Happier Holidays for Architects as Billings Continue to Climb
BILLINGS (BLUE) AND INQUIRIES (RED) FOR THE PAST 12 MONTHS. (THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER)
Heading into the holidays, the AIA has more good economic news to report: the Architectural Billings Index (ABI) has recorded a third straight month of growth. The October score was 52.8, up from September’s 51.6 (any score above 50 indicates a growth in billings). The uptick reflects improving conditions in the housing market and real estate more broadly. All four regions were in positive territory, with the South leading at 52.8, followed by the Northeast at 52.6, the West at 51.8, and the Midwest at 50.8.
Open House New York Welcomes Wessner as New Executive Director
Gregory Wessner
A veteran of architectural and cultural programming, Gregory Wessner, has been named the executive director of Open House New York (OHNY). Wessner, the longtime director of exhibitions and special projects at the Architectural League of New York, will begin working at OHNY in December. He sees a growing civic role for the organization as it moves into its second decade.
Obit> Lebbeus Woods, 1940-2012
Lebbeus Woods. (Courtesy European Graduate School)
Amid the chaos following Hurricane Sandy, including the blackout and closure of The Architect’s Newspaper offices in Lower Manhattan, we were shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of the visionary architect and educator Lebbeus Woods. Known as one of the most provocative thinkers in architecture, Woods was also unrivaled in his generation as a producer of architectural images, especially his darkly rendered drawings.
A long time professor at the Cooper Union, Woods’ work extended well beyond the academy, inspiring other architects and even Hollywood (he sued the makers of 12 Monkeys for stealing his ideas and won, and he consulted on the opening sequence of Alien 3). The winner of a Chrysler Design Award, his drawings are included in the collections of numerous museums, including MoMA. A full obituary by Sir Peter Cook will follow in an upcoming edition of AN.
There was ice under the court all along! Or so visitors learned on the opening day of the SHoP/AECOM-designed Barclays Center. Reviews of the arena, with its distinctive weathered steel facade, have generally been positive. Now Ratner and company, and the borough they are trying to win over, can claim another major success. The New York Islanders hockey team will relocate to the Barclays Center in 2015. They currently play at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale in Nassau County.
Another Laurel for Peter Zumthor, the RIBA Gold Medal
Peter Zumthor. (Helene Binet / Courtesy Pritzker Prize)
Pritzker winner Peter Zumthor will be awarded the 2013 Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal, according to Building Design. Known for his meticulously-wrought projects like the thermal baths in Vals, Switzerland, the Brother Klaus Field Chapel in Eifel, Germany, the Bregenz Kunsthall in Austria, and the witch trial memorial in Norway, Zumthor is now designing a major expansion at LACMA. “We debate each of the six shortlisted candidates in turn then look at their writing and their influence in acadaemia, but there wasn’t one clear person who stood out,” RIBA president Angela Brady told BD.
Golden Lions Awarded Amid Divisive Venice Biennale
Torre David / Gran Horizonte, 2012, Urban-Think Tank (Alfredo Brillembourg, Hubert Klumpner), Justin McGuirk. (Francesco Galli/Courtesy la Biennale di Venezia)
It’s been a hot and highly stimulating few days at the Venice Biennale. David Chipperfield’s theme, “Common Ground,” which sought to establish connections across architecture culture, has proven surprising divisive. Some loved the elegant progression of projects in the Arsenale, which included everything from expressionist displays by Zaha Hadid, to neo-postmodern confections by FAT, to a hand built house by Anupama Kundoo, all of which managed to mingle thanks to Chipperfield’s tasteful curation.
Some formalists griped that the show was regressive, while more socially engaged architects thought it too estheticizing. Still, every Biennale must crown its winners. This year’s Golden Lion for the international exhibition went to Torre David/Gran Horizante by Urban-Think Tank (Alfredo Brillembourg and Herbert Klumpner) and Justin McGuirk, an investigation, featuring photography by Iwan Baan, of an informal community built in an abandoned, unfinished skyscraper in Caracas. The team created an bar inside the Arsenale which featured food, music, drinks, and neon lights to showcase their work and transform the atmosphere of the overall exhibition.
The planned 1.65 million square foot redevelopment of two blocks of the Lower East Side was approved by the Department of City Planning with no requests for changes, according to DNAinfo. The Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA) is a Moses-era slum clearance project that has stood vacant since the 1960s. The redevelopment would include 900 apartments, 500 of which would be designated as permanently affordable housing, as well as retail, community, and green spaces. The plan now needs approval from City Council to proceed.
Billings Index Still In The Red, But The Decline “Moderated”
BILLINGS (BLUE) AND INQUIRIES (RED) FOR THE PAST 12 MONTHS. (THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER)
The AIA’s monthly Architecture Billings Index (ABI) for July came in with a disappointing 48.7 (any score below 50 indicates a decline in billings for design activity). The news was not all bad though. The ABI was up significantly from last month’s score of 45.9. “Even though architecture firm billings nationally were down again in July, the downturn moderated substantially,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker. “As long as overall economic conditions continue to show improvement, modest declines should shift over to growth in design activity over the coming months.”
According to the New York Times, Amtrak is gaining riders in the northeast corridor thanks in part to arduous airport security procedures and frequent airline delays. Amtrak also beats airline shuttles in on-time arrivals and proximity to major business centers. In Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority is counting 16 months of ridership increases for both rail and bus lines. The rail system has seen 51 consecutive months of ridership growth, including a 6.2 percent jump over the last six months. Last year the CTA carried 523 million riders. [Photo: Bruce Fingerhood/Flickr]
Today the City and Friends of the High Line announced the acquisition of the third and final portion of the abandoned rail line from CSX, securing once and for all its future as a linear park. The section, which extends into what will become Hudson Yards, will add another half mile to the leafy line. CSX donated the line to the city. Final design work for the third phase is underway. Construction is set to begin later this year.
Counter to what one might expect, bike-sharing programs might actually help fuel bike sales, according to bike shop owners in Washington, D.C. Since it launched with 1500 bikes, Capital Bikeshare has encouraged people to try cycling, made roads safer and more bike friendly, and, ultimately, encouraged people to get their own set of wheels. The shortage of shared bikes and docking spaces–due to so much demand–is one thing encouraging individual ownership. “When I started riding Bikeshare, there was a phase when I’d see another person and we’d say hey, Bikeshare! This is awesome!” said on bikeshare member. “Now I see them and I feel like I need to pedal faster to get to the dock before them.”
The Times is reporting that four finalists are competing to build a new tower at 425 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan: Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, and Richard Rogers. AN previously reported an international roster of 11 firms were in the running. The new tower could be the first of many in the area, if the Department of City Planning’s proposal to up-zone the area is approved.
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