August 24, 2010
Got a hankering to work for the largest growing database of architecture online? Care to opine about LEED certification and the stock museum architecture of Renzo Piano? Have some ideas on how to spread the good word of architecture across the internet?
We’ve got an internship for you.
You’d be working here in our New York office at least two days per week. It comes with a stipend and is applicable for school credit. And you’d get the inside track on the architecture and design industry: access to luminaries in the field, fascinating personalities, newest books, and emerging trends.
We are hiring two interns for the fall semester: one for editorial and one for social media. Click through for full job descriptions.
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August 24, 2010

While we hear that many of the national pavilions at the Venice Biennale are still in prep mode, one country has its proverbial shit together. Croatia’s floating pavilion, La Nave, is making its merry way across the Adriatic Sea before arriving at its temporary home in Venice.
Organized by the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka, Croatia, the pavilion is a collaborative effort between 14 native architects. Constructed on an existing barge (10m x 20m x 3m), the structure is welded together using 30 tons of Q385 wire mesh “in more than 40 layers of varying contours.”
We’ve got the incredible images, after the break. UPDATE: Now with video!
For more Venice Biennale coverage, continue reading here. And for official event info, visit the Biennale online.
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August 24, 2010
As of yesterday, it’s official! Diller Scofidio + Renfro will design the new Broad Collection, showcasing the collected works of financier Eli Broad, in downtown Los Angeles. The executive architect is LA-based Gensler. [via Culture Monster]
It’s a mad rush to finish the national pavilions in the Venice Biennale, curated this year by Kazuyo Sejima under the theme “People Meet in Architecture.” For a hit list of what-not-to-miss during the 2010 press preview this week, see our full roundup here. [via A/N Blog]
Whether new or experienced to the ways of Passive House building, East Village architect and passivhaus champion Chris Benedict will lead a presentation on the responsible building method tonight at Parsons. The main topic of discussion will concern the carbon-neutral and cost-effective apartment building in Bushwick she’s undertaking this year with partner Henry Gifford. Kicks off at 7 pm. [via Meetup]
Juicy read o’ the morning: Phyllis Lambert, dubbed “Joan of Architecture,” on her career as an urbanist and director of Montreal’s CCA, plus what it was like to hand-pick Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to design the Seagram Building in New York. [via Wall Street Journal]
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August 23, 2010
So what’s new for the Venice Biennale in 2010?
One, Kazuyo Sejima is serving as director of this year’s festivities (and the first woman to do so), helming the crowd-friendly theme of “People Meet in Architecture.” Two, it’s about one month earlier than usual — due to a scheduling conflict the press preview starts this week, and the fair runs through November 21. And finally, it’s tech-savvy: the accompanying iPhone app just launched today.
So what’s on tap? We’ll be reporting live with the help of a few Biennale correspondents, but in the meantime we’ve rounded up a few must-see events and exhibitions — a daily hit list, if you will.
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August 23, 2010

A copper-red, fritted glass façade stares down a silver, metallic-textured tower on the opposite side of Broadway near Columbia. The warmer building by Weiss/Manfredi is the new Diana Center on the Barnard Campus. The other is Columbia University’s almost-finished science building, designed by Rafael Moneo. If this is a staring contest, I wouldn’t bet against the Moneo fortress.
But let’s start with the Diana Center—though I’m not a fan of fritted glass, the color hints at a warmth the industrial Moneo building lacks. Stepping closer on the Broadway sidewalk, the transparency of the glass to the street is an obvious plus, and a visual link to the building through a normally gated campus. The backside of the building is more dynamic–a stairway protrudes from the surface and rooms hang out into space. It would have dazzled pedestrians and drivers, but it is instead kept private for the students and teachers only.
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August 23, 2010
As mentioned on Friday, Foster + Partners just unveiled its concept for a masterplan of the cultural district on Hong Kong’s waterfront. The £4 million commission for Victoria Harbour has another worthy competitor vying for the honor, however: OMA and Rem Koolhaas. [via Building Design Online]
And speaking of grand plans, BIG Architects is plotting a giant TED cuboid building in Taiwan. The dilating roof and interior pathway rendered withing a geometric voume call to mind the neural styling of Zaha Hadid. [via ArchiCentral]
Alabama’s Rural Studio made the cover of Metropolis; the legendary architecture firm is also the subject of documentary film Citizen Architect airing tonight on PBS. [via Metropolis P.O.V.]
Strolling the grounds of Indianapolis Museum of Art’s new 100-acre landscape art space, Cincinnati’s museum director Aaron Betsky notices that art can look an awful lot like architecture. [via The Architect's Newspaper]
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August 20, 2010

Okay, it’s not really in 3D, but this Archi-mix 3D is what would happen if Avatar and Toy Story 3 got together and had 16 children. We’ve listened to your opinions; yes, the last one was a bit progressive, but so is architecture. Deal with it! Anyway, it’s time to take it down a notch and give you something smooth. Something that you would listen to on a cold winter day inside Fallingwater.
Of course, the idea is that architecture and music are siblings–and architects themselves have good taste, as they sometimes listen to it while working or for inspiration. Architecture is “frozen music” — sometimes hard to describe using language, not entirely functional, sublime and difficult to capture.
This week’s mix features some surprises. The Swedish techno pop sensation Robyn makes her debut, as do trippy Brooklynites Animal Collective and songs by Nigel Godrich from recent release Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (that movie has a lot of nice design touches–highly recommended for the weekend).
Happy listening.
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August 20, 2010

Winners of the Sukkah City competition have been announced! We cannot wait to see the sukkah designs from Brooklynites Matter Practice, SO-IL, THEVERYMANY and others. (Wonder if anyone incorporated a camel into the design?) And stay tuned for more news on Sukkah City, plus an Architizer-sponsored building party. [via Core77]
Diller Scofidio + Renfro was awarded a “Breakthrough Award” in LA this week. The award show, nebulous in nature, is a “unique red carpet event celebrating a diverse range of extraordinary talent in multiple fields” The spokesperson claims “We’ve noticed that architects are starting to be known by name again.” Well three cheers for that! [via A/N Blog]
The Arup-designed Druk White Lotus School in India was damaged in last week’s flood and mudslide combo in the remote Ladakh region of the Himalayas. Repairs are estimated at $130K; go to the school’s website to donate. [via Metropolis P.O.V.]
Foster + Partners designed the masterplan for a new waterfront district in Hong Kong, including seventeen new cultural venues. [via Foster + Partners]
Postmodernism: it’s baaaaaack. Check out these pictures of John Becker’s thesis project at Columbia University’s GSAPP, conceived under the watchful eye of Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG. [via Architect]
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August 19, 2010
Gary Hustwit, director of seminal design documentaries Helvetica (font lust) and Objectified (industrial design porn) is coming out with a new flick about urban planning called (appropriately) Urbanized. Today Hustwit is taking to Twitter with a conversation about good and bad urban design in cities, asking followers to re-Tweet with their hometown examples. Here are a few responses. What’s yours?
“Brasília (100% planned). Good: audacious in vision & epic in implementation. Bad: designed for cars, not people.” @lovkraft
“Pittsburgh. Small size lends itself to easy bicycling; roads were designed when 1 in 10 families owned a car.” @acklindesign
“Wash. DC. Good: Height restrictions give small town feel. Bad: uniform arch. adds to sense of risk-averse, dull city.” @schmac
“Skopje, Macedonia. Good: unfinished brutalism. Bad: never actually following Kenzo Tange’s plan, i.e. chaos.” @hiromifuku
“Berlin. Good: sexy. Bad: poor.” @annksimon
“Vancouver, Canada: Good & Bad: laid- back & pretentious.” @hamiltonguevara
“Charleston. Good: respect for historic architecture. Bad: Hard to building anything remotely innovative.” @architizer
Follow Gary Hustwit (and Architizer, while you’re at it!).
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August 19, 2010
In a recent episode of Bravo’s Top Chef, contestants were divided into two teams, then tasked to create a fake restaurant where Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio and guest critic Frank Bruni of the New York Times would dine and judge the restaurant experience; after it was over the cooking was judged harshly, the service cross-examined, and Kenny was kicked off.
But what about the design of the restaurant itself? Of course, the chefs weren’t responsible for that, but the architecture of a restaurant can affect the dining experience greatly. What would Padma say about design?
Not a regular at fancy New York restaurants, I jumped at the chance to participate in a classic tradition: “Restaurant Week,” which has now been extended to September 6 (offering discount prices for expensive restaurants). My preferred destination, Morimoto (with menu by “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto), begged the question: if you had to choose between a great meal and a great atmosphere, which would you choose? This event offered a chance for me to finally experience the Tadao Ando design.
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