Hundreds flocked to downtown Palm Springs Sunday for the grand opening of the Palm Springs Art Museum's Architecture and Design Center, an ode to the city's unique — and timeless — mid-century modern designs.

The center opened with "An Eloquent Modernist," an intimate depiction of the work of E. Stewart Williams, the acclaimed architect whose designs defined desert modern style in Palm Springs throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s. — desertsun.com

City Realty made the rendering above, which they say gives us an idea of what the city will look like in 2018 based on projections for buildings currently being planned or already in construction: "New York City skyline circa 2018 2,500 feet above Central Park. Image features upcoming supertall skyscrapers such as One Vanderbilt, 53W53, 432 Park Avenue, 225 West 57th, and 111 West 57th Street are completed." — gothamist.com

The National Library is pleased to share the concept designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron for the new home of the Library in Jerusalem. As set out in the brief for the new building, the design, which will evolve during subsequent design stages, communicates the ‘values of openness and accessibility to the general public of all classes, nationalities and denominations’. — National Library of Israel

After years of delays and soaring budgets, the Fulton Center transit hub opened its doors at 5 a.m. this morning. Envisioned after the September 11th attacks as a way to help revitalize downtown, the complex makes it easier to connect between nine subway lines: the A, C, J, Z, R, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Eventually, riders will also be able to connect to the E and 1 trains, as well as the PATH. — NY Magazine

To say the least, it's been a great year for Ateliers Jean Nouvel + PTW Architects' One Central Park in Sydney, Australia...After the Best Tall Building regional winners presented their projects one last time to the jury (chaired by architect Jeanne Gang), One Central Park was announced as the overall winning Best Tall Building Worldwide 2014 during the Awards Ceremony and Dinner in Crown Hall. — bustler.net

It is a cruel irony that a region so blessed with the treasures of early human civilizations is also among those most troubled by conflict. As the violence threatens to annihilate some of history's greatest monuments, we count the cost of our irreplaceable losses — edition.cnn.com

California’s state geologist has concluded that an active earthquake fault is underneath a massive proposed skyscraper project in Hollywood, setting the stage for a huge battle at City Hall over growth and seismic safety. — latimes.com

Fujimoto’s goal isn’t just to make spaces—the basic function of architecture—but to make people relate to spaces in new ways. Watching the couple move around the house, approaching everyday activities with the finesse the unusual design requires, suggests he is well on his way to achieving it. — online.wsj.com

Calling the cost of housing one of Los Angeles’ biggest challenges, Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday announced a goal for 100,000 new homes in the city by 2021.

In a speech to business leaders at UCLA, the mayor outlined a plan to increase funding for affordable housing, subsidize development around transit stations and cut the red tape that many developers say drives up the cost of building in the city. — LA Times

[...] a gallery dedicated to design and architecture will soon also be added the Centre.

Like the “Galerie de Photographies," which is housed in former technical facilities, the future design gallery will be located within the existing Piano + Rogers-designed building. “Eventually, there should be almost no offices in the building, and we'll keep only the technical facilities that are strictly indispensable," said Seban. — news.artnet.com

No-one was injured but an area around the 47-storey Leadenhall Building in the city has been cordoned off.

It fell from the fifth floor to the ground at the side of the building - another bolt also broke off but was contained within the skyscraper.

It is understood the bolts are about the size of an arm and the piece that fell was about the size of a hand. — bbc.com

The Board of Supervisors has approved a road map for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as it plans a $600-million makeover that would tear down and rebuild most of its Miracle Mile campus [...].

If there are no serious bumps in the road ahead, the plan would yield a streamlined, curving 410,000-square-foot new museum building designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor that would open in 2023, spanning Wilshire Boulevard with an enclosed bridge that doubles as gallery space. — latimes.com

It was supposed to represent a dynamic future vision for Tokyo, flaring up out of the city’s Meiji Jingu park in sinuous white arcs. But Zaha Hadid’s design for the 2020 Olympic stadium [...] now facing its fiercest public attack yet. [...]

In a lengthy open letter to the Japan Sports Council [...] Isozaki rails against the “distorted” process that has led to “a dull, slow form, like a turtle waiting for Japan to sink so that it can swim away”. — theguardian.com

One of my heroes for this kind of thinking is Denise Scott-Brown. Her application of historical, ethnographic and sociological thinking to urban design and architecture is still incredibly radical, but has been completely overwhelmed by Venturi’s obsession with signs and language. — Failed Architecture