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Facing lawsuits from a collapsed bridge it helped build, Munilla Construction Management is asking a bankruptcy judge to protect it from creditors while borrowing millions of dollars to make payroll, continue building and not shut its doors after decades as one of South Florida’s largest government contractors. — Miami Herald
The bankruptcy proceedings come on the eve of the first anniversary of the tragic Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapse on March 15, 2018. Six people were killed in the accident. View full entry
Richard Neutra’s glass and steel Chuey House in the Hollywood Hills is being marketed as a ‘tear down’ for $10.5m.
The architect designed the midcentury modern home for poet Josephine Ain Chuey in 1956, and it has since passed down to her niece and nephew, who filed for bankruptcy in June. It’s now being sold as a ‘truly unique development opportunity’, with no mention of its architectural merit – just its ‘spectacular’ Sunset Plaza Drive location and ‘unmatched panoramic views..."
— The Spaces
Iconic, elegant, and now endangered: one of the works of the masters of mid-century modern architecture has been listed more for its lot than for the exquisitely cantilevered structure itself. After its completion, Josephine Ain, who was living with her husband Richard Chuey, wrote to Neutra... View full entry
Part of the 23 Days at Sea residency, British video and performance artist Rebecca Moss left Vancouver on August 23 in a Hanjin freighter, expecting to dock in Shanghai on September 15. Run by Vancouver's Access Gallery, the residency focuses on issues of globalization, but what ended up happening... View full entry
The founders and board members of Architecture for Humanity (AFH), the influential and accoladed non-profit organization, is being sued for $3M for alleged mismanagement of funds, according to an exclusive report published by Architectural Record. The report helps shed light on the circumstances... View full entry
An architect who is owed $13,000 by Teresa and Joe Giudice has spoken of his anger at the lavish display of wealth that welcomed the criminal Real Housewife of New Jersey home on the day she got out of prison [...]
'I did plans for modifications to that house and to an addition. I didn't do the final drawings that make it look like a miniature castle. I wouldn't want to put my name to that [...]
'I think our billing was about $13,000 and we've never received a penny of it.'
— Dailymail.com
Manhattan’s WASA Studio, one of the country’s oldest architecture and engineering firms ... filed for bankruptcy on Monday while fighting several legal battles with ex-clients. [...]
The firm, known for decades as Wank Adams Slavin Associates, is fighting several lawsuits against ex-clients who are pushing for damages of more than $11 million [...]
The expensive legal battles came after work slowed.
— wsj.com
Related news:Get a peek inside Pratt's new Film/Video Department building by WASA/Studio AMajor NY architecture firm, Swanke Hayden Connell, files for bankruptcyArchitect firm eyes insolvency over unpaid Abu Dhabi bills View full entry
In a letter to "the countless volunteers, supporters, design fellows, and former staff of Architecture for Humanity", Board Chair Matt Charney announced that the organization will file for bankruptcy this week. AfH closed somewhat abruptly this past January. Charney's letter states:I thank you... View full entry
A New York architecture and interior-design firm with roots dating back more than a century has filed for Chapter 11 protection, citing its inability to collect more than $2 million from an assignment in Russia. [...]
Over the years, Swanke Hayden has worked on a number of well-known projects in New York and elsewhere, including the Trump Tower, a 1980s facelift of the Statue of Liberty, and the recent rehabilitation of Central Park restaurant Tavern on the Green.
— blogs.wsj.com
The collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is inching closer to safety. The Michigan State Legislature agreed yesterday to contribute $350m over the next 20 years to protect the museum’s works of art and shore up Detroit’s ailing pension funds. The state’s governor Rick Snyder is expected to sign the bill, which is part of a package to help settle the city’s bankruptcy, by the end of the week. — theartnewspaper.com
Previously: Detroit Institute of Arts: $330 million pledged to save the city's art collection View full entry
In 2009 a gleaming performing arts space opened to great fanfare in downtown Pittsburgh. The distinctive is as long as the block it occupies, and the corner of the building looks like the sail of a ship made in glass and stone.
The August Wilson Center for African American Culture was meant to be a hub for African-American theater, art and education, named after renowned playwright and native son . Today the Center is for sale, unable to pay its bills.
— npr.org
National and local foundations have pledged more than $330 million to a fund to protect city-owned art at the Detroit Institute of Arts from being auctioned off, mediators in Detroit’s bankruptcy announced Monday.
A statement from Chief U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Rosen’s team of mediators called the financial commitments “an extraordinary and unprecedented effort” to preserve the art collection and raise money for Detroit’s underfunded pension funds.
— detroitnews.com
Previously: Detroit’s Venal Art Sale No Fix for Urban Nightmare View full entry
Despite filing for bankruptcy, Detroit is still on track to get a $450 million hockey arena - partially funded with public money. Host Michel Martin speaks with sportswriter Dave Zirin, who calls the move 'shameless,' and David Muller, a business reporter for the MLive Media Group in Michigan. — npr.org
[Correction: Official images of the proposed new arena do not exist yet. The 'Old Red Barn' rendering above is an unofficial proposal via the New Olympia Stadium blog.] View full entry
When companies go bankrupt, the medicine can be harsh for staff members and the local tax base, yet the effects are temporary. A bankrupt city can’t fire citizens who pay taxes but already receive worse than subsistence services like one-hour police response times.
Large cities don’t disappear or die, they just waste into chronic basket cases, like Camden, New Jersey; Gary, Indiana; and East St. Louis, Illinois.
— bloomberg.com
London-based Austin Smith: Lord (ASL) said it is owed £7.85m (AED45.3m) by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage for its work on the Qasr al-Hosn fort in the centre of the city.
The 62-year-old design firm last month signed a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) with its creditors in a bid to avoid administration. ASL has made more than 80 staff redundant, including 13 employees from its Abu Dhabi office, which has since closed.
— arabianbusiness.com
I believe with every fiber of my being that God turned the eyes of the world on Crystal Cathedral because God wants to make a big bold statement, he wants the world to know that he is a God who still does miracles — Reuters
Philip Johnson's masterpiece, the Crystal Cathedral is the subject of bidding wars between Chapman University, Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the retailer Hobby Lobby. Sheila Schuller Coleman, director of ministry at the church and the daughter of Schuller also thinks they can raise the... View full entry
