The British architect Will Alsop doesn’t do quiet buildings, so it’s fitting that his latest North American project will be an icon for an equally bold development project: a plan to build one of the largest film studios on the continent in Toronto. Images Courtesy ALSOP/Quadrangle A view of the main entry at Will Alsop’s Filmport tower in Toronto (top). The rear elevation of Alsop’s Filmport tower features a curving facade screen (above). Unveiled last week, Alsop’s design calls for a cantilevered 280,000-square-foot building that will function as a gateway to the new Filmport complex, now being constructed in the
Congress is considering a non-architect for the nation’s most visible architecture post, the Architect of the Capitol, and that’s riling the American Institute of Architects.
Editor’s note: You may read the news digest below or listen to it, plus other news headlines from ArchitecturalRecord.com, as a podcast by clicking this link. Click the play button to begin | Click here to download Gluckman Mayner was tapped by Donald and Doris Fisher, founders of the Gap clothing chain, to design a 100,000-square-foot museum in San Francisco to house their collection of contemporary art, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on August 8. Called the Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio, the building will be located in the city’s Presidio park and contain 55,000 square feet of galleries—making
In the wake of several failures to preserve well known Brutalist buildings around the nation, preservationists in Baltimore are readying themselves for an August 14th hearing that will decide the fate of this city’s own cast-concrete progeny. The Morris Mechanic Theater, designed by John Johansen, will come before a public hearing at the Baltimore Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (BHAP) for the recommendation of Baltimore City Landmark status; the meeting will also set a six-month delay on new construction permits at the building’s site. Photos: Courtesy Michael V. Murphy Architect John Johansen’s 1967-vintage Morris Mechanic Theater, in Baltimore, is
Zaha Hadid made her New York stage debut last month at Lincoln Center’s performing arts festival, which presented the North American premiere of Ballet National de Marseille’s Metapolis II. The work, which explores themes of urbanism, was conceived by Hadid—who also designed the sets and costumes—with choreographer Frédéric Flamand, the company’s director.
SmithGroup, already No. 11 on Architectural Record’s 2007 list of the Top 150 Architecture Firms, just got a little larger: the Detroit-based architecture and engineering giant acquired Area Design, a boutique firm based in Chicago, for an undisclosed amount yesterday. Area is a seven-person commercial interiors firm founded by Angie Lee, FAIA, and Scott Baker, AIA, in 2005. Among its 20 clients are DDB Chicago, Exelon Corporation, and The HON Company. It posted $1.23 million in 2006 revenue. Prior to founding Area, Lee worked for 13 years at OWP/P—ending her career there as director of corporate practice. She will now
BusinessWeek and Architectural Record magazines announced the winners of their 10th annual “Good Design is Good Business” international competition today. These honors recognize innovative building design projects that help solve problems and achieve specific goals for companies, nonprofits, institutions, and governmental agencies. Four projects received an Award of Excellence in 2007: Navy Federal Credit Union, Pensacola, Fla., designed by ASD Inc. InterActiveCorp headquarters, New York City, designed by Gehry Partners/STUDIOS Architecture Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects United States Census Bureau Headquarters, Suitland, Md., designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill An additional
Rome’s tiny gas stations will soon pump a lot more than petroleum into the city’s transportation system. The Unione Petrolifica, an organization representing the interests of oil companies including Erg, Agip, and Total, has turned to local architects Marco Bevilaqua and Bianca Patroni-Griffi to transform the approximately 30 pit stops into centers that dispense bus tickets, listings and tickets for nearby cultural events, snacks—and, yes, gas. Images Courtesy Marco Bevilaqua / Bianca Patroni-Griffi The union of gas station owners in Rome is rebuilding these tiny pit stops, many of which were hastily constructed in the 1970s (top). Architects Marco Bevilaqua
Admirers of architect Kisho Kurokawa’s Nakagin Capsule Tower, located in Tokyo’s affluent Ginza district, have won a temporary reprieve—but they still have their work cut out for them to save the 1972-vintage condominium building, whose demolition was announced in April. The Capsule Tower is actually two buildings, one 11 stories and the other 13 stories, which are made of detachable modular units clustered around two spines. It is one of the only built examples of modular Metabolist architecture. Seibei Yamashita, director of the condo management board, is amenable to detaching some or all of the capsules so that they can