Hasta La Ideas

There are plenty of interesting bits and pieces going on outside of architecture as well so far this week, so let’s commence:

After four months of a lockout of unionized art handlers at Sotheby’s, things still don’t seem to be progressing toward stability. According to a report by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the lockout has now cost the auction house $2.4 million in fees ranging from temporary employees to extra security. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the company just gave its CEO, William Ruprecht, a $3 million raise. Union representatives for the art handlers are quick to point out that their entire contract dispute totals $3.3 million.

In Washington DC, the Smithsonian has reportedly hired Wolff Olins to help in a major rebranding. The main thrust of that effort is set to be the roll out of a new tagline next year: “Seriously Amazing.” The Washington Post reports that the organization has thus far paid $1 million “for research and creation of the slogan.”

Speaking of rebranding efforts, the always great Brand New blog has filed its own year end list, starting with their picks for the very worst identity changes in 2011. Unfortunately, it seems to have been written before State Farm unveiled their new logo.

And finally: so much for the potential of the Tate possible eschewing corporate sponsorship from British Petroleum following a full year of protests (and now likely more to come in 2012). The museum has renewed their contract with BP, telling the BBC, “The fact that they had one major incident in 2010 does not mean we should not be taking support from them.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Shortly after watching a flock of ten epoxy stone and patinated bronze sheep designed by François-Xavier Lalanne rocket to a new auction record of $7.5 million (that’s $6.6 million, plus commissions) on Saturday afternoon at Christie’s in New York, we were sure it had all been a dream—an ill-timed seasonal mix of dodgy eggnog, the Rockefeller Center tourist mob, and pre-nap sheep counting ($1 million, $2 million, $3 million…). But the auction house and our trusty notebook have confirmed that it actually happened, with the ovine sculptures accounting for a good chunk of the $11.3 million total for Christie’s sale of 20th century decorative art and design.

A trio of Lalanne lots came late in the sale, immediately following a Ron Arad table and a Greg Lynn blobwall for which there were no takers. In the saleroom, private dealer Guy Bennett, bidding on behalf of someone on the other end of his cell phone who he referred to only as “Sir,” beat out phone bidders for a single Lalanne lamb, paying $122,500 (all prices include commissions) for the 1997 work, which was estimated to sell for between $20,000 and $30,000. A patinated bronze bird didn’t fly past it’s high estimate when a phone bidder snapped it up for $170,500. And then came the sheep. As representatives of the seller, Japan’s Tateshina Open Air Museum, looked on gleefully, Bennett (in constant communication with the aforementioned Sir) and a phone bidder gave the room—and auctioneer Philippe Garner—a tennis match, as their bidding war quickly sent the price beyond the $900,000 high estimate to $2 million (awed silence), $4 million (raised eyebrows), and $6 million (audible gasps), until Bennett won the flock for a hammer price of $6.6 million. He promptly tucked his paddle under his arm and left the room, having ensured a good night’s sleep for one deep-pocketed collector.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

When we got to our “Have any advice for design students?” question, all of the creatives we interviewed at Autodesk University 2011 had great, and very distinct, answers. Saul Griffith discussed the importance of creating your own design tools. Daniel Simon talked about
altering your perspective of the environment around you. And here both Jeff McGrew and Jillian Northrup of Because We Can each give great suggestions on learning how You Can, too.

» Part 1: Introduction
» Part 2: Projects Past and Present
» Part 3: The Open-Source Desk Project

Check out Because We Can’s tons-o’-projects Flickr page here.

(more…)

You’ve heard of Detroit’s CCS, but you’ve probably never heard of Detroit’s CCSS. Cass Community Social Services is a Detroit-based nonprofit that employs homeless people by having them transform discarded tires into mudmats.

An Integrated Product Design class at the University of Michigan—a class that combines design, engineering, and business—has turned their attention towards CCSS’s project and is attempting to take the business further, by using their rubber cast-offs to make sandals, with straps made from seatbelts harvested from junkyards (see also: E13’s repurposed airbag). To that end, they’ve formed Treads Motor City Sandals to pursue the idea in earnest.

“For a lot of these students, this is the first time they’ve ever made anything physical and real,” [said professor Bill Lovejoy]. “They have these grandiose plans in the brainstorming phase but after the first week in the shop they realize they need to scale back significantly. They develop a respect for craft and the people that actually make things.”

Despite some setbacks, the students are making progress, as you can read about in the full story on Spero News. The basic idea is encapsulated in the brief video below, which was designed by the class as a commercial:

(more…)

Back at the start of the month, The Art Newspaper filed a great report explaining some of the reasons behind the delay and/or complete shut down of Frank Gehry‘s new Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi, namely that the wealthiest of the Emirates was pulling funding away from projects deemed less necessary (like construction on giant museums) to lend a financial hand to struggling neighbors like Dubai, and putting cash into keeping its citizens happy in the wake of the Arab Spring. However, with recent developments surrounding the storied London-based architecture firm Austin-Smith Lord, it appears that either Abu Dhabi just decided to cut everyone off in order to meet its altruistic goals, or perhaps has pockets in worse financial shape than had previously been thought. Building Design offers up this interesting read on its severe suffering after not having been paid by its Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage (ADACH) client to the tune of £11.3 million, forcing it to lay off a large number of staff, leave workers unpaid, and teeter at the edge of going under completely. While the ADACH did eventually pay out a small chunk of that, it hasn’t greatly helped save the firm from shaky ground. A partner at the firm told Arabian Business, “The damage has been absolutely colossal. Our reputation, and the opportunity cost of this has been just mind-blowing.” Meanwhile, the ADACH tells the news outlet that they are still reviewing contracts for the remainder of the funds, and in talking to a regional economist, who says “it’s not surprising that individual authorities and entities are experiencing cash flow difficulties,” it certainly puts flickers of Dubai’s fallout in mind, and once again, definitely doesn’t provide any more positive momentum toward finishing the Guggenheim.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.