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Who the fuck cares what Banksy’s real name is. You should care about his art instead, what he’s given you, and stop trying to take more than what’s to be had. Don’t deny yourself great artistic creativity simply to satisfy the curiosity of some blip of an itch that will deny him his anonymity to create. Doing that will make you less than the worst, you wouldn’t even be a super villain scientist, but a spectator searching for a sport to watch that you’re too inept to participate in. — davidchoe.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Banksy about to open "Dismaland" pop-up exhibition in British seaside resortAfter Banksy: the parkour guide to GazaAn interview with man behind the “Stealing Banksy?” auctionBanksy's unpublished NYT op-ed declares new WTC is the biggest eyesore in New York View full entry
We’re growing faster than any other metropolitan area in the country, and we have been for the last five years...And the challenges are, with all the growth that we’re having, we’re going to stop being the city that we imagine that we are, that we remember being. We have to grow to be the city that we still recognize. So those challenges are not optional challenges for us to deal with, they’re the challenges for us to deal with. — Metropolis Magazine
As Austin rapidly becomes an "it" city, how will the city keep its character? Metropolis talks with Austin Mayor Steve Adler about the multiple challenges ahead.More on Archinect:Seven U.S. cities competing to be the "smartest" in urban transit systemsGuns in the Studio: Texas' new campus carry... View full entry
A rising number of daredevil stunts such as scaling skyscrapers and parachuting from tall structures is being fuelled by competition for online acclaim, according to “urban explorers”, who warn more people are dying as a result.
The immense popularity of online videos of people climbing the world’s tallest buildings, including the London Shard, had turned urban exploration, which traditionally involves surreptitiously exploring the off-limits corners of towns and cities, into an extreme sport
— the Guardian
Urban exploration, or "urbex," has a long and interesting history, involving clandestine networks of people sharing skills and knowledge of the infrastructure of cities. But, driven more by a desire for likes than exploration, people are increasingly getting themselves into dangerous... View full entry
The cartoon drawings and graffiti scrawled all over the 1970s hangout of the Sex Pistols - a former silversmith’s workshop attached to a townhouse in London’s Denmark Street – have helped the building be awarded Grade 2* Listed Status.
The decision by the Department of Culture, Media & Sport, on advice from Historic England, is a major victory in the campaign to maintain Denmark Street, known as “Tin Pan Alley”, which is widely seen as a spiritual home for British popular music.
— independent.co.uk
The contemporary design champion is moving from its current location in Shad Thames to the former Commonwealth Institute building, a Grade II*-listed 1960s landmark conceived by architects RJMM.
Its new home, which is being remodelled by designer John Pawson, will provide three times more space and have a learning centre, auditorium, library and a ‘Designers in Residence’ studio.
— thespaces.com
The inaugural Conscious Cities Conference is a little over one week away. Happening at Arup's London office on March 1, the one-day conference is the UK's first event of its kind and is part of the year-long Health, Wellbeing and Architecture programming from the Museum of... View full entry
The Conscious Cities Conference will delve into the evolving relationship between human behavior and the built environment, and the economic impact it creates. Taking place at Arup's London office on March 1, the one-day conference is the UK's first event of its kind and is part of the year-long... View full entry
A group of six amateur artists living in the heart of Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp, host to nearly 80,000 Syrians, has worked together to recreate famous landmarks, which once stood proudly in the western Asian country, in dedication to its long and rich history. [...]
“There are lots of kids living here who have never seen Syria or who have no memory of it. They know more about Jordan than about their own country.”
— Newsweek
Related stories in the Archinect news:The new Monument Men: with 3D cameras and GPS data against cultural annihilation in Syria and beyond3D printing will recreate destroyed Palmyra archISIS militants have reportedly blown up Palmyra's Arch of Triumph View full entry
No two people, let alone architects, perceive even the most frequented cities in the same way. How do designers experience their cities as locals?Head westbound on the traffic-laden streets of Los Angeles and chances are that you'll find yourself in the aptly named Westside. This loosely... View full entry
But if L.A. is going to remain a creative capital, its civic and cultural leaders are going to need to do more than offer really great talk about how great we are...This can start with the Otis Report on the Creative Economy...If this report is to be more than just a feel-good data dump, it could use some solid recommendations on how L.A. compares to other cities culturally and how we might improve the situation for artists and cultural organizations, both small and large. — Los Angeles Times
More about arts districts on Archinect:Venice Beach's ongoing grapple with the tech titan invasionDowntown LA's vision of an architecture and design super clusterHow one urban planner is helping revamp a Miami suburb "without gentrification"With a little compromise, illegal urban squats like... View full entry
No two people, let alone architects, perceive even the most frequented cities in the same way. How do designers experience their cities as locals?A tumultuous sequence of political upheaval and renewal just within the last century has transformed Warsaw into a bustling incubator of creativity for... View full entry
No two people, let alone architects, perceive even the most frequented cities in the same way. How do designers experience their cities as locals?The coastal city of Seattle, Washington is not as "sleepy" as some would assume. It's full of gems that the architecturally inclined traveler can... View full entry
Earlier this week, the online street art community was abuzz about an article by Rafael Schacter for The Conversation, From dissident to decorative: why street art sold out and gentrified our cities. [...]
Basically, Schacter argues that street art isn’t rebellious anymore. Rather, that it’s most notable form is as a tool used by corporations to spur gentrification. Agree or disagree, the article is a must-read.
— Vandalog
Vandalog author RJ Rushmore reached out to some of the influential figures in street art and muralism to get their reactions to Schacter's claim that street art has sold out and become complicit in the corporate gentrification of our cities. He received responses from Buff Monster, Living Walls... View full entry
Southern Californians have a distinctive — 'Saturday Night Live's' Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig might say funny — way of giving directions. To get from Santa Monica to Hollywood, take the 10 to the 110 to the 101. Burbank to San Diego? The 134 to the 5. And, if you can, always avoid the 405. Why the definite articles?...Most of North America, in fact, omits the 'the' before route numbers. — KCET
More about L.A. freeways on Archinect:Christopher Hawthorne on repairing L.A.'s long-broken relationship with its freewaysLargest wildlife overpass in U.S. proposed for L.A.'s 101 Freeway, could ease area's roadkill problemOde to the Stack, Los Angeles's iconic infrastructureSouthern California... View full entry
The plateauing and decline in U.S. vehicle miles traveled per capita that occurred between [2005-2014] was described by some hopeful commentators as a dramatic shift that was indicative of the preferences of a new workforce...Marginal changes in the way a new generation behaves...cannot overcome the realities of a country where more than three-fourths of jobs are located more than three miles from downtowns and where only one-fourth of homes are in places that their residents refer to as urban. — The Transport Public
More about car transit on Archinect:Welcome to Evanston, Illinois: the carless suburbiaDawn of the self-driving car: testing out Tesla's autopilot functionFrom California to Texas, car culture is losing its monopolyCan a loss of driver autonomy save lives?Designers imagine a world of self-driving... View full entry
