A tower Daniel Libeskind designed for the center of Milan might not get built because Italy’s prime minister thinks it exudes a “sense of impotence,” reports The Independent. Silvio Berlusconi, speaking to an Italian newspaper, expressed his displeasure with the proposed skyscraper, which appears to lean forward, and threatened to withdraw planning permission for the project. An angry Libeskind fired back in an interview with the same newspaper, comparing Berlusconi’s remarks to Fascist ideology and accusing him of “hating foreigners.” “In Fascist Italy, everything that was not ‘straight’ was considered ‘perverse art,’” Libeskind was quoted as saying. “My tower is
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge, a new annual design competition created to honor the late architect-inventor-ecologist who would have celebrated his 113th birthday this Saturday, has a winner. John Todd, a Cape Cod-based scientist and environmental planner who met Bucky nearly 30 years ago, has taken home the blue ribbon for his “Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia,” an economic plan that calls for cleaning up and replanting 1.5 million acres of land from Ohio to Alabama that coal producers have strip-mined. The Buckminster Fuller Institute, a Brooklyn-based research group, sponsored the contest and announced the
Earlier this year, during an urban development forum at a university in Belfast, Ireland, the New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind ruffled feathers when he admonished fellow architects not to accept commissions from China and other so-called repressive regimes. “I think architects should take a more moral stance,” he proclaimed. The Polish-born architect’s speech incited backlash from colleagues and charges of hypocrisy—some pointed to his Hong Kong project, the now-under-construction Creative Media Centre—but his remarks incited a question that can leave some architects feeling squeamish: Is it ethical to accept commissions from authoritarian governments with poor human rights records? Photo '
New York’s Gluckman Mayner Architects is designing Pace Beijing, a major Chinese outpost for Manhattan’s PaceWildenstein gallery. It is the first major American gallery to put down roots in Beijing—a move intended to help PaceWildenstein become a prominent player in Asia’s booming art market.
In a surprise joint announcement, the two leading—and rival—vendors of design and analysis software say they have agreed to exchange their software libraries and support each other's application programming interface tools to improve interoperability between their products. The day of the announcement, July 8, may go down as a historic great leap forward, creating a link between the two most widely used suites of architectural, engineering and construction tools. The design tools of Autodesk, San Rafael, Calif., and Bentley Systems, Exton, P.A., are often used by project collaborators who have long complained of limited compatibility when exchanging designs between the
When it started preparing for the 2012 Summer Games, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) put two key items on its agenda: contribute to East London’s ongoing revitalization in a sustainable way, and avoid “white elephant” venues that would not be used after the Games end. As part of that vision, in March it announced that American landscape architects Hargreaves Associates and London-based LDA Design will design the Olympic Park.
In 1999, when Turin, Italy, was chosen to host the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, observers attributed the International Olympic Committee’s selection over favored Sion, Switzerland, to Turin’s million-person population and its close proximity to the Western Alps. Photo ' Michel Denanc' (top); ' Enrico Cano (above). The Olympic Pedestrian Bridge (top) was one many structures built for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Olympic facilities have helped propel the city’s long-time effort to redevelop itself into a vibrant, post-industrial metropolis. The modern Santo Volto church (above), designed by Mario Botta, embodies Turin’s eagerness to embrace the 21st century. Then
Photo courtesy GSA President Bush recently tapped James A. Williams to head the GSA, which oversees 352 million square feet worth of space across the nation. His appointment still requires Senate confirmation. The General Services Administration, best known to many architects as the nation’s landlord, may soon have a new leader, after its former chief resigned nine weeks ago in a cloud of scandal. On June 25, President Bush tapped James A. Williams to head the federal agency, which oversees 352 million square feet worth of space across the nation. The GSA’s Public Buildings Service department manages 8,619 government-owned facilities,
Photos courtesy Elizabeth Felicella Photography WORK Architecture Company recently completed its “Public Farm 1” installation at P.S.1, a contemporary art museum in Queens. Herbs and vegetables grown in the cardboard cylinders will be sold at a weekly farmer’s market. The cabbage has sprouted. The tomatoes are doing well. The farm in Queens is officially up and running. WORK Architecture Company, a New York-based firm, recently completed its installation at P.S.1, transforming the contemporary art museum’s two adjoining courtyards into a community agricultural project—and an imaginative architectural composition. This Saturday, July 5, the installation will become one of New York City’s
The floods that ravaged the Midwest in June did not discriminate between corn and soybean fields, aging riverfront downtowns and renowned architectural landmarks. Iowa was especially hard hit, with buildings by Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, Steven Holl, and Max Abramovitz taking on significant amounts of water. As the floodwaters receded, the overriding, still-unanswered question was whether the damage was structural or cosmetic. Photos courtesy of University Relations, The University of Iowa The University of Iowa has endured severe flood damage in recent weeks. The school's Arts Campus (top) includes buildings designed by Frank Gehry, Steven Holl, and
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