When you approach the High Line in the Chelsea neighborhood on the lower west side of Manhattan, what you see first is the kind of thing urban parks were created to get away from—a harsh, heavy, black steel structure supporting an elevated rail line that once brought freight cars right into factories and warehouses and that looks, at least from a distance, more like an abandoned relic than an urban oasis. — NGeo
Top management with the Division of the State Architect – the chief regulator of school construction – for years did nothing about nearly 1,100 building projects that its own supervisors had red-flagged. Safety defects were logged and then filed away without follow-up from the state. — Corey G. Johnson, California Watch
In the wake of the arrest of AI Weiwei, his objections and criticism regarding school construction safety in China were not taken lightly by anyone including the Chinese people and the Chinese government.A similar case is unfolding in the State of California. California Watch is covering a... View full entry
A global architect based in Boston, Mr. Safdie wants Toronto’s planners and politicians to explode conventional thinking and dream big like the visionaries writing the design manifestos in China and Singapore, where Safdie Architects were lead designers of the just-completed $5.7-billion Marine Bay Sands hotel, casino and art science museum complex. — theglobeandmail.com
The Globe & Mail interview Moshe Safdie about his ides for Toronto. View full entry
Members of this organization begin the narrative process by examining city neighborhoods and commercial districts for compelling structures that appear to have fallen into disuse—“hidden gems” of the built environment. In varying states of repair, these buildings suggest only stories about the past, not the future. — bldgblog.blogspot.com
Over at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Ingra Saffron reviews the recent In the Terrain of Water conference held by the University of Pennsylvania. Also, coincidentally (?) on the same weekend another conference Out of Water occurred at the University of Toronto. Any Archinecters go and feel like... View full entry
Norwegian practice A-lab won the open international ideas competition on climate efficient urban development on Furuset area in Oslo. — bustler.net
The project goal is to condense the suburb Furuset i Groruddalen outside Oslo with 2,500 new homes and 1,500 new workspaces, and to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030. The project provides a district that stands for sustainable urban development. View full entry
Paris town council has given the green light to a controversial "Triangle" tower rising 590ft above Paris which critics say is an "attack on the beauty of the French capital". — telegraph.co.uk
“It would be easy for me to raise a picket sign and as an architect say, ‘Down with this wall!’” Rael said in a release. “I have to accept the wall because it exists, but as a designer I see that something better is possible. Why not do something intelligent, something incredible? I envision not just a ‘dumb wall,’ but a social infrastructure that connects and improves lives on both sides.” — nbcbayarea.com
'Innovation' has become a content genre, a weird form of reality television, and one that is equally divorced from reality. For me, the way back to reality is an end-run. Always an end-run.
'Innovation' has become a content genre, a weird form of reality television, and one that is equally divorced from reality. For me, the way back to reality is an end-run. Always an end-run.
— Guardian
Public spaces, not virtual town squares, are still the places where uprisings are decided. Eric Goldwyn in NY Magazine. Related View full entry
Environmentalists says plans, which also include hotels and a marina, are 'complete madness' and warn public to be sceptical — guardian.co.uk
Yisrael Katz, the Israeli minister for transport, said the plan had been under consideration for many months and had been encouraged by Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. He said it would also relieve Israel of the obligation to be the transit point for goods into the enclave. View full entry
De-industrialization, racism, stagnation — is the Motor City our future? De-industrialization, racism, stagnation — is the Motor City our future? L.A. Times View full entry
Oh my God, it's an icon. How very last decade. Did the city of Seville not get the memo? Big, flashy buildings are out; hair shirts are in. — guardian.co.uk
The Guardian's Rowan Moore critiques Mr. H's new public structure in Spain. View full entry
The Mayor of the City decided to create a new settlement. He did not want to conceive just a city plan, but to reveal a new emotion, a new political vision. He loved to repeat a sentence "the city is too important to put it into the hands of the architects"... The Mayor of the City decided to... View full entry
The other night Charlie Rose hosted a round-table on cities, the urban experience. The cast of mayors included currently serving mayors; Michael Bloomberg, Kasim Reed, Jerry Sanders, Michael Nutter, R.T. Rybak and Bill White, former mayor of Houston. They discussed the possibilities and challenges... View full entry
