In 1855, a band of French socialists, many of them artists and craftsmen, established a utopian community called La Reunion in Dallas, just west of downtown. They were inspired by the writings of philosopher Charles Fourier, who had nothing helpful to say about Texas weather, Texas soil, or Texans generally. Within four years the community failed and its members scattered. Images courtesy La Reunion TX Bang Dang, of Dallas-based Cunningham Architects, won first place in the La Reunion TX competition. The design combines an old rail trestle (top) with additional walkways to link a series of artist studios and apartments
“There has been nothing to signal a transformation in the sea of blight and abandonment that still defines much of” New Orleans, The New York Times reported on April 1, one year after municipal officials unveiled the city’s rebuilding plan. Created by Edward Blakely, who led the successful recovery of Oakland, California, after that city suffered both an earthquake and fires during the 1990s, the New Orleans plan targeted 17 recovery zones. “On their one-year anniversary, the designated ‘zones’ have hardly budged,” the Times wrote. As residents seek explanations, they are blaming Blakely—who they criticize for spending too much time
Part promenade, part amphitheater, Frank Gehry’s summer pavilion for London’s Serpentine Gallery, due to open in June, looks set to be one of the more elaborate and vivacious commissions in the gallery’s annual series. It marks Gehry’s first project in London and the first time he has collaborated with his son Samuel, who is part of the Gehry Partners design team. Arup will review the design, materials, and structure.
RMJM, the international design firm based in Edinburgh, has donated $1.5 million to the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) for the creation of the “RMJM Program for Research and Education in Integrated Design Practice.” This new project aims to heighten the value of architects by incorporating business principles into design education. “Architecture is at risk of losing talent,” explains RMJM CEO Peter Morrison, who has explored the idea for such a program with GSD professors and architects during the past three years while giving guest lectures at the school. “On the surface, things look good: projects are good,
Baseball players are hardly alone in experiencing opening-day jitters. Less than a week before the March 30th opening of the Washington Nationals’ new home, the first LEED-certified Major League Baseball stadium, scores of bricklayers, painters, electricians, and other contractors were still hard at work. Designed by a joint venture between the international firm HOK Sport, and D.C.-based Devrouax + Purnell Architects, the $611 million ballpark was erected in just under two years. Images courtesy HOK Sport Nationals Park, designed by HOK Sport and Devrouax + Purnell Architects, opened on March 30, 2008 (top). The ballpark is located on South Capitol
BusinessWeek and RECORD announce the winners of the second biannual “Good Design is Good Business” China Awards Program, which honors building and planning projects that are reshaping modern China.
Jean Nouvel has talked of creating buildings that he hopes will disappear into their surroundings, defy easy characterization, and that will become dated.
Plans to resurrect the spirit of old Penn Station in a new structure named after the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan “suffered a potentially fatal blow,” The New York Times reported on March 28.
Developer Tishman Speyer won rights to develop Manhattan’s Hudson Rail Yards with a scheme designed by architect Helmut Jahn and landscape architect Peter Walker. Announced yesterday, the deal is expected to be formalized within 14 days.
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