After building designs were revealed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics a few years ago, reports turned to stories of displaced local residents and the destruction of historic architecture as the city began revamping its infrastructure. A photo that recently made the front page of newspapers worldwide best captured the activity: a lone house standing defiantly amid a giant construction pit. Nicknamed the “Nail House,” the diminutive dwelling finally succumbed to a backhoe on April 3—its owner, Wu Ping, joining the estimated 300,000 people who have been displaced by construction. But behind these dramatic scenes, a preservation ethic is gradually emerging.
With new buildings by Jean Nouvel and Herzog & de Meuron, as well as a dynamic regional design community, the architecture scene in Minneapolis is definitely heating up—but it will no longer be receiving consistent review in the local newspaper. The Minneapolis Star Tribune announced earlier this month that it is eliminating the position of its architecture critic and reporter, Linda Mack. In addition to reporting on architecture, planning, and landscape design, Mack had covered the urban landscape in a weekly features column for 20 years. Her position was one of 50 newsroom jobs cut—part of a larger effort to
Six million Americans are already affected with age-related macular degeneration, the primary cause of vision loss in the U.S, and as many as 15 million more are pre-symptomatic. Low vision, coupled with Baby Boomers’ propensity toward independent living, suggests a different set of easy design solutions from complete blindness.
For far too long, most publicly funded housing for seniors and the disabled has bordered on being dull, if not downright dismal and “institutional.” But thanks to architects who are lavishing the kind of thoughtful design attention hitherto rarely seen in such developments, and clients who are increasingly willing to take a chance on them, even some publicly funded projects are breaking the mold. Rotschild Doyno’s seniors complex. Rendering: Courtesy Rothschild Donyo Victor Regnier, FAIA, a University of Southern California professor who specializes in seniors housing design, is currently writing a book on the subject—timely, given the growing demand for
Editor’s note: You may read the news digest below or listen to it, plus other news headlines from ArchiecturalRecord.com, as a podcast by clicking this link. Click the play button to begin | Click here to download Daniel Libeskind can’t seem to get enough of Colorado—or is it the other way round? Although the architect of the Denver Art Museum and the Museum Residences has his local critics, he’s working on a third project there: an as-yet-unnamed, 56-unit condominium development in Eagle County, roughly two hours west of Denver. Rick Mueller, the developer of this $125-million scheme, is banking on
When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled PlaNYC in April, the press focused on just one of its 127 proposals for helping the city grow in an environmentally sustainable manner: a “congestion charge” applied to motorists in Manhattan’s key business districts. Bloomberg made headlines again this week when he called for replacing the city’s entire taxicab fleet with hybrid vehicles that pollute less. But there’s a lot more to PlaNYC than automobiles. “It’s the other 126 proposals that are going to have an effect on all of the design professions,” observes Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association
Homeowners and municipalities in Louisiana are encountering serious funding roadblocks as they continue to rebuild. The biggest obstacle is the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, which governs how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers aid programs. The Stafford Act is a well-intentioned 1988 law designed to reduce fraud. It requires local governments to advance federal money for infrastructure repairs. Although the act promises they’ll be reimbursed later through a “match-share” program, most municipalities are unable to afford the up-front costs. Many also criticize the law for requiring what they describe as complicated, inflexible worksheets that
New York governor Eliot Spitzer announced yesterday that the final $2 billion in disputed insurance claims over property at the World Trade Center have been resolved, clearing the way for more construction. The exact amount that seven insurers were to pay to Silverstein Properties, which leased the Twin Towers, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, had remained in dispute until the May 23 settlement. The nearly six-year delay had held up financing for Silverstein to construction Towers 2, 3, and 4 along the eastern portion of the World Trade Center site. The
When it comes to weather, March is usually in like a lion and out like a lamb—and when it comes to architectural firms’ billings, the month is typically all lion, showing strong gains. But not this March, according to the American Institute of Architects’ Architectural Billings Index, which tracked only a partial rise in activity over February. The ABI grew just 0.1 point, to 52.6 (any score above 50, though, indicates growth). March’s modest increase could indicate that the market was catching its breath after a stronger showing than usual earlier in the year. Another indicator that activity remains healthy
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