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Stephen Chung: The Latest Architecture and News

Watch Now: Cool Spaces! First Full Episode Online Features North America's "Art Spaces"

Cool Spaces! The Best New Architecture has released their first full episode online. The PBS television series, hosted by Boston-based architect and professor Stephen Chung, AIA, profiles the most provocative and innovative public space architecture in North America. With the general public as its targeted audience, each hour-long episode is organized around a central theme - such as Art Spaces - and profiles three buildings. In this episode, Chung discusses what makes Tod Williams Billie Tsien’s Barnes Foundation, Steven Holl's Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Phil Freelon's Harvey B. Gantt Center so cool.

“People often ask me what Cool Spaces is all about. And I never can answer without giving a bit of background,” says host Stephen Chung. “You see, it really begins over seven years ago, during the recession, which decimated the architecture profession. In a four-year span, approximately 30% of all architecture jobs in the U.S. were lost — including my own. This time away from practice allowed me to reflect on the profession and its problems and to think about what role I might play in bringing about some positive change."

Cool Spaces! Premiers Tomorrow, Puts Architecture in the Spotlight

Stephen Chung's new PBS show Cool Spaces! hopes to engage the general public’s perception of design by "demystifying" contemporary architectural practice. You can tune in to the hour-long premier tomorrow (April 1) as Chung investigates the sports and performing arts spaces of Moshe Safdie (Kauffman Center for Performing Arts), HKS (Dallas Cowboys Stadium), and SHoP (Barclays Center).

New PBS Architecture Series Features 'Cool Spaces!'

In an age where almost every conceivable subject has spawned its own reality series - be it Dancing On Ice or Hillbilly-Hand-Fishing - PBS's new show, Cool Spaces!, aims to stimulate the public's curiosity by engaging us in the story behind some of North America's most interesting public buildings. The AIA sponsored show, which is hosted by Boston-based architect Stephen Chung, departs from usual architecture-related television shows, which tend to focus on makeovers of private homes. Not only will this show look at public buildings, but it will also examine the people who's lives it has affected, the places that have shaped it, and the mind of the architect who brought all of these things together to design it.

Read more about the series and see a sneak preview after the break...

Cool Spaces for PBS

Cool Spaces for PBS - Featured Image
Courtesy of Cool Spaces

PBS has released their sixteen finalists under consideration for piloting. Making their short-list is Cool Spaces, a show focused on featuring modern architecture, hosted by architect Stephen Chung. The show is slated to be a 13-part series focused on buildings in North America. The public spaces Chung would visit include libraries, restaurants, hotels, etc. with approximately two or three buildings featured per half hour episode.