The Obama Presidential Center will be transformative, just as it will be truly urban, only up to a point. It’s bound to disappoint anybody who forgets that Obama’s political strategy, as distinct from his larger role in the culture, has always been unshakably centrist. Because (among other reasons) his race continues to make him a lightning rod, a magnet for unhinged opinion, he has preferred the middle to the edge. — Los Angeles Times
Residents of the South Side in Chicago raise concerns about the location of the new center and complain that the Obama Foundation refuses to sign a Community Benefits Agreement guaranteeing construction jobs and other patronage to members of the South Side community. View full entry
Now, decades after the original hardcover edition sold out, the MIT Press is publishing a facsimile edition of the original large-format Cooper-designed edition of Learning from Las Vegas, complete with translucent glassine wrap. This edition also features a spirited preface by Denise Scott Brown, looking back on the creation of the book and explaining her and Robert Venturi’s reservations about the original design. — MIT Press
45 years after its first publication, the groundbreaking book, Learning from Las Vegas, is still read, purchased and studied by architecture and urban planning students, thinkers and practitioners around the world. Last year Archinect spoke with Denise Scott Brown about the Learning from Las... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Since its founding in 1972 as an independent school of architecture, SCI-Arc has developed a series of idiosyncrasies that have anecdotally permeated the broader architecture community. Prominent among these... View full entry
Want to brush up on the emerging talent from British architecture? Archinect readers now have a chance to win a copy of the latest volume of “New Architects: Britain's Best Emerging Practices”, thanks to Merrell Publishers. Cover of “New Architects 3”Since The Architecture Foundation began... View full entry
The most important rule was that entries be non-political. They were to express no opinion whatsoever about the rightness or wrongness of the Vietnam War itself. — Salon
As the article points out, May Lin's design of a series of slabs were conceived by Lin as dominos falling—a reference to the "domino theory," prominent from the 50s to the 80s, that posited that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries... View full entry
The move would raise fascinating questions about the need to replicate habits that are tied to the layout of the current chamber – voting by trooping through “aye” and “no” lobbies, for example. Archaic linguistic protocols might seem doubly peculiar when expressed in a more modern setting. People’s behaviour is shaped by their environment and it is unlikely that parliamentary culture could be unaffected by transplant to a space unlike the unique one in which it has been nurtured. — The Guardian
The Palace of Westminster has been in a state of advanced disrepair for many years now. Though a plan for the building's massive £3.5bn refurbishment headed by BDP was announced last year, the government has avoided taking the decision to proceed. The main reason for the delay in action on... View full entry
Next Saturday, October 7 Woodbury University Hollywood Outpost will launch its second show of the Fall 2017 series. In line with the gallery's ambition to "demystify the discipline of architecture", the exhibition will present five videos that document the most recent and iconic projects... View full entry
Broken gargoyles and fallen balustrades replaced by plastic pipes and wooden planks. Flying buttresses darkened by pollution and eroded by rainwater. Pinnacles propped up by beams and held together with straps. — New York Times
The historic French monument, Notre-Dame de Paris, has suffered due to time, rain, pollution and wind. Built from 1160 to 1345, with restorations and additions in the mid 19th century by architects Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc, the cathedral attracts 14 million visitors per year. Image... View full entry
To describe John Cary simply as an author would be a disservice. John is a unique individual in the world of architecture. For 20 years, since he was a student, he has been on a non-stop mission to make the world a more just place with the power of good architecture and design. On this week's show... View full entry
Peaking at 236 metres high, One Lansdowne will be taller than any Canary Wharf tower block and only eclipsed by The Shard, which is 95 floors and 310 metres. — The Construction Index
The British are notorious for giving funny nicknames to their buildings. The construction of the One Lansdowne has not yet started, but Londoners have already noticed the tower's resemblance to a Rampant Rabbit sex toy. Platinum Rampant Rabbit VibratorImage CZWG ArchitectsThe asymmetrical... View full entry
Shanghai’s spectacular skyline is studded with buildings shaped by architect Peter Guo-hua Fu. Now the McGill alumnus is setting his sights on a new project: taking McGill’s long history of world-class architecture education to the next level. — McGill
Peter Fu, architect and president of K. F. Stone Design says ‘McGill gave me a chance to change my life. Now that I have the chance, I really want to pay it back’. To honor the gift, McGill School of Architecture will be renamed the Peter Guo Hua Fu School of Architecture . View full entry
In a way, heritage preservation is the least of Vancouver’s worries. Without more funding and stronger policy protections from the push-pull of global capital, Vancouver and cities like it will struggle to sustain urban life in all its social and economic diversity – the thing that makes them vibrant – let alone guarantee their architectural heritage. — The Guardian
The Empire Landmark Hotel, a brutalist tower from the 1970s, and landmark for the city of Vancouver, will close on September 30th. The tower will be demolished to construct new luxury condos. Architectural heritage preservation is threatened by the ever rising cost of land and property in... View full entry
A recent, worrisome working paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research reported on the tinder of the last conflagration...It was buyers from the top and middle top who account for the skyrocketing rate of default — and it wasn’t that they were buying bigger family homes that they couldn’t afford. It was that they were buying additional houses to flip for a profit — NY Magazine
Caitlin Flanagan looks at the gangbusters growth of "flipping" shows on HGTV and wonders if they are perhaps a signal of the next boom/bust cycle in US housing market. View full entry
In collaboration with the Eames Office, UNIQLO will launch its SPRZ NY EAMES Collection starting September 25, 2017. This collection will celebrate the groundbreaking contributions of Charles and Ray Eames to modern design, art, and culture. — Eames Office
The Japanese clothing company creates collaborations with famous fashion designers, museums and artists, and now also with architects. If you have always wanted a t-shirt with the image of a piece of modern furniture on it, this is your chance! Courtesy of Eames Office View full entry
Street art is the ultimate form of democracy according to the curators of the new Museum for Urban Contemporary Art that has just opened in Berlin. But does street art belong in exhibition halls? [...]
Construction for the Urban Nation Museum of Urban Contemporary Art began in May 2016. A late-19th century house in the Berlin district of Schöneberg was redesigned by German architecture studio Graft.
— Deutsche Welle
Image: Graft, via dw.com. In Deutsche Welle's interview with Yasha Young, the artistic director of the new Museum for Urban Contemporary Art, Young defends the need for a permanent home for street art: "Yes, street art belongs to the street and should stay there. The label "Museum for Street Art,"... View full entry
