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A hundred and some years ago, an aesthetic force called the City Beautiful movement professed the theory that grand public buildings, lovely civic palaces, could inspire Americans to become good citizens. [...]
Since the 1960s, though, it seems as if great civic architecture has become an embarrassment. Politicians who love to cut ribbons find it hard to justify paying for beautiful on top of functional. The result is a style I call Sunbelt Stalinism [...].
— latimes.com
The work presented for the Lucas Museum has precedent. It's not just out of the blue; it is something that has been in the air for many years. [...]
I would hope that the people of Chicago take the proper time to review the Lucas Museum. I also hope that they will give the client and the architects sufficient time to develop the project — to work with the city and the public to evolve the design.
Please do not dismiss it because it doesn't look like something you've never seen before.
— chicagotribune.com
Previously: Lucas museum faces lawsuit from Friends of the Parks; How the Lucas Museum Design Will Change Chicago's Lakefront - Rendering Reveals; and George Lucas announces MAD and Studio Gang as architects for his Museum of Narrative Art in Chicago View full entry
Architect Frank Gehry courts curves and controversy, and the deputy vice-chancellor of UTS admits to a degree of trepidation. A first look inside reveals whether those fears were justified [...]
The city’s first building by the controversial architect is part of a larger $1.1bn masterplan for the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), but is already attracting a lot of attention.
— theguardian.com
IS THE NEW ARCHITECTURAL century still stuck in the end of the last one? Yes, but not for long. Asked to take stock of their discipline, architects largely agree that one era is winding down and another is beginning. [...]
“The time of the grand sculptural building is over,” says Mr. Sauerbruch, looking back on what he calls architecture’s “Mannerist period,” symbolized by figures such as Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid.
— online.wsj.com
It was just a matter of time before this Tumblr emerged... feeding off the buzz of Frank Gehry losing his cool the other day, "Supporting Frank Owen Gehry" View full entry
One of the most popular museums in Paris, the Picasso Museum, reopens on Saturday after a five-year closure for a costly and controversial renovation. [...]
In the run-up to the big day, Lebon has been busy conducting VIP tours. Among his guests: the American architect Frank Gehry, whose monumental Louis Vuitton art foundation has just opened on the other side of Paris.
"I am not here to criticise the architecture, but to praise the painting - which is of course phenomenal," says Gehry.
— bbc.com
Related: An Architect’s Big Parisian Moment View full entry
Friday, October 24:Architecture in Flux: Reporting from ACADIA Conference, Day 1: The Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture has changed a lot since its inception in the early 1980s; the conference takes a look at the present moment of "digital design" practice, while that term... View full entry
The crowd fell silent as the Great Gehry replied by slowly curling his hand into a fist and extending his middle finger towards the sky. The moderator asked for the next question. But Gehry was not finished, according to El Mundo (translated back into English by our own Jesus Diaz): — gizmodo.com
Let me tell you one thing. In this world we are living in, 98 percent of everything that is built and designed today is pure shit. There's no sense of design, no respect for humanity or for anything else. They are damn buildings and that's it. Once in a while, however, there's a small group of... View full entry
In a cultural twofer that makes it Frank Gehry week here, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, a private cultural center and contemporary-art museum designed by Mr. Gehry, had its official inaugural ceremony on Monday, attended by the French president, François Hollande. At the same time, the Pompidou Center across town is giving Mr. Gehry, based in Los Angeles, a major career retrospective, his first in Europe. — nytimes.com
Previously: Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton to open this October View full entry
At 85, the architect Frank Gehry has neither stopped building nor started repeating himself and this month offers plenty of proof. Besides the unveiling of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, which he designed for the billionaire Bernard Arnault, the explosively coloured Biomuseo in Panama opened on 2 October followed by a retrospective at the Centre Pompidou, which opened on Wednesday, 8 October (until 26 January 2015). Gehry dispels some common misconceptions about his museum designs. — theartnewspaper.com
Related: Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton to open this October View full entry
Friday, October 3:Eisenhower Memorial clears key hurdle on Gehry design: In a positive step for the Memorial's Approving Process Odyssey, the National Capital Planning Commission has OK'd the Commission on Fine Arts (the other federal body that must approve the design) to vote on the... View full entry
Saturday, September 20 NYC's historic 190 Bowery part of massive buy-up by developer RFR Holdings: RFR plans to spend upwards of $900M on property and land purchases by the end of 2014. One of its recent buys included the former "72-room bohemian dream house" at 190 Bowery. Friday, September... View full entry
Briefly, a new documentary short film by Tom Bassett (Bassett & Partners), explores the relationship between creative professionals and the brief. Featuring interviews with Frank Gehry, Yves Behar (Fuseproject), David Rockwell (Rockwell Group), Maira Kalman, John C Jay (Weiden + Kennedy) and... View full entry
The Eisenhower Memorial Commission on Wednesday will review two approaches, including one that removes most of these elements. If that plan is selected, Gehry informed the commission, he will ask for his name to removed. — washingtonpost.com
Friday, September 5:Beijing public transit commuters can now pay fares with empty bottles: Beijingers can insert a recyclable bottle and receive equivalent rebates in train fares or mobile phone credits.Community Bus Stops Transform Brazil: Thousands of Brazil's bus stops are unmarked, leading... View full entry