More than 600 scholars and professionals are expected at the 67th Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) at Austin, Texas. For four days between April 9 and April 13, historians, city planners, civic leaders, preservationists, landscape architects, architects and more will discuss the issues that Austin faces as a fast-pace growing city. The discussion will also include tour to different architectural sites.
London’s skyline is currently going through a massive change. Over 200 towers are planned in the capital in an attempt to meet the needs of the capital’s growing population. So how will London’s skyline change in the next 20 years?
This April, New London Architecture (NLA) – London’s Centre for the Built Environment will explore this new skyline with London’s Growing... Up! Through the use of images, video, models, CGI’s and visitor interaction, the exhibition will present a past, present and future view of London’s skyline as the capital’s developers focus on building upwards rather than outwards.
Tehran, Iran’s capital, ranks among the world’s fast-growing cities. In the early 1940s, Tehran’s population was about 700,000. By 1966, it had risen to 3 million and by 1986 to 6 million. Today, the metropolitan area has more than 10 million residents. This explosive growth has had environmental and public health consequences, including air, water pollution and the loss of arable land and public realm. The ever increasing land value makes developments and the replacement of urban open space and easy choice. With the disappearance of open public plaza, by traffic islands and motorways the predominant public space left in the city is its many traffic arteries.
With a young population and the Cars as the main mode of transport in the city, the many highways of Tehran come to a grinding halt during rush hour.
Courtesy of Canadian Center for Architecture (CCA)
Opening May 7 at the Canadian Center for Architecture (CCA), the 'Archaeology of the Digital' exhibition will feature the work of Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Shoei Yoh and Chuck Hoberman while examining the foundations of digital architecture at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. Curated by architect Greg Lynn, the exhibition along with the related publication are conceived as object-based investigations of four pivotal projects by the featured architects that established distinct directions in architecture’s use of digital tools. The event delves into the genesis and establishment of digital tools for design conceptualization, visualization and production. The exhibit runs until October 13. For more information, please visit here.
Scheduled to be on view from July 10th to December 1st at MoMA New York, Tomas Ghisellini Architects will be presenting the international exhibition 'Cut'n'Paste'. With a recent project exposed, their exhibition is dedicated to design, composition and communication languages of contemporary architecture. For more information, please visit here.
Coming to Delft, The Netherlands this September 27-28, the Revit Technology Conference (RTC) is an independent training conference covering Building Information Modelling in all its aspects, with a core focus on workflows centred on the Autodesk Revit Technology. This is a unique ‘for users, by users’ event, where experts and leaders in the field of BIM share their knowledge and exchange their insights. With speakers and delegates from all aspects of the industry – from designers to owners, from surveyors to facility managers ‐ RTC provides many opportunities and benefits together in a single location. To register, and for more information, please visit here.
Taking place May 2-4, Tel Aviv’s upcoming 'Salute to the White City' weekend is a citywide festival in celebration of the Mediterranean coastal city's 10th anniversary of being named a UNESCO World Heritage site. Known as the 'White City,' Tel Aviv is home to more than 4,000 International Bauhaus style buildings built in the 1930’s by German Jewish architects following World War II. Today, Tel Aviv is home to the world's largest collection of Bauhaus architecture in the world. The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality is inviting guests to “Salute the White City” and celebrate its stunning collection of architecture and design-focused events, exhibitions and tours, including: Houses from Within--Bauhaus Edition, Guerilla Lighting in Tel Aviv, and Greening the White City. For more information, please visit here.
Having started this past Thursday, April 25th, and concluding in July, a team of British riders are cycling from Portland Oregon to Portland Place London with the intent of studying how cities are coping with the increasing interest in the bicycle as a credible form of urban transport. The riders will be making comparative analyses of the 12 major cities they ride through including how they are providing facilities and infrastructure for cycling. They, they will ride through the cities to experience cycling facilities directly and talking to local architects, cyclists and policy makers. On our return we will compare our findings with other expert groups, before publishing the research in print and digital formats. For more information, please visit here. A video of the event can be viewed after the break.
Taking place at NewSchool of Architecture and Design this Wednesday, May 1st, at 6:00pm, architect Peter Bohlin, FAIA, will be speaking on the topic of 'Soft Modernism – The Nature of Circumstance'. Using examples of the firm’s work from early to current projects, Peter will discuss the rich and powerful buildings of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson that resulted from The Nature of Circumstance. These range from the nature of places, both man-made and natural, to the varied nature of humans and their particular activities and to the nature of the means with which we build. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit here.
The extensive damage to low-lying waterfront zones caused by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 reinforced the need for resilient infrastructure and redevelopment strategies for existing coastal communities throughout the greater New York area. Costly damage to buildings, roads, and utility systems by the storm raises the controversial question of whether areas of particular geographic vulnerability should be rebuilt, maintained and defended, or simply abandoned. In an effort to solicit creative ideas, theFAR ROC [For a Resilient Rockaway] competition seeks innovative proposals for the design and development of a comprehensive new master plan for Arverne East, a vacant 80+ acre Urban Renewal site on the Rockaway Peninsula in New York City. Submissions are due no later than June 14. For more information, please visit here.
Above all, another pamphlet is a conversation, a loose exchange of forms and ideas, an excuse to play, a frame through which to look, a shared excitement. It is an open dialogue with our friends, our histories, and our surroundings. Meaning both “more of the same” and “something different”, “another” contains the seeds of both continuity and change. Another pamphlet mines this contradiction - this tension between past and future - opportunistically interrogating, critiquing, and celebrating the discipline of architecture. Their latest issue, Symmetry no.05, was just released and they are having a launch event this Thursday, May 2, from 6:00pm-8:00pm at Printed Matter, Inc. in New York City. For more information, and to order a pamphlet, please visit here.
MONU, a unique bi-annual international forum for artists, writers and designers that are working on topics of urban culture, development and politics, just released their newest issue #18 on the topic of 'Communal Urbanism'. How should we live together? is the central question focusing on contemporary communal living in cities. According to Martin Abbott's contribution "Learning to Live Together", this is a question often discussed among the housemates of Berlin's 40 year old communal "Hausprojekt Walde". Rainer Langhans, one of the early members of the legendary "Kommune 1", founded in Berlin in 1967, is convinced that in the future we will live increasingly communally. For more information on MONU's latest issue, please visit here.
Courtesy of Strelka Institute for Media Architecture and Design
Officially launched this month by Strelka Institute for Media Architecture and Design, the International Competition for Zaryadye Park in Moscow, Russia is challenging participants to develop an Architecture and Landscaping Design Concept that will form the basis for the creation of a contemporary Park with a high quality infrastructure that will be open for the public all year round. Zaryadye is a unique historic district in downtown Moscow, and after the demolition of Hotel Russia, the site has remained abandoned for over 6 years. In late January, 2012, Prime Minister and President-Elect Vladimir Putin proposed to turn this 130 000 sq. m area into a multi-functional public park. The deadline for submissions is May 22. For more information, please visit here.
Courtesy of Center for Architecture & AIA New York
Opening today at the Center for Architecture in New York, the 'Low Rise High Density' exhibition examines a housing type celebrated in the 1960s and ‘70s, and what it means in the United States today. Co-sponsored by the Institute for Public Architecture with AIA New York, architectural drawings, photographs, and oral histories will be presented with project architects, tracing the typology over the last 50 years. The exhibition will be on view until June 29. More information after the break.
Courtesy of University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts
With programs in both Eugene and Portland, the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts recently launched their Spring 2013 lecture series which began early this month with Neri Oxman of MIT's Media Lab, and concludes May 16th with University of Oregon's Judith Sheine's lecture in Portland. The lectures take place in Portland, Eugene, or in both cities, depending on the lecture. The full list of remaining lectures can be viewed after the break.
Jacques Rougerie, a famous French Sea oriented architect, had the chance during his career to receive help and support from those who believed in his talent. Open to everyone, his foundation, the Jacques Rougerie Foundation, has launched an International Competition which aspires to offer a unique opportunity for students in architecture, engineering or design, from all around the world to make their projects come true, or simply to reward their creativity. The competition aims to reward the most innovative, creative and bold projects at the service of architectural innovation, relative to topics that are dear to the foundation; Water and Space. The deadline for entries is May 28. For more information, please visit here.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters recently announced the recipients of its 2013 architecture awards. Beginning in 1955 with the inauguration of the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, this is awarded to a preeminent architect from any country who has made a significant contribution to architecture as an art. In 1991, the Academy began giving Arts and Letters Awards (formerly called Academy Awards) to honor American architects whose work is characterized by a strong personal direction. An additional award category was created in 2003 to honor an American from any field who has contributed to ideas in architecture through any medium of expression. Information on the winners after the break.