Will Alsop: Chipperfield, You’re Bringing Me Down
Will Alsop in front of his design for Reem Island in Dubai. (Courtesy ALL Design / Montage by AN)
On the other side of the pond, Building Design reports that Will Alsop didn’t hold back in a recent public conversation at the V&A with perennial pot-stirrer Stephen Bayley. “Society has decided in this age of austerity that what we need is more David Chipperfield. We don’t need that. It’s depressing,” bemoaned Alsop, known for his irreverent approach to the mother of the arts. “We need more fun, wit, and humor. It’s part of the human condition, and if you don’t have it, you are left with David Chipperfield and a number of others. He is a very good architect, and there’s plenty of room for him, but not everywhere, and not poor imitations.” Sounds like Alsop could use a long weekend in Vegas.
SHFT+ALT+DEL> Architects & Designers on the Move
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Studio X, the downtown outpost of Columbia’s GSAAP program, named Geoff Manaugh (BLDGBLOG) and Nicola Twilley (GOOD/Edible Geography) as co-directors. The fall season of programming under Manaugh and Twilley kicked off September 1.
Deborah Marton, who announced her resignation as Executive Director of the Design Trust for Public Space in March, assumed her new role as Senior Vice President of Programs at the New York Restoration Project.
David Glover of Arup Associates has left the firm to become deputy chief executive of AECOM’s building engineering business.
Dagmar Richter, former teaching professor and chair of the Department of Architecture at Cornell University‘s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, has been named chair of Pratt Institute‘s Undergraduate Architecture Department.
Perkins+Will Seattle acquired Hinthorne Mott Architects to boost their Pacific Northwest presence.
Will Alsop left RMJM to start a new practice with fellow RMJM principal Scott Lawrie in London. The new firm is called ALL Design.
Have news on career moves in the architecture & design universe for SHFT+ALT+DEL? Send your tips to people@archpaper.com!
Als Well With Alsop
Will Alsop with his new boss, Peter Morrison of RMJM. (Courtesy RMJM)
As suspected, Will Alsop wasn’t out of the game for long. The foul-mouthed StirlingPrize winner announced less than two months ago that he was leaving Archial, né SMC, the British architectural conglomerate that had bought up his smallish practice but three years earlier. Now BD reports that Alsop has teamed up with RMJM, and he will launch an atelier within the international powerhouse based in Battersea called Will Alsop at RMJM. “I like the overall vision they have for the future and the fact that it’s really global,” Allsp told BD. “In Archial, the only international bit was me.” Read More
Alsop Retires (For Now)
Alsop (Courtesy Alsop Architects)
Our compatriots across the Pond report today that Will Alsop, “British architecture’s most colourful personality,” is leaving his eponymous firm.
Following 30 years of running a private practice, the 61-year-old has told BD that he will shortly hand over day-to-day management of Battersea-based Alsop to others, in order to devote more time to painting and teaching.
The paper goes on to say that it’s an amicable departure, with Alsop staying on as a consultant to the Archial-overseen firm (for an American referent, think WSP or Aedes), though there are also hints of a falling out, and even the suggestion the fanciful designer could start up his own independent firm should he so desire. Read More
Coney of the Mind
It’s been a busy day out at Coney Island. Not only did local City Council rep Dominic Recchia tell the Post that the city is trying to buy up developer Joe Sitt’s stake in the area, but now comes the Municipal Art Society’s zany plans for the famed amusement park.
The MAS spent a busy week talking to the community and then working to conceive fanciful designs with a world-renowned team of planners, designers, and amusement experts, the fruits of which were unveiled at a press conference today at Borough Hall. AN had a correspondent on the scene, but these renderings are just too nice to keep to ourselves. With the blustery weather outside, maybe they can give hope for a warmer future. More amusements after the jump. Read More
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