NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre offered schools his organization’s “free” support and guidance to protect themselves, saying that communities “must come together to implement the very best strategy to harden their schools.” President Donald Trump echoed the sentiment Thursday saying, “We have to harden our sites” to protect schools from gun violence [...] it’s worth revisiting exactly what the NRA means when it calls for measures to “harden” a school. — motherjones.com
Here are a few architectural elements and design features the NRA recommends from its 2013 task force report for "hardening" schools. A big fenceNo treesNo parking lotsEntrapment areasNo windowsA door stopJoin the discussion asking: "Where are the designers, architects, and engineers in the... View full entry
Forensic Architecture [...] is an agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London. The organisation’s founder and director is Eyal Weizman, a British-Israeli architect. Its primary mission is research, to “develop evidentiary systems in relation to specific cases”; in so doing, it acts as “an architectural detective agency”, working with NGOs and human rights lawyers to uncover facts that confound the stories told by police, military, states and corporations. — The Guardian
Weizman conceives of his work as an alternative practice, aiming to create a sub-discipline of architecture using architectural evidence in cases of war crimes or other human rights violations. Calling their activity "counter-forensics", the organization does not take commissions from... View full entry
The Hammer Museum, housing Los Angeles' 3rd largest collection of artistic innovation, has announced a public launch of a $180 million capital campaign in their multiyear expansion plan. A masterplan to improve every facet of the museum has been underway since 2000 lead by Michael Maltzan... View full entry
For architects, the challenge is balancing the need for additional security with design principles that foster a more nurturing educational environment for students. As architect Jim French explained, designers could apply the design methods used to keep prisons secure to schools, but that would hamper the experience for children. — MarketWatch
Following the recent school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Jacob Passy reviews some of the ways that the design of schools is changing to address safety concerns. Interestingly, at last night's CNN Town Hall Gun Debate, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel argued there are three things we need to do in... View full entry
Making the case that infrastructure itself can be exclusionary is hardly straightforward. Many of the worst decisions in US planning were made decades ago to intentionally disenfranchise, marginalise and separate communities; policies such as redlining and “blight clearing” are well-documented embarrassments. But many decisions that segregated communities were unintentional. The stop sign and one-way street might seem benign, but they shape our lives in ways we sometimes don’t even realise. — The Guardian
Through focusing in on 5 case studies where communities have been obliterated by infrastructure decisions, the direct impact of highways and walls take on greater levels of meaning and urgency. The power of city planning also comes into greater consideration presently as the US takes on a massive... View full entry
As designers and urbanists engage with LGBTQ+ identity, what role do gender and sexuality play in the preservation, design, and management of urban space today? [...]
Marginalization means invisibility, both in history and space. New efforts seek to reclaim and preserve queer histories inscribed in sites across the city.
— Urban Omnibus
Urban Omnibus, a publication of the Architectural League of New York, recently launched its new series Intersections: Surfacing (guest-edited by Jacob R. Moore), allowing a more informed look at issues of gender and sexuality in the context of design & urban history. View full entry
Since opening its doors in 1994, Thomas Keller's restaurant, The French Laundry, has been considered one of the best fine dining destinations in the world. It has three Michelin stars to its name, has been called "the best restaurant in the world, period" by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, and... View full entry
Community leaders and affected homeowners have mixed reactions regarding a consultant’s recently released recommendations on how to best provide relief for residential communities besieged with Hollywood Sign tourists.
The recommendations, released in January and commissioned by Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu, ranged in impact from the jaw-dropping, like the idea of installing a second Hollywood sign, to the mundane, like improving signage for lost tourists.
— Los Feliz Ledger
The Los Feliz Ledger gives a detailed account of various recommendations currently being discussed among community leaders to drastically improve access to L.A.'s iconic landmark sign while also easing the traffic burden on locals in the adjacent Hollywood Hills neighborhoods. One idea from a... View full entry
Picture the World Trade Center near the Empire State Building near Fenway Park near London's Tate Modern. Now picture trains zipping past the architectural icons.
That is the vision world-famous architect Frank Gehry and museum developer Thomas Krens are trying to bring to North Adams, in the form of the Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum.
— masslive.com
With the aim of developing North Adams, Massachusetts as a cultural destination, Frank Gehry and Thomas Krens released plans last summer for their hybrid Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum. The initial concept has now developed into an entire model showcasing more of what... View full entry
After 20 years in the heart of Anaheim, California, the City National Grove of Anaheim venue will soon become the Anaheim Performing Arts Center. Today, SPF:a from Culver City unveiled their scheme for the new $500 million project. For starters, the 500,000-square-foot campus will feature three... View full entry
A 30m-tall Gothic cathedral built of branches and twigs that was set alight on Saturday (17 February) causing controversy in Russia. The burning took place at Nikola-Lenivets, a rural artists’ colony 200km south of Moscow, and was the culmination of pre-Lenten carnival festivities known as Maslenitsa. The event is often likened to the US Burning Man festival. — theartnewspaper.com
Artist Nikolay Polissky, founder of Nikola-Lenivets, creates impressive land art installations to burn for Russia's Maslenitsa festival each year. This Russian folk tradition is celebrated during the last week before Lent and traditionally ends with the burning of a scarecrow. This year, the... View full entry
With the rise of online shopping, we have all been watching the dead mall epidemic for many years now. Addressing those left hanging on in today's world, Bloomberg now brings us the The American Mall Game: A 2018 Retail Challenge. Try your odds at managing a failing mall in this retro 90's... View full entry
“Today’s state of wooden architecture can be defined as an SOS,” says Igor Shurgin, an architect and restorer who runs the Foundation for Maintenance of Wooden Architecture Monuments. “If we do nothing to support it, then nothing will be left in 20 years.” A grant from the European Union enabled the organisation to stage a series of exhibitions in Russia and Europe between 2010 and 2012 that highlighted the problem. — The Art Newspaper
After the contemporary artist Danila Tkachenko photographed a series of the country's abandoned wooden houses set ablaze, attempts to save Russia's wooden architectural heritage have become a high priority for preservation activists. Russia's ministry of culture has intentions to adopt an action... View full entry
Flores & Prats Architects have released a new documentary series, ESCALA 1:5, focusing on their design for Sala Beckett Theatre and International Drama Centre in Barcelona. Sala Beckett Theatre facade, by Flores & Prats, located in Barcelona. Image: Adrià Goula. The series consists of... View full entry
William Kaven Architecture have just released additional renderings of the firm's redevelopment proposal for Portland's Broadway Corridor, giving a more complete picture of their broader scheme. In addition to the initial release of Portland's tallest towers last November, the firm has now... View full entry
