One can now find the place where many South Londoners took refuge during World War II. The tunnels at Clapham, now open to the public for the first time, once catered for over 8,000 people.
After lying dormant for 70 years, the tunnels and beds left untouched have been reopened.
— Architect's Newspaper
Related:• NBBJ proposes 3 moving walkways to replace London's Circle Line• Cut away confusion from your NYC commute with these beautiful subway maps• How Engineers Are Building a New Railroad Under New York City View full entry
Hey London, how do you feel about a major span across the Thames being corporately sponsored? Because that's what's going to happen with the Garden Bridge.
It's just been announced that Sky, the media behemoth owned by Rupert Murdoch, has given an undisclosed amount to the Garden Bridge Trust. But this is no altruistic gesture: one of the gardens on the bridge "will be named by Sky".
— Londonist
As the article notes, there are a slew of issues – besides aesthetic ones – plaguing the newest Thames crossing. First, Sky is set to sponsor the bridge. Second, attendance projections suggest that queues will be necessary and South Bank will get even more crowded (so much for expediting... View full entry
The pervading sentiment in the architectural community is that Adjaye, a Ghanaian British architect, is the odds-on favorite...
What no one has suggested publicly (though its oft-mentioned in social settings) is that Adjaye will be chosen because he is black. The rationalization is President Obama will “naturally" tap him for the job...
Adjaye, who was born in Tanzania to Ghanian parents, and holds British citizenship, has a very different experience than his African American peers...
— ArtNet
"The black British experience is a far cry from the African American experience, and it's undermining and lazy to presuppose that the first black President will favor an architect simply because of the color of his skin."Related:Archinect's front runners for the 2016 Pritzker PrizeThese are the... View full entry
There are now officially 100 supertall (300-plus-meter) skyscrapers in the world following the completion of 432 Park Avenue in New York City. The construction of supertall buildings has increased at an astounding rate in recent years, an indicator of the tremendous growth within the global tall building industry. Whereas the first 50 supertalls took 80 years to complete – between 1930 and 2010 – the total number of supertalls has doubled from 50 to 100 in just five years. — ctbuh.org
"With supertall skyscrapers becoming increasingly common, many look to the megatall (600-plus-meter) distinction as the new frontier for the world’s tallest buildings." Buckle up, everyone.Related stories in the Archinect news:Sorry, Willis Tower, but Shanghai Tower just kicked you out of the... View full entry
After 21 years away, the NFL is coming back to Los Angeles. The winner after months of waiting and a busy day of voting and discussion among the NFL team owners in Houston was St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke [...]. The exciting twist is that the San Diego Chargers have the option to join the Rams in their huge, shiny stadium—which is poised to be the NFL's biggest and most expensive venue, with a price tag well over $2 billion. (It'd be the priciest sports venue in the nation's history, too.) — la.curbed.com
Previously in the Archinect news: Organic kale for posh LA football fans: Newly unveiled stadium design sports a farmers' market and VVIP parkingQuest for LA football stadium enters the next round: Carson City Council approves its NFL stadium proposalAEG scraps plans to bring an NFL football... View full entry
President Obama gave his final State of the Union speech last night, which prompted the AIA to issue a statement outlining policies it feels President Obama and Republicans in Congress should enact this year in order to bolster the health of the architectural profession. These include: •... View full entry
...the Paddington Place scheme – a huge development around the eponymous London station intended to include a 72-storey tower designed by Renzo Piano... [has] drawn the ire of Sir Terry Farrell, the famous architect and local resident who was also, slightly awkwardly, previously in charge of the developers’ masterplan for the area.
Farrell, known for designing the MI6 building on the Thames and Charing Cross station, made his views known in a dense, 1,500-word objection...
— the Guardian
Brutalism lost the good fight in 2015. [...]
Demolition on another building by Johansen began late last year as well: Stage Theater, once known as the Mummers Theater, in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoman‘s Steve Lackmeyer called the 1970 project the number-one modernist building in the city that should have been spared. [....] Preservationists had hoped to turn it into a children’s museum. Models of the building show what a delightful museum it might have made [...].
— citylab.com
Brutalike stories in the Archinect news:Orange County legislators fail to save Paul Rudolph's Government CenterArt college professor suggests makeover for brutalist Boston City HallBrutalism: the great architectural polarizerNew movement urges to call Brutalism 'Heroic' instead View full entry
L.A. has always been a place of experimentation, but now it appears to be in an architectural arms race, a competition to build the tallest, shiniest, and weirdest buildings. Adding to some Angelenos’ trepidation is how many of the projects popping up around the city are museums—built to last for 40 years or more, which is an eternity in a city known for knocking things down. — LA Magazine
Related:Is Zumthor's inkblot the right size for LACMA's art?Urban blight: a review of the Petersen Automotive MuseumThe Broad Museum opens its doors for a look beyond the veilTurn the 2 into housing (or a park or a solar array): Christopher Hawthorne's pitch for one of LA's most awkward freeways View full entry
The renovation has pared Kahn's spaces down to their essence, restoring a Zenlike calm, and revealing the muscular concrete structure that made the design such a revelation in the early 1960s, when International Style glass towers were all the rage. As Kahn, who was known for his mystical pronouncements, might say, Richards has become the building it always wanted to be. — philly.com
The renovation was led by Penn's university architect, David Hollenberg, who oversaw a host of architects working on the complex's four towers, including: EYP, Urban Engineers, Keast & Hood, Bruce Brooks & Assoc., and Atkin Olshin Schade. Hollenberg also suggested Penn nominate the... View full entry
It is fervently hoped that when the 45th president takes the oath of office outside the Capitol on 20 January 2017, a $60m project to restore the building’s august cast-iron dome will have been completed. [...]
“There’s never been a major renovation of the dome. It’s important work and was long overdue. It apparently has a thousand cracks and pieces have been falling off for years but, once this work is done, it should be good for another 150 years.
— theguardian.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:U.S. Capitol building to receive much-needed faceliftTurns out the Washington Monument is shorter than we thoughtHistory breaks down the Lincoln Memorial’s bizarre rejected designs View full entry
According to celebrity gossip juggernaut TMZ, the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles is soon to go up for sale and the owner — Playboy Enterprises and not Hugh Hefner — hopes for a brazenly quixotic and international publicity assuring sale price “somewhere north of $200 million.”
[...] should someone sign on the dotted line they will be required to accept a lifetime tenancy by Mister Hefner, now 89 years old and married since 2012 to 29-year-old former Playmate of the Month Crystal Harris.
— variety.com
Better call the carpet cleaner first.Related stories in the Archinect news:Un-haunting a house: the art of selling a building with a grisly pastLos Angeles to declare homelessness in the city an 'emergency' and pledge $100 millionLow-income housing in Los Angeles: A look at the past, present and... 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
A group of six amateur artists living in the heart of Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp, host to nearly 80,000 Syrians, has worked together to recreate famous landmarks, which once stood proudly in the western Asian country, in dedication to its long and rich history. [...]
“There are lots of kids living here who have never seen Syria or who have no memory of it. They know more about Jordan than about their own country.”
— Newsweek
Related stories in the Archinect news:The new Monument Men: with 3D cameras and GPS data against cultural annihilation in Syria and beyond3D printing will recreate destroyed Palmyra archISIS militants have reportedly blown up Palmyra's Arch of Triumph View full entry
Thanks to the work of Lin Wan and pals at Northwestern University...these guys have worked out how to make Martian concrete using materials that are widely available on Mars. And, crucially, this concrete can be formed without using water, which will be a precious resource on the red planet. — Technology Review
For more of Archinect's coverage of extra-terrestrial architectural news, check out:• NASA launches competition for structures built in situ using Martian resources• The Mars Ice House envisions the day Earthlings can live with ease atop the Martian surface• ESA proposes a village on the moon View full entry