[James] Leadbitter called it “a playful and exciting space for redesigning madness, a utopian attempt at what a mental health hospital could be like.”

Each structure...is an abstract interpretation of the feedback from the workshops, designed to offer varying levels “of privacy and intimacy ranging from total isolation to complete togetherness.”

“This is only a small glimpse of a project that has huge potential to influence the way we think about the design of mental health care environments,” — Slate

Grand Avenue’s Music Center Plaza is about to get a major renovation for the first time since it opened to the public in 1964.

Often overshadowed (literally) by the prominent Downtown venues that stand above it, the plaza is a gathering place and event space in its own right. Thus, a major part of the plan would increase event capacity from 1,500 to 2,500.

[LA County] has already given $2 million to plan the project, with $25 million of funding expected down the road. — la.curbed.com

Usually, you go to these fast casual things and you're in and out in a minute...In all of the commercial projects that we do, the reason that we do them and the reason that we probably get hired to do them is that we are interested in this idea of making a joyous space for everyday activities...

It's not so much about the brand name being reinforced everywhere as much as it is to provide this urban amenity living room. — Barbara Bestor, on KPCC

The company promised to “faithfully reproduce” several beloved artifacts in the lobby, including wall tapestries, paper lanterns and sliding doors, the lacquered furnishings and map of time zones...But those plans have done little to assuage the concerns of preservationists, many of whom contend that Tokyo is destroying its greatest postwar architectural assets to accommodate the 2020 Olympics and a recent surge in tourism. — The New York Times

'We are transforming LaGuardia into a globally-renowned, 21st century airport that is worthy of the city and state of New York. It’s the perfect metaphor for what we can achieve with the ambition and optimism and energy that made this the Empire State in the first place, and I want to thank our many partners for joining us to build the airport that New York deserves.' — Gov. Cuomo — governor.ny.gov

After public comments were provided, the committee discussed the concepts, the input they had received, and deliberated on the ranking. The final ranking of the Design Concepts by the Selection Committee is as follows:

The Pier Park by Rogers Partners Architects+Urban Designers, ASD, Ken Smith
Destination St. Pete Pier by St. Pete Design Group
ALMA by Alfonso Architects, inc.

City staff will now present these rankings to City Council for approval at a meeting in the near future. — newstpetepier.com

It’s hard to find a landmark building in Washington more polarizing than the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Designed by legendary German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the city’s central library was never much loved by Washingtonians. If anything, its popularity has gone downhill since its 1972 opening. [...]

But now, as a four-year process wends its way toward a final design, it’s clear Washingtonians shouldn’t expect a major overhaul of Mies’s flawed design. — washingtonian.com

Apple design chief Jony Ive and retail head Angela Ahrendts are working together on a redesign of Apple's retail stores — a different approach that will make them better suited for selling the fashionable Apple Watch, according to a new report. [...]

And while Apple Stores are known for their carpet-less floors, Ive did tell Parker that he overheard someone say they wouldn't buy a watch from a store if they weren't standing on carpet. — appleinsider.com

After a $91m, three-year renovation, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is due to reopen on Friday, 12 December.

[...] the firms Gluckman Mayner, Beyer Blinder Belle and Diller Scofidio + Renfro—moved the museum’s offices and research library, previously on the third floor, into the adjacent Miller-Fox townhouses, which had been used for storage. In the offices’ place, they built the Cooper Hewitt’s first open-plan galleries. — theartnewspaper.com

London's Natural History Museum recently revealed five shortlisted teams that still have a chance to redesign the historic museum in the Civic Realm competition...Teams will present their designs to the jury on March 13, and the winner is expected to be announced in April 2014. Designs are currently on exhibition -- with team names hidden -- at the Museum until March 11. — bustler.net