School buildings in the UK are of such poor quality that children are underperforming and teachers are quitting the classroom, experts have warned.
A new study by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) found that one in five teachers have considered leaving their school as a result of stressful, overcrowded working environments caused by the poorly designed buildings they have to teach in.
— independent.co.uk
Relating UK articles here: Crossrail unveils images of new Elizabeth line stationsLatest University of Westminster Burning Man studio project needs a KickstartThis week's picks for London architecture and design events View full entry
Construction of the 2016 Serpentine Pavilion and Summer Houses has started. For the first time, the Serpentine Galleries has expanded its annual architecture programme to include four Summer Houses, located a short walk from the Gallery in Kensington Gardens, in addition to the 16th Pavilion on the Gallery lawn.
For the fourth year running AECOM, in collaboration with David Glover, is delivering technical advisory services for the project...
— the Serpentine Galleries
This is the first year that the main Serpentine Pavilion – designed by BIG this time – will be accompanied by a series of smaller "summer pavilions." Kunlé Adeyemi of NLÉ, Barkow Leibinger, Yona Friedman and Asif Khan have each designed a pavilion for the nearby Kensington Gardens.The... View full entry
For years now, people have been talking about the insulated world of the top 1 percent of Americans, but the top 20 percent of the income distribution is also steadily separating itself — by geography and by education as well as by income.
This self-segregation of a privileged fifth of the population is changing the American social order and the American political system, creating a self-perpetuating class at the top, which is ever more difficult to break into.
— the New York Times
"Geographic segregation dovetails with the growing economic spread between the top 20 percent and the bottom 80 percent: The top quintile is, in effect, disengaging from everyone with lower incomes."In related news:Urban fingerprints reveal a city's fundamental character and compositionBuying... View full entry
Going for the obvious choice, the AIA has replaced Kevin Spacey, who had to cancel his appearance, with thespian Julia Louis-Dreyfus as its first day keynote speaker for the 2016 Philadelphia convention on May 19th. Dreyfus will be interviewed by NPR's Terry Gross. As the AIA noted on its official... View full entry
The Elizabeth line will link London and the South East from Reading to Heathrow with 10 new stations and upgrades to 30 existing stations. Currently Europe's largest infrastructure project the £14.8 billion scheme began in Canary Wharf in 2009 and is now 75% complete. Services will begin in... View full entry
“2 wires + weights + tape + thin foam rubber” - one of Eva Hesse's shopping lists — the art newspaper
"LeWitt’s admiration of Hesse is well documented, and the two are the subject of a powerful travelling exhibition exploring their mutual influence, now at the Cleveland Museum of Art (Converging Lines, until 31 July). But one of the most memorable accounts of their relationship comes from an... View full entry
For the past several years, tutors Arthur Mamou-Mani and Toby Burgess' University of Westminster design studio DS10 has helped students develop installation designs for Burning Man, many of which have gone on to be realized on the festival's grounds. This year, the parametrically-inspired... View full entry
That an apple can travel over 11,500 miles from where it was grown (spending over a year in shipment and in toxic, low-oxygen storage to suspend its maturation) is the perfect object lesson of our global agricultural system’s failures. [...]
And with the advent of natural-resource scarcity, flattening yields, loss of biodiversity, changing climates, environmental degradation, and booming urban populations, we’re hurtling toward its natural limit.
— Near Future
"What if we could build a different world? One in which anyone could farm anywhere, not just on land devastated by disaster, but in basements, skyscrapers, and abandoned subway tunnels? Or in classrooms, rooftops, and old factories?"In this article by Caleb Harper, the Director of the Open... View full entry
“Architecture is one of the most important things that we have to help communities shape themselves, both literally and figuratively,” Treviño says. “However, when we start talking about the leaders of the community, most often you have people without an architectural background.”
As local leaders, architects can bring an objective, analytical perspective to the organizations that run their communities. And there’s already widespread interest among practitioners in making a difference.
— Architect Magazine
This month, in line with the ideas behind the upcoming Venice Biennale, Archinect's coverage includes a special themed section, Help, featuring content that focuses on the social and political components of the discipline.Here's some relevant coverage:New MoMA exhibition explores the... View full entry
The 30 buildings to be visited by the RIBA awards committee and under consideration for the inaugural RIBA International Prize have been announced today. This is the first RIBA award open to any qualified architect in the world and includes projects of varying size and budget. Consequently the... View full entry
[Common is] a version of communal living that suggests tech utopia in its ultimate test case: with Nest thermometers, and Casper mattresses, and a house Slack channel, so you can see whether anyone else wants Seamless without having to yell down the hall. [...]
As a business proposition, rental real estate wouldn’t necessarily seem like it has much to do with tech; but as a mentality, co-living is pure Silicon Valley — it is life rendered frictionless.
— nymag.com
Related on Archinect:WeWork + Airbnb = PodShare? New live-work space emerges in Los AngelesCan WeWork re-engineer the spatial dynamics of society?Previewing the 2016 Venice Biennale: the British Pavilion's "Home Economics"Box sweet box: SF man lives in wooden "pod" in friends' apartment for... View full entry
If someone told you today that a new, brightly lit neon sign was going up across the street from where you live, you might react with disgust at the thought of such a commercial eyesore invading the skyline of your community. Yet when some older sign or billboard is threatened, everyone is suddenly up in arms, rushing to its defense. How does something as mundane as outdoor advertising grow to become considered an essential piece of the urban fabric? — Consumerist
“They become landmarks, loved because they have been visible at certain street corners — or from many vantage points across the city — for a long time,” writes Michael J. Auer in the brief. “Such signs are valued for their familiarity, their beauty, their humor, their size, or even their... View full entry
As Sadiq Khan arrived for his first day at work as London’s new mayor, architects urged him to be bold in tackling the city’s housing crisis.
They warned that his policies alone won’t be enough to solve the problems and advised him to widen his approach.
“Bold strategic moves are what’s required, and I therefore hope the new mayor has the stomach for a fight,” said Russell Curtis of RCKa.
— bdonline.co.uk
There are high hopes for Khan, find out more about some of the issues he will have to tackle in his new position: £950 for a mouldy 'central' flat? Welcome to London.The root of London's housing crisis lies beyond its bordersLondon's housing crisis is creating a chasm between the rich and... View full entry
The Art Fund’s Museum of the Year shortlist was announced...with Bristol’s Arnolfini; the Bethlem Museum of the Mind in south London; Jupiter Artland near Edinburgh; London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and the York Art Gallery in the north of England being nominated for the £100,000 prize. — theartnewspaper.com
Relating articles:The price of keeping Britain's 'Downton Abbeys' from crumblingV&A East project updateUtopian dreams; London's first Design Biennale reveals its opening theme View full entry
While the buyer’s name and official selling price will be kept anonymous until June, the real estate agency behind the sale, Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty, confirmed that the new owner is from the area and apparently wants to preserve the property as it has been maintained thus far. The last known price of the house was $1,500,000 back in March. — Chestnut Hill Local
Previously:No guarantees for historic residential architecture in "real-estate limbo"Golden Years: Saluting joint creativity with Denise Scott Brown, on Archinect Sessions #45The Vanna Venturi House is for sale View full entry