It’s a reminder that decommunisation is a project which might actually be physically impossible to execute in full, which hopefully begs the question — if Soviet Ukraine can't be wished away, what should be conserved, and what should be rejected? [...]
The nationalist purging of any traces of socialism from the landscape is a fool’s errand at best, gross historical revisionism at worst.
— calvertjournal.com
Related on Archinect:Owen Hatherley on the mass housing history of Moscow’s suburbsMoscow skaters reclaiming hidden spaces on top of Soviet-era buildingsParadise lost? The enduring legacy of a Soviet-era utopian workers’ district View full entry
Julia Ingalls highlighted the work of Design Build Research (DBR), based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Currently a non-profit institute led by architect Michael Green and creative entrepreneur Scott Hawthorn, one of the earliest projects was building a theater when TED headquarters’ moved... View full entry
November 5th marks the celebration of Guy Fawkes day in the U.K., in which bonfires are lit to celebrate the capture of the titular royal traitor and the subsequent preservation of the life of King James I in 1605. Of course, lighting things on fire to commemorate dates isn't limited to the... View full entry
The design consumes less coveted park space than expected, while introducing a contemporary aesthetic that evokes Frank Gehry’s museum in Bilbao, Spain, in its undulating exterior and Turkey’s underground city of Cappadocia in its cavelike interior. [...]
Ms. Gang said she was looking to conjure spaces that have been created by forces of nature, such as “geological canyons, glacial forms,” and to foster a sense of connectivity and discovery.
— nytimes.com
Studio Gang's plans for the Gilder Center addition were approved by the Museum's board this past Wednesday, but have yet to undergo the public approval process. If everything continues on-schedule, the addition will open by 2020.According to a press release issued by the Museum: The conceptual... View full entry
The 2015 World Architecture Festival is back at the Moshe Safdie-designed Marina Bay Sands in Singapore once again. During the two-day event, which started today and concludes on November 6, attendees get to witness the competition unfold before their eyes as they watch architecture teams from... View full entry
“Pedagogy and Place: Celebrating 100 Years of Architecture Education at Yale”... will present YSoA alumni work and archival documents tracing the development of architecture education at Yale and the buildings that have housed the architecture program. [...]
An auxiliary installation ... depicts more than 30 architecture schools from around the world to further illuminate the evolution of architecture education and the relationship between pedagogy and place.
— news.yale.edu
The free and public exhibition “Pedagogy and Place” opens December 3 and is on display through May 7, 2016, located in Yale's Rudolph Hall gallery at 180 York St.More news from the Yale School of Architecture:Get Lectured: Yale, Fall '15Deborah Berke named Dean of Yale School of Architecture... View full entry
Located in Kansas City, architecture firm Populous did the design for Citi Field where the Mets play and the renovation design for Kauffman Stadium for the Royals. For them, this World Series provided a platform for what the firm do for both ground-up design and ballparks that have preexisted. [...]
Populous will assuredly continue to be the main player in sports facility design. Having both Citi Field and Kauffman Stadium hosting games helped showcase why.
— forbes.com
French architects [SCAU] are planning to build a 'water wheel hotel' on the banks of the Seine, which resembles the London Eye but with 'room capsules' that would rotate constantly. ...[However,] the wheel hotel is not intended to be a permanent structure. 'It is made of wood and it will only take four days to assemble or dismantle it, so it could be transported by barge and re-erected elsewhere on the river' [said Maxime Barbier of SCAU] — The Telegraph
More on Archinect:Movie-themed resort in Macau to show off "figure-8" ferris wheelTallest observation wheel in the Western Hemisphere expected to break ground in Staten Island soonUNStudio Designs Giant Observation Wheel ‘Nippon Moon’ for JapanArchitectural history in tiny Tokyo... View full entry
Connal...is one of the most active members of China’s approximately 200-strong urbex community. Worldwide, the pursuit – which some describe as “recreational trespass” – is estimated to have about 20,000 adherents, the majority in Europe and the United States.
Connal’s urbexing has taken him into derelict science museums, “haunted” pre-Revolution hotels, ghostly amusement parks, and a half-finished shopping centre that he calls the Great Mall of China.
— The Guardian
For more on abandoned, decaying sites worldwide, check out Archinect's coverage: Abandoned schools = new development opportunitiesThe Mysterious, Abandoned Silos of Washington, DCChinese Fun: Photographer Stefano Cerio captures the eerie side of empty amusement parks View full entry
The Chicago City Council voted on Wednesday to approve the zoning proposal for the 300,000-square-foot Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which will be located near Soldier Field. — NBC News
According to a press release issued by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art President Don Bacigalupi said that “[The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art] will also deliver nearly 200,000 square feet of new green space and accessible parkland along the lakefront for all... View full entry
"Steelhenge," BUREAU A's design for the inaugural BIG biennale for independent art spaces, isn't just 50 blue shipping containers arrayed to mimic Stonehenge's layout in the center of Geneva: it was also the site of a four-day party in June to celebrate the open-spirited biennale, which... View full entry
Choosing building materials is a delicate balance of factors – looks, quality, price, environmental impact and sustainability all contribute to the success and overall value of the product. When data about building materials are illegible or biased, the construction process can become convoluted... View full entry
Amelia Taylor-Hochberg penned an essay on The humanity of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, wherein she argues "the Biennial is more about architects than it is about architecture." Meanwhile Julia Ingalls reviewed the book Conversations with Architects: In the Age of Celebrity, by former... View full entry
good architecture can survive budgetary rigors — at Hunters Point South, for instance, where a pair of hulking towers designed by SHoP and Ismael Levya Architects expresses de Blasio’s urgency even though it’s a holdover from the era of the allegedly Nero-like Michael Bloomberg. [...]
SHoP’s new towers are not world-beating architecture, but they’re more than good enough to plug into an evolving network of ferries, parks, schools, shops, all of which foster more investment.
— nymag.com
More on affordable housing in New York:New York's "poor doors" are no moreNYC's public-housing woesThe Chinese government is building affordable housing in BrooklynArchitecture vs. Housing: The Case of Sugar Hill View full entry
Vicino's company built Vivos Indiana, an "impervious underground complex" built in a Cold-War-era nuclear shelter and kitted out with luxury amenities. The idea is that you sign up in advance and plunk down $35,000 per person ($25,000 for kids) to secure one of the 80 spots available within the shelter...you can survive for a year amidst leather couches, 600-thread-count sheets and gourmet chow. — Core77
"Once through security, the aesthetic makes a drastic shift," notes the narrator of the Travel Channel's video profile of the Vivos Group's underground luxury shelter. Vivo, a company which specializes in creating luxurious accommodations for that rough, between-civilizations feeling, also has a... View full entry