This time last year we published our 30 Architecture Docs to Watch in 2013 featuring a fantastic range of films telling the tales of some of the world's greatest unsung architectural heroes. We now bring you eleven more for 2014, looking past the panoply of stars to bring you more of the best architectural documentaries which will provoke, intrigue and beguile.
La Maison au Bord de L'Eau, an unrealized beach house in Miami designed by architect, designer, planner and photographer Charlotte Perriand, has been built by Louis Vuitton for a Design Miami 2013 satellite exhibition. Designed in 1934, the house was first conceived for a design contest held by L’architecture d’aujourd’hui magazine with the aim of creating a simple, economical form of holiday lodging for the mass market. After winning second prize it was never built but, eight decades later, "Perriand’s studies prove quite contemporary in light of the advancements in wooden architecture."
Miami Beach city commissioners have unanimously agreed to abandon the $1 billion redevelopment of its 52-acre convention center district, which aimed to radically reinvent the area. This decision comes just six months after the city awarded developer South Beach ACE and OMA the bid after an international, highly-publicized competition that pitted OMA against BIG.
“For the purposes of getting this project done fast, on time, on budget, it’s unfortunate that we’ll have to make a very tough, challenging decision,” said Miami Beach Mayer Philip Levine, “To some people, it’s a little disheartening. To other people, it’s a very fresh start.”
As reported by the Miami Herald, the city plans to reinstate a bid for the renovation of the city-owned convention center as well as another for the development of a nearby hotel. Under the new bid, the city will no longer be required to attain 60 percent of voter approval to build. By doing this, Levine believes the renovation will be expedited.
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According to the latest Tall Trends Report, 73 buildings in excess of 200 meters were completed in 2013 worldwide, the second highest total only behind 2011 with 81 completions. The increase of completions from 2012 to 2013 continues a significant upward trend that, since 2000, has seen an astounding 318 percent increase in tall buildings.
After being rejected for appearing too “boxy” and not appealing enough to pedestrians, Related Companies’ revamped Grand Avenue vision has finally won unanimous approval from county supervisors. The $750-million plan, which was abruptly halted back in September when Gensler’s toned-down version was deemed greatly “disappointing” by the city, will now move forward with a more playful (and pricey) design by the project’s original architect, Frank Gehry.
In a must-read interview with Christopher Hawthorne of the Los Angeles Times, Liz Diller defends her firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and their design of the MoMA expansion.
Hawthorne asks some great, insightful questions: from whether or not architecture should be considered ephemeral to whether or not idiosyncratic architecture is more vulnerable to change. Diller responds with some fascinating points, claiming that if DS+R's ICA museum in Boston faced demolition, she'd understand because of the possibility that "at a certain point [a building] takes on another identity." But perhaps the most poignant response is the one that she gives regarding the maelstrom of negative criticism surrounding the demolition of the Folk Art Museum, saying, "We would be on the same side if we didn’t know all the details that we know." To learn more about those "details," read on for excerpts from the interview...
In today’s uncertain times, higher education needs to evolve along with the high-speed, changing market where young designers develop. For this reason, IE’s School of Architecture & Design combines online and onsite training based in Madrid and London. This structure is designed for professionals that wish to learn by doing and have the desire to take on the master while they continue to work.
Following a year of high-profile debates surrounding women in architecture, the results from the Architects' Journal (AJ) third annual survey entitled Women in Architecture has been revealed. According to the AJ, "two thirds of women in architecture have suffered sexual discrimination at work, an eight point increase since the survey began in 2011", and "88% of women respondents believe that having children puts women at a disadvantage in architecture." Even though women in architecture believe that they are paid equally to men, they can in fact "earn as much as £10,000 ($16,500) less than their male counterparts." More, after the break.
The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) have selected nine projects for the 2014 Institute Honor Award for Interior Architecture. Recognized as some of the most “outstanding building interiors created by architects licensed in the United States,” these projects will be honored at the AIA 2014 National Convention and Design Exposition in Chicago.
Sellar Property Group has announced plans to commission yet another Renzo Piano-designed tower in London at the base of The Shard. Replacing the current Fielden House, a 1970s office building located on London Bridge Street, the new 27-story residential tower plans to provide 150 apartments, retail space and roof garden. As part of the area’s regeneration plan, the project will be the third Piano-designed building on the block.
To celebrate the launch of ArchDaily Materials, our new product catalog, we've rounded up 10 awesome projects from around the world that were inspired by one material: glass. Check out the projects after the break...
A team led by London-based masterplanners Gillespies has been announced as the winner of an international competition to design the largest theme park in Europe. Planned for a 1,000-hectare site in the Domodevdovo district of Moscow, “Park Russia” aims to merge concepts of healthy living, entertainment and education into one commercially attractive tourist destination.
The winning Cushman & Wakefield-led UK consortium includes architectural design firm Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, engineer Buro Happold, cost consultant Rider Levett Bucknall and place makers Fourth Street.
IE School of Architecture and Design has reached an agreement with WAYRA TELEFÓNICA to organize a Design Challenge with the students of the Master in Work Space Design.
The challenge will consist in looking for ideas to re-design their astonishing 12.000 square foot premises located in the 8th floor of the historic building of Telefónica in Gran Vía, the heart of Madrid.
WAYRA is a start-up accelerator belonging to IT giant TELEFÓNICA, with presence in more than twelve countries through their network of WAYRA Academies, where they host and mentor young startups for a year.
You can now use ArchDaily's content on Field Trip, an app which notifies you when you get close to something architecturally interesting. With ArchDaily's daily feed now embedded within the app, when you approach a building we've covered your phone will alert you and provide you with photos, facts and information. More info, after the break...
The AIA has given the 25 year award - for architectural projects which have stood the test of time - to the Washington DC Metro System. Designed by Harry Weese and opened in 1976, the metro system has been praised for its application of a sense of civic dignity to the function of transportation, as well as the consistency of the design across its 86 stations. You can read an accompanying article about the design of the Metro System here.
Kathryn Findlay, educator and co-founder of Ushida Findlay Architects, has been named winner of the 2014 Jane Drew Prize. This announcement comes shortly after the news of Findlay’s death, which was unknown at the time of the jury’s decision. Known as “one of the most talented people in British architecture,” Findlay will be remembered for her “outstanding contribution to the status of women in architecture.”
Among the biggest challenges facing city planners is to implement plans which are not just needed, but also popular. In a bid to address this common problem of democratic city design, the Strelka Institute developed What Moscow Wants, an online platform designed to crowdsource ideas for the development of Moscow.
What Moscow Wants consists of a three-step process: residents first propose ideas on the website (ranging from the prosaic suggestion of a standardized city-wide parking bollard, to the outlandish idea of an underwater museum in the Moscow River); next, local architectural practices chose suggestions which they felt they could contribute a solution to and posted their proposals to the website; finally, the most popular choices were presented by the architects at the Moscow Urban Forum from the 5-7th of December.
Read on after the break to see a selection of the most popular projects
John McAslan + Partners, already known for their involvement in humanitarian issues thanks to their work in Haiti, are now turning their attention to Tottenham in London, as reported by The Guardian. The practice hopes that by opening a new office on the high street of Tottenham, the area notorious as the crucible of the riots that spread across the UK in August 2011, and by engaging with the community, they can help to make a change. Read the full story here.
Slowly, and surely not lacking critique, Santiago Calatrava's transport hub rises $2 billion over budget, SOM's Freedom Tower — now, more mundanely referred to as 1WTC — is recognized as the tallest building in the western hemisphere and there is still a considerable amount of development yet to be done on the World Trade Center. Read Edwin Heathcote's article on the Financial Times regarding the good, the bad and the ugly: "Rebuilding the World Trade Center: A Progress Report."
Recently, the Bauhaus Foundation has opened the residential block of the famous building, offering tourists the chance to spend a night. Seizing the opportunity, Olly Wainwright reports on what it feels like to stay - finding it to be a "primordial soup of originals and copies, and copied originals", from Albers to Ikea, and coming to the conclusion that it may now be missing the party atmosphere it was once famous for. But at only €35 a night, he hopes the chance to stay will "attract crowds of architecture and design students, to reinfect the pristine white shell with the spirited energy it needs." You can read the full article here.
A recent, well-written article for The Guardian chronicles the story of Sydney's East Darling Harbour (also known as 'Barangaroo'), from the city's optimism in 2003 to the relative disappointment of today. David Shoebridge, a New South Wales Greens MP and the party's planning spokesperson, recounts the series of compromises and sellouts that have turned what was meant to be a "prime public space" into - to add insult to injury - the site for a casino.You can read this cautionary tale in full here.
Picking a university to study at can be an incredible challenge, especially with architecture courses which can last up to 7 years at some institutions - and knowing what to expect can take hours of research. That's why the Italian magazine Domus has helpfully made its 2014 supplement of Europe's top 50 schools in both architecture and design available for free online. It's sure to be an invaluable resource for anyone considering their options for architecture or design courses in Europe.
Read on for more about the resource
In a provocative article, The Atlantic Cities explores the dilemma which Portland currently finds itself in: the Michael Graves-designed Portland Building, one of the most important examples of early postmodernism, requires renovation work to the tune of $95 million; unfortunately, most residents of Portland "really, really hate" the building - as they have since it was constructed in 1983. Should the city spend so much money renovating a building which is unpopular, dysfunctional and poorly built just because of its cultural significance? Read the original article for more.
Eleven projects have been selected to receive the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) 2014 Institute Honor Award for Architecture, an award known as the profession’s high recognition for works in the United States that exemplify excellence in architecture. These projects, and the architects who designed them, will be honored at the AIA 2014 National Convention and Design Exposition in Chicago.
A glimpse, after the break...
But you can browse the last one: 417
