New York architects left without bookstore, future looking bleak for UK architects and Frank Gehry's wine named number one.
UNITED STATES
Urban Center Books, a New York bookstore dedicated to architecture and urbanism, is closing its doors temporarily. The store is looking for a new location near the Municipal Art Society's new offices, but will continue to sell books online. While the store's online business is booming, it still remains committed to maintaining a physical presence.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Office of National Statistics found that a total of 1,455 architects were on the dole in December 2009, a 25 per cent drop on its summer figure. However, RIBA's Future Trends survey last month found that architects are becoming less optimistic about the future. Only 31 per cent of practices were anticipating an increase in their workload and only 5 per cent were expecting staff levels to rise.
SPAIN
The Marques de Riscal wine, Frank Gehry Selection 2001 is now considered the best wine from Spain. It has topped a list of 75 Spanish wines that are part of the Honour Board of the Guia Repsol 2009. The Frank Gehry Selection 2001 scored 99 out of a possible 100 points by tasters. Only 5,000 bottles of the wine were produced.
HAITI
Several buildings left damaged and weakened by last week's earthquake in Haiti have collapsed after a strong aftershock hit on Wednesday. The tremor measured 6.1 on the Richter scale with more collapsed buildings adding to the rubble. Last week's earthquake is believed to have killed approximately 200,000 people.
HONG KONG
OMA has won a design competition for the new Chu Hai College campus. The project, which has an area of 28,000 sqm, consists of educational facilities for the art; science and engineering and business faculties. The design comprises two parallel horizontal eight-storey slabs connected by a "mat" of social and educational facilities, Archi-Europe reports. The slabs will maximise natural ventilation, contributing to its energy efficient design.
