Mr. Bridges, averse to the financial risks of the building industry and feeling his interests move elsewhere, left architecture for academia. His lasting mark as an architect and the work for which he is best known, even if anonymously, is the house he wakes up in every morning — NYT

Olympic stadiums are nothing new for Populous, the global practice known for designing some of the world's iconic sports venues. With the Sochi Winter Olympics a few days away, we'll give a little headstart with a glimpse into Fisht Olympic Stadium -- which Populous was selected to design in 2009 -- before it makes its debut at the Opening Ceremony. — bustler.net

"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

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

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

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

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"

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

Richard Meier is returning to his roots with two new developments in New Jersey, where he grew up. — The New York Times

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