Decon Artists: Wigley, Tschumi, Eisenman Reflect on MoMA’s Landmark “Deconstructivist Architecture” Exhibit
Parc de la Villettes. (Lauren Manning / Flickr)
On January 22, Mark Wigley, Bernard Tschumi, and Peter Eisenman took the stage in MoMA’s theater to reflect upon Deconstructivist Architecture, the landmark 1988 exhibit curated by Wigley and Philip Johnson. The press release at the time described the featured architects—including Coop Himmelblau, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, and Daniel Libeskind, along with Tschumi and Eisenman—as “obsessed with diagonals, arcs, and warped plans.”
In a where-are-they-now moment, Wigley said, “It occurred to me that only Daniel Libeskind thought the show was about the future, and he still seems to be designing for the show, and that seems to be not a good idea.” And the sniping didn’t stop there. Eisenman, despite refusing to hold the microphone to his mouth, could be overheard saying what kind of exhibit he would—or rather, wouldn’t—do, if given the chance: “Well, it wouldn’t be like the biennale of last fall, which was sort of a discount supermarket of everything that was going.” “Including you,” zinged Wigley.
AN’s DesignX Workshops To Push Forefront of Digital Design
Since we began ten years ago, The Architect’s Newspaper has been at the forefront of cutting-edge design trends. Over the past several years, we’ve given extensive attention to the growing field of digital design and fabrication. In addition, AN‘s Editor-in-Chief William Menking called for New York City to embrace its architecture and design potential, last year penning two editorials on the subject. This year, AN is partnering with Mode Collective to create designX, which will launch in New York at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair‘s (ICFF) Material Makers‘ workshops. Topics will include parametric design, digital fabrication, and web-based design apps.
Slideshow> Libraries Galore as San Francisco’s Branch Improvement Program Comes To A Close
Marina Branch Library, Tom Eliot Fisch/Field Paoli. (David Wakely)
San Francisco’s North Beach library, which AN reported on today is finally under construction after more than two years of delays, is the last of more than 20 city library branches to be repaired or rebuilt thanks to a $105 million bond measure that SF voters passed in 2000 called the Branch Library Improvement Program (with the unfortunate acronym, BLIP). The measure has spurred innovation from several of the city’s top firms, and we couldn’t resist sharing more of their work in the slideshow below. Only two remain: North Beach and the Bayview Branch Library, designed by THA Architecture in collaboration with Karin Payson A+D, which is scheduled to open later this month. Find a full list of library projects here.
Investing in Detroit’s Future: Kresge Puts Up $150 Million For Ambitious Plan
The Detroit Works Project has received the economic boost it needed to put its Detroit Future City plan into action. Detroit Free Press reported that the Troy-based, Kresge Foundation will give $150 million over the next five years to help accomplish the objectives outlined in the 347-page plan, which focuses on creating economic growth and building infrastructure in Detroit. A technical team led by Toni Griffin, a New York-based urban planner, crafted an extensive list of recommendations such as blue and green infrastructures, job creation, and management of vacant land.
Japanese Architect Sou Fujimoto Selected to Design 2013 Serpentine Pavilion
Rendering of Sou Fujimoto’s 2013 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. (Courtesy Sou Fujimoto)
London’s Serpentine Art Gallery has just announced that it has chosen Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto to design its annual summer garden pavilion in 2013. This much sought after commission has been designed in the past by Zaha Hadid (2000), Oscar Niemeyer (2003), Rem Koolhaas/Cecil Balmond/Arup (2006), Frank Gehry (2008), SANAA (2009), and last year by Hertzog & de Meuron with Ai Wei Wei. The Koolhaas inflatable bubble pavilion was the site of constant discussions led by Hans Ulrich Obrist but most are simpler cafes of pure pleasure (the main gallery was originally a tea house) and whimsy like last year’s installation which was made of smoky smelling cork with a pond on its roof which usually had ducks serenely floating in the water.
Gabriele Basilico, one of the most important European documentary photographers working today, has died. Born in Milan in 1944, Basilico trained as an architect before taking to the camera, documenting the changing landscape of Europe, postwar Beirut, and many other regions. According to the Garlerie Anne Barrault, which represents him, he participated in the Venice Biennale and won a Golden Lion, was exhibited widely in museums and galleries, and won numerous awards for his work capturing contemporary urban conditions. His recent work has focused on urban transformations. He was 69.
America’s Oldest Existing Indoor Mall To Be Filled With Micro-Apartments
Micro Apartments. (Courtesy of Evan Granoff/Arcade Providence)
Nowadays it seems that everyone is jumping on the micro apartment bandwagon, and it only makes sense that a bite-size state like Rhode Island would pick up on this trend. Developer Evan Granoff is restoring the historic Providence Arcade (also known as Westminster Arcade), the oldest existing indoor mall in America dating to 1828, and converting it into a mixed-use complex with retail on the ground floor and micro apartments on the second and third levels. J. Michael Abbott of Northeast Collaborative Architects is leading the renovation of the Greek Revival-style Arcade.
Video> Los Angeles’ Regional Connector Subway Line Coming Into Focus
A new video released by LA METRO gives us all a much clearer conception of the construction sequencing of the Regional Connector, the 1.9 mile downtown underground light rail line that will connect Los Angeles’ now-dispersed Gold, Blue, and Expo lines. The $1.3 billion connector, funded largely by 2008′s Measure R sales tax increase, is set to begin construction later this year. It will travel primarily under Flower Street and 2nd Street, and is set to open by 2019. Movement of utilities around the line began in December. Yes, more transit in Los Angeles. This is really happening!
A Boost in Federal Funds Expedite Hurricane Sandy Recovery Efforts
Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (Courtesy of David Sundberg/ESTO)
Now that Congress has passed the $51 billion emergency aid package, Mayor Bloomberg is forging ahead with the recovery plans. The City will set aside $1.77 billion in federal funds dedicated to rebuilding homes, businesses, public housing and infrastructure that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Bloomberg did, however, warn that it could likely take a few months for the programs “to be approved and implemented.” Since the storm, the city, in conjunction with FEMA, has helped homeowners in New York through its Rapid Repairs Program. Read More
Obit>Udo Kultermann, 1927-2013
Udo Kultermann (courtesy Washington University, St. Louis)
Udo Kultermann, who was born in Germany, died in New York City on February 9, 2013 at the age of 85. An internationally-known art historian, scholar, author, and lecturer, Kultermann spent nearly 30 years as a professor of art and architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to his work at Washington University, Kultermann, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Muenster, served as the director of the City Art Museum in Leverkusen, Germany. Kultermann wrote more than 35 books on a wide range of subjects, many of which have been translated into various languages. Read More
Landmarks Preservation Commission Designates Five Historic Firehouses
Engine Co. 228 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn (left) Engine Co. 73/Hook & Ladder 42 in Longwood, Bronx (right)
Five firehouses, built over a century ago, were granted landmark status yesterday. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) unanimously approved each of these five buildings for what Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney characterized as “a clear expression of civic spirit and pride of purpose that existed at the time they were built and continue to this day in our City’s municipal architecture.” Read More
Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch in St. Louis Broke Ground 50 Years Ago Today
St. Louis’ Gateway Arch under construction. (Courtesy Missouri State Archives)
Fifty years ago, the St. Louis waterfront was one gigantic parking lot after 40 blocks of the city’s gritty industrial quarter were cleared in the late 1930s to create a site for a new Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. It took another two decades to get anything built, but on February 12, 1963, the missing slice of St. Louis began to change as ground was broken for Eero Saarinen’s famous Gateway Arch that still defines St. Louis in one dramatic gesture.
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