Profile> Marc Teer Explores Facade Patterning Techniques, October 12
Marc Teer
Marc Teer, an instructor at IIT, founded the site Black Spectacles in 2010 to create a friendly forum where architects and designers could learn the latest software online, from 3ds Max to RhinoScript and everything in between. In a day-long workshop on Friday, October 12, Teer will zero in on programs that enable the design and patterning of facades. The event is part of Collaboration: The Art and Science of Building Facades, the Chicago edition of the Architect’s Newspaper‘s popular conference taking place October 11-12.
Facade Patterning: Translation from Grasshopper into Revit will investigate interoperability between Grasshopper and Revit and explore the array of evocatively named tools that make this translation possible: Geometry Gym, Hummingbird, Chameleon & Import, OpenNurbs to Revit. “On the one hand you have Grasshopper, which provides architects with an unlimited architectural vocabulary, and on the other, you have Revit which is arguably the most powerful design development and documentation tool. The problem is these two tools don’t work well together out of the box,” said Teer. Read More
Fluid Walls Show Off Concrete’s Seductive Side
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National Tourist Route Rv 889 Havøysund in northern Norway by Reiulf Ramstad Architects
Two new projects prove that concrete’s rigidity is no longer set in stone
From Peter Eisenman’s Berlin Holocaust Memorial to Paul Rudolph’s Art and Architecture building, concrete has been used with finesse in minimalist and brutalist structures and, as such, is mostly thought of as cold or aggressive. Two recent projects in Portugal and Norway are set to change our hard-edged opinion of concrete and show that it can be as fluid as a ribbon waving in the wind. Casa Xieira II, a private home in Leiria, Portugal, designed by A2 + Arquitectos, and the National Tourist Route Rv 889 Havøysund in northern Norway by Reiulf Ramstad Architects both feature winding concrete wrappers that stand out in sharp contrast to their surroundings, a factor that only becomes more important when your primary building material is as stark as concrete. Read More
Oyler Wu, Take 2
Oyler Wu’s torqued steel shells shelter guests at the SCI-Arc Graduation. (Scott Mayoral)
Last year we showcased Oyler Wu’s SCI-Arc graduation pavilion, a swooping steel, fabric, and rope construction that floated above the event like a billowing sail. For last week’s graduation the firm added a small addition while making significant improvements. The addition, which sat school directors and special guests, became a stage for diploma presentation. Made of a torqued steel shell fitted with twisting fabric (Wu calls it a three dimensional twist), the addition is no replication: it creates a simpler, more unified complement to the original, which involves a more complex web of fabric and roping. As for the original pavilion, they replaced its (disturbingly) dirty fabric with darker material and re-oriented the whole thing toward the school itself. Next year’s pavilion will be designed by Marcelo Spina. We can’t wait.
Parking Day is Coming!
Park(ing) Day Bogota (image courtesy deespacio)
Tomorrow cities around the world will celebrate Park(ing) Day . What started in 2005 when San Francisco firm ReBar converted a parking space in San Francisco into a temporary park has exploded into a global event. Last year 975 parks were built in 162 cities in 35 countries, up from 800 parks the year before. This year will be even bigger. To get you excited here are some pictures of our favorite temporary parks from last year. And for those of you who still want to do a last-second park, according to the organizers, doing it without pemits is risky, but not out of the question: ”It’s your call, but we do encourage you to look for creative ways to work with/within the law,” says the Park(ing) Day site. Read More
We’ve poked fun at Blair Kamin numerous times, from his nerdy-sexy picture next to his byline to our disparate views on PoMo design. Despite all that, his contribution as an architectural critic and historian is quite profound and very important for the Midwest. Kamin’s announcement that he’s taking a leave of absence from the Chicago Tribune for a fellowship at Harvard made us panicky. Newspapers are trimming staff faster than design firms during the recession. We just hope that with or without Kamin, the Tribune recognizes the value of his work and keeps that legacy alive.
On View> From Farm to City: Staten Island 1616–2012
(Courtesy MCNY)
From Farm to City: Staten Island 1616–2012
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue
Through January 21, 2013
From Farm to City: Staten Island 1616–2012 explores the history, evolution, and future of New York’s often overlooked fifth borough. The island has served as the city’s breadbasket, a pastoral escape for the city’s elite, an industrial center, an international port, and a toehold for new immigrant communities. Divided into four sections—Farms, Pleasure Grounds, Suburbs, and City—the exhibition examines the major forces that have shaped land use on the island, including the development of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The exhibition includes historic photographs, maps, and other ephemera and objects, as well as an online mapping component tracing the chronology of major developments on the island.
Detroit Design Festival Kicks Off Today
Detroit, on the water. (Image courtesy Bernt Rostad via Flickr.)
The Detroit Design Festival kicks off today, celebrating the city’s resilient design community with five days of events, installations, lectures and workshops.
“It is a call to action for the community,” reads the festival’s webpage, “to improve quality of life in and around Detroit.”
Among the sights this week is an inflatable structure named Spacebuster first designed for New York’s Storefront for Art and Architecture. It will take up residence outside Mies’ Lafayette Park Friday.
A full schedule of the events, which take place through Sunday, is available here. The kick-off party is tonight at 6:00 p.m. at 3011 W. Grand Blvd.
KOONS, MEIER AMONG DESIGN SELECTION TEAM FOR TAPPAN ZEE REPLACEMENT BRIDGE
Jeffery Koons, perhaps best known for his quirky stainless steel glossy sculptural reproductions of balloon dogs, has been called upon by Governor Andrew Cuomo to help decide what the new Tappan Zee bridge will look like. Koons, along with Richard Meier, winner of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, and Thomas Campbell, Metropolitan Museum of Art Director, were named to the selection design team that will provide counsel on the construction of the Tappan Zee replacement bridge. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the decision in a press conference Wednesday. Meier’s most notable work includes the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and the Jubilee Church in Rome. The design team will offer advice on the bridge’s aesthetics and visual compatibility with the surrounding nature.
DOT INTRODUCES NEW STREET SAFETY CAMPAIGN
“Safety is in the eye of the beholder,” says New York City DOT Commissioner Sadik Khan. Khan’s remarks came Wednesday as the New York City Department of Transportation unveiled its new LOOK! safety campaign urging self-responsibility on the part of drivers and pedestrians alike. The updated campaign features thermoplastic curbside lettering spelling L-O-O-K with appropriately focused eyeballs replacing the O’s on crosswalks at 110 of the most fatality ridden intersections across the city. The street markings are accompanied by witty color photograph ads on nearby phone stalls, bus shelters, and the backs of city buses warning us to heed our mothers’ advice and look both ways before crossing the street. The campaign plans to eventually increase their range to include 200 intersections and more than 300 buses.
Eavesdrop> Bilbao of the Midwest?
RENDERING OF MOCA CLEVELAND NEARS COMPLETION. (COURTESY FARSHID MOUSSAVI ARCHITECTURE)
If you read this column, you know Eaves loves a party. You also know we self-deprecatingly speak of mediocre Midwestern cities (we’re from Louisville). Even with summer winding down, there’s no need to stick out that lower lip. A slew of—well, ok, three–high profile openings will tickle even the slightest art and architecture enthusiast as Cleveland, East Lansing, and Cincinnati compete for the title of Bilbao of the Midwest. First up, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, designed by Farshid Moussavi Architecture, opens on October 6. Will the Mistake-on-the-Lake become the Rust Belt Riviera? On MOCA’s heels comes the Eli and Edythe Broad Museum on November 9. OK, we don’t know anything about East Lansing other than a school’s there, but—hey!—now they have a Zaha Hadid.
And finally, Cincinnati, home to America’s first Hadid, will welcome 21c Museum Hotel by Deborah Berke & Partners. Their website says it will open late 2012. Which project will be an urban game-changer? We could be swayed by opening night invites, but right now my money’s on Cincy.
A decade of green growth celebrated at CitiesAlive!
(Courtesy LiveRoof)
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since the first green roof gathering in Chicago, when 400 green roof enthusiasts came together from around the world to share their passion and knowledge of green roofs. Since then, we’ve laid some very important foundations for the industry, which enjoyed an amazing 115% growth rate last year.
On October 17-20 at CitiesAlive, we will gather at the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago once more, to celebrate all that we have accomplished together, and lay plans for the future growth of this industry. Performance is the unifying theme for programming that features the best and brightest in green roof and wall design, research, policy. ’On the roof with’ conversations feature examples of what green infrastructure is best at – stormwater management, urban agriculture, increasing biodiversity, energy efficiency, job creation and more. Together, we’re building a legacy of outstanding performance!
The Grass Looks Greener On The Riverside
WNYC Transmitter Park Waterfront (Photo Credit: juliewoodnyc via Instagram)
Green outdoor space, outside of Central Park, is often thought of as a rare commodity in New York City; but now it doesn’t have to be. The recent opening of WNYC’s Transmitter Park on the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn is one of the many projects that will be improving over 500 miles of shoreline across the city.
Breaking ground back in 2010, Transmitter Park is now finally open for the public to enjoy. As part of the Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy(WAVES) citywide initiative, Transmitter Park supports the plan’s vision to provide more open recreational space for the city’s residents and a functional waterfront that will no longer display decaying industrial sites. The park is also a result of the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning meant to provide local residents and visitors with continuous public access to the waterfront. The new park includes1.6-acres of open space with an esplanade for passive recreation, a new overlook to the south, new seating, and a pedestrian bridge built across an excavated historic ferry slip. The center of the park offers a large open lawn with a nautical themed children’s play area that reflects the site’s context, spray showers, and nature gardens.
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