Image from Dezeen
The Architectural Review, which relaunches this month has been redesigned by Alexander Boxill. The redesign is the first in 20 years for the long standing magazine established more than 100 years ago. Thoughts?
Architectural Review Masthead:
Belgian architects Robbrecht en Daem and London office Witherford Watson Mann Architects have completed an extension to the Whitechapel gallery in London, UK. (more…)
If you’ve been to Miami recently and happened not to have already imbibed too much of the company’s product, you likely caught a glimpse of Bacardi‘s iconic, mural-wrapped headquarters. They’ve been in the very modern building since the 1960s, but now that they’re preparing to move to a larger, blander structure, locals and architecture buffs alike are starting to grow concerned about how to protect the landmark once the company heads out and another buyer isn’t waiting in the wings to move in. Fortunately, groups have formed to try and figure out how to save it, likely breathing something of a sigh of relief at Florida’s now-dismal housing construction industry, as even just a year ago the building probably would have been demolished mere seconds after the last employee shut off the lights as work began on new condos. But they still have an uphill road to climb. Here’s a bit:
Some hope Bacardi will retain the buildings, and perhaps endow them for use as a cultural center. Others say a nonprofit owner, perhaps a foundation, might be the solution. Still others believe the site retains commercial possibilities because of its location on a resurgent Boulevard and the large lot, which has space for new construction.
The fear among preservationists is what might happen if Bacardi unloads the buildings. Because they are not protected as a historic landmark, nothing would stop an owner from altering them or knocking them down.
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Architect Dietmar Koering of Arphenotype has designed these electricity pylons for a competition to envisage a new power transmission network in Iceland. (more…)
Los Angeles architects Frederick Fisher and Partners have sent in images of Santa Ynez Residence, a family home in California’s Santa Ynez Valley. (more…)
So as to give you a bit of a breather from these bits of Frank Gehry news until at least after the weekend, you have our promise to be brief. After saying he doesn’t have much hope of seeing the Atlantic Yards project ever completed, Gehry, developer Forest City Ratner, and most specifically, both their PR departments, have been working in overtime to repair any damage caused from this brief, off-the-cuff remark. Gehry released a statement saying his comments were being misconstrued and the Ratner people are doing the same:
“Frank Gehry is still the architect of this project,” [New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark] insisted on WFAN radio. “He loves it. It’s very dear to his heart, no different than it is to all of us.”
“Frank was just venting probably,” Yormark added later.
Though we wonder how “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” which were Gehry’s words, is exactly “venting.” Maybe if he’d yelled it, flipped the table over, and poured hot coffee all over the interviewer, that would be “venting” (at least that’s how we do it). To us, his original quote sounded more like “resignation” which tends to be a little more genuine and grounded in reality.
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Austrian architects Coop Himmelb(l)au have been commissioned to design the new Art Museum Strongoli in Calabria, Italy. (more…)
Japanese architects Ikeda Yukie have completed Wooden Forest Apartment, a renovation of an old two-storey wooden house in Nakano, Tokyo. (more…)
Not everything is entirely gloomy in the world of designing and building big buildings. Remember Santiago Calatrava‘s Chicago Spire, which has now existed for quite some time as a big gaping hole? The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trusts have breathed some new life into the project that most had perceived as forever deceased, a memory forgotten as soon as that big hole got filled in. Now the union group is in talks with the developer to see if they might inject some badly needed funds into the project and start construction and planning back up again; the payoff being that the entire workforce would be union from top to bottom, as well as a nice thing to bring up in the bidding process should Chicago land the 2016 Olympics. Here’s a bit:
Discussions between the trusts and Irish developer Garrett Kelleher began in January, but the talks are in the “embryonic stage,” said Tom Villanova, president of the Chicago and Cook County Building Trades Council, which represents 24 trades locally.
“The main thing is jobs,” Villanova said. “We can use our own funds to benefit members. The Spire is going to be five years of construction, which is just phenomenal for us. It’s thousands of jobs.”
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This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
