, covered by national insurance...Accommodations at patient hotels resemble most traditional 3-star hotel properties. — Quartz
More about health-related design on Archinect:Jason Danziger heals psychosis with designHow urban designers can better address mental health in their work, according to a new think tankPreventing disease and upholding public health through architectureConstruction kicks off for Steven... View full entry
For those former guests and architectural buffs who lamented the demolition of the iconic Hotel Okura Tokyo, they can soon preserve a piece of it in their homes.
Hotel officials plan to sell on the Internet some of the furniture and fixtures used in the guest rooms and restaurants during the main building's 53-year history, with the proceeds going to charity. [...]
The 11-story main building, which opened in May 1962 [...], was called “a masterpiece of Japan’s modernism architecture.”
— ajw.asahi.com
Previously:It's lights out at the old Okura: reconstruction of the iconic Tokyo hotel starts next weekAs the Okura says sayonara, Tokyo doesn't seem to care muchFarewell to the Old Okura 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
Rather than watching passively as non-local or private developers consume neighborhood public spaces, we can use Placemaking to enable citizens to create their own public spaces, to highlight the unique strengths of their neighborhoods, and to address its specific challenges. While gentrification can divide communities and build upon exclusivity, Placemaking is about inclusion and shared community ownership. It is about increasing “quality of life,” not removing public life. — pps.org
Related on Archinect:"Eco-Gentrification," or the social ramifications of "urban greening"Is NYC losing its "New Yorkiness"?Can an Indianapolis arts collective pull off a fairer form of gentrification? View full entry