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The second Knight Cities Challenge is ready to create a bigger impact in neighborhoods across the U.S. The Knight Foundation announced today a hefty shortlist of 158 Challenge finalist initiatives, which were selected out of a staggering 4,500 applicants who responded to the national call for ideas last October. Open to anyone, the Challenge posed one question: "What’s your best idea to make cities more successful?" — Bustler
The winners, who will share a $5 million prize to launch their projects, will be announced in the spring. Check out the full list of finalists on Bustler. View full entry
What went wrong in Winnipeg was not just about architecture, and 5468796 were stuck trying to make the best of a bad situation. The pulling out of government support to make Centre Village an actual co-operative changed the [project's direction]...'It’s time to get the peanut butter off our fingers,' said Ross McGowan, former chief executive and president of CentreVenture...He admits that a failure to understand the needs of the community took a considerable toll on the project. — The Guardian
Despite good intentions to help families in need, perhaps the worst nightmare an architect can face when designing affordable housing is realizing that the project — which would of course already be fully built — doesn't meet the actual demands of the community, and then some. That's basically... View full entry
Germane Barnes wants Opa-Locka to be known for something else...He knows [change] can happen because he lives there, and has seen the work of a group of artists and organizers slowly change the landscape...The city's history intrigued him, not merely because it seemed like a perfect case study for his thesis about revitalizing a community without gentrification, but because it also spoke to his own experiences. — Curbed
More on Archinect:In Chicago, forming economically integrated suburbs is more complex than it looksWelcome to Evanston, Illinois: the carless suburbiaBerliners are getting their hopes up for transformed Kulturforum arts districtWith a little compromise, illegal urban squats like Ljubljana's... View full entry
Frank Gehry, whose firm provided the work free of charge, spelled out his vision for a piece of property that extends nearly two blocks. The two-story structures will fit the neighborhood... offering a scale and a 'body language' that is residential in nature...[The] Children's Institute project is one of several signs that new services and amenities are coming to the neighborhood, which recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of the historic civil unrest that erupted in 1965. — Los Angeles Times
More recent Frank Gehry-related news on Archinect:Gehry's product designs to be honored by Museum of California DesignFrank Gehry opens up about the emotional side of his architectureFrank Gehry's renderings for L.A.'s Sunset Strip revealedGehry to prioritize hydrology in LA River revitalization... View full entry
There's less than a week left to register for the ChiDesign CADE competition. Late registration closes next Wednesday, August 19.As learning spaces become more open and communally oriented, the Chicago Architecture Foundation launched the competition seeking design ideas of a Center for... View full entry
In a highly unusual case of urbanism, the whole town centre and its surrounding neighbourhoods are to be demolished...The 3,050 homes that would be affected by the impact of the mining – in addition to shops, offices, schools, the city hall and the hospital – will all be bought by [the LKAB mining company], knocked down and relocated. The process of moving the city will happen in phases, with the majority estimated to be completed by 2040. — The Guardian
Rapid mining activity in Kiruna is already posing a serious threat to the city, to the point that the mining company LKAB plans to relocate the entire municipality two miles eastward to prevent buildings from collapsing into the mine. The Guardian gives an overview on how locals are reacting to... View full entry
The registration deadline is almost here for the first ChiDesign ideas competition to design a Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE). As learning spaces become more open and communally oriented, the Chicago Architecture Foundation launched the competition as a means to explore... View full entry
Music venue National Sawdust, formerly OMW workshop, slated to open this fall, hopes to revive, even temporarily, the thrill of ‘90s and early 2000’s Williamsburg, a time when anything felt possible and artistic collaboration ruled supreme. The [13,000 sq.foot] space will offer a rare outlet for musicians of lesser appreciated art forms, from opera to experimental jazz, the opportunity to study, practice, perform, and receive mentorship through an in-venue, non-profit program. — GOOD
Fresh faces for new spaces. Non-profit arts group National Sawdust collaborated with architect Peter Zuspan — founding principal (and classically trained opera singer) of local emerging practice Bureau V — in designing the group's upcoming music performance space. While Brooklyn has become a... View full entry
The irony of [Metelkova Mesto's] transformation – from the military arm of a censorious regime to a tolerant artistic community – is what makes the regeneration project of this space so encouraging...Metelkova, in contrast, has built its image firmly on its artistic and cultural credentials. It’s autonomous, but not anarchistic; liberal, but not lawless. — The Guardian
More on Archinect:Developer wants to re-use and trademark the 5Pointz name for their new residential towersMuralists and the fragile relationship with the buildings they paint onThe Uncertain Future of Slab City, CaliforniaHerzog & de Meuron to redevelop Berlin’s infamous Tacheles cultural... View full entry
Rotterdam recently welcomed The Luchtsingel, a communal endeavor to spruce up the long-neglected Hofplein neighborhood in the heart of the city. Locally based architecture practice Zones Urbaines Sensibles (ZUS) devised The Luchtsingel in 2011. The focal point of the emerging "three-dimensional... View full entry
If the project is scaled up, it could have a substantial impact on the urban fabric: Los Angeles has a total of almost 900 miles of alleys, roughly the length of the coast of California. Proponents believe that on a citywide scale, green alleys could act as significant rainwater sponges, mitigate the heat island effect, and reduce vehicle use, as well as bring social and health benefits to nearby residents. — nextcity.org
Tori Kjer, a program director of the Trust for Public Land, and her colleagues won support from local South L.A. communities for their proposed Avalon Green Alley Network Plan, which will transform the city's alleyways into more community-friendly spaces for playing and for bike and walking... View full entry
Design Marfa — the non-profit that hosted the Marfa Multi-Family Housing Competition this past fall — announced the details to their 2015 Symposium and Home Tour taking place September 18-19 at the Crowley Theater in the Texan desert town of Marfa. Although the topics focus on desert... View full entry
Tristan da Cunha is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about 1,750 miles southwest of Cape Town. Described as the remotest inhabited island in the world, Tristan da Cunha is internally self-governed and actually consists of four islands: Tristan (the main island), Nightingale and... View full entry
The arched ceilings, stained glass windows, and other embellished details of some of the world's oldest university libraries or contemporary hotspots like, say, OMA's glass-clad Seattle Public Library get enough attention when it comes to the "best" library designs. While those libraries are... View full entry
The AIA recently announced the 2015 recipients of their annual Thomas Jefferson Award and the Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement winners. The honorable achievement awards distinguish significant contributions and lasting influence in the architecture profession as well as the... View full entry
