Make It Right, the non-profit organization founded by actor Brad Pitt in 2007, recently revealed six new single-family housing designs for the Manheim Park neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri. The single-family homes will be built on vacant lots directly across the Bancroft School Apartments, an... View full entry
The United States is pleased to announce the nomination of a group of 10 buildings in seven states designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright for inclusion on the World Heritage List. The UNESCO World Heritage List recognizes the “outstanding universal value” of the most significant cultural and natural sites on the planet. — U.S. Department of State
The nomination of ten buildings by the influential architect represents the first World Heritage nomination by the U.S. of works of modernist architecture. Entitled "Key Works of Modern Architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright," the list includes:Unity Temple in Oak Park, IllinoisFrederick C. Robie... View full entry
City of Minneapolis planners on Friday rejected a proposal for an 80-story tower downtown and revealed problems they saw in the efforts of its developer.
The move quashed the prospects for a building that would have surpassed the IDS Center to become the tallest in Minnesota and injected new drama into an unusual public contest the city created to redevelop a parking lot on Nicollet Mall.
— startribune.com
But Steven M. Neuhaus, Orange County executive, seems determined to pursue the teardown plan. [...] He recently vetoed a proposal that would have allowed the county to sell the center to Mr. Kaufman.
County legislators meet on Feb. 5. [...]
But many people who spoke at a public hearing last month in Goshen endorsed Mr. Kaufman’s proposal. It would save the center, potentially save the county a fortune, bring in tourist dollars and even put the Rudolph building on the tax rolls.
— nytimes.com
Previously:Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County gem to be repurposed as "arts hub"Rethinking a Spurned LandmarkGwathmey Siegel's Kaufman wants to buy Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County Government CenterOrange County Votes to Keep Brutalist BuildingUnloved Building in Goshen, N.Y., Prompts... View full entry
Today, the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution authorized museum officials to explore opening its first-ever international exhibition gallery. [...] go-ahead to "develop terms for an agreement" with the London Legacy Development Corp. to create a new exhibition space in London at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, home to the 2012 Games and a new cultural center. In the Smithsonian’s 168-year existence, this site would be the first international venue to house a long-term exhibition. — smithsonianmag.com
The Museo Universidad de Navarra, a brand new gallery designed by the renowned Rafael Moneo, may lead to a stampede of art lovers every bit as important to Pamplona as the running of the bulls [...]
The architect is Rafael Moneo, a Pritzker prizewinner and native of Navarre province. [...]
If the architecture of the new gallery is not as eye-catching as Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim, the collection is more impressive [...].
— theguardian.com
For six months starting on May 1st, Milan is hosting the World Expo, which has been held every five years since 1851 as a showcase for human progress. [...]
Of the 53 countries constructing pavilions, China is building not one, but five. [...]
Like many pavilions in the Expo, the designs of the Chinese-sponsored buildings are nothing if not adventurous—even though president Xi Jinping has called for an end to “weird architecture” [...].
— qz.com
Related: End of weird architecture in China? View full entry
Nicholas Korody penned an essay on White Space: The Architecture of the Art Fair, "the so-called photographic-seamless" and "The aura of art works". His conclusion "Art exists now in a strange truce, in which an object is used as the establishing point for a market as much as the market is... View full entry
In the heart of Hollywood's Barnsdall Park, Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House will officially reopen on February 13, as recently announced by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell, and the Barnsdall Park Art Foundation. This isn't the first time the iconic house has been... View full entry
The Shanghai Tower is projected to be the one megatall tower to be completed this year, according to The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's 2014 Tall Building Data Research Report. Since construction began in 2008, the 632-meter structure recently began its final phase.Designed by a... View full entry
Why not ask Howard Hughes to abandon its current plan and do something really wonderful and revive the Guggenheim plan for Gehry’s gargantuan palace of titanium ribbons? The residential conversion of so many major office buildings is going, eventually, to create a need for new office buildings. Gehry’s plan could be enlarged gracefully to accommodate both offices and condominiums and rebalance the famous Lower Manhattan skyline... — 6sqft
Does Gehry still the chops to revive Lower Manhattan? One former New York Times architecture critic, Carter B. Horsley, proposes bringing Gehry's aborted idea for South Street Seaport back to life. The plan would replace SHoP Architect's recently scaled-back design for the waterfront site. View full entry
The restoration of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin will cost an estimated €101m [...]. This masterpiece by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, which opened in 1968, was closed in early January.
David Chipperfield Architects has been entrusted with the refurbishment project, having found international acclaim for its work on rebuilding the Neues Museum on Museum Island in Berlin. The British architect pledged to “keep as much Mies as possible” at a symposium in late November.
— theartnewspaper.com
Does it make sense for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup? German architect Albert Speer, whose office is in charge of the project, says yes -- and is doing all he can to ensure sustainability. In a SPIEGEL interview, he says how. — spiegel.de
Related: Desert sands, soccer, sustainability and "symbolic capital"... View full entry
Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801), Japan’s biggest developer, is building an office tower on Manhattan’s far west side at a cost of about $1.4 billion [...].
Construction has started on the skyscraper in New York’s Hudson Yards development zone in partnership with Related Cos., the area’s principal developer, and Canadian pension investor Oxford Properties. [...]
The project, known as 55 Hudson Yards, is at the north end of the site, at the southeast corner of 34th Street and 11th Avenue.
— bloomberg.com
More Hudson Yards coverage on Archinect View full entry
Mace has been appointed to a pre-construction deal to build the much delayed ‘Can of Ham’ project at 60-70 St Mary Axe, Construction News can reveal. [...]
The project was granted planning approval by the City of London in the summer of 2008 but immediately hit delays as the global financial crisis took hold [...].
The Foggo Associates-designed project will join a cluster of iconic towers in the centre of the City, including neighbouring 30 St Mary Axe, commonly known as the Gherkin.
— Construction News
Previously View full entry
