This week on Archinect Sessions we’re sharing our inspiring conversation with Theaster Gates. For those of you who aren’t already familiar with Theaster, you’re in for a treat. Theaster Gates often refers to himself as a potter, and while it’s true that he is, through years of training and... View full entry
Whether you're a fan of Valentine's Day or would rather ignore it altogether, the month of February always stirs contemplation of whether or not a friendly greeting is needed. Thanks to ArchDaily's annual Valentine's Day card submissions and PlanningLove.com's urban-planner themed designs there's... View full entry
Amazon on Thursday canceled its plans to build an expansive corporate campus in New York City after facing an unexpectedly fierce backlash from some lawmakers and unions, who contended that a tech giant did not deserve nearly $3 billion in government incentives.
The company, as part of its extensive search for a new headquarters, had chosen Long Island City, Queens, as one of two winning sites, saying that it would create more than 25,000 jobs in the city.
— The New York Times
Amazon announced the change of course for its hotly contested New York City HQ2 aspirations in a statement this morning: After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens. For Amazon, the... View full entry
For Deitch’s gallery, Gehry, 89, transformed a 15,000-square-foot former movie-lighting warehouse in Hollywood into a bright exhibition space. Ai then filled the gallery with a series of Chinese zodiac-themed works made out of Legos and a sweeping installation, first shown in 2014: a mass of nearly 6,000 antique wooden stools, scavenged from antique furniture dealers in China... — New York Times
As cultural renegades of the art and architecture world, it's safe to say both have more similarities than differences. During their careers, both have had their hand in art and architecture practice. Ai Weiwei has collaborated with Herzog & de Meuron for the Beijing Olympic's 2008 Bird's Nest... View full entry
Robert Winter, the architectural historian who spent his life chronicling Los Angeles' sweeping cityscape, passed away Saturday night at age 94. His death was confirmed by his publisher, Angel City Press. Author of the seminal work, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, Winter is... View full entry
Tiny houses are promoted as an answer to the affordable housing crisis; a desirable alternative to traditional homes and mortgages. Yet there are many complexities and contradictions that surround these tiny spaces, as I discovered when I began investigating them. — Fast Company
There is something inherently romantic about the nomadic lifestyle cooked up in the 1960's, exemplified by the VW van and the desert campfire. While this relic of America's recent past became, undoubtedly, the inspiration for the Tiny Home movement in recent years, the reasons for its current... View full entry
Residents of flats overlooked by the Tate Modern have lost their high court bid to stop “hundreds of thousands of visitors” looking into their homes from the art gallery’s viewing platform.
[...] the board of trustees of the Tate Gallery said the platform provided “a unique, free, 360-degree view of London” and argue that the claimants could simply “draw the blinds”.
— The Guardian
The judge presiding over the highly publicized case dismissed the residents' demands that parts of the 10th-floor public viewing terrace in the Tate Modern's Herzog & de Meuron-designed extension be closed off to prevent visitors from peeking through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the ritzy Neo... View full entry
In 1984, when Virginia Savage McAlester published the seminal A Field Guide to American Houses, the text she wrote to fill a void became an instant classic adopted by realtors, builders, architects and schools, as well as Americans who wanted to know about their own homes’ architectural style and history [...] But now, McAlester’s field guide is truly user-friendly for the 21st century, available in an e-book version. — Forbes
Architectural discourse can be quite heavy and dense to those outside of the profession. Especially when it comes to detailed technicalities of design and construction, some claim understanding architecture may not be pedestrian enough. In the hopes of helping other's identify and understand... View full entry
...Climate change is bad for business. But as I’ve seen firsthand, companies that invest in clean energy, engage customers in sustainability efforts and leverage their influence to drive smart policies can turn a downside risk into tangible cost-savings, customer retention and global leadership. — Forbes
Many of Walt Disney's original plans for Disney World, in Orlando, Florida, were scrapped shortly after his death in 1966. Disney envisioned EPCOT (short for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), for instance, as a hotbed for scientific research and a model for energy and material... View full entry
German-based photographer Candida Höfer has a long list of mesmerizing photographs and accolades. Her works primarily focus on capturing moments within empty social spaces and vacant public interiors. Through these projects, she focuses on exposing and highlighting "the social psychology of... View full entry
This week we are joined, in studio, by David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, the hosts of the Midnight Charette podcast. You may be already familiar with their podcast, or perhaps you’ve just heard about the podcast since they released their episode with me a couple days ago. The Midnight Charette... View full entry
Serpentine Galleries teamed up with Google Arts & Culture and architect David Adjaye to launch the “Serpentine Augmented Architecture” competition, which is currently accepting proposals for an augmented-reality installation that will be developed and experienced on-site at the Serpentine... View full entry
As the Museum of Modern Art begins the final stage of its $400 million overhaul, it will close for four months to reconfigure its galleries, rehang the entire collection and rethink the way that the story of modern and contemporary art is presented to the public.
The Picassos and van Goghs will still be there, but the 40,000 square feet of additional space will allow MoMA to focus new attention on works by women, Latinos, Asians, African-Americans and other overlooked artists...
— NY Times
Over the span of its 89 year history, The Museum of Modern Art has been the subject of both praise and disappointment among cultural elites. In particular, its Diller Scofidio + Renfro-designed plan to expand into the adjacent American Folk Art Museum, by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects... View full entry
With a plethora of podcasts readily available, sometimes a good one worth listening to is hard to come by. This week Archinect's very own Founder/Director, Paul Petrunia, sat down with David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, from Midnight Charette, to discuss an array of topics. Known for their... View full entry
Making its return later this year, the third edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial will go beyond design to address questions of land, memory, rights and civic participation. Announced yesterday, the theme "...and other stories" has been picked by this year's artistic director, Yesomi... View full entry
