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The heat is on in the architectural competition for Vancouver Art Gallery's new downtown home on a site at West Georgia and Cambie Streets. From a pool of 75 applicants, the gallery narrowed down a shortlist of five firms — all of which are no strangers to designing world-class exhibition spaces. — bustler.net
The five finalists are: Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York) Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (New York) Herzog & de Meuron (Basel) KPMB Architects (Toronto) SANAA (Tokyo) Could this be the welcome redemption time for TWBTA after it was announced just yesterday that DS+R's MoMA expansion... View full entry
In doing press for the film, Jonze has repeatedly credited New York architects Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, AIA, founding principals of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with helping him devise the feel of his settings. Diller took time to chat with ARCHITECT about the film, as well as the uncanny qualities of the near-future and why she generally prefers murder stories to sci-fi. — architectmagazine.com
Diller Scofidio + Renfro has won the Zaryadye Park competition in Moscow. Set in the historic district of Zaryadye in downtown Moscow, the design competition was established to find an architecture and landscape plan to transform the 130,000 sq.m. former site of Hotel Russia into a multi-functional public park.
Coming in second and third place are TPO Reserve and MVRDV, respectively.
— bustler.net
See also: 2nd-place Zaryadye Park competition entry by team TPO Reserve Master plan. First-place entry by Diller Scofidio + Renfro Entrance from the Red Square. First-place entry by Diller Scofidio + Renfro Postcard Moscow. First-place entry by Diller Scofidio + Renfro Panorama. First-place entry... View full entry
"To some degree, the very characteristics that promised to make the bubble easier to build ultimately handicapped its fund-raising ability. Because the structure was temporary — Mr. Koshalek envisioned inflating the pavilion designed by the New York firm Diller Scofidio & Renfro in May and October — the museum was able to avoid the layers of approval usually required for any structure destined for the National Mall." — The New York Times
In the words of Woody Allen, "What we have on our hands is a dead shark." As has been previously reported, the DS+R project for the Hirshhorn Museum in D.C. will not be moving forward. The reason for this failure is purportedly due to fundraising deficiencies and not aesthetics as the... View full entry
The Hirshhorn Museum’s proposed Seasonal Inflatable Structure, also known as “the Bubble,” a project announced in 2009 and intended as an architecturally and culturally transformative space on the Mall, would operate at a loss in each of three scenarios examined in an assessment done by the Smithsonian. — washingtonpost.com
“We’ve said from the beginning, and the secretary [G. Wayne Clough] has said it, this is a bold project,” said Richard Kurin, the Smithsonian’s undersecretary for history, art and culture. “We’ve encouraged this, but it has to be raised by private money. In terms of doing that... View full entry
As a public-art stunt, the Seasonal Inflatable is troubling. The Hirshhorn should build it anyway. — Washington City Paper
If and when the Inflatable is first inflated, perhaps in fall 2014—that’s the latest, and perhaps the last, aspirational launch date—the architectural pavilion known informally as the Bubble and somewhat more officially as the Bloomberg Balloon could serve as another kind of proof... View full entry
Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockewell Group, the building is envisioned as a kuntshalle, essentially a museum with no permanent collection, that would accommodate shows from local and international cultural establishments. Its most dramatic feature will be a 140-foot retractable structure that when rolled into place will double the size of the ground-floor gallery. — Crain's
The cultural anchor for the 26-acre Hudson Yards project, the Culture Shed is set to open in 2017, nestled within an apartment tower also designed by DS+R, abutting the DS+R-designed High Line. (These guys are taking over Manhattan!) View full entry
To fund the Bubble, the museum originally turned to Bloomberg, planning to call it the Bloomberg Balloon in honor of a $1 million (or greater) gift. But, perhaps tellingly, the Hirshhorn has not consistently referred to the Bloomberg Balloon as such, suggesting there may still be room—or the need—for a larger donor. Diminishing federal support certainly won’t fund the Bubble, and to date, the museum's board has not stepped up to bridge the funding gap. — tnr.com
Proposals to reinvigorate the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland by High Line architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro have been rejected by City Councillors. [...] The Full Council voted 22-20 - with one abstention - to reject the scheme but agreed to retain proposals to refurbish Aberdeen Art Gallery, redevelop the site of the City Council’s former St Nicholas House headquarters and the Upper Denburn area, and to invest in ‘City Circle’ plans to make the city better connected for pedestrians. — World Architecture News
Diller Scofidio + Renfro were announced today as designers of the gallery and visitor experience for the reopening of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. New York exhibition specialists Local Projects will act as participatory media designer and develop engaging ways to access digital content at the museum and remotely. The museum campus is scheduled to reopen in 2014. — bustler.net
UPDATE: Cooper Hewitt puts can-do spirit into the house Carnegie built View full entry
The design centralizes all social and public spaces in a vertical stack at the south face of the building. This continuous space features a multi-story glass façade that maximizes light and offers exceptional views to the south. The interiors of the study cascade – a system of special alcoves reserved for social interaction – are complemented by outdoor gathering spaces and terraces that are clad in cement panels, wood, and other materials. — ps.columbia.edu
Initial designs for the third and final section of the High Line were released Monday by Friends of the High Line. Section 3 will wrap around the striking stretch of rail yards at the center of the Hudson Yards project.
The new stretch will pick up where the completed section ends at 30th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, continue west to 12th Avenue, turn north, and then head back east at 34th Street for about half a block.
— NY Times
The Interior Design Department at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) has announced Diller Scofidio + Renfro as this year’s recipient of the Lawrence Israel Prize. [...]
Each year, the award recipient is invited to give a public talk on their work. Diller Scofidio + Renfro's talk will take place on Thursday, March 15 at 6 pm at FIT in the John E. Reeves Great Hall, Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center, Seventh Avenue at 28th Street.
— bustler.net
The innovation offered by a new tech campus on Roosevelt Island is not limited to New York’s technology sector but the design one, as well. Almost every bid had soaring renderings and flashy flythroughs, most notably the winning entry from Cornell. Now the upstate university has announced six of the world’s top firms, including a few local favorites, are in the running to design the new tech campus. — New York Observer
Making the shortlist are SOM, OMA, Morphosis, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Steven Holl and the dark horse Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, which maybe makes sense if they're looking to mind Apple engineers. View full entry
As if Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s giant inflatable balloon set to rise (sometime) from its roof, Up-style, weren’t a sufficiently kinetic addition to the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C., the institution announced in a press release yesterday that artist Doug Aitken will turn the building’s circular facade into an enormous 360-degreen screen for nearly two months this spring. — blogs.artinfo.com