The Hotel Okura, built in 1962 in time for the 1964 Olympics, is slated to be torn down in September to make way for a bigger, fancier Okura, in time for the 2020 Olympics. (The less-good, less-famous southern wing of the old Okura, added in 1973, will be allowed to stay.) [...]
There will never be this particular hush again in the middle of Tokyo. You will have to have been there to know what you will soon miss.
— nytimes.com
Previously: Farewell to the Old Okura View full entry
Say what you want about One World Trade Center (and much has already been said here on Archinect), but it sure is a heck of a construction project.From the laying of the symbolic cornerstone on July 4, 2004 to the recent opening of One World Observatory on May 29, 2015, it took the tower eleven... View full entry
Can the field’s top minds change the way we think about a doomed housing project in Naples or the most abhorred skyscraper in Paris? Allow them to try. — The New York Times
Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Annabelle Selldorf, and (everyone's favorite) Daniel Libeskind are among the architects who sum up their thoughts on some of the most controversial buildings around the world. What's your take on these projects?More:Zaha Hadid, Piers Gough, other leading cultural figures... View full entry
Vancouver architect Michael Green is proposing to alter the iconic Parisian skyline — by building the world's tallest wooden building...'Just as Gustave Eiffel shattered our conception of what was possible a century and a half ago, this project can push the envelope of wood innovation with France in the forefront,' said Green in a press release. — cbc.ca
More about the project here.More:France Mandates "Green Roofs" for all new buildingsA New Use for the Eiffel TowerVancouver is the latest city to announce 100% green energy goalsCanadian Wood Council pushes for more wood architecture excellence in the latest Wood Design Awards2014 was the tallest... View full entry
Julia_Ingalls presented tips from firms about What should be in your portfolio. One common theme was that applicants aren't expected to tailor their work to the specific types of projects the firm undertakes. As Lorcan O’Herlihy explained "Don’t target work that mimics ours—we look for... View full entry
Tokyo is known for its mix of modern and traditional architecture, but for long-term residents it is easy to feel like the concrete is winning out. [...]
The buildings done by acclaimed Tokyo-based architect Kengo Kuma are different. [...]
Kuma’s campaign to bring Japanese-ness back to architecture has had fascinating results.
— qz.com
The Frick Collection has yielded.
Facing a groundswell of opposition to a proposed renovation that would have eliminated a gated garden to make way for a six-story addition, the museum — long admired for its intimate scale — has decided to abandon those plans and start over from scratch. [...]
With the proposed renovation, designed by Davis Brody Bond, the Frick, on East 70th Street in Manhattan, had sought to increase its exhibition space [...].
— nytimes.com
Previously: Leading artists call to action against the Frick expansion plans View full entry
Despite seeing completion last October, following orders from leader Kim Jong Un, only half of the units of a major apartment complex built near Pyongyang’s Taedong River are currently occupied. [...]
“The elevator runs only during breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours, so for long spans of time it will be impossible to get to the 40th floor,” the source said. “There isn’t even a place for people to put their bicycles, which are the most fundamental tools for people’s livelihoods.”
— dailynk.com
“This isn’t your grandfather’s Wall Street.” — Bloomberg Business
According to a statement issued on Tuesday, the design of Two World Trade Center, which was formerly the province of Foster + Partners, is now being handled by Bjarke Ingels' firm BIG and will likely house employees of both 21st Century Fox and News Corp. The media organizations inked a... View full entry
Google already had building rights for a fifth site overlooking Charleston Park, just east of the current Googleplex [...]
A 2007 lease agreement allows Google to build up to 595,000 square feet of office and commercial space there. [...]
The new plans feature the same futuristic designs by European architects Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Heatherwick that were part of the larger plan debated by the city this year.
— mercurynews.com
For some background on the Googleplex expansion plans: Google loses to LinkedIn in Silicon Valley HQ pitchCritical response to Googleplex expansion focuses on suburban development, not architectureGoogle Unveils BIG + Heatherwick Studios Collaboration for New Campus Master Plan View full entry
Legends, a company that manages skyboxes and stadiums and now runs the World Trade Center observation deck, has turned the view into a high-tech spectacular. Before you get a glimpse of an actual place, you follow a winding path through cheesy synthetic bedrock; ride an elevator where 500 years of an ever-changing New York unfold as if seen from a rising balloon [...]
A view gives the illusion of omniscience.
— nymag.com
The observatory, located on floors 100, 101 and 102, opened to the public on May 29th. View full entry
It’s where the Girl Scouts set up their cookie-selling tables, and community groups host bake sales in the parking lot. In the store, Barragan inevitably runs into students, former students, parents of students, and fellow teachers; sometimes it takes forever to get a simple errand done because of all the neighborly small talk. — Talking Points Memo
Rachel Monroe examines how in rural America WalMart has become the new town square. View full entry
Most ideas usually end up in the trash but few ideas are inspired by the basket that holds them. A recent discovery has revealed that...432 Park Avenue, was actually inspired by a Josef Hoffmann-designed wastebasket released in 1905. The revelation came via a talk held last December at the Cornell Center for Real Estate and Finance where Harry Macklowe, the co-developer of the supertall, told the crowd that the repository was an “important touchstone” for the 1,396-foot-high design. — 6sqft
Recognized by Wright as the earliest 'Usonian' house, La Miniatura is also the first residence to utilize Wright's highly inventive textile block building system. — architectureforsale.com
After hitting the market in 2013, La Miniatura (aka The Millard House, 1923) was originally listed at approximately $4.5MM. The final sold price hasn't been made public, but the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is located in Pasadena's Prospect Historic District –... View full entry
UAE-based X-Architects has won a competition to design a new masterplan for Makkah, Saudi Arabia - the holiest city in the world for Muslims. [...]
“We proposed a complex network of pedestrian routes on different levels to enhance the movement during the “Nafrah” [...]
“The surrounding roads have either been bridged or tunneled so as to strengthen the pedestrian tissue. This will solve the current situation of the constant crash between people and vehicles.”
— constructionweekonline.com
All images via X-Architects' website. Learn more about the proposal here.In case you were looking for royal floors and helipads, you may get lucky over here: World's largest hotel under construction in Mecca — and it's worse than you thought. View full entry