So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright (Courtesy Library of Congress)
Not many architects can boast being the subject of a pop song, but, then again, Frank Lloyd Wright was always something special. Back in 1969, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel eulogized the architect in the eponymous “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright,” appearing on their Bridge Over Troubled Water album. Garfunkel took an interest in Wright while studying architecture at Columbia and later challenged Simon to write the song while living in California.
While some argue that the song is really a cryptic breakup poem between the two singers on the verge of splitting, I’m sticking with architecture going mainstream. As the song says, “Architects may come and/Architects may go and/Never change your point of view./ When I run dry/I stop awhile and think of you.”
Pictorial: Le Monolithe by MVRDV
Le Monolithe in Lyon, France (Courtesy MVRDV)
MVRDV just completed “Le Monolithe,” a mixed-use project in Lyon, France featuring social housing, apartments, disabled residences, offices, and retail organized along a central exterior axis of courtyards. The 350,000 square foot structure overlooks the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers and represents a collaboration of several architects and landscape architects.
Friday Video: Little Plane Flies Through Big City
It’s Friday afternoon, so why not take a joy ride through the skies of New York? Gothamist uncovered this amazing video of a homemade RC airplane with a video camera attached to its nose making its way among the skyscrapers and bridges of New York. Makes for some pretty amazing footage!
Swamps Emerging on the Urban Landscape
An urban swamp in Detroit (Photo by Clark Mizono)
While bringing nature back into the city is generally heralded as a sign of improvement, this is hardly the best path to that end. Next American City‘s Willy Staley recently took a walk through Detroit‘s East Side with vacant property guru Sam Butler to surmise the problems of abandonment facing the city. Detroit, seeking to demolish some 3,000 structures, has long been at the center of a movement to “shrink” cities suffering from population loss and blight.
More on urban swamps bogging down neighborhood revitalization.
Towering Beacon Awaits Approval in Miami Beach
Tobias Rehberger's Lighthouse proposal for Miami (Courtesy Art Newspaper)
You won’t see German artist Tobias Rehberger‘s proposed Lighthouse installation at this year’s Art Basel exhibition in Miami Beach, but if the city approves the project next week, the towering beacon could be lighting up the night sky by the end of 2011. To be located in South Pointe Park at a cost of $500,000, the 55-foot tall Lighthouse is comprised of stacked cylinders and would represent Rehberger’s first public commission in the United States. [ Via The Art Newspaper. ]
Architecture, the Final Frontier for Pirates?
(Slightly adjusted) Zaha Hadid Pavilion (Courtesy John Picken / flickr)
Aye, those swashbucklin’ pirates are at it again, matey! This time, though, they’re not after gold, DVDs, or designer purses, but the identities of architects. The Guardian‘s Jonathan Glancey relates that Chinese firms posing as British officers of Aedas and Broadway Maylan have been pursuing bids with false information. He points out the dangers that such a development might entail for the profession and wonders if starchitects like Zaha Hadid could be the next victims.
New York Expands Pop-Up Cafe Program in 2011
Returning the street to pedestrians with pop-up cafe's (Courtesy RG Architecture)
Could 2011 be the year of the pedestrian in New York? Under the guidance of DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, NYC sidewalks will continue their slow march into the street next year as the city launches a major expansion of its “pop-up café” pilot program across its five boroughs.
The first pop-up café tested out in Lower Manhattan this year proved successful enough that Sadik-Khan has expanded the program, planning for up to 12 sidewalk extensions.
Tile of Spain Wants to Take You On Vacation
Valencia, Spain (Photo courtesy Wikipedia)
Want a free trip to Europe? Tile of Spain has just the ticket, but you have to act fast. The tile manufacturer is offering four architects and interior designers a chance to taste the local cuisine, see a few of the local sites, take in a tile trade show, and probably learn quite a bit about the offerings of Tile of Spain. But hey, it’s a free trip right? You just have to answer a few questions, but, hurry, the deadline’s tomorrow.
Philly Considers Times Square′s Forbidden Fruit
Proposal for Philly's East Market Street (Courtesy Philly Daily News)
Philly’s East Market Street could offer a small slice of Times Square’s neon nightlife if a proposed “commercial advertising district” makes it through City Council. Developers and billboard proponents are betting that digital advertising signs will keep tourists shopping – and spending – downtown, but the Philadelphia Daily News says not everyone is going along for the ride.
A Thousand Drops of Light in Madison Square Park
Scattered Light installation by Jim Campbell (Photo by James Ewing courtesy Madison Square Park Conservancy)
Upon first stumbling across this massive array of 2,000 LED lights encased in standard light bulbs in Madison Square Park a few weeks ago, I thought holiday decoration had come a little early to the Flatiron’s front yard, but as shadowed figures began moving across the field of light, it became apparent that this installation by artist Jim Campbell was something special.
Urban Planning as a Psychoactive Drug
Manhattan and Central Park (Courtesy jmac1963 / flickr)
CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta points out a University of Michigan, Ann Arbor study suggesting that city dwellers harbor more stress than their suburban counterparts, but says access to parks could be the cure. Researchers have found that spending time in parks or park-like settings can help reduce cognitive effort and promote relaxation.
Models of Ruin Show Eerie States Of Abandonment
After Effects model (Courtesy Daniele Del Nero)
The cult of decay is an enthralling topic. This inevitability of time serves as the inspiration of Italian artist Daniele Del Nero‘s new project “After Effects” consisting of a series of model houses in advanced states of decay. Del Nero covered the models in flour and mold which then grew to nearly consume the models. These eerie miniatures appear strangely similar to plant-strewn ruins of many ailing rustbelt cities that have captivated public imagination as cities continue to wrestle with abandonment and revitalization. [ Via designboom. ]
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