Hasta La Ideas

We give thanks and praise to the Independent‘s Jay Merrick who has put together a terrific piece getting to the bottom of just what Prince Charles deal is, why he hates modern things, and this weekend’s starchitect uproar over his intervening over Richard Rogers‘ Chelsea Barracks project, trying to get the developer to find a less-modern architect. It’s a great look at both sides of the debate, giving equal time to Charles’ view and his starchitect foes (Rogers has been a long-time enemy of the Prince) by describing the history of the debate and the good and bad of this specific project itself. In the end, no one comes out very clean, because the world is rarely so black and white (e.g. the Prince’s problem with the place isn’t entirely just “the guy hates modern stuff” after all), but at least now we have a ton more information to make an educated decision about the whole thing.

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CR May issue cover, issue side. Photography: Luke Kirwan

The double, May issue of CR features nearly 100 pages of the finest work of the past year in The Annual, plus features on design for the London Olympics, advertising and YouTube, the amazing rollercoaster ride of Attik and, we hope, lots of other interesting thing too…

Cover, Annual side

The Designers Republic’s special issue steel cover for Autechre album, Quaristice, was one of our Best In Book selections. Warp and tDR have produced so much great work that this seemed a fitting endpoint for a great client/designer relationship

More spreads from The Annual

Will designers remember the London 2012 Olympics as fondly as they do those of 1968, 72 and 84? Not without an improved tendering process and a strong creative director, says Mark Sinclair

Inspiration? Rip-off opportunity? Eliza Williams looks at the effect of YouTube on advertising

The amazing rollercoaster ride of Attik

Beatrice Santiccioli colours your world – she may even have chosen the colour of your Mac

Airside is ten, but it nearly wasn’t. Gavin Lucas interviews Fred Deakin

Rick Poynor on Milton Glaser, artist

James Pallister reports from the Colophon magazine festival

Do we need 128 versions of the same typeface? David Quay responds

This month’s Monograph (for subscribers only) features Dixon Baxi designer Aporva Baxi’s collection of Nintendo Game & Watch games, shot by Jason Tozer

The May issue of CR is out on 22 April. Or you can subscribe, if you like…

The exhibition Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward opens at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York next month. (more…)

Speaking of Zaha Hadid, she has joined forces with an impressive roster of starchitects, including Jacques Herzorg, Norman Foster, and Renzo Piano, to put all of their names on a public letter to rally against the UK’s resident hater of all things modern, Prince Charles, for his trying to convince a developer to change the plans for his newest building, opting for a more traditional look than the original designed by Richard Rogers. The Prince, who we just talked about a short while back when he essentially pulled this same move and destroyed a charity’s chance at a new building, has caught the ire of this super team of architects who published said letter of disagreement in yesterday’s Sunday Times. Here’s a bit:

“If the prince wants to comment on the design of this or any other project we urge him to do so through the established planning consultation process,” they write.

“It is essential in a modern democracy that private comments and behind-the-scenes lobbying by the prince should not be used to skew the course of an open and democratic planning process that is currently under way.”

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Dublin architects FLK have completed a residence called A House in Dublin, Ireland. (more…)