Good morning, architects. Yesterday morning, Thom Mayne, FAIA, picked up the 2013 AIA Gold Medal, as much a recognition of Mayne's style and philosophy as it is of his accomplishments. And the AIA gave Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects the 2013 Architecture Firm Award. (San Francisco's Federal Building by Morphosis Architects is pictured.) Congratulations to them, to all the finalists, and to last year's winners, who hand over sash and crown: Steven Holl, FAIA (profiled here by New York Magazine's Justin Davidson), and VJAA (profiled here by ARCHITECT's own Jeffrey Lee).
BRAZIL REMEMBERS. The Associated Press reports that crowds of mourners lined up in Brasília for the state funeral of Oscar Niemeyer, who died yesterday at 104. The architect's remains were flown from Rio, where he died (reportedly from a respiratory infection), to the capitol. After a vigil today in the Palácio do Planalto, which Niemeyer designed, his remains will be returned to Rio, where he will be buried. Fox News Latino has more.
WRITERS REMEMBER. Remembrances continue to appear today for Niemeyer from outlets around the world. At Curbed L.A., Adrian Glick Kudler posts about Niemeyer's Strick House, the architect's only home in the U.S. (As a card-carrying Communist, Niemeyer was not welcome to build in the States.) Agence France-Press posted a video about Niemeyer. The most touching I've seen, though, is an appreciation from Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, who writes that Niemeyer inspired him at an early age to consider architecture.
TAKING CARE OF THEIR OWN. Steve Brown at The Dallas Morning News says that business conditions must be improving because HKS Architects, WDG Architecture, RTKL Associates, and other firms are all building in Dallas—for themselves. "[T]he strongest indicator I see that things are picking up in the real estate market is that the big architectural firms are planning new digs for their workers," he writes.
...AND REMAINDERS. Gifts for the Canadian architect in your life... Architects' Journal Women in Architecture campaign turns two... Syracuse University School of Architecture students design an outdoor-classroom and treehouse... Architecture, Philippine style... Lee Rosenbaum versus Paul Goldberger (not really)... New York City releases details of its storm preparedness plan.
