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Centre Pompidou in MetzA satellite of Paris' Centre Pompidou opens in Metz, designed by Shigeru Ban! YUMM!
Happy 50th Birthday, Brasilia!"Brasilia was a city built at high speed in the late 1950s, fulfilling a long held Brazilian dream to have a new capital in the heart of the country." Great pics of a tremendous project.
New American Embassy in London"The architecture of American embassies has been stuck lately in a predictable tug-of-war between a desire to express openness and an obsession, in an age of terrorism, with security. The design for the new U.S. Embassy in London, released Tuesday morning by the State Department, finds a novel way to move past that split and take diplomatic architecture into fresh territory." It's about time!
A container full of Boy ScoutsThe Boy Scouts commission sustainable accommodations for a Catalina campground. “The Boy Scouts have been looking to modernize their image,” says Richard Hammond (Gensler). With a bit of coaxing, they were willing to embrace the idea of container dwellings that acted more like open tents than completely enclosed cabins." Big kudos!
Bird's Nest on thin iceSpeaking of the Olympics, what about Beijing's architectural wonders built for the Games? Well, you can ski on a 300 foot slope next to the Herzog & de Meuron designed icon for $26 (gotta pay for the $15 mil annual upkeep somehow). And the Water Cube aquatics center is being transformed into a water park (no p in the ool, please).
Richard Landry's Mammoth HouseLandry Design Group has been named one of Architectural Digest magazine's 100 top architects and designers in the world multiple times. I wanted to like his house in Mammoth Lakes, California more... but... [slideshow]
Shroomin' on TargetArchitect and SCI-Arc professor Roger Sherman ate a bunch of shrooms (and donuts) and then wondered what would happen if Target were to break out of the big-box. He calls it "a way for big box retailers to strategically locate themselves in urban infill areas," I call it something else, but it is pretty interesting.
FAILA slideshow of "ambitious architectural failures" which includes iconic buildings from Fallingwater to Pruitt-Igoe.
Lorcan O'Herlihy puts lipstick on a pig...actually, he wraps an old stucco house in polyester... same diff. [slideshow]
Flawed Building Likely a Big ElementNo doubt we have been watching the horrific images of the earthquakes of Haiti and stared in disbelief at how the vast majority of the buildings just crumbled. "Engineers and architects who have worked in or visited Haiti say that substandard design, inadequate materials and shoddy construction practices likely contributed to the collapse of many buildings in the earthquake that struck Tuesday." writes Harry Fountain.
Thom Mayne on Green Design"LEED should give performance requirements and let the architect solve the problem. The point system doesn't scale. A bike rack and air conditioning get you the same point. I'd much rather see BTU and CO2 requirements and let the professional community solve the problem. If you give proscriptive requirements, it stagnates new development and research. It's like taking a blue book test."
Brad Pitt’s Gifts to New Orleans"In 2007, frustrated by the slow pace of rebuilding in the Lower Ninth, Brad Pitt set up a foundation called Make It Right; the foundation then commissioned 13 architecture firms to design affordable, green houses. The organization plans to build 150 homes, all for returning Lower Ninth residents. So far, just 15 of them are occupied, but those 15 make a big impression..."
Ooooh Zahaaa!"Maxxi(the new museum of contemporary art designed by Zaha Hadid), which opens to the public on Saturday for a two-day “architectural preview,” jolts this city back to the present like a thunderclap. Its sensual lines seem to draw the energy of the city right up into its belly, making everything around it look timid..." And if Nicolai likes it...
Meet the AckermansLOS ANGELES, Calif., October 29, 2009—Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman, influential mid-century Calfiornia artist/designers, today unveiled a new web site that will allow collectors, designers, historians, and others to learn more about the couple and their remarkable body of work.
YAYA 2009 Shortlist AnnouncedThe Young Architect of the Year Award 2009 has announced this year five shortlisted architects' firms. Head over to BD Online to read the firms' submitted A1 boards of their work...
Santa Monica repeals landmark status of former architecture school"The Santa Monica City Council has voted to repeal the landmark designation of a building that once housed the progressive Southern California Institute of Architecture."
STABLE S.F.Architecture + Food= Mmmmmhhhh!!! "We thought it was such a neat idea that the architect was working next to his partner, the chef, who was growing vegetables right there between the two businesses." I hope neither give you indigestion...
Zaha pitches a tentWell, not herself, of course. She has people to drop complex yet boring blobs in Chicago for her... "elegantly late, as new contractors struggled to keep her cutting-edge fabric architecture, stretched over 7,000 bent aluminum tubes, from toppling in Chicago’s famous winds." You mean Chicago is a windy city?! Now how could she ever have known that one...
Close Encounters......with the neighbors? "The structure created by the architect Wilfred J. O. Armster is no alien craft, ... but a condo! “Monstrous,” is how a few described the project in an article in The New Haven Register." Hats off to Mr. Armster!
Mountainside housing in Copenhagen... huh?Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) went big making a mountain out of a... parking garage… with apartments stacked on the virtual mountainside. Apropos, the complex is called Mountain Dwellings.
The edges of thingsHugh Perlman meets with Snøhetta in Oslo. It's the best architectural office he's ever visited, and they talk about the opera house, new work, etc.
Rural Studio--Life After Sambo"Founded by the late Samuel Mockbee, the Rural Studio has now morphed into a hothouse of practical and pragmatic design, helping students to redefine the terms of socially relevant architecture."
Paperhouse kiosksHeatherwick Studios' sculptural street vendor kiosks hit the streets of London. They smack a bit of FLLW, but that form does function...
Ethics above architectureDesign is incidental in the socially responsible work of architect (and L+L homeboy) Teddy Cruz and artist Pedro Reyes.
Real architects deconstruct video gamesUsing Tetris as a guide to reducing waste material, among other things. Deep.
Dwell retools on prefab with Marmol Radziner, Turkel DesignChris Hawthorne echos our thoughts excactly... Dwell has invested a lot in the concept of PreFab, and with DOD this weekend... well...
Down with the "idiot avant garde"The "young generation" of architects and designers in Britian reject the argument over modern vs. tradition and dismiss the relevance of "signature style" design. These contemporary designers do not dismiss Prince Charles's views.
In Athens, Museum Is an Olympian FeatMore on the new Acropolis Museum, with more pictures too. [slideshow]