Construction Grinds to a Halt Burdened by a meltdown in its overheated real estate market, Spain has been severely affected by the world financial crisis, and its architects are feeling the pinch. The boom in housing construction, fueled over the past decade by low European Union interest rates, was dealt a fatal blow by the crisis this past fall. According to the Madrid College of Architects, a professional association, permits for new construction virtually came to a halt in 2008. Paloma Sabrini, head of the organization, estimates that at a national level, the market will require three years to absorb
Sverre Fehn Sverre Fehn, the prominent Norwegian architect, died on February 23. He was 84. Fehn, known for fusing Modernism with traditional Scandinavian architecture, was the recipient of many of the profession’s highest honors, including the Pritzker Prize, which he received in 1997. In the Pritzker award citation, juror Ada Louise Huxtable lauded Fehn’s work for its “extraordinary richness, perception, and quality” and said it “represents the best of 20th century Modernism.” After graduating from the Oslo School of Architecture in 1949, Fehn joined a group of designers devoted to finding a uniquely Norwegian expression of Modernism. In 1954, he
At the farmers’ market in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, people can’t help but ask John Morefield what he is selling. “We’re selling architecture!” he answers. “Have questions about your house? Kitchen too small? Bathroom not working? Drop a nickel into the cup.” Architectural advice is an unusual service to be hawking at a Sunday market known for its organic produce. Then again, these are unusual times, and Architecture 5¢ is just one man’s way of weathering the economic crisis. Inevitably, passersby see the 27-year-old Morefield behind his plywood booth—built to resemble Lucy’s psychiatry stand from the Peanuts comic strip. Intrigued, they
Image courtesy Peter Morris Proponents of green buildings have a long list of persuasive arguments they can use to convince clients and developers that green is the way to go: Build green, and your employees will be healthier, happier, and more productive! Build green, and you will use less water and energy, benefit your local environment, and promote global environmental responsibility! Build green, and you will save money over the long term! But with U.S. economy in shambles, the question looms: How will the recession affect the green-building market? RECORD put the question to Peter Morris, principal of the construction
Steven Holl Photo courtesy Steven Holl Architects The first edition of the BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge Prize in the Arts, sponsored by the Spanish bank BBVA, has been awarded to American architect Steven Holl. The 400,000 euro prize (roughly US $500,000), whose announcement surprised even Holl, is a another sign of the apparent good health of the Spanish banking system, following the BBVA's recent announcement of a new headquarters building by Herzog and De Meuron. The jury cited for distinction “the humanistic values that Steven Holl has preserved in his work, promoting social and cultural fundamentals without sacrificing his
A month after Beijing’s not-yet-occupied Television Cultural Center highrise was ignited by fireworks, leaving it a charred shell, new ideas about how the fire started and spread have arisen. Few are willing to speak on the record, but one developer unconnected to the project even proposed prohibiting fireworks in dense Beijing. Photo ' Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images Illegal fireworks ignited the February 9 blaze. Related Links: OMA-Designed TVCC Goes Up in Flames The 31-story TVCC building was designed by Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture and was scheduled to open in May. It is adjacent to the iconic headquarters of
Correction appended March 13, 2009 When the materials library Material Connexion officially opened its new Manhattan headquarters in January, the 12,000-square-foot space doubled the display capacity of its old office. Visitors to the new space will find more eco-friendly offerings: The company adds 600 new materials to its library each year, and in 2008, about 250 of those new materials had sustainable attributes—a 50 percent increase over 2007. “We are actively looking for these materials, because we know they’re important to our clients,” says library and materials research vice president Andrew Dent. Photo courtesy Material Connexion Material Connexion, which recently
For design students in New York, Christmas comes in April. That’s when SpecSimple.com, a New York–based company that operates an online directory of design products and services, distributes free swatches, material samples, brochures, finish cards, and other goodies to local schools. Now in its tenth year, the Save a Sample! Box-A-Thon is gearing up for what it hopes will be a record amount of donations and deliveries. Trucks and drivers provided by local furniture dealers will fan across the metropolitan area from April 7 to 9 to collect the spoils from architecture and design firms and to deliver them to
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