Moscow wants to make Russia the "center of the sporting world," but the price tag will be steep. Four years before the 2018 World Cup, costs are exploding in the next host country, with the two most important stadiums each costing more than a billion euros. — spiegel.de
The practice of using corporate largess to finance restoration projects for public antiquities was once fairly rare here. But with the nation struggling with a stagnant economy and crushing public debt — Rome is flirting off and on with bankruptcy — politicians are now looking to private companies and international sources to help preserve Italy’s cultural heritage. — nytimes.com
The challenge requires sophisticated understanding of the resources — human, physical, digital, spatial, and civic — that libraries offer to their users. In the conversation below, Shannon Mattern, a scholar who works on libraries, archives, and media infrastructures, and Nate Hill, Deputy Director of the Chattanooga Public Library, talk about what these resources are, how they are evolving, and what design can contribute to how they are deployed. — urbanomnibus.net
As money has piled up in recent decades, Chinese are turning to culture and the country is in a museum-building boom. Last year one museum was built every day on average, though the rush has since “slowed” to about one every three days, says Cathy Giangrande, co-author with Miriam Clifford and Antony White of the “Chinese Museums Association Guide,” an updated version of their 2009 book “China: Museums.” — NY Times
[...] the Crystal Bridges acquisition reflects an increasingly popular attitude toward architecturally significant homes among private collectors. Such buyers now see that historic homes can be collected, preserved, and appreciated much like fine art. — blouinartinfo.com
Not long enough to be comfortably horizontal, the building was also too tall for its shallow depth and too wide to be reasonably vertical. Both horizontal (modern) and vertical (historic) orientations were on display in the surrounding Seton Hill neighborhood. This bastard was of neither parent. — Baltimore Business Journal
Architect and critic Klaus Philipsen takes the incursion of a faux historicist 7-11 into the westside of Baltimore's downtown to task. View full entry
The Urban Green Council, which calls these glass towers “high cholesterol buildings,” published a report earlier this month, which asserts that high energy use associated with the use of clear glass degrades air quality and exacerbates global warming... the Council is urging for the reduction of transparent glass, replaced with heavily insulated solid walls or highly advanced glass facades that would be more expensive. — 6sqft.com
"I have absolutely no doubt that Kaiser Permanente's new hospital in Oakland is a big step up from its predecessor in terms of the facilities offered to patients and their loved ones.
But in terms of how it looks and feels outside - even by the dismal standard of recent American hospital design - the stocky compound that opened last week is enough to make you sick."
— San Francisco Chronicle
Designed by a renowned team of Parisian Ateliers Jean Nouvel in collaboration with Australian firm PTW Architects, One Central Park in downtown Sydney has received some high recognition in just the past few weeks alone. — bustler.net
The project was recently named the Best Tall Building for the Asia + Australia region in CTBUH's 2014 Best Tall Buildings, shortlisted in the World Architecture Festival Awards, and received a Commendation in the NSW Architecture Awards 2014.More info on Bustler. View full entry
“I started to cry a bit when I saw the finished result for the first time this morning,” said architect Annabelle Selldorf at the June 27 press preview of the newly expanded Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. [...] Visitors might have similarly emotional reactions to the results, including Pritzker-winner Tadao Ando’s multipurpose visitor center, which prioritizes circulation and the views of lush hills behind the Clark [...]. — blouinartinfo.com
Previously: Tadao Ando's New Clark Art Museum is Berkshires, with Bilbao Ambitions View full entry
It would be better to reconsider this wholesale demolition. Especially as the proposed replacement, designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, leaves much to be desired. [...] Or maybe it’s the quintessential Angeleno building? After all, replacing an aging faithful spouse with a younger, more stylish trophy wife is an established Hollywood custom. — Zócalo Public Square
City boosters in this Nordic capital dream of a Guggenheim museum of Finnish wood rising near the Baltic Sea and one day drawing millions of tourists and cruise passengers. But the huge costs of the proposed development are stirring a backlash here against an institution that is ordinarily accustomed to eager suitors. — nytimes.com
Previously: Helsinki city council reserves plot for Guggenheim View full entry
Israeli military lawyers argue that if residents are warned, and do not evacuate, then they can be considered legitimate collateral damage. Under this interpretation of the law, the civilian victims become human shields. This is a gross misuse of international law. — AlJazeera
Israeli architect Eyal Weizman who teaches at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he runs the Forensic Architecture project pens an account of misinformation IDF uses on so called "warnings" and fabricating the "human shield" factor further criminalizing Hamas. The article illustrates how the... View full entry
Several thousand Palestinians, defying the urging of Hamas to remain in their homes, fled areas in northern Gaza early Sunday after Israel warned them through fliers and phone calls of major attacks to come. — New York Times
Thousands of Palestinians, heeding the warning pamphlets dropped by Israeli jets, are fleeing from Northern Gaza. Many are crowding inside United Nations-run schools. As the death toll rises – entirely on the Palestinian side – a potential cease-fire agreement developed by Egypt will be... View full entry
Since former Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the far west side is the city’s new Gold Coast and Manhattan’s last frontier, a necklace of ravishing projects have been announced along the Hudson River waterfront. The latest reveal is for a new 12-story, 88-unit condominium coming from Herzog & de Meuron Architects. The Hudson Square site at 156 Leroy Street will replace a handful of low-slung buildings that include two auto-body shops, a gentleman’s club and the former Lunchbox Diner. — 6sqft