"... If history has taught us that the realization of a utopia is necessarily its destruction, Can we regard this process as a continuously failing attempt of architectural hallucinations? Or is it a way to promote escapism from an inevitable dystopic reality? ..." — www.zawia.co

He's already designed the world's tallest building (and highest apartments) at the Burj Khalifa, as well as Chicago's highest apartments (and second tallest tower). Now, Adrian Smith will be the architect of 225 West 57th Street, set to become New York City's tallest apartment building at 1,550 feet or higher. The project is years away, but it is already chasing a number of other 1,000-plus-foot projects onto the skyline. — New York Observer

Architect and Product Designer Michael Graves talks about his long standing partnership with Acme Studios. This short promo video, filmed and produced in his Princeton studio, highlights popular Acme products by Graves that are currently available. — youtube.com

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today issued a report: Local Leaders: Healthier Communities Through Design that provides a roadmap for towns and cities looking to help their populations stay healthy by employing design techniques that encourage residents to increase their physical activity. — aia.org

For the latest in the Showcase series Archinect featured Villa Solaire by JKA + FUGA as well as Folkwang Library by Max Dudler. The Folkwang Library took advantage of a special photographic/glazing technique to create the illusion of the facade being fashioned from the stone material itself. Save Western pointed out "It looks like the original proposal was for actual marble, which came back astronomically expensive, so they VE'd to curtain wall instead."

Creators of an online petition opposed to the change say the new logo "loses the prestige and elegance of the current seal." They want the 10-campus system to use the traditional circular medallion that shows an open book, the motto “Let There Be Light” and the 1868 date of UC’s founding. Or find a dignified alternative. The petition had more than 39,000 supporters so far. — latimesblogs.latimes.com

The budding industrial designer also gave his top picks from the fair, which unsurprisingly all feature bright swaths of primary colors: a Charlotte Perriand bookshelf from Galerie Downtown accented with yellow squares; a Pierre Guariche chair from Demisch Danant, a Riteveld chair from Galerie Vivid; and a desk from Galleria Rossella Colombari by Gio Ponti, whom he was so delighted to have discovered: “He tried to make the office fun!” — blogs.artinfo.com

It is divided into two sections. One of these, the working area, is dominated by its single central desk, which is 12,5 metres long, without any divisions or boundaries. This desk is shared by graphic designers, architects, data visualisation experts, video artists and anyone who the team can share experiences and collaborate with. — domusweb.it

There is a growing movement afoot in design. It has assumed many names over the years, all of which emphasize the public good and the engagement of too-often marginalized voices. Of late, we've seen life-saving products, more dignifying environments, and more efficient systems, all designed for the betterment of all. — PublicInterestDesign.org

The €150m satellite of Paris's Louvre museum shimmers like an apparition on the raised plane of the former coalmine, looking down over streets of pitch-roofed miners' houses, dotted with the occasional chip shop. The building is formed from a series of long, low-slung walls that fade in and out of view as the changing light dances over its surface – or as clouds of drizzle engulf it entirely in the wintry gloom. — guardian.co.uk

Produced as a diploma project in 1928, it justified itself by pointing out – as generations of environmentalists would later insist – the need to minimise human impact on the planet. Except rather than treading lightly on it, we wouldn't be treading on it at all, but living in flying mobile homes, which could dock at collective housing, hotels, factories and leisure centres, able to descend to the earth to enjoy it unspoilt. — guardian.co.uk

You lack a cozy balcony? No worries, Julien Berthier has the perfect solution for you: the ‘Balcon additionnel’. The small balcony will be lifted up to the building from a boom-truck on the ground. It fits every building, is permanently attached to the truck, allowing it to be quickly fitted and removed. An easy service for installing a plastic Haussmannian-style balcony on all kinds of buildings. The balcon additionnel is made from plastic resin, steel and paint. — ignant.de

The design is based on the universal notion that you need to sacrifice something in order to make something new. Every product is a compound of different pieces of nature, whether it is a cell phone, a car, a stone floor or a wood board; they have all been harvested in one way or another. Our project is about trying to harvest something as gently as possible so that the source of what we harvest is displayed in a pure, pedagogic and respectful way... — Visiondivision website

b3tadine[sutures] concurred "i love it. that work of this complexity and beauty is being built in Dallas, let alone the US, is testament to Mayne and Morphosis being one of the premiere firms in the world”. However, some like accesskb argued "beautiful forms and spaces... ugly and cold choice of materials and colours".