Architecture firm Populous is now playing for both sides in the contest to bring pro football back to Southern California.
The firm, already the architect of record for the 75,000-seat NFL stadium planned for east Los Angeles County, has been hired to do work on a rival proposal that sports and entertainment firm AEG wants to build on downtown Los Angeles' convention center campus, AEG said Wednesday.
— mercurynews.com
Talking to Lavasa’s developers, one hears a lot about “sustainability” and “bio-mimicry.” But as I walked around, I was struck by how unnatural the place felt—and not just because it’s still empty. Nothing about Lavasa’s architecture or design evokes India. Even that Italianate name, Lavasa, is artificial—a meaningless word produced by the U.S. branding firm Landor. — The Atlantic
Lavasa is one of India's first planned hill cities. Developed along New Urbanist principles it is designed to be a hi-tech, modern and "sustainable community. However, while it's homes have been selling it has also been criticized for in reality being nothing more than a gated... View full entry
Kibbutzim are a hybrid beast, he says: they are rural in location, but urban in function. Kibbutzim were built as whole units in and of themselves, self-sufficient in everything from the food supply to education, culture, work and all other services. — Haaretz
Originally designed as collective farming + residential communities, kibbutzim have come under growing pressure as a result of the suburbanization of their surroundings.These new neighborhoods consist largely of single-family houses with a parking space and garden, which stand in stark contrast... View full entry
Bryan explores the differences between the entries by MASS Design Group and Formlessfinder "The good news is that underpinning these two manifestations of architectural ambition is a singular hopefulness. The differences arise when these teams attempt to connect their own aspirations for an architecture capable of making an impact with more specific thoughts about where that impact is most likely to happen, why it needs to happen, and how it might be best accomplished."
Bryan Boyer catches up with Formlessfinder, winner of the Peoples' Choice Award, to talk about the how and the why of innovative architecture. He writes "Archinect is excited to begin this experiment in extending the contribution of the PS1 YAP competition: more ideas, more discourse, more... View full entry
A master plan by Chicago-based architecture firm Goettsch Partners has been selected as the winning scheme in the design competition for a prominent site in the new Pazhou district in Guangzhou, China. Three urban parcels form the triangular site, which is planned for seven buildings totaling 428,000 square meters. Set along the Pearl River Delta, the Pazhou district anchors the city’s expansion to the east. — bustler.net
"Spying" by Chinese architects would not have been conspicuous in Hallstatt, where there are up to 800,000 visitors each day who "photograph everything and everyone," Scheutz told Austrian news agency APA. Representatives from the Alpine village's historic church are also concerned. Copying a house of God for use as a tourist attraction is problematic, Catholic priest Richard Czurylo told daily Die Presse, adding that at the very least, the new church must be declared a place of prayer. — Der Spiegel
An idyllic Austrian village has apparently impressed Chinese architects so much that they have decided to copy it in their own country. But the townspeople living in the UNESCO World Heritage site are unhappy about the plans. This isn't the first time this sort of copying has occurred. China... View full entry
Santa Monica’s $46.1 Mil Park Moves Forward.
A crowd of about 200 Santa Monicans were on hand at the June 14 Santa Monica City Council’s consideration of the planned public parks to be placed in front of city hall. After a presentation by designer James Corner followed by a lovefest of public comment, the council proceeded with overall design plans and construction documents for Palisades Garden Walk, despite its $46.1 million price tag.
— Santa Monica Mirror
Now, I will quote myself when I said this to the journalist friend who asked my opinion on the proposal. "The real critique of this park is not only the physical aspects of the complicated site but the "consumerist development" Santa Monica had adopted since the 80's on. James Corner's park could... View full entry
From Amelia Earhart to s'mores: New York City's first airport to become country's largest urban campground.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that the National Park Service will develop the nation's largest urban campground at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, a former airport used by Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes.
Mr Salazar said Monday: 'We want to make New York the leading example of what we can do around the country with urban parks'.
— MailOnline
My question is: "Would this be a copyright issue with the homeless?" + It has been studied before, 1 & 2 and successfully cataloged. View full entry
I have seen a lot of final projects from different architectural schools this year but clearly UCLA has proven that the school holds a spcecial place in the academia. Shortly after participating in Thom Mayne and Karen Lohrmann advised SUPRASTUDIO reviews, I walked around and my snapshot... View full entry
Maybe they just couldn’t come up with any questions. So here are a few: Can you confirm that the architect of the building is Norman Foster, like everyone’s reporting? Is Apple going to make the grounds open to the public so they can enjoy the fifty billion trees that he’ll be planting? Will there be any kind of programming in the new auditorium that can expose the next generation to careers in technology and science? Could you share your awesome private transit system with the public? — Gelatobaby
Alissa Walker, aka Gelatobaby, has penned a great piece in response to the highly circulated presentation of Apple's new headquarters to the Cupertino city council. Also, our friends at OpenBuildings have posted a hilarious mashup of the event to YouTube. View full entry
Dennis Hone, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), said building a temporary indoor venue of its size was unprecedented and could form the basis of an International Olympic Committee plan to bring down the cost of hosting the Games.
"It makes a lot of sense, especially if you want to take the Games beyond the richest cities in the world. To do that, you've got to bring the costs down," he said.
— Guardian
The £42m 12,000-seat basketball arena at the Olympic site in east London, is designed to be deconstructed after the Games and its seats sold off to other event organisers. View full entry
[Apple] has staff scattered in rented buildings throughout the city. The plan for the future campus puts 12,000 to 13,000 employees inside a single four-story oval building. Jobs made a convincing case for what he calls "a shot at building the best office building in the world." By moving parking underground, 80% of the 150-acre property will be landscaped. Apple has hired the lead arborist from Stanford to fill it with 6,000 trees, and the company will build its own energy center power source. — mashable.com
We assume this design is by Norman Foster, judging from the design and rendering style, but we don't have confirmation. Related: Norman Foster tapped to design new Apple campus View full entry
0. Introduction Sustainability currently shares many qualities with God; supreme concept, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient; creator and judge, protector, and (...) saviour of the universe and the humanity. And, like God, it has millions of believers. Since we humans are relatively... View full entry
Section 2 of the High Line, which opens to the public tomorrow, passes just beyond Frank Gehry’s IAC building and Jean Nouvel’s 100 11th Avenue Residences one block to the west. With the installation of Sarah Sze’s “Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat),” some of the more modest denizens of the neighborhood will have a piece of starchitecture to call their own. — tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com
[Legorreta and Legorreta] caught Salesforce founder Marc Benioff's eye with its UCSF community center, a red stucco cube enlivened by an oversized purple-walled courtyard and, at one corner, a steep sculptural tower. It's the only campus building that brings a smile; it also typifies the firm's knack for spirited buildings that strive to catch the eye. — sfgate.com
