« Landscaper Needed | Main | The Anti-Sit: Simple Expression »
August 19, 2005
Fibrous
Hudson River's Bannerman Castle, photos courtesy of Shaun O'Boyle
The City Review on the "New York Moving Forward" exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, specifically TEN Arquitectos, whose Harlem Park, Brooklyn Public Library for the Performing Arts, and 1 York Street are all on display. "What is perhaps most striking about the project is that Norten's design studies for the project are superb. Ideally they should all be built." Quite an endorsement from Carter.
Architecture Week on waste recovery from disassembled buildings - distinct from demolition, which produces 150 million tons of waste a year. The article showcases Germany, "where they require "extended producer responsibility" in manufacturing. Industrial producers are made responsible for the eventual disassembly and recovery of materials from the products they produce". Part of the "cradle to cradle" perspective advanced by William McDonough etc.
Understated elegance, that is, the 'billboard building' of Toyko.
Yes, even more ink on the London hi-rise boom, this time, from the Times Uk. A fan of the Gherkin, which proved skyscrapers "could be dishy, friendly, quite clever, almost respectful of the streets below", the article gets it right on many angles. This isn't the wanton 60's destruction of low-rise London, but "today’s rush to build big doesn’t mirror the Sixties. These towers are better. We have tougher conservation laws." Yet, he expresses some worry, "What happens if councils who don’t have an eye for quality (like [Mayor] Livingstone and [Planning Director] Rees) let anything through so long as it makes a headline and a fast buck for the greedy and unscrupulous?" What do you mean, like New York's current building Boom? The Slatin Report gets in the London fray, pointing out the commerical basis for such hi-rise dreams.
Fascinating new book, reviewed here by Archinect, entitled Landscrapers: Building with Land.
Major feature in New York Construction News on Trump's Obnoxious Riverside South project, which at 7.9 million sq ft when all is said and done, is quite a monstrosity for the West Side. What was that about design review boards? Ahh, thanks Trump.
Interesting story at LostLandmarks.org on the Jesse Baltimore House, a 1920s era Sears Roebuck "Modern Home".
Robert Smithson's "Floating Island" will take shape for 9 days next month - Sept 17 to the 25th, some 35 years after its initial conception. "the flat-deck barge will hold earth, shrubs, rocks and seven specimens of trees native to the region that will rise 30 to 35 feet". Booze Cruise anyone?
The abondoned 86th St station of the MetroNorth Harlem line.
San Francisco's mayor Gavin Newsom embarks on heady building boom, projecting some 15,000 new units - 5,400 of them going to low- and moderate-income households. Significant for a city of only 750,000... Fiberous Friday indeed.
Posted by jmarston at August 19, 2005 02:01 AM
Comments
re the Sears home - a wonderful Craftsman bungalow... hope they can save it. Look at all like our River Falls home (tho 1 story) ? The American Bungalow magazine Fall 2005 features the Sears Ashmore model redone in Minneapolis. Check it out !
Love, Mama
Posted by: Doreen Marston at August 19, 2005 03:21 PM
Good day... I just wanted to clarify that Archinect's Books section allows any member to submit a book and that person can provide a description. Many or most times that description is the same one that the editors provide to Amazon.com and that is usually printed on the book jacket. Thus, we can't take credit for having reviewed the Landscrapers book by Aaron Betsky that you mention here. When an editor writes about a book he or she feels strongly about, the article appears prominently in the Views or Features sections. The books section is more like a book mall for architects and related professions. Best, Javier Arbona
Posted by: javier at August 22, 2005 02:13 PM
Sorry to carry on randomly and unclearly... I also want to clarify that in the previous post "editors" in the first sentence refers to the books' editors and "editor" in the next to last sentence refers to Archinect's editors/writers/collaborators. Sorry for the confusion. I hope things are sufficiently mixed up now.
Posted by: javier at August 22, 2005 02:16 PM
re: Recycled building... An Austin, TX event center is doing just that. Sorry for the mega link.
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kut/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=798227
Posted by: Scoop at August 23, 2005 05:07 PM