The “shovel-ready” focus of projects funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has provided limited stimulus to the design community at-large. Many architects say they have yet to feel a boost. Still, firms with well-established experience in the public sector are finding opportunities, whether it be the revival of stalled projects or entirely new commissions. For some, the ARRA is keeping their practice afloat.
New York City’s legendary Four Seasons restaurant, now celebrating its 50th anniversary, has embarked on the restoration of its famed Philip Johnson-designed interior in the Seagram Building, completed in 1958. Phyllis Lambert, the architect and patron who convinced her father, Samuel Bronfman, owner of the Seagram Company, to choose Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Johnson as the architects of his new headquarters building on Park Avenue, guided the selection of Belmont Freeman, FAIA, as the new architect for the restoration of this culinary outpost.
With the academic year getting under way this month, several art and architecture schools recently announced new leadership appointments. Joel Towers (left); William Morrish (right) In New York, Parsons The New School for Design has two new leaders: Joel Towers and William Morrish. In April, Towers became the dean of the design school after Tim Marshall became The New School’s interim provost. A cofounding partner of SR+T Architects, Towers formerly served as director of Parson’s Sustainable Design and Urban Ecology program. Morrish was named dean of the School of Constructed Environments, previously led by interim dean Laura Briggs. Trained in
Correction appended September 10, 2009 A glance at the World Trade Center site from Greenwich Street tells a lot about progress there: Eight years after the Twin Towers fell, a 10-foot-tall, barbed-wire fence still surrounds the 16-acre void in the heart of Lower Manhattan. Squabbles over designs and funding have caused severe construction delays.
Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena was selected in July as the winner of the Marcus Prize for Architecture, which recognizes an emerging architect or firm.
Images courtesy KPF At the University of Minnesota, work is progressing on the new Science Teaching and Student Services Center, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. High above the Mississippi River as it bends around the University of Minnesota’s main campus, a sparkling new glass building, the Science Teaching and Student Services Center (STSSC), is rising. Principal designer, Bill Pedersen, FAIA, of Kohn Pedersen Fox, New York, designed the five-story building not only to capitalize on its scenic site, but also to compliment its neighbor, the Frank Gehry-designed Weisman Art Museum (1993). Both buildings stand opposite each other on plaza formed
The completion of Zaha Hadid's Central Library for the University of Seville is threatened by a court decision that declares the urban plan permitting its construction illegal. The competition-winning design of 2006 has been under construction since last October. Image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects The library is being constructed in the Prado de San Sebastián Park, in Seville, Spain. A lawsuit threatens to halt the project. The $30 million building is sited in the 12-acre Prado de San Sebastián Park, created in 1994 on a portion of the grounds of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. In 2006, the city modified its
Ample daylight, natural ventilation, and a connection to the landscape are among the features found in educational facilities recognized this month by the American Institute of Architects. On August 12, the AIA’s Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) announced the 13 winners of this year’s CAE Educational Facility Design Awards. Beyond honoring architects for exemplary work, the program aims to identify trends in educational design and disseminate knowledge about best practices in the educational sector.
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