"All great public squares have a monument with a statue, right? ... Everyone in town can agree about that. But whenever we discuss which historical figure should go up on that column, it turns into a fight. We can’t come to a consensus. So we’ve decided to leave it empty. One day, this person will come. And when they do, we will have a place waiting for their statue. This will bring great pride to Anse-à-Pitres.” — Places Journal
On Places, artist and filmmaker Joseph Redwood-Martinez shares photographs and anecdotes from a research project investigating examples of incomplete architecture around the world: "buildings and structures that are activated or inhabited even though their construction is not complete." View full entry
Can a museum collect architecture?
The answer, say the curators of Hong Kong’s museum of visual culture, is yes.
Though it won’t open its doors until 2017, M+ has already staged a number of exhibitions across the city, from 2012’s multi-site “Yau Ma Tei” to last year’s “Inflation!,” a collection of inflatable sculptures displayed on the grounds of its future home, the West Kowloon Cultural District.
— blogs.wsj.com
Previously: Herzog & de Meuron / TFP Farrells Win M+ at West Kowloon Cultural District View full entry
Creating a cohesive connection between a shingle cottage and Richard Meier-designed contemporary house in Mount Kisco was the goal of the current owners, who have owned the property for 25 years — The Wall Street Journal
The controversial plans to demolish the American Folk Art Museum in service of MoMA's expansion rumbled along last night, at a panel discussion hosted jointly by the Architectural League, the Municipal Art Society, and the AIA's New York chapter.Catch-up on news surrounding MoMA's expansion... View full entry
A debate has raged over the future of Tempelhof Airport in the south of the city since its closure in 2008. Its open space is currently used for concerts and city gardening. [...]
Architect Jens Oberst, whose library was among two winning designs selected by Berlin's Senate for the site in December, told The Local that the referendum would not influence his plans.
He said: "We’re of the opinion that it is precisely our project which fits with a desire to have an open public space [...]"
— thelocal.de
Related: New Central Library of Berlin State by FAR frohn&rojas View full entry
The tallest residential block in Germany is to rise up next to Berlin's needle-like TV tower by 2017. Designed by the US architect Frank Gehry and paid for by US real estate firm Hines, the 150-metre (492ft) building on Alexanderplatz will have 39 floors, with about 300 apartments, restaurants, a hotel and a spa. [...]
Nonetheless, the city senate's building director, Regula Lüscher, welcomed the plans for "an extremely striking new landmark".
— theguardian.com
vado retro is moved to wonder "with the rash of notable building demolition that has and continues to occur, is there a checklist of what makes a building valuable enough not to demolish?...is it because buildings are more about image and visuals than spatial experience that we are willing to rid ourselves of award winning pieces of architecture/art?...maybe buildings don't really matter that much"
The latest edition of ShowCase: features Pocinho Rowing High Performance Center by Alvaro Andrade. Mohammad Hadi Ataei really liked it commenting "Great minimalist work". Additionally, - Mike "The Poet" Sonksen, @mikethepoetLA published Take a Walk: on L.A.'s Grand... View full entry
BIG, in collaboration with HKS Architects and Michael Diggiss Architects, revealed their design for the Honeycomb residential building in the beach and golf resort community of Albany in The Bahamas. Commissioned by Tavistock Group and New Valley LLC, the 175,000 ft² (approx. 16,000 m²)... View full entry
Less than five months before Brazil's World Cup kicks off, 6 out of 12 venues are still unfinished -- including a complex in the northern city of Manaus, where construction workers have died and pay for laborers is an issue. Fifa has warned Brazil's World Cup 2014 host city of Curitiba that it could be excluded unless work speeds up. — marketplace.org
Previously: Three killed after partial stadium collapse at 2014 World Cup venue View full entry
Richard Meier is returning to his roots with two new developments in New Jersey, where he grew up. — The New York Times
Today we released a teaser for the last installment of the Architecture and the Unspeakable video series. The full video is set to premiere in Chicago on April 8th as part of the MAS CONTEXT Spring talks for 2014. See this for more details. View full entry
When it comes to museums, Hiroshi Sugimoto doesn’t mince words.
“This is the worst space I ever encountered,” he told the Journal before opening a retrospective of his work at Seoul’s Leeum Samsung Museum of Art late last year. The Japanese artist was especially unhappy about a steep escalator leading down into the main gallery space of the OMA-designed building. “Why do that? It’s terrible,” he lamented. “I feel a kind of bad will from this architect.”
— blogs.wsj.com
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
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) announced today the public opening of the new Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) headquarters in Seoul.
AS+GG collaborated with engineering firms Thornton Tomasetti and Environmental Systems Design, and locally based firm Chang-Jo Architects on the project.
— bustler.net
Find more project details on Bustler. View full entry
Designing the new Island School in Hong Kong is the latest competition win for schmidt hammer lassen architects. Project client English Schools Foundation selected the Danish firm and Hong Kong-based Thomas Chow Architects as the winning team to build a new 28,000-sq.meter learning facility for the school's estimated 1,200 students. — bustler.net
Find more details on the project on Bustler. View full entry