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All the progress we have made will now be put on hold and the government’s attention will be diverted while we try and work out how to deal with Brexit. - Rob Naybour, Weston Williamson + Partners
Today marks a historic turning point for the UK and European Union - the UK has voted to quit the EU. What lays ahead no one is really sure; Cameron has already resigned this morning and discussions for a second Scottish referendum have begun. The majority within the architecture industry... View full entry
Never has an attraction promised so much yet delivered so little. It was the roller coaster without a ride, the helter skelter without a slide, a £20m mountain of steel leering above London’s lean Olympic stadium as a mocking monument to the vanity of the city’s former mayor, Boris Johnson, and its funder, the steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal [...]
As Guy de Maupassant said of the Eiffel Tower, being inside the Orbit is the best place to be – because it’s the only place you don’t have to look at it
— the Guardian
Ouch.Yet, it's not all bad: "...when you’re hurtling down through the structure’s contorted loops on the new corkscrew slide that opens this weekend, all this can be momentarily forgiven," opines Wainwright.In related news:Carsten Höller to unveil his ArcelorMittal... View full entry
It is now officially the start of summer and although as always the UK weather is rather tempestuous, this week’s London picks, come rain or shine, are guaranteed to cheer you up. Archinect and Bustler compiled a snappy list of thought-provoking lectures, upcoming exhibitions as well as ongoing... View full entry
According to a recent poll by the AJ 78% of architects want Britain to remain in the EU. In May David Chipperfield, Richard Rogers, Amanda Levete, and Thomas Heatherwick were among many prolific industry professionals who vocalised their decision to back the remain campaign with an open letter... View full entry
Reflecting on TV's role in British architecture the BFI is running 'Architecture on TV'. "TV has not only provided a platform for these commentators but played a pivotal role in broadening architecture’s audiences and engaging the public in debate. "We are giving away two tickets to the final... View full entry
When we first visited Bankside Power Station for the original Tate Modern competition in 1994, it seemed like the castle in Sleeping Beauty – an enormous urban mountain that was completely overgrown, surrounded by barbed wire and prickly roses, as if protecting the hidden beauty inside. It seemed dangerous. It is totally unimaginable now, but this was a huge chunk of the city that was totally excluded from public life, set back behind high walls. — theguardian.com
Read more on the Tate Modern:A look around the new Tate Modern extension"We can't sneer at developers": Herzog & de Meuron examine London's futureFirst look inside Tate Modern's new Extension View full entry
The original Tate Modern redevelopment was started in 1995 and since opening in 2000 has become the most popular gallery in the world. It made sense then for Herzog and De Meuron to return and finish the job. Their architectural evolution and legacy is now embedded in the London skyline, as is... View full entry
“He was so much more than an engineer,” says the V&A’s Zofia Trafas White, who co-curated the show with Maria Nicanor. We are walking through a corridor of the Dane’s dreamy doodles, which forms a slightly surreal start to the show [...]
“Designing,” Arup said, “is defining a sensible way of building.” Noticeably, all the projects on show trumpet their engineering credentials at full volume, as the (seemingly) logical expression of how they were made.
— Oliver Wainwright | the Guardian
For more on Ove Arup and his firm, check out these links:Ove Arup celebrated with new show at the V&AOur cities must adapt to climate change and growing populations within a single generation, according to the head of ArupArup Germany/SolarLeaf, Studio Tamassociati, and Elemental win in... View full entry
In London, though the Tate is now finished, there is other work to be done...
"We can’t sneer at developers," says Herzog. "They are the ones who will increasingly dominate the shaping of our cities. But we should try to convince them to add accessibility for everyone. To ask, can we do it better?"
— Telegraph UK
Now that they've completed the Tate Modern extension, what's next for Herzog & de Meuron? In this piece, trilingual biking-afocidionado Jacques Herzog speculates on the architectural future of London, and his firm's potential (developer-positive) role in it. Herzog & de Meuron, in the... View full entry
When is a garden bridge not a garden bridge? When it’s a bridge garden, according to Allies and Morrison, the Southwark-based architects who have come up with a cheap and cheerful alternative to the eye-wateringly expensive, contractually dubious proposal by Thomas Heatherwick and Joanna Lumley for a floating forest across the Thames. — theguardian.com
Read related news here: London's garden bridge, the saga continuesWhy are Heatherwick's proposals succeeding in New York but tanking in London?Sadiq Khan investigates troublesome details in Thames garden bridge projectIs London experiencing a brick boom? View full entry
The show, curated by the V&A’s Maria Nicanor and Zofia Trafas White, is a fascinating exploration of the 20th century engineer’s life and work, and how it has influenced today’s practices in his field. Arup, fittingly argue the curators, was a true pioneer, championing real collaboration with architects, using a computer for the first time during the Sydney Opera House project in the 1960s – a hefty but fascinating machine called 'Pegasus', on display at the show. — wallpaper.com
Read more UK news here:This week's picks for London architecture and design eventsMuseum of London design shortlist revealedAuthor of 'Interactive Architecture' on the built environment in the age of ubiquitous computing View full entry
As rents spiral in London, one company is proposing a solution. The Collective is a new block of apartments that acts like a giant shared house: small private bedrooms with communal laundry, kitchens, spa, cinema and workspaces … and some covert matchmaking by the managers. Our series on the global revolution in urban living goes inside the modern-day boarding house — theguardian.com
Read related articles here:Manchester's economic boom threatens its cultural identityTo live in London you can't be a LondonerLondon fails to achieve any targets for affordable housing View full entry
It’s a BIG week for London!...Bjarke Ingels’ Serpentine Pavilion has opened in Hyde Park along with the new additions to the programme, a series of “Summer Houses” designedby Kunlé Adeyemi of NLÉ, Barkow Leibinger, Yona Friedman and Asif Khan.Also opening its doors to the public is the... View full entry
"For us it's a prototype. For us, a prototype means it will have another life,”
“Right now, our summer house operates at a scale of something maybe like furniture or something like a small building, but a prototype is something that has a resonance, it's something that lives beyond its four months here, that will occur on a different scale, in a different place.”
— Archinect
Barkow Leibinger's Summer House is constructed with four structural bands made from plywood and timber. The piece is grounded by a bench, then strengthened by three central curves with a double layered free flowing cantilevered roof. The duo known for their research-led process and playful... View full entry
Smithfield market will be the museum’s new home, but which architectural vision should shape its future: the eye-catching one, the ghostly one, the corporate one … or the one that rings alarm bells?
Little detail has been revealed about the shortlisted schemes, which will go on public exhibition from 10 June to 5 August with a winner chosen by an expert panel later this summer.
— theguardian.com
Curb your cultural curiosities with the articles below: Inside Asif Khan's Serpentine Pavilion Summer HouseLondon's Natural History Museum to create outdoor exhibition spacesShortlist for new Museum of London revealed View full entry
