Vornado's super luxury tower at 220 Central Park South isn't even out of the ground yet, but billionaire buyers seemingly can't wait to stash their stacks of cash in the 950-foot-tall tower. The Real Deal hears rumblings that a Qatari investor is eyeing a monstrous spread that would cost around $250 million, making it easily the most expensive home in New York City. It would completely obliterate the current record, the $100 million sale at One57. — ny.curbed.com
Robert A.M. Stern's NYC condo towers have a habit of attracting record bids (previously: NYC’s Most Expensive Condo to Be Listed at $130 Million). View full entry
“Money is not an issue here” is the motto that leaps out at you in both the Prada and Vuitton Foundation museums, although in Paris it is thrown into high relief on the building’s facade by the almost vulgar silver logo of Louis Vuitton—the star company in the LVMH group. — The Art Newspaper
Amelia Taylor-Hochberg presented Curated thoughts from an earlier (Archinect Sessions Episode #24 and #25) conversation with Kevin Roche, "a hero of the long-game". snooker-doodle-dandy noted "I have always liked Kevin and his work. He was one of the people whom drove me to the... View full entry
According to legend, the Statue of Liberty came to sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi as a vision: sailing into New York Harbor in 1870, the French artist suddenly imaged the persona of liberty welcoming him. He sketched out his idea and immediately began pitching it...
It was 130 years ago today, on June 17, 1885, that the ship and its precious cargo reached New York—and another year before reassembly was complete and the finished product could be unveiled.
— time.com
Berkeley city officials have shut down access to public records regarding the construction of the apartment complex, which was completed in January 2007. Normally, they would be viewable upon request, but zoning office staff cited a pending police investigation and a request by the Berkeley city manager that the records not be made immediately available. — LA Times
The fifth-floor balcony collapsed early morning Tuesday, in the midst of a birthday celebration for one of the victims. At the time of collapse, there were reportedly thirteen people on the balcony; the seven who survived the fall now face life-threatening injuries. Of the six dead, five were... View full entry
We spoke to Richard Armstrong, the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, on the eve of the exhibition Guggenheim Helsinki Now: Six Finalist Designs Unveiled at the Kunsthalle Helsinki [...]
So the Guggenheim Helsinki will really happen?
Come June we will say which architect seems best for the job; then there has to be a vote in city council again [...]. So there are still a few legislative hurdles ahead, but I would predict yes. It’s irresistible.
— The Art Newspaper
Related:Get a glimpse of the Guggenheim Helsinki Stage Two finalist proposalsWhat do you think of the Guggenheim Helsinki Stage One entries?The Next Helsinki counter-competition launches in response to Guggenheim Helsinki controversyDid you submit one of the record-shattering 1,715 entries to the... View full entry
The father of modern architecture Le Corbusier and the most influential architects of the 20th century Louis Kahn will not find place in the latest heritage conservation list of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
Ahmedabad happens to be the only place in the world where Le Corbusier had designed four different buildings. Louis Kahn's IIM-A building too does not figure in the list of heritage buildings.
— Times of India
"The list, which consists of 2,247 buildings and havelis in the walled city and 382 buildings outside the walled city area, will be notified in a day or two. Inclusion in the list will mean that the new conservation building bye laws would now be applicable." View full entry
He has a vision of a future where his company makes a third of the world's buildings – all modular, all steel, and all green.
“The biggest problem we face in the world right now isn't terrorism or world war. It's climate change,” he says.
— bbc.co.uk
A fascinating profile of Zhang Yue, the man behind Mini Sky City, a 57-story tower built in 19 days. Yue's company, the Broad Sustainable Group, was able to construct at such speeds by assembling prefab parts at the rate of 3-storeys a day. Now, Yue's set his sights on on building the full-size... View full entry
The Society of Architectural Historians’ prestigious H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship will be offered for 2015 and will allow a recent graduate or emerging scholar to study by travel for one year. The fellowship is not for the purpose of doing research for an advanced academic degree... View full entry
This relatively low-tech method is among a battery of tests that materials scientists are using to determine why several anchor rods securing the newest portion of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the region’s busiest, failed their earthquake inspections. The first alarms sounded in 2013, when seismic tests found 32 faulty rods. They’d been sitting in a large pool of water, corroding. — wired.com
Previously:Bolts along Bay Bridge bike path failAfter $6.4 Billion, San Francisco Bridge Remains a MessTime-Lapse of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Construction View full entry
the System-Built developer may indeed have constructed this home without Wright’s knowledge — Urban Milwaukee
Alas, some thing never change. View full entry
As controversy carries on over the notorious Garden Bridge by Heatherwick Studio proposed for London's South Bank, some opposers of the project are expressing their discontent with good ol' British satire in the soon-to-be-launched "Folly for London" competition. If you have a cheeky sense of humor, you'll have fun in this one. — bustler.net
Previously on ArchinectUPDATE, June 15, 2015: Will Jennings, artist and initiator of the "Folly for London" competition, sent us this statement to further explain the cause until the design ideas contest officially opens for entries.Details of the competition will be announced in due course and we... View full entry
Construction is slated to start this month on what-will-be the world's first high-rise residential tower built according to Passive House (PH) standards, considered the most rigorous criteria for reducing a building's greenhouse gas emissions. Passive houses, such as the building on the right in... View full entry
The design is relatively straightforward and free of OMA’s usual quirky structural tricks, once you get past the sliding entrance portals. Plywood-lined steps...lead you to an educational area, where visitors can explore the Garage digital archive, and back down the terraced levels of a bookshop. Up on the main gallery floor, there’s a big open space, currently filled with ping-pong antics...When the building is finally completed in [Sept.], a big red staircase will lead up to an open roof-deck. — The Guardian
The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art opened this week in Moscow. Described by Rem Koolhaas as "not restoring the building, but preserving its decay," the OMA-helmed intervention comprised sheathing a Soviet-era restaurant in a polycarbonate skin. Funded by Dasha Zhukova, the museum is... 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