Quick Clicks> Backtracking Bridges, Library Life, Crowd-Sourcing, and an Architecture Queen
The Brooklyn Bridge in 1903 (Shorpy.com via Brownstoner)
Bridge Backtracks. Brownstoner uncovered the above historic view of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1903 back when transit and pedestrians dominated its traffic flow. StreetsBlog also noticed that the bridge has lost quite a bit of capacity as trains were removed in favor of cars (down significantly from its 1907 peak of 426,000 crossings a day). Also be sure to check out the super-high-res photo over at shorpy.com.
Library Life. Robert Dawson lamented, “These are brutal times for public libraries,” in a piece for Design Observer. With funding in short supply, he argued that the library is more than a room full of books, but a true “American Commons.”
Crowd-Sourced. The Institute for Urban Design is prepping for the first annual Urban Design Week this September with a crowd-sourced assignment to improve New York City. Running through April 30 and called By the City / For the City, you’re invited to share your ideas via this handy online form. (via Polis.)
Architecture Queen. The Philippine Star reports that newly registered architect Shamcey Supsup was crowned Miss Universe-Philippines. The magna cum laude graduate of the University of the Philippines won over 39 other (non-architect) contestants. Supsup’s next stop is Sao Paulo, Brazil where she will take on the world, T-square in hand. (via Archinect.)
Spooky Starchi-Lanterns Make for a Truly Haunted Halloween
Starchi-Lanterns a scary sight this Halloween (Courtesy Abrahams-May Architects)
While Halloween 2010 is fast fading into blurry memory and rotting pumpkins are heading curbside, these Starchi-Lanterns featuring the glowing smiles of super-personas old and new were too good to pass up. Designers Kyle May of Abrahams-May Architects and Julia van den Hout of Steven Holl put their heads together and came away with these sixteen spooky mugs.
It looks like Zaha and Gehry are having a swell time in the second row, while just above a stern Rem and Prince-Ramus are staring off in opposite directions. Kudos to those who identify all the starchitects in the comments. [ Via NY Observer. ]
Inside the Spire's Demise
(courtesy Business Week)
The Chicago skyline is one of the most impressive in the country. Those who dreamed of a twisting new tower at its pinnacle, however, will have to turn to new skyscraping schemes. The Anglo Irish Bank is seizing control of the stalled Chicago Spire’s site from Shelbourne Development. This detailed feature on the rise and fall of Santiago Calatrava’s unbuilt tower in the Irish Independent calls the project’s developer, Garrett Kelleher, emblematic of the jet-setting “Irish Tiger.” In today’s real estate environment, that label sounds more like slur than a compliment.
Taking Green Footsteps
Are architects doing enough for sustainability? The Rocky Mountain Institute has a new website that can help.
Planetizen published an interesting piece over the weekend looking at the relative disconnect between sustainability and starchitecture, or how form may have gotten futuristic of late, but not with the future in mind. The article’s a little plodding at times, though the argument is valid and clear:
Many contemporary buildings embody the age-old conflict between individual expression and the common good, while some appear almost antagonistic towards the environment. Frank Gehry’s aluminum billows and Daniel Libeskind’s tilted spires are largely aesthetic accents that use computer-aided design to create forms unbuildable, if not unimaginable, even a decade ago. The sheer expense of iconic libraries, concert halls, and corporate headquarters contradicts environmentalism’s drive for efficiency.
Calatrava Publicly Speaking
The World Trade Center Transportation Hub. (courtesy Queen Sofia Spanish Institute)
At the opening of the exhibition on his World Trade Center Transportation Hub, on view now at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute though August 31, Santiago Calatrava’s presentation was impeccably well mannered. He juggled questions with ease, balancing the answers on the tip of his nose, before finally pulling the “child releasing a dove” formal metaphor out of his sleeve. Like his work or not, he is a magician, charming the public with form, feats of engineering, impossibly white compositions, and notions of public service. Read More
The British Noninvasion
Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, and James Stirling in 1986. Better luck next time, chaps. (Courtesy BD Online)
As Jonathan Glancey gamely points out in his piece today (a piece which ANN gamely pointed out to us), British architects–namely lords Foster and Rogers–have had a bit of a hard time building in New York. For proof he points to the speculative story from yesterday’s Daily News that has the PA nixing both architects’ towers. Read More
UPDATE: Guangzhou Opera House Fire
A rendering of the Opera House interior. (Images courtesy zahahadidblog.com)
A spokesman for Zaha Hadid Architects sent AN the following statement on the condition of the building following the fire: Read More
Hadid Opera House Burns
Picture of the blaze from the Chinese media (courtesy abbs.com.cn)
AN has learned of a fire at Guangzhou Opera House. The project, designed by Zaha Hadid with a web-like exoskeleton, includes an 1,800-seat theater as well as a multipurpose hall and support facilities. The building was set to open this fall. Read More
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