Karissa Rosenfield
Glamour Magazine names Zaha Hadid as ‘Woman of the Year’
As per usual, Zaha Hadid has been making headlines this week, starting with the release of her newly constructed Galaxy SOHO project in central Beijing and followed by an outpour of recognition within the world of architecture for her 62nd Halloween birthday. Well now, the Dame is making waves in an entirely different territory, as Glamour Magazine has announced Hadid as the “Woman of the Year 2012”.
The magazine centered around fashion, beauty and gossip, has labeled the first female Pritzker Prize laureate as “The Lady Gaga of Architecture”. Glamour praised Hadid’s tenacious demeanor that allowed her to succeed in a “man’s job” and become “one of the most accomplished architects on earth”.
Read Glamour’s complete tribute here.
Italian architect Gae Aulenti dies at 84
Architect, designer and theoretician Gae Aulenti (1927-2012) died late Wednesday night in her Milan home at the age of 84. The Palazzolo della Stella native will always be remembered as being one of the few well recognized women that worked in Italian postwar design. Throughout her career, Aulenti’s multi-faceted talent contributed greatly to the evolution of art, architecture and design.
continue reading for more…
Solar Carve Tower / Studio Gang Architects
Jeanne Gang is about to make her New York debut, as the Chicago-based architect just unveiled the latest project planned to border New York City’s beloved High Line. The 180,000 square-foot office tower with ground level retail will replace an existing, disused meatpacking plant along 10th Avenue between 13th and 14th streets. It will feature a “gem-like”, glass facade that is intelligently shaped to avoid the disruption of light, air and views from the High Line.
Dubbed the Solar Carve Tower, the mid-rise structure is currently pending city approval and is planned for completion in 2015.
Continue after the break for the architects’ description.
New York: Night and Day
Amidst the post-Sandy recovery efforts, we would like to share with you New York: Night and Day by Philip Stockton. The New York-based animator and director created the film in attempt to explore the city’s relationships between night and day from a series of fifteen preconceived locations. Using an interesting mix of non-traditional video time-lapse and animation, Stockton combined four to eight hours of footage from each location into single sequences using rotoscoping techniques.
Review each location after the break…
Starchitect Trick-Or-Treaters
What’s scarier, Ando as a mime or Zaha as a witch? With their Costume Critique | Morbid Models post, Building Satire transformed Tadao Ando, Bjarke Ingels, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas and Jean Nouvel into creepy trick-or-treaters. Review them all after the break!
SOM breaks ground on New York’s First Net Zero Energy School
A few days before the wrath of Sandy, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) broke ground on what will be the first net zero energy school in New York City and the Northeast U.S. Located on a 3.5-acre site on Staten Island, at the intersection of Crabtree Avenue and Bloomingdale Road, P.S.62 Richmond will serve 444 pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students. When completed in Fall of 2015, the cutting-edge primary school will harvest as much energy from renewable on-site sources as it uses on an annual basis.
Learn more after the break…
Wave Dilfert / The Principals
Wave Dilfert: Wave (moves in wave-form oscillations) + Dilfert (geek-like intelligence, absorbs information like a sponge).
Wave Dilfert is a new kind of space that reads the changes in light and shadow occurring within it, catalogs and calculates them, then pulses, contracts or expands in reaction. The installation was inspired by the work of Ushahidi; a non-profit, crowdsourcing disaster relief, tech innovator. Much how Ushahidi de-mystifies the complexities of war-torn or disaster ridden locales, The Principals developed a system that could de-mystify the complexities of space through sourcing the information of its users and making it accessible through interaction.
Mayor Emanuel supports Prentice Hospital Demolition
Despite strong opposition from preservationists and architects world-wide, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced his decision to support the demolition of Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital. In a op-ed piece released by the Chicago Tribune, Emanuel supported his stance by arguing that Northwestern’s new biomedical research facility would “bring 2,000 jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment” to Chicago. Emanuel believes Goldberg’s “vision is alive in Chicago beyond one building” and allowing Northwestern to build the new medical center is crucial in keeping Chicago at the forefront of scientific innovation.
Emanuel stated, “Chicago’s architectural legacy is part of a larger story of a city that has been a trailblazer from the beginning and remains on the forefront of design and dance, medicine and manufacturing. To honor that legacy and build on it for the next generation of Chicagoans, we cannot simply preserve the past: we must promote opportunity for the future.”
In return, Northwestern has committed to “include a Chicago architect in its design process, adhere to the city’s minority hiring requirements, preserve other historic buildings and ensure public safety around the new building.”
BIG and Diller Scofidio Renfro shortlisted for Barangaroo Central
The redevelopment of Sydney’s an inner-city waterfront precinct of Barangaroo is making progress, as the Barangaroo Delivery Authority (BDA) has announced the five teams shortlisted for the master planning services for Barangaroo Central. The project will complete the long term vision for Barangaroo, which was masterplanned by Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners, by forming the “heart of the site” that will be the transition along the waterfront walk from the southern urban and commercial spaces to the natural form six hectare of the Headland Park.
The full shortlist includes:
Finalists announced for Japan’s New National Stadium
Tadao Ando and the Japan Sport Council (JSC) have announced the eleven finalists who will compete in the final round of the international competition for the New National Stadium Japan. With the reconstruction, the National Stadium hopes to attract world-class events with the world’s largest spectator capacity and the world’s finest hospitality. The new stadium is already committed to hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup and is slated for competition in 2018.
Tadao Ando describes: “Our wish is to see a stadium designed by someone who shares this earth, with wisdom and technology that looks to the future of out planet.”
The finalists after the break…
Höweler + Yoon Architecture wins Audi Urban Future Award 2012
Eric Höweler and J. Meejin Yoon of Höweler + Yoon Architecture have been announced as winners of the Audi Urban Future Award 2012, an international architecture competition focused on the future of urban mobility in the five metropolitan regions Boston/Washington, Istanbul, Mumbai, Pearl River Delta, and São Paulo. With “Shareway”, the Boston firm’s winning proposal called for the reinvention of the Boston-Washington, D.C., metropolitan region called “Boswash”.
Höweler+Yoon Architecture was one of the five architectural offices that were selected for the competition. Other participating firms were Superpool (Istanbul), CRIT (Mumbai), Node Architecture & Urbanism (Pearl River Delta), and Urban-Think Tank (São Paulo).
We had the chance to interview the practices and ask them about the role of the architect in our society. We also talked to Eric Höweler about this project during the awards ceremony, video coming soon.
Project Description by Höweler+Yoon Architecture:
Warming Huts v.2013 Proposal / Lateral Office
Toronto-based practice Lateral Office has shared with us their proposal for the Warming Huts v.2013 competition, entitled “Drift-Pass”. Inspired by the act of manipulating a snow fence, the plywood pavilion offers ice skaters shelter alongside the longest naturally frozen trail in the world in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Continue reading for the architects’ description.
Volta Centre, Basel / Buchner Bründler Architekten
Architects: Buchner Bründler Architekten
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Project Leader: Nicole Johann, David Merz, Lukas Baumann
Client: Implenia Generalunternehmung AG, The Real Project AG
Landscape architect: Dipol Landschaftsarchitekten
Photography: Paul Clemence, Ruedi Walti
TEDx: Brilliant designs to fit more people in every city / Kent Larson
With industrialization came unchecked suburbia and car-centric lifestyles. But now, in the rapidly approaching age of the super city, our current standards of living will not suffice. According to MIT Research Scientist Kent Larson, 21st century cities will account for 90% of global population growth, 80% of all global CO2, and 75% of all global energy use.
Understanding that the global population faces serious issues of overcrowding, affordability and overall quality of life, Larson presents new technologies that intend to make future cities function like the small village of the past. Folding cars and quick-change apartments with robotic walls are just a some of the fascinating innovations he and his colleagues are currently developing.
WSJ names Wang Shu ‘Innovator of the Year 2012′
The Wall Street Journal announced Wang Shu as architecture’s “Innovator of the Year 2012”, commending his “deceptively simple” vision that is “drafting a new architectural blueprint for his country”. The 49-year-old Chinese architect, whose work has been described as China’s “new regional style”, is one of the most influential architects in what is becoming one of the most important countries in the world.
After founding Amateur Architecture Studio with his wife, Lu Wenyu, in 1997, the Pritzker Prize laureate has created a succession of acclaimed projects throughout China, from civic buildings to private homes to exhibition pavilions. Some of his most prominent works include the monumental Ningbo Museum of Art, constructed of locally salvaged materials, and the uniquely crafted Xiangshan Campus for the China Academy of Art. Both projects exhibit Shu’s innovative balance between traditional and contemporary Chinese architecture that remains deeply rooted within it’s context.
Beton Hala Waterfront Center / Sou Fujimoto Architects
Sou Fujimoto Architects have shared with us their first place proposal for the Beton Hala Waterfront Centre in Belgrade, Serbia. Contrasting the medieval fabric of the capital city, Sou Fujimoto’s “floating cloud” intertwines an array of social and transportation programs into an organized tangle of suspended ramps that emerge from the static platform of the Beton Hala. It was lauded by the jury to be a “brave proposal” that holds the “highest emblematic potential among all of Beton Hala entries”.
Learn more after the break.
Rio 2016: RUA Arquitetos to design Olympic Golf Course Clubhouse
The Brazilian Institute of Architects and Rio de Janeiro department (IAB-RJ) have announced architects Pedro Évora and Pedro Rivera of RUA Arquitetos as winners of a competition to design the 2016 Olympic golf course clubhouse. The competition, open to professionals who graduated within the last 15 years, attracted entries from 82 teams of architects and landscape architects from across Brazil.
RUA Arquitetos’ winning scheme captures the atmosphere of Rio by showcasing the lush tropical landscape of Barra da Tijuca with a large veranda whose lightweight roof collects rainwater to irrigate the course.
Continue reading for the architects’ project description.
MVVA and Thomas Phifer to transform Austin’s downtown with Waller Creek redesign
Michael Van Valkenburg Associates (MVVA) and Thomas Phifer & Partners have been announced as winners of an international competition set to transform 15 blocks of the neglected Waller Creek in downtown Austin, Texas, into a vibrant local attraction. Co-sponsored by the nonprofit Waller Creek Conservancy and the City of Austin, the ambitious project intends to spearhead redevelopment within the city’s central business district with the 1.5 mile urban scheme that represents approximately 11 percent of Austin’s downtown.
“Today, we glimpse a transformation of Austin through a new community gathering place. This design team selection illustrates our City’s desire for great civic space, unique culture and opportunity for interaction with nature,” Austin Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole said during the City Hall announcement. “We look forward to each new milestone of this development.”
Jeanne Gang and Michael Kimmelman’s proposal to save Prentice Women’s Hospital
The preservation battle continues over the fate of Bertrand Goldberg’s 1970’s Prentice Woman’s Hospital. As we reported in July, an ever-growing community of prominent architects – such as Frank Gehry, Jeanne Gang, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien – have joined preservationists in the fight to save the late modernist structure that is at risk of being replaced by a new biomedical research facility for Northwestern University.
The seven-story concrete cloverleaf, cantilevered 45 feet from the supporting core and floating atop a glass and steel box, is an engineering feat ahead of it’s time as well as an important icon within the Chicago skyline. As architecture critic Michael Kimmelman argues, “Great late-Modernist buildings, innovative and ruggedly beautiful, deserve respect and, increasingly, careful custody. Prentice is a good example.” However, it is not suited for 21st-century research labs and many Chicagoans hate it. Currently, Northwestern University is leading the debate by arguing that a new building would “bring to the city millions of investment dollars, create jobs and save lives”.
Could there be a compromise? Solutions are rarely black-and-white. Kimmelman has consulted Chicago architect Jeanne Gang to envision a proposal that would satisfy both opposing sides. Continue reading to learn more.
Kahn’s FDR Four Freedoms Park Opens in NYC!
October 24 marks the long-awaited grand opening of the Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Four Freedoms Park in New York City. Located on a triangular site formed by the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, the four-acre FDR memorial park stands for the “freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear”. It was conceived nearly four decades ago by the legendary architect Louis Kahn, shortly before his death in 1974.
Read our previous coverage for all the design details and get a sneak peak after the break with images from the dedication ceremony.
Kenneth Frampton wins 2012 Schelling Architecture Theory Prize
British-American architect and historian Kenneth Frampton has been confirmed as this year’s winner of the Theory Prize of the Schelling Architecture Foundation. The jury is honoring Frampton for his “fundamental studies on tectonics and the architectonic large-scale form as predominant elements of urban landscapes. His theoretical range encompasses a vastness that no other prominent thinker in architecture has yet achieved. In addition, he will be honored for his accurate studies in which he has been analyzing current construction processes as well as the history of modern architecture since the early 19th century”.
As the winner of the 2012 Theory Prize, Frampton will now participate as a jury member in the selection of the Schelling Architecture Prize winner. Given that of the ten winners of the Schelling architecture prize four of them have already won the Pritzker Prize – most recently Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu – the nomination for the Schelling Architecture Prize is in itself a distinction.
The three nominated practices for the €20,000 Schelling Architecture Prize are:
