Photo(s) of the Day—Dos Arquitectos Españoles:
Spanish architects Andrés Jaque and Luis Úrculo are speaking at LIGA, Space for Architecture, in Mexico City tonight. Read more on Jaque’s Office of Political Innovation from ARCHITECT contributors Carolina A. Miranda and Christopher Hawthorne.
Trouble in Hipsturbia: A new 30,000-square-foot home is going up in Westchester County, N.Y., and it’s not Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Who else would be building a house whose garage (at 3,572 square feet) is larger than most of the Tudor and Colonial homes there in Hastings-on-Hudson? That would be Steven Holl Architects, whose clients appear unrepentant about the complex geometry and geothermal wells involved in the tear-down. While some residents sound pleased for the influx of property-tax dollars, and at least one neighbor is simply happy that it’s not a condo increasing the density of Hudson, many more residents are upset. This number includes architect Peter Gisolfi, AIA. “A village is a collection of buildings that relate to each other and to the landscape,” the City College architecture professor said. “Steven Holl is a significant architect and I respect what he does. But it’s usually a one-off, and relates to itself.” [The New York Times]
Mr. Fix-It: Architecture critic Alex Bozikovic examines the legacy of the Bloomberg era in New York, and how programs such as PlaNYC serve as a model for cities such as Toronto. It wasn’t just Janette Sadik-Khan or the High Line that did the trick. It was also Hizzoner’s willingness to share data and strategies with other cities. Transparency may be one of Bloomberg’s greatest legacies as an urbanist, although increasing inequality is another one. Bozikovic’s take on the Bloomberg years is worth your read, even if you lived through it. [The Globe and Mail]
Quote of the Day: “I realized that to my grandfather the environment that he lived and worked in was his most important influence. If he could not create a beautiful environment for himself, how could he do it for others?” —Eric Lloyd Wright, grandson of Frank. [National Real Estate Investor]
Tweet of the Day:
Flowers placed at #LouisKahn's name to honor this great architect 40 years after his death http://t.co/AX1B1KEAPG pic.twitter.com/fIGW7I1qNX
— Four Freedoms Park (@4FreedomsPark)
March 17, 2014
Number of the Day—$69: Critics Mark Lamster and Rick Brettell are presenting the best in Big-D art and architecture in a lecture series called One-Day University. It’s not a cheap ticket at $69, though wine is included. Not many cities can boast both art and architecture critics, and they are not typically very accessible to the public (unless you count the stories they write about art and architecture). [The Dallas Morning News]
7 More Stories for the Morning:
The University of Michigan is planning to add a $28 million addition to its architecture school, five years after discarding its original $13 million proposal. [M Live]
St. Louis plans to knock down two libraries. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Drivers in Paris are forced to take turns on the roads in an emergency measure to curb air pollution. [The Atlantic Cities]
Why isn’t the breast pump as elegant as the iPhone? [The New York Times]
The artist Yutaka Sone has rendered Manhattan in 2.5 tons of marble. [Metropolis]
The L.A. Conservancy published its historic preservation report card. Cities that got “A’s”: L.A., Beverly Hills. Cities that received “F’s”: L.A. County, Malibu, and Compton. [Southern California Public Radio]
Six favorite Beantown façades. [Panorama]
Step Up, Step Down:
Boom: The Public Building Service just announced new performance-oriented standards for facilities.
Registration to enter the 4th International Holcim Awards to promote sustainable construction closes on March 24.
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