'In the end, Museum is about the back story,” [...] “It’s about human beings whose interests go outside the norms, to a point where they value things that society and people in general ignore.' — The New York Times
It is a matchbox size museum with matches on display. Recent discourse in which museums are excoriated for their corporatist tendencies has perhaps opened a unique market for exhibiting what might be seen as banality. A relatively new museum founded by Josh Safdie, Alex Kalman and Benny Safdie... View full entry
As a society slowly urbanizes over time, its psychology and culture change, too... If American culture and psychology grew more individualistic as the country urbanized, wouldn't that transformation be clear in the words from American books (and the concepts that lie behind them)? — The Atlantic Cities
Urban and rural environments impact personal psychology differently, according to research published by UCLA psychologist Patricia Greenfield in Psychological Science. While observational evidence may draw a clear line between current city- and country-mindsets, Greenfield's source material... View full entry
"The Poetics of Boxes" is the first monographic exhibit in Europe of the work of Mathias Klotz, currently one of Chile's most acclaimed international architects. The exhibit opens on Sept. 13 at Aedes Berlin. The upcoming exhibit will reveal the design approaches and methods of Klotz's... View full entry
Hyperloop is a new mode of transport that seeks to change this [transit] paradigm by being both fast and inexpensive for people and goods. Hyperloop is also unique in that it is an open design concept, similar to Linux. Feedback is desired from the community that can help advance the Hyperloop design and bring it from concept to reality. — Tesla Motors
CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, posted on the Tesla blog his proposal for an alternative to the California High-Speed Rail plan, the Hyperloop. The solar-powered transportation system is proposed to function somewhat like a pneumatic tube, where capsules of up to 28 passengers on air-bearings are... View full entry
Hey Archinectors! We're having another exciting giveaway, this time from Michael Blackwood Productions, who is also giving a summer discount of 20% + free shipping for both institutional and individual clients until September 30. To enter, simply fill out this survey by 11:59 PM Friday, August... View full entry
The Brooklyn Tech Triangle could become the next Silicon Valley -- if the strategic plan to bolster the emerging tech hub comes to full fruition. The plan was developed over a six-month period by a multidisciplinary team led by WXY Architecture + Urban Design and the Brooklyn Tech Triangle... View full entry
The Intempo 47-story skyscraper builders forgot to design working elevators above the lower floors. It’s a blunder of astounding proportions for the troubled luxury project with a lovely beach view in Benidorm, Spain.
The problem has existed for some time. However, the scandal exploded into public view late last month in Spanish news source El País when it was revealed that the upper flights of the Intempo building lacked adequate elevator access above 20 stories.
— inquisitr.com
A turn of events took place for Cité Radieuse in 2010, when the building’s rooftop gym and solarium went up for sale. Designer Ito Morabito, who goes by Ora-Ito, purchased it as a collector might. “Like you buy a piece of art, but architecture,” he noted. After the acquisition, it became Ora-Ito’s self-appointed mission to honor the iconic structure.
Ora-Ito transformed the rooftop of Cité Radieuse into MAMO, a contemporary art center dedicated to exhibitions and creative ateliers.
— knstrct.com
The [Marina Abramovic Institute] was launched last year, and designed by none other than OMA, under the direction of partners Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas. The architects are poised to explore programming for the center and produce mock-ups--depending on Kickstarter results. The funding Abramovic is after is to cover this "first phase" work on the project. — Co.Design
Performance artist Marina Abramovic is the latest established artist seeking funding for large-scale projects using Kickstarter, the democratic fundraising platform. The Marina Abramovic Institute, to be located in Hudson, New York, will use the funds from Kickstarter backers... View full entry
It is a sad fact that the number of women in architecture is dropping, whilst in many other professions women have long had parity in numbers as well as pay and status. Of the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) 27,000 chartered architects, just 4,000 are women.
Whilst the number of female architecture students has grown – now 44%, we can't seem to retain them in the profession. Just 34% officially qualified chartered architects are women.
— theguardian.com
It is, first and foremost, a visual and sound buffer placed between residents and the diesel trucks rumbling along the 103 Freeway to and from the Port of Long Beach.
But the wall, two fences stuffed with mulch generated from Long Beach tree trimmings, is also environmentally friendly; it will eventually be seeded with trees and shrubs that will leech vehicle exhaust from the air and transform the pollution into oxygen.
— presstelegram.com
As noticed on page 30 of their 2014 catalog, IKEA references parking day in this a fun new video. Park(ing) Day, for those that don't know, is an annual parklet concept, turning parking spaces into gathering places on a more permanent basis. Park(ing) Day 2013 will happen on Sept. 20 worldwide. View full entry
“Louvers won’t work, they reflect light too,” he wrote in June in a blog comment on dallasnews, “and retrofitting on a 42 story building has never been tried and the makers say they would rip off in high winds prevalent in Dallas.”
An honest opinion, except that there is no such Barry Schwarz.
This post and others proved to be the work of Mike Snyder, long a fixture in the city and now a public relations executive who had been hired by the tower’s outside law firm.
— nytimes.com
Previously: The Nasher and The Ant BullyRenzo Piano's Nasher Sculpture Center controversy continues View full entry
Cities can transform into an entirely new place once it's nighttime, sometimes to the point of disorientation that you wonder if you're still in the same city. The upcoming "Vers un climat: Building (With) The Unstable" exhibit at Cornell University presented by award-winning interdisciplinary... View full entry
Well, it is the prerogative of men to enter the world without acknowledging that they are men. - Sylvia Lavin — Harvard GSD M.Arch.I (Lian)
Watching Sylvia Lavin and Eric Owen Moss in conversation at SCI-Arc last night, prolific Archinect blogger Lian Chang took careful note of a few key impasses -- where Lavin and Moss either failed to see eye-to-eye, or artfully dodged one another's argumentative traps. Lavin, an imposing academic... View full entry