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A homegrown dispute in Sir David Adjaye’s native Ghana is boiling over after news that the architect could be asked to repay some $21.3 million in fees associated with the firm’s National Cathedral design, which politicians from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party claim is... View full entry
A resolution has been provided in the saga at the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture that has made waves in the press since first coming to light last year. The institution has now issued a formal apology in response to the independent investigation into educational practices and environment that... View full entry
The momentum behind the proposed new Royal British Columbia Museum project said to be Canada’s most expensive in modern history appears to be slowing after Premier John Horgan’s recent announcement “landed with a thud” in political circles and the news media. The Art Newspaper is reporting... View full entry
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has changed its election rules for the 2022 Presidential election, meaning those who joined the institute after April 23rd are not able to vote. The move, first reported by the Architects' Journal this week, has sparked outrage from a... View full entry
David Adjaye and Ron Arad’s design for a UK Holocaust Memorial has been halted by the country’s High Court following a legal challenge. As reported by UK outlet Building Design, the £100 million ($130 million) proposal was ruled to have been in breach of a one-hundred-year-old law which... View full entry
“It’s just another way that we can’t own our neighborhood and feel safe and quiet here because literally you have something flying over your house all day long, forever, I guess.” said Tany Ling, a singer who offers private lessons at the home she and her sister bought in 2012.
McCourt entities are buying up properties in the neighborhood, but the Lings don’t want to move. They started StoptheGondola.org to fight the project.
— The Los Angeles Times
Frank McCourt, who owned the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2004 to 2011, began proposing the $125 million project back in 2018. The initiative has come up against stiff resistance, especially from those associated with the Los Angeles National Historic Park, which abuts Chinatown. Previously on... View full entry
A legal smear campaign has ousted a museum director over the inclusion of a pro-Palestinian statement in an exhibition examining the work of Forensic Architecture at the University of Manchester. Artnet News is reporting the forced resignation of Alistair Hudson following a concerted... View full entry
Following four days of widespread scorn after attempting to block a new state law allowing duplexes on single-family lots by declaring itself a “mountain-lion habitat,” the wealthy Silicon Valley enclave of Woodside has backed down.
At the end of a town emergency Town Council meeting Sunday night, almost all of which was held in closed session to discuss potential litigation, city officials announced they would begin accepting applications for new duplexes.
— LA Times
Woodside’s tired attempt at circumventing two of the most important and proactive laws in favor of affordable housing in recent memory drew an incredible amount of ire online before being withdrawn Sunday night following a letter from Attorney General Rob Bonta warning the town that “there is... View full entry
Yet today these two pieces of fascist architectural propaganda are the centrepiece of a bold artistic experiment in addressing the debate around contested monuments, one which offers a template for other communities divided over whether to tear down or keep up monuments with racist, imperialist or fascist connotations. — BBC
Bolzano, the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, has become an important case study over its demonstrated ability to thoughtfully frame several of its local fascist monuments in a contemporary light that presents the public with a challenge to improve its own... View full entry
A Mexican multi-millionaire is building a replica of his northern Mexico mansion to serve as a museum for his art collection, an endeavor criticized because it is funded in large part with public money. — ABC News
The millionaire in question, Mauricio Fernández Garza made his fortune selling beer and petrochemicals, which facilitated the collection of art and ancient fossils now valued at around $120 million. Garza was the three-time mayor of the tony Monterrey suburb where the house is located when plans... View full entry
What would the news be without controversy? You could say it’s way too much of a focus in the overall media landscape, and our small corner of the business certainly is not immune to its pull either. Coming out of the pandemic-dominated 2020 has provided us with quite a bit of contentious... View full entry
The AIA Los Angeles chapter has issued an open letter to the President of the University of California, voicing opposition to the proposed UCSB Munger Residence Hall. The project, which has gained an intense media spotlight both within and beyond architectural spheres, would see the... View full entry
France’s National Heritage and Architecture Commission approved proposals by the diocese of Paris to bring a more modern look to Notre-Dame before its planned reopening in 2024, including the installation of contemporary artworks and new lighting effects. Opponents say the changes will debase the 850-year-old cathedral and disturb the harmony of its Gothic design. — The New York Times
The controversial refurbishment struck a chord with many in the past two weeks who responded to publicized details with claims that the new ecumenical design authored by Father Gilles Drouin was sacrilegious, and incongruous with the Catholic tradition. Much of the church's nave, transept... View full entry
More architects are speaking out in the controversy surrounding the planned Munger Hall development at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Independent is reporting that eight architects representing several different UC campuses sent administrators a letter dated... View full entry
Will the fire-ravaged interior of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris be more like Disneyland than France’s most emblematic place of worship when it reopens after a major restoration? So fear the outraged critics of a new interior design for the monument which was presented during a video conference earlier this year. — The Art Newspaper
Father Gilles Drouin is the man behind the new interiors, which he says are meant to respond to the multicultural visitorship that was originally not taken into consideration by the church, which spoke to a largely Christian audience before the fire. Critics have panned Drouin’s vision... View full entry
