While there is indeed real cause for anxiety, and new crises continue to emerge, the most pertinent stance young (and for that matter, established) designers can take is to translate the wealth of research emerging from design schools into further activist engagement and new research opportunities — and to advocate for that central role for designers in solving the profound dilemmas that define our time. — Places
The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art describes his efforts to expand MoMA's role to support experimentation and advocacy in architecture and design. For several years now, through exhibitions and workshops MoMa has explored how designers can... View full entry
“Just finished putting together all the designs for my meeting with Century Property for my new Paris Beach Club at Azure,” Paris Hilton excitedly share the great news to her million fans on Twitter. — zeibiz.com
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In a movement propelled by environmental concern, nostalgia for a simpler life and a dollop of marketing savvy, developers are increasingly laying out their cul-de-sacs around organic farms, cattle ranches, vineyards and other agricultural ventures. — Wall Street Journal
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The accelerating decline of suburban neighborhoods from Florida to California suggests that the contradictions of the system are finally catching up with it. The Great Recession is challenging not only the economics of homebuilding but also the essence of the suburban dream. Residential construction has slowed dramatically, and yet there remains a massive oversupply of single-family houses, especially on large lots. — places.designobserver.com
Richard Hamilton, a British painter and printmaker whose sly, trenchant take on consumer culture and advertising made him a pioneering figure in Pop Art, and who designed the cover of the Beatles’ “White Album,” died on Tuesday at his home near Oxford. He was 89. — NYT
Richard Hamilton's “Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?” The 1956 collage is often referred to as the first example of Pop Art. View full entry
It comes from speakers inside a 48-by-20-foot inflatable globe, pumped up against the High Line’s steel framework, like an exercise ball smushed under a coffee table. Peru bulges against the eastern wall; the Arctic and Antarctica peer around the edges; Algeria and Mauritania swell near the beltline. The installation is called Tight Spot, and it’s up for two weeks courtesy of the Pace Gallery. — nymag.com
In Holland, we have two words for design. One is vormgeving; in German formgeben. And the other word is ontwerpen; in German entwurf. In the Anglo-Saxon language there’s only one word for design, which is design. That is something you should work out. Vormgeving is more to make things look nice... While ontwerpe means, and the Anglo-saxon word, but its stronger, means engineering. — thatnewdesignsmell.net
In October 2010, Simon Norfolk began a series of new photographs in Afghanistan, which takes its cue from the work of nineteenth-century British photographer John Burke. Norfolk’s photographs reimagine or respond to Burke’s Afghan war scenes in the context of the contemporary conflict. Conceived as a collaborative project with Burke across time, this new body of work is presented alongside Burke’s original portfolios. — BLDG.BLOG
Our friend and colleague, Geoff Manaugh, from BLDG.BLOG, has recently moved back to NYC to take on his new role of co-director of Studio-X NYC (with his wife, Nicola Twilley). Tonight, starting at 6:30 at Studio-X NYC, they will be hosting two back-to-back live interviews, with photographer Simon... View full entry
High joblessness and the weak economic recovery pushed the ranks of the poor in the U.S. to 46.2 million in 2010 -- the fourth straight increase and the largest number of people living in poverty since record-keeping began 52 years ago, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. — LA Times
It would be easy for me to raise a picket sign and as an architect say, ‘Down with this wall!’ — Fast Company
"Border Wall as Infrastructure" a proposal by Ron Rael and a partner, Virginia San Fratello, was a finalist in the 2010 Working Public Architecture 2.0 Competition organized by UCLA's cityLAB. Mr. Rael is first to admit that his plan isn't likely to be implemented anytime soon. Until then... View full entry
CLOG slows things down. Each issue explores, from multiple viewpoints and through a variety of means, a single subject particularly relevant to architecture now. Succinctly, on paper, away from the distractions and imperatives of the screen. — CLOG
CLOG is a new publication that tries to address the problem of speed and deluge of content we experience in today's new media landscape. To continue the dialogue initiated in this issue, on October 7, 2011 Storefront for Art and Architecture will host CLOG and Bjarke Ingels as part of their... View full entry
Frank Lloyd Wright's only remaining hotel re-opened in Mason City, Iowa, a little more a century after the iconic, and often controversial, architect designed it. — boston.com
The urban conditions around us are constantly changing. With a faster or slower SPEED, the built environment is transformed as it does the way we experience and engage with it. In this issue we will be looking at the pace in which physical and social changes happen and the consequences and opportunities available. — mascontext.com
The eleventh issue of the design journal MAS Context, SPEED, is out and available online as a PDF and printed copy. Contributors to this issue include Andrew Bush, Candy Chang, Michael Chrisman, Andrew Clark, André Corrêa, Brendan Crain, Design With Company, José María... View full entry
Charlie Hussey of Edinburgh-based firm Sutherland Hussey, which has 75 per cent of its work in China, believes that architects are often singled out. “Whenever ethics in China is brought up, architects are always picked on,” he says. “But we’re all trading with China. If Joe Bloggs buys a TV, he’s trading with China. Architects just deal with bigger pieces. There isn’t a single person in the UK who hasn’t traded with China”. — ft.com
Marking the decade since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Lebbeus Woods offers reflections on the context for the tragedy, and the reconstruction's bitter sense of business as usual — domusweb.it