Extreme Commutes: Architects Build “Fast Track” Trampoline Sidewalk in Russia
Salto Architects’ “Fast Track trampoline sidewalk. (Nikita Šohov & Karli Luik/Courtesy Salto Architects)
There are countless ways to get around cities these days—on foot, bike, or skateboard, by transit or car—but Estonian firm Salto Architects has imagined what could be the next dedicated lane to hit a street near you: the Fast Track trampoline sidewalk. The 170-foot-long trampoline was built earlier this year in Russia for the Archstoyanie Festival, sending leaping pedestrians through Nikola-Lenivets Park, about 120 miles southwest of Moscow.
Clean Vitrine: Security Issues at OMA’s Rotterdam Kunsthal
Inside OMA’s Rotterdam Kunsthal. (FaceMePLS/Flickr)
On October 16 thieves nabbed a handful of valuable paintings, including works by Picasso, Matisse, and Monet, from the Kunsthal gallery in Rotterdam. At least one person points the finger at the architecture by home team OMA. Citing an interview with Dutch security expert Ton Cremers, Dezeen.com reports that the open plan and glass walls are a nightmare for guards. Cremers appreciates the design aesthetic of the museum, which was completed in 1992, but noted, “It’s an awful building to protect.”
On View> Lehman Collage Art Gallery Presents Space Invaders Through January 9
Still Life #2, Heeseop Yoon. (Courtesy LCAG)
Space Invaders
Lehman Collage Art Gallery
250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY
Through January 9, 2013
Space Invaders is a collaborative site-specific art installation, curated by Karin Bravin at the Lehman College Art Gallery. The spaces both inside and outside the gallery, including the walls, ceiling, floor and balcony, are used as the artists’ canvas and the art—a mix of photographs, fabric installations, text installations, drawings, sculptures and more, seem to grow into and with the space. Pieces like Heeseop Yoon’s Still-Life #2 (above) or Dewitt Godfrey’s Layman (below) also transform ordinary materials, like electrical tape and mylar, into otherworldly constructions. The work incorporates and mirrors the Gallery’s structure and also accounts the effects of exterior factors such as light and wind.
Layman, Dewitt Godfrey. (Courtesy LCAG)
Happy Thanksgiving from AN!
The Architect’s Newspaper extends our best wishes to all our readers for Thanksgiving. We’d also like to thank our 40,000+ twitter and nearly 30,000 facebook followers for your engagement throughout the year. We enjoy the conversation and hope more of you will join us. Happy Holidays from AN. We’ll be back on Monday.
Obit> Jane Holtz Kay, 1938-2012
Jane Holtz Kay in 1986.
Noted author and critic Jane Holtz Kay passed away November 5 at the age of 74 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Her book Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back propelled her into the national spotlight as she chronicled the affects of cars on the American landscape. Jane Jacobs remarked about the book, “Jane Holtz Kay’s book has given us a profound way of seeing the automobile’s ruinous impact on American life.” She had been working on a sequel to Asphalt Nation, documenting climate change and global warming, called Last Chance Landscape. Holtz Kay was also architecture critic for The Nation and formerly for the Boston Globe. She is survived by her sister, Ellen Goodman, daughters, Julie Kay and Jacqueline Cessou, and four grandchildren. The staff at The Architect’s Newspaper sends our condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.
Congratulations to Joshua, Winner of AN’s Greenbuild Giveaway
AN was back at Greenbuild this year in San Francisco, and we offered readers at the expo a chance to win an iPad Mini and $250 to stock it with the latest tunes, apps, or anything else, really. Over 130 of you participated in the Greenbuild Booth Crawl Contest, and we’re pleased to announce that Joshua Hickman of California was drawn as the lucky winner. Congrats Joshua!
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.
Finalists Announced for Bloomberg Mayor’s Challenge
And then there were 20. The Bloomberg Mayor’s Challenge has narrowed its list of competing cities to 20 finalists! The competition—which encourages architects, city planners, and governments to come up with innovative solutions to improve city life—was originally announced in June by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to assist in addressing urban challenges. Of the 305 cities that submitted proposals, 20 were chosen to continue to the next step: an Ideas Camp, where the final five will be selected and a total of $9 million will be awarded to implement their ideas.
Join AN for the “Never Built: Los Angeles” Fundraiser on December 1
Koning Eizenberg’s Sobieski House will host the fundraiser.
On Saturday, December 1st, head to a fundraiser for an exhibition co-curated by AN West Coast Editor Sam Lubell called Never Built: Los Angeles. The show, which features a mesmerizing selection of unbuilt LA work from throughout the city’s history, will be held at the A+D Architecture and Design Museum in March. But the fundraiser, held at Koning Eizenberg’s Sobieski House—a beautiful series of pavilions in South Pasadena—will take place on Saturday, December 1. You’ll be able to nosh on bites by Little Flower Cafe (the best food in Pasadena) bid on prints by Julius Shulman and many other famous Los Angeles figures, and meet Ray Kappe and others involved with Never Built projects around the city. Purchase tickets here. And preview a few Never Built projects below.
Deborah Berke Designing 700 Residences in Lower Manhattan Art-Deco Skyscraper
Looking up at 70 Pine. (12th St David / Flickr)
Move over Woolworth Building. Another iconic Lower Manhattan skyscraper is slated for a residential conversion, this time by Deborah Berke Partners and architects of record Steven B. Jacobs Group. The 66-story art deco landmark at 70 Pine Street was built in 1932 as the Cities Service Company, and more recently served as the headquarters of American International Group (AIG), and now developer Rose Associates plans to transform the tower into 700 luxury apartments above a 300-room hotel.
Photo of the Day> A Miniature City Made of Flowers
A parade float of a cityscape made of flowers. (Courtesy Zendert Flower Foundation)
The Dutch are known to love their flowers. They’re even building an entire city dedicated to them for a horticultural expo in 2022. On a smaller scale, the Bloemencorso flower parade covers imaginative and incredibly detailed floats in thousands of colorful blooms, and this year it featured a miniature flower city of its own.
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