Gehry Technologies to Transform the Building Industry through Technology
Update: The AIA has expressed their support for Gehry Technologies’ strategic alliance (reported last night on ArchDaily). “We applaud this enterprise by Gehry Technologies and the Board who are comprised of many AIA members because it is estimated that as much as 30% to as much as 50% of all time, money, materials and resources that go into a construction project do not add value to the final product,” said AIA President, Clark Manus, FAIA. “The AIA has long been advocating for tools such as Business Information Modeling and methodologies like Integrated Project Delivery that can help reduce the inefficiencies in construction projects. We are anxious to see the progress though this effort that will be beneficial for both the industry and clients.”
Today Frank Gehry, co-founder and chairman of Gehry Technologies (GT), announced plans to further his vision to ‘transform the building industry and the practice of design’. In an effort to redirect the profession back to solving both clients’ and communities’ problems Gehry has gathered together some of the world’s most prominent designers: David Childs, Massimo Colomban, Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn, Laurie Olin, Wolf D. Prix, David Rockwell, Moshe Safdie, Matthias Schuler, Patrik Schumacher, Ben van Berkel, and Richard Saul Wurman to serve on Gehry Technologies’ board of advisors.
“I am dedicated to giving architects better control of the process so they can deliver the fruits of their imagination, which is what our clients expect. I have gathered a group of my friends together who believe in this mission as much as I do and who can help me find the solutions that will ultimately lead to better buildings throughout the world,” stated Gehry.
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts / Moshe Safdie
Architects: Moshe Safdie
Location: Kansas, Missouri, USA
Project year: 2011
Photographs: Tim Hursley
Finalists for the National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Smithsonian Institute has announced the finalists for the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. The museum will be located at the end of the Washington Mall, being the latest addition to this location. The design concepts will be on show at the castle building until April 6. The, a jury will select a winner. The museum will open in 2015, at a cost of 500 million dollars.
Finalists are:
Foster + Partners and URS
Diller Scofidio + Renfro in association with Klingstubbins
The Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates and Davis Brody Bond
Devrouax & Purnell and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Moody Nolan in association with Antoine Predock Architects
Moshe Safdie and Associates in association with Sulton Campbell Britt & Associates
Seen at designboom. More images after the break.
Learning from the slums (2/2): the rediscovery
The model #1: Napoli, quartieri Spagnoli (image: flickr)
If the mainstream view on the slums describes them as places to escape from and as to destroy as soon as possible, more and more people look at slums in a different way.
The first glances at slums were from some of the architects involved in urban renewal projects, who started to integrate in their projects some elements of the slums. Some of the recurrent features are:
- narrow courtyards and alleys
- division of the building into small blocks
- use of different colors and materials within the same building.
