On View> Sacrilege Stonehenge Inflatable Bounces Into Hong Kong
(Jeremy Deller)
Mobile M+: INFLATION!
Tues – Thurs: 12pm to 7pm
Fri – Sun: 11am to 8pm
During Art Basel Hong Kong: May 23 to 26, 10am to 8pm
Venue: West Kowloon Cultural District Promenade
The basic bouncy-house concept has officially been brought to an entirely new level. Turner Prize-winning British artist Jeremy Deller created Sacrilege, an interactive work on which visitors may bounce to their hearts’ content. As a co-commission between the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art and the Mayor of London, the work is a full-size inflatable replica of the world-famous monument Stonehenge. Sacrilege initially appeared in Glasgow to tour as part of the London 2012 Festival and was unveiled last week at Hong Kong’s Mobile M+: Inflation!.
EPA to Give Over Half Billion in Funding to Improve NY and NJ Facilities Ravaged by Hurricane Sandy
US Navy pumping overflow sewage in New York Harbor post-Hurricane Sandy (Courtesy of U.S. Navy/Flickr)
Hurricane Sandy caused substantial damage to wastewater and drinking water treatment systems across the tri-state area. Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to provide a total of $569 million to New York and New Jersey to make wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities more resilient to withstand the effects of future storms. As Michael Shapiro, EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, pointed out in a media call, “Sewage treatment plants are on the waterfront so are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.” The funding will be provided through grants to states that will then be distributed primarily to local communities as low or no interest loans.
“Going forward we’re encouraging local governments to submit proposals for green infrastructure and that rely on natural features to prevent flooding,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck in an announcement.
The agency also anticipates that this funding will result in 6,000 short-term construction jobs.
Boston Public Library’s Philip Johnson Branch To Be Renovated
Boston Public Library Johnson Building. (Courtesy Boston Public Library)
Library officials and developers hope to give Boston Public Library’s Philip Johnson-designed branch a facelift, but as the Boston Herald reported, local residents question who these proposed changes will really benefit. Standing besides Charles Follen McKim’s 1895 Beaux Arts masterwork on Copley Square, and across the street from the site of the recent marathon bombings, the mid-century monolith, which was completed in 1971, has been likened by many to a bunker or mausoleum and derided for its “greyness” and “bleakness.” With nearly half of Boston’s library users regularly visiting this branch, some think it’s about time for an upgrade.
On View> MoMA Takes a Shower With New Rain Room Installation
Photo of ‘Rain Room’, Courtesy of rAndom international
The gentle drumming sound of rainfall is one that many of us find soothing, but it is a natural phenomena that we can only experience at a safe distance without suffering the consequence of being drenched. With their one-of-a-kind installation, Rain Room, the designers at rAndom international made what you thought was impossible possible—presenting anyone who is curious for a new sensation with the opportunity to fully experience standing unprotected in the rain without ever getting wet.
We Have A Winner at UC Davis: “Grand Canopy”
SO – IL’s Grand Canopy. (Courtesy SO – IL)
Last month AN reported that UC Davis had selected a shortlist for its Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. Well we have a winner: ”Grand Canopy,” by So – IL / Bohlin Cywinski Jackson/ Whiting-Turner. The design features a 50,000 square-foot floating steel canopy which weaves together exterior and interior space for galleries, exhibitions, concerts, art studios, as well as artists’ residencies. Jurors selected the design from a shortlist of three finalists for its unusual incorporation of light, close connection to the UC Davis campus, as well as the ability to adapt and grow over time to the changing needs of its users–the students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The museum will occupy 1.6 acres on the southern edge of the UC Davis campus.Watch Florian Idenburg, design architect and partner for SO – IL, talk about the winning design (Joe Proudman/UC Davis).
Rockwell Group Designs A Treehouse-esque Playground for Park in Brownsville
Rendering of Imagination Playground in Brownsville by the Rockwell Group (Courtesy of the Rockwell Group)
The Rockwell Group and NYC Parks unveiled their plans last week to turn a 1.5-acre section of Betsy Head Park in Brownsville into a lush and active playground. When designing Imagination Playground, the firm looked to treehouses for inspiration. The site will feature a winding ramp that snakes around London Plane trees and connects to slides and a series of jungle gyms that spill out into an open area with sand, water, benches, and plantings.
Your help is needed to help rebuild the Battery Urban Farm!
The Battery Urban Farm before Sandy (Courtesy The Battery Conservancy)
The Battery Urban Farm came to life in November 2010 motivated by eight students from the Environmental Club at Millennium High School who wanted to create a vegetable garden. Once the Battery Conservancy got involved the idea began to grow and was realized in five months. By 2012 the one-acre farm grew to serve 1,800 students from 30 schools, teaching them the basics about farming and eating healthy, as well as community organizations, local residents, commuters, tourists, and local restaurants. However, the growing and teaching came to a halt after Hurricane Sandy devastated much of lower Manhattan, flooding Battery Urban Farm and destroying the Battery Conservancy offices. Now they are asking for your help to rebuild in order to keep the veggies growing.
The University of Connecticut is now home to a recently established Transportation Safety Research Center that will operate as a vital resource for law enforcement and state residents, among others. Developed in collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the center has already improved the compilation and processing of car crash data through performing studies to further understand factors that lead to car crashes on state roadways. Statistics concerning distracted driving, seatbelt use, and pedestrian safety will be available to the public online in an effort to build an electronic repository of statewide crash information. (Photo: Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announces the new program; Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Product> Lightfair 2013 Finds From the Floor
Fino by Amerlux.
Lightfair International held its 2013 edition at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center from April 21–25. More than 500 exhibitors, including 80-plus first-timers, filled over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space with the latest lighting technologies, from solar fittings to roadway fixtures, and rounded out a robust conference program with ample networking opportunities. Following are a handful of standout products from Lightfair’s exhibitors.
Fino
Amerlux
Designed for corporate and hospitality settings, the wall mounted Fino produces indirect light for washing floors or ceilings. Aluminum construction with an extruded latching system was designed to be set within sheet rock for hairline seams. Once installed, light from a replaceable LED board bounces off an internal reflector to produce a soft, even glow. Fino is available in increments of 6-inch lengths.
LACMA Transformation Coming Into Focus
(Diana Lee Photography / Flickr)
The Wall Street Journal recently published a confirmation of two things we’ve been hearing whispers of for years: One, Michael Govan is more of a builder than a museum director; and two, that Govan and Peter Zumthor are planning to basically take LACMA apart and start over. The full scope of the plans will be unveiled in June, with LACMA’s exhibition, The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA. But for now the story has gleaned that under Zumthor’s plan, four of the museum’s midcentury structures will be replaced by “curvaceous modern glass structures.”
Glimpse Miami’s Abandoned Marine Stadium and the New Perez Art Museum Miami
Marine Stadium. (Courtesy Nicole Anderson/AN)
Last month AN compiled a list of the most high profile projects taking place in Miami, and on a recent trip to the Magic City, we had the opportunity to visit two of these sites: the shuttered Marine Stadium and Herzog and de Meuron’s new building for the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM).
While new developments flood Miami, preservationists are fighting to save and revive the abandoned Marine Stadium on Virginia Key by Cuban-born architect Hilario Candela. In 2009, the graffiti-covered venue that once held powerboat racing events and large-scale concerts, was placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of “11 Most Endangered Historic Places.”
IDEAS CITY Winning Pavilion “MirrorMirror” To Reflect the Bowery On Saturday
“MirrorMirror” Pavilion. (Courtesy Davidson Rafailidis)
The Storefront for Art and Architecture and the New Museum in New York City have announced the winners of the StreetFest Tenting Competition for their upcoming IDEAS CITY Festival, arriving Saturday in front of the New Museum on the Bowery. The international competition asked architects to re-imagine the typical street fair tent with a more compelling and sustainable form. Winner Davidson Rafailidis—lead by Georg Rafailidis and Stephanie Davidson of Buffalo—were chosen for their entry, MirrorMirror, which will premiere at 6:00pm on Saturday May 4th.
Advertise on The Architect's Newspaper.
Archives
Categories
Architecture
Design
East Coast
Midwest
National
Planning
Shft+Alt+Del
Sustainability
Transportation
West Coast
