Senior editor Orhan Ayyüce published the first in a series of mini-interviews for a new feature Touching Base: In which he profiled Volkan Alkanoglu, founding principal of Volkan Alkanoglu | DESIGN LLC. It was a reminder for Donna Sink of how small the world is, as her "husband's company... View full entry
James Biber can see Russia from his roof. Mr. Biber, the architect of the USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015, the world’s fair that is racing to meet its opening date on Friday, also has a good view of Kuwait next door and Iran across the street.
“It’s really a kind of identity parade,” Mr. Biber, 62, said about the jumble. [...] “It’s every nation attempting to express itself in a building. It is the very best and very worst of design you’re going to see in its concentrated form.”
— nytimes.com
Previously:Thinc Design's USA Pavilion exhibition presents America's role in the future of food for Milan Expo 2015A preview of Biber Architects’ USA Pavilion design for Milan Expo 201 View full entry
After public comments were provided, the committee discussed the concepts, the input they had received, and deliberated on the ranking. The final ranking of the Design Concepts by the Selection Committee is as follows:
The Pier Park by Rogers Partners Architects+Urban Designers, ASD, Ken Smith
Destination St. Pete Pier by St. Pete Design Group
ALMA by Alfonso Architects, inc.
City staff will now present these rankings to City Council for approval at a meeting in the near future.
— newstpetepier.com
"We established a pier process that citizens on every side of this issue agreed would result in a fair and objective decision," said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. "I am proud that we have stayed true to that process and that it has been transparent and open to the public throughout. I thank... View full entry
Norman Foster may lose out on yet another major project in Manhattan. The Journal writes that if News Corporation and 21st Century Fox decide to move into 2 World Trade Center, as previously reported, developer Larry Silverstein may drop Foster’s design in favor of a new one by none other than starchitect of the moment, Bjarke Ingels of BIG. — 6sqft.com
Listen to Archinect's interview with Bjarke in ep #14, "His bjark is BIGger than his bjite". View full entry
Some of the spaces are as Mr. Koolhaas found them; others have been reconfigured but look as though they haven’t been touched. The three new buildings are made of glass, white concrete and an aluminum — NYT
Carol Vogel writes about the Prada Foundation’s new arts complex in Milan, designed by OMA. View full entry
The powerful temblor measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale on Saturday practically levelled the nation's tangible cultural history, robbing it of its architectural jewels, including the landmark Dharhara Tower, in an eerie reminder of the 1934 quake that claimed over 10,000 lives.
The 19th century nine-storey minaret, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which once offered a panoramic view of the Kathmandu Valley, turned into graveyards for over 200 people.
— ibnlive.in.com
Follow #NepalEarthquake on Twitter for up-to-the minute updates View full entry
There's another project coming to Manhattan that's even thinner: 303–305 E. 44th Street, designed by Eran Chen of ODA Architecture.
At 47 feet wide, this one's the narrowest of the bunch. Developed by Triangle Assets, the tower will rise about 600 feet high, creating 115,000 square feet of residential space. [...]
The design for 305 E. 44th is predicated on a stack of volumes; nested between them are the project's signature amenities, private gardens.
— citylab.com
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
This project [titled 'Projection'], announced last October, is probably the first time in a long time that the old inn (aka the Sunset Pacific) has gotten so much attention. The Bates—whose nickname is as much a callback to 'Psycho' as it is to the motel's location near the intersection of Bates and Sunset—has been vacant for decades, except for the squatters and the occasional, totally fun-looking, likely illegal party — la.curbed.com
Artist Vincent Lamouroux went all out in covering Silver Lake's Bates Motel in stark white limewash for his piece titled, Projection, which officially opens on April 26. As of now, the derelict landmark will eventually be razed to make room for three mixed-users. View full entry
Wilshire Boulevard Temple, famous for its ornate 1929 synagogue, is trying to create another Los Angeles landmark, negotiating with the Pritzker Prize-winning Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas to design a building next door for special events. It would be open for use by the public as well as by congregants.
“Architecture is a form of prayer,” said Rabbi Steven Z. Leder of the Reform congregation, which is in Koreatown.
— nytimes.com
May 1st will mark a new era for the Whitney when its brand new home along the High Line swings its doors open to the public for the first time. A project that has been decades in the making, the $422 million structure designed by Renzo Piano is a game changer for a museum that had long outgrown its Upper East Side space. — 6sqft.com
Last August, Miami voters gave a developer permission to lease land on the city's sparkling downtown waterfront to build a 1,000-foot, hairpin-shaped tourist tower [...]. There was one key promise: No public money would be spent on the $430 million project.
Now, the city and county are being sued by Raquel Regalado [...] Why? Because developer Jeffrey Berkowitz is seeking $9 million from an existing county economic development fund to pay for infrastructure improvements [...].
— miamiherald.com
The Carson City Council unanimously approved a privately financed stadium for the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders on Tuesday night, barely two months after the public announcement of the $1.7-billion project.
"There are two things we need in California: rain … and football," Carson Mayor Albert Robles said after the 3-0 vote. "And football is coming to Carson!"
— latimes.com
Previously: AEG scraps plans to bring an NFL football stadium to downtown LAIs LA Finally Going to Get a Football Stadium? View full entry
The Society of Architectural Historians announced the winners of the 2015 Publication Awards and the 2015 SAH Award for Film and Video at its 68th Annual International Conference Awards Ceremony in Chicago, Ill., on April 16. The Society also named four individuals as SAH Fellows for their... View full entry
Campaigners opposed to the planned Garden Bridge over the River Thames in London have won the right to challenge a council's approval for it.
The judicial review of Lambeth Council's decision to give planning permission for the £175m bridge will be heard in June.
Questions were raised about bridge's funding and its impact on views across the river of St Paul's Cathedral.
— bbc.com
Previously: Let the fighting begin: London Garden Bridge faces legal challenge View full entry