This year, we not only commemorate the 50 years of Frank Lloyd Wright’s death, but also the 50 years of the opening of one of his masterpieces: The Guggenheim Museum.

This is the second fourth time an architect receives this award, previously given to Oscar Niemeyer in 1989, Santiago Calatrava in 1999 and Franciscco Javier Sáenz de Oíza in 1993.

Just in time to commemorate the 50 years of the death of Frank Lloyd Wright, LEGO released two of his master pieces on their architecture series: the Guggenheim Museum (who opened 50 years ago) and the Falling Water House.

Vice Magazine

During the AIA Convention 2009 we had the chance to talk to different AEC software companies, to learn how they are helping architects. We decided to keep the conversation on the same interview format we have been using, so you can hear it straight from the developers.

As an architect, I have been involved/consulted on historic preservation proyects. Most of them never materialized, even after spending a lot of time/money between interested parties (government, institutions, communities). It´s Not that it was a waste of time, but after seeing what some communities are doing with almost no official support/money and just driven by their passion, it´s pretty much clear that it can be done in another way.

Let me show you an example: a group of architecture students from Universidad de Talca, in the south of Chile, decided to spend their summer working with a community in Lebu, an old city that was very active at the beginning of the last century thanks to coal mines nearby. Beautiful wooden buildings were erected during the bonanza, but once the coal mines started to shut down, the city lost its economic base and entered into recession until today. All of this beautiful buildings were endangered because of lack of maintenance, and as of today some of them have even been demolished.

So, these students decided to teach the community how to use Google SketchUp as a way to help them preserve their historic buildings. Being a free tool, all they had to go was to get a space and some computers. The local authorities helped them by providing a space for the workshops, and lots of people got interested on this program. They gathered old plans from the city hall and some historic archives, and each one of the 24 assistants to the workshop started to learn how to model in 3D using one of these historic buildings as a case study.

While in LA we had the chance to visit Standard, a small firm doing residential and retail projects. We visited their Tree House, featured earlier on AD, where i was able to see for myself the minimalism found in their works. A simple work, but with lots of well executed details and spaces designed to benefit from the views and the shadow of the tree.

The practice was founded in 1996 by Jeffrey Allsbrook (M Arch USC, studies at the at the Städelschule in Frankurt, Germany and at the Berlage Institute in Amsterdam) and Silvia Kuhle (Architect Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany, M Arch Columbia University).

Completed projects include residential, retail, educational, office and manufacturing spaces for a diverse clientele of artists, writers, filmmakers, clothing designers, educators and entrepreneurs in California, New York, Las Vegas, Paris and Mexico. While Standard continues to grow, its partners insist upon maintaining a practice that is rigorous and attentive. Direct accessibility and sustained dialogue between clients and the firm’s partners are viewed as essential to project success.

It was a very good talk, and i really liked their point of view on an central aspect of the profession: the clients.

Dutch architects MVRDV strike another one with a new mixed use project in the new inner city heart for the Laurens Quarter, the pre-war centre of Rotterdam.

The project, comissioned by Provast, includes an open air market, that due to new hygienic constraints of dutch laws has to be covered. It also includes 246 residences, that form an arc that covers the open market area.

This results on a 3,000sqm retail area, with a 1,600sqm catering area on the ground level and first floor, a 1,800sqm supermarket and an underground car park for 1,100 cars.

The interior face of the arc will be covered with LEDs for an ever changing interior. The front and backside are covered with a flexible suspended glass facade, allowing for maximum transparency and a minimum of structure.

This new icon for Rotterdam is expected to be completed in 2014. More images after the break.

Iwan Baan

Rem Koolhaas’ latest project -The Prada Transformer- is not just a building, but also a statement on today´s state of architecture. Dubbed the anti-blob, this “object” rejects all common blobby shapes we have seen lately. Simple geometrical shapes (a circle, a cross, a rectangle and an hexagon) enclose a space that depending on its rotation results on different spaces suitable for fashion exhibitions, cinema, art exhibitions and other special events. Each face is the platform on which these activities take place, while also being served by the other faces enclosing the space.

A few weeks ago we showed you part of the construction progress, which is already finished and opened in April 15th with a fashion exhibition (Waist Down – Skirts by Miuccia Prada, see video of animated skirts at the exhibition), that will be opened until May 31 when the Transformer will rotate into Cinema mode.

Architecture photographer Iwan Baan recently visited the Prada Transformer and shared with us this impressive photo set of the Transformer on Exhibition mode (see more after the break).

For me, search for the ultimate flexible space and the use of regular shapes puts several things in question. Transformable architecture is nothing new, but in times on which “mixed use” seems to be the 2nd typical characteristic of a building after “green”, this project makes a stand. No fancy shapes, no wind diagrams, no fancy structure, no shiny surfaces, no eye candy renderings. No blob. Just, a simple building.

Aerial collage: the new archipelago of incremented kaccha houses rising from a context of well built permanent homes in a typical slum.

The problem with social housing has been how to give the most with less money. We have very good examples in Europe, but the constrains are way different than the ones in developing countries. In these countries, almost all the constructions are done by anyone but architects. Clearly, in these countries architects can do something way better than just designing or constructing, developing strategies together with communities to achieve housing solutions that not only address today´s necessities, but that can also be extended over time as families grow, once again by themselves and without architects.

A good example on this is Elemental, lead by Alejandro Aravena, which has been changing not only design aspects of social housing, but also public policy. Currently, they have built and on going projects in Chile, Mexico and more countries.

But also, there´s the work that Filipe Balestra and Sara Göransson have been doing in India, invited by Sheela Patel and Jockin Arputham from SPARC to develop an Incremental Housing Strategy that could be implemented anywhere.

This Thursday, the chilean government presented the design for the Chilean Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010. The 2000sqm pavilion, named “Sprout of a New City” was designed by Sabbagh Arquitectos.

This was the first Latin American country to sign their participation on the Expo with their own pavilion.

The government emphasized that this pavilion will strength the relation between both countries, current commercial partners exchanging over US$17 billion.

More images after the break.

While walking around the booths at the AIA 2009 Convention, I stopped by Google, who are not only presenting Sketchup 7 but also showing architects how to market their firms using AdWords and YouTube.

Architects: Bernardes Jacobsen Architecture Location: Parque Villa-Lobos, São Paulo, Brazil Partners in Charge: Thiago Bernardes and Paulo Jacobsen Collaborators: Bernardo Jacobsen, Edgar Murata, Daniel Vannucchi and Rafael Oliveira Design year: 2008 Setting up: 2008 Photographs: Leonardo Finotti

A few weeks ago we had the chance to visit L.O.H.A. and interview Lorcan O’Herlihy in Los Angeles.

The AIA Convention 2009 starts this Thursday (Apr 30th)! It´s going to be 3 days of workshops, seminars, tours… and a good opportunity to meet and connect with other architects. And ArchDaily will be there, covering the highlights of the event. So if you are attending, please let us know in the comments!

This years theme “The Power of Diversity: Practice in a Complex World” addresses new forms of practicing the profession we are facing now in the global crisis/world.

There are several continuing education seminars aimed to keep you up to date with the latest green standards, how to start and grow your own practice, how to manage your team, and several more topics covering economy and emerging practices. Check full list here. If you can´t attend, you can follow the Virtual Convention.

There´s also a big expo area, with 5 pavilions showcasing the latest architectural products.

The list of speakers include: