United States
On the nearing of completion at the New York 9/11 memorial, the Gotham Gazette says:
“The magnitude, emotional investment, and symbolism of this project created a complex, drawn-out and sometimes chaotic process involving conflicting visions, ambitious designs, financial concerns and, above all, long deliberations with multiple parties, particularly the families who lost loved ones on that tragic day.”
Image via Gotham Gazzette
International
The New Republic asks: When Did Architecture’s Top Prize Become So Predictable and Boring?
Like the work of other Pritzker winners, such as the Swiss Peter Zumthor and the Australian Glen Murcutt, Souto de Moura’s rigorously composed, meticulously detailed buildings embrace modernity and broadcast their modernism by way of the usual stylistic indicators - minimalist abstraction, clean lines, structural expression - while evincing specificity of place through careful attention to site, use of local materials and building techniques, and astute management of natural light.
United States
The American Institute of Architects pointed out some gloomy news, after June marked the third consecutive decline in revenue at U.S. architecture firms as measured by the Architecture Billings Index.
“This seems to be a case of not thinking it can get any worse — and then it does,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA.
"While a modest turn around appeared to be on the way earlier in the year, the overall concern about both domestic and global economies is seeping into design and construction industry and adding yet another element that is preventing recovery. Furthermore, the threat of the federal government failing to resolve the debt ceiling issue is leading to higher borrowing rates for real estate projects and should there actually be a default, we are likely looking at a catastrophic situation for a sector that accounts for more than ten percent of overall GDP.”
United States
LAIST notes: "the last gas-guzzling, road-hogging Hummer rolled off the line in May 2010. Two Los Angeles architects, noting the structural integrity of rugged Hummer sheet metal, have devised a prefabrication plan to use the body shells of these enviro-monsters in the construction of capsule type dwellings."
Diagram of Hummer Home. Screengrab from HplusF / Laist
