A film legend who’s taken on D-Day, slave revolts, and the Holocaust is aiming his cameras at the site of a solemn modern-day event. Steven Spielberg is serving as executive producer of Rebuilding Ground Zero, a six-part television documentary about the construction efforts at the former World Trade Center. The show, which began shooting in mid-February in Lower Manhattan, is set to air on the Science Channel in fall 2011, in time for the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Photo ' Joe Woolhead Related Links: A Tale of Two Building Efforts at Ground Zero Little Progress After Seven
Frank Williams, FAIA TOP: Trump Palace (1992); ABOVE: 515 Park Avenue (2000) Usually “famous” accompanies “successful” when we talk about architects with a substantial body of work in their portfolios. Frank Williams, FAIA, who died from esophageal cancer February 25, in New York City, was definitely successful. At 73, he could claim credit as the lead architect or the collaborating one for at least 20 high-rises in New York City. In Moscow, his 70-story Mercury City tower is nearing completion, while towers in Dubai, Seoul, are in the works. Yet Williams was hardly a household name. Fame—even notoriety—eluded the architect
Security Issues Central to Design Scheme As part of its ongoing effort to fortify and modernize embassies worldwide, the U.S. State Department unveiled plans for its highest-profile project yet, awarding the New London Embassy to KieranTimberlake on February 23. With a concept that seeks to blend iconic design with the State Department’s demand for a highly secure and sustainable facility, the firm has earned equal parts praise from its client and derision from some critics. At a cost of $1 billion, according to The Times of London, the 500,000-square-foot facility would be the most expensive embassy ever built. Ground breaking
The designer, thinker, and IDEO founder takes on an entirely new role as director of the Cooper-Hewitt. Photo Courtesy of IDEO / Nicolas Zurcher Bill Moggridge If you’re reading this on a laptop, take a second to admire Bill Moggridge’s work. His design for the GRiD Compass—a 1979 personal computer that enclosed a keyboard and screen in a clamshell-like, fold-open case for the first time—set the mold for the contemporary machine in front of you. U.K.-born Moggridge, 66, founded his first design firm in 1969, and over the next two decades the practice created innovative forms for many high-tech products.
While some areas of the economy are experiencing an upswing, architects likely won’t see a boost until next year. For architects standing vigil for a sign that the Great Recession might be easing in 2010, macroeconomic conditions indicate it may be so, but that they must be patient. U.S. real GDP rose 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, and the unemployment rate declined to 9.7 percent in January. But despite such positive signs, economists who follow patterns in construction predict that the architecture industry might not see a boost until 2011. Why? Tight credit, high unemployment, drastic decreases
Three architects at established firms share how they land new projects when work is scarce. Photo ' Tim Bies/Olson Kundig Architects Alan Maskin Olson Kundig Alan Maskin William Bostwick: Your firm is best known for its residential work, and that sector was hit particularly hard by the recession. Have you branched out? Alan Maskin: We’ve just tried to hold onto our sectors. This wasn’t a time to start pursuing airports, for example. We’re into our fifth decade as a firm, and we have been through many other recessions. Our residential focus has always carried us through. But we reviewed all