When it comes to urban analogies, though, New York City actually seems more apt. Beijing’s historic core—the area with Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the main national government buildings, and some of the few remaining hutong neighborhoods—contains 1.3 million people in its 24 square miles, almost exactly the same as Manhattan; fully urbanized Beijing closely tracks the five boroughs of New York City in area and population; and the greater Chinese capital is about the same size as metropolitan New York.
But having just visited for the first time, I realized that what early-21st-century Beijing even more deeply resembles is New York at the turn of the 20th century. That’s the moment at which modern New York was inventing itself by showstopping leaps and bounds—swallowing adjacent cities and towns and farms, booming in population, and erecting what would become its defining landmarks.
For an interactive map of architectural monuments in Beijing click here.
And more on China’s monumental ambitions at this old post.
Edit: Another very good, lengthy article from The International Herald Tribune here.
Digital Urban is reporting on White House Redux, a collaborative architecture project that seeks to collectively redesign the White House in Washington, D.C.
From the project website: Analogously, the concept of Source Code is readily found in the everyday practice of architecture in forms of drawings, agendas, documentations, ideas, specifications, and material libraries. However, none of the above, with the seldom exception of ‘ideas’, are freely redistributable, publicized, or allow for criticism and input akin to what an open-source model offers. The architectural practice, today, is skewed towards personal benefit and gratification of individual architects. Thus, the laws protect creative property, on one hand, but are constricting and oppose collaborative creativity that could contribute more rapidly to architectural theory and practice.
Read about another collaborative architecture project taking place in Second Life here and here.
“The debate over whether to preserve or demolish Warren Platner’s 1973 Kent Memorial Library in Suffield is both a frightening and healthy sign of current efforts to preserve modern architectural landmarks. Frightening because a distinguished building could be lost. That there is some debate, however, is encouraging.
For far too long, cities and towns across America have routinely demolished their postwar modern buildings. Deemed unsightly or outdated, they have been bulldozed only to be replaced by new structures that basically serve the same purpose —without giving the original buildings a second chance, or a second thought.”
“One of the hardest hit areas is downtown, where many of the city’s cultural institutions are located. On Friday the 13th, the The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library was submerged in fifteen feet of water. When the museum staff was allowed inside the building on Tuesday, Gail Naughton, the museum’s president, described the destruction to the main building as ‘massive.’
Many of the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Iowa escaped damage, according to blog posts on www.savewright.org . One exception was the Alvin Miller House, a riverfront home in Charles City about 75 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, where floodwaters possibly reached as high as the roof.”
David Fisher, the Israeli architect who is designing a rotating skyscraper, held a press conference yesterday and launched a new web site today, promoting what he calls Dynamic Architecture.
“Along with swimming pools and gardens, the buildings will also be fitted with car elevators so that residents can park right outside their homes.
The towers are expected to generate enough electricity for themselves and other nearby buildings from solar panels and wind turbines fitted horizontally between each floor.
People who own an entire floor will be able to simply speak to control the rotation, with speeds varying from an hour to three hours for each full rotation.”
“But before the harsh words start flying in earnest, ask yourself what you would have done in Charles Gwathmey’s position… Do you imitate your professor’s building, if you can, and subject yourself to criticism for not doing something original? Do you come up with a design that’s completely different and then take the heat for being unsympathetic? Do you ask yourself what your professor would have wanted you to do? He certainly didn’t put up copycat buildings himself—in 1963 he was celebrated for his originality. Would he have failed you for doing something imitative?”
“New York has the Empire State Building and the Guggenheim, Paris has the Louvre and the Pompidou Center, now Beijing is determined to build its own architectural icons. Thirty years after economic reforms began, this country has built a series of superstructures that almost seem intended more for the Guinness Book of World Records than cityscapes.
“‘I’m completely against this big architecture. It’s a total waste,’ said Yin Zhi, president of the urban planning and design institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing. ‘The government wants to grab the Olympic opportunity to remake Beijing, spending so much money on these stupid projects. Why not use the budget to improve Beijing’s traffic system? Why not improve the quality of people’s lives?’”
“We have seen four different interpretations of the pyramid - they are all interesting concepts,” Rem Koolhaas said.
“In the West, we have been very phobic about death, but because of demographics, death will be imposed on all of us.
“There is a constant ageing process - it’s important that this issue is addressed and it’s a very graphic way of dealing with the topic of death. I’m curious to find out what happens in the end,” Mr Koolhaas said.
Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud is planning for the construction of a skyscraper that would be more than four times taller than the Empire State Building.
“‘Structural engineering-wise, it’s not even difficult,’ said Ron Klemencic, president of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, an engineering company specializing in high-rise constructions. He explained that stronger concrete and steel and advancements in designing building frames allow for the safe development of mega-skyscrapers.”
“Alwaleed must also figure out how to transport people efficiently, a longtime problem for tall buildings. Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright drafted blueprints for a 528-story building back in 1956 but scuttled the plan because lengthy elevator rides made it impractical.”
Read more about the tallest structures in the world at this old post.
And read about the Ursa tension-leg platform, at 4,285 ft, currently the tallest structure in the world.
“Yale’s other significant recent architectural mistake occurred in the mid-1990s when the university built Henry R. Luce Hall. Designed by New York architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, Luce is strange-looking and widely disliked. It faces Hillhouse but is set far back, behind a grassy forecourt. The rear of the building, with narrow slits for its most prominent windows, is visible from Prospect Street, yet it seems aloof from that street as well. The result, architectural historian Vincent Scully has said, was ‘the instant destruction of two great streets.’”
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the
Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) have released a
new resource for architects and others planning higher education library
spaces. In response to frequent inquiries for information about planning
academic library buildings, ACRL and LAMA have partnered to develop a
basic framework for architects, planners and librarians embarking on
planning and design of academic libraries.
Responding to the chronic lack of space in the city, Zwarts and Jansma Architects have made plans for a vast underground city beneath Amsterdam. Already approved by the Amsterdam City Council, construction is slated to begin in 2018.
“Amsterdam sits on a 30-metre layer of waterproof clay which will be used together with concrete and sand to make new walls. Once we have resealed the canal floor, we will be able to carry on working underneath while pouring water back into the canals. It’s an easy technique and it doesn’t create issues with drilling noises on the streets.”
“In Stamford, Conn., the developer of a super-high-end condo tower is eschewing use of free classified-ad listings on craigslist.com to lure buyers, since ‘every mom-and-pop building these days is doing it.’”
“The building, set in downtown Stamford, was designed by Yale University’s dean of architecture, Robert A. M. Stern, and will offer fitness facilities, a wine cellar and tasting rooms, and an indoor pool with a retractable roof. “
Over a decade in the planning, the new Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library in the Paul Rudolph Building reflects and meets the changing needs of teaching, research, and learning in the arts at Yale. Arts Library collections and staff, currently housed in a number of buildings across campus including the swing space at 270 Crown Street, will move into the Haas Family Arts Library later this summer in time for the fall semester. The Library will house the collections of the Art + Architecture Library, the Drama Library, and the Arts of the Book Collection, as well as staff and services for the Visual Resources Collection, and will become the physical and intellectual center for the pursuit of research, teaching, learning, and practice of the arts at Yale.
The Haas Family Arts Library will feature a variety of spaces for individual study, group study spaces, a large teaching space, and secure reading and teaching spaces for Arts Library special collections. The Special Collections Reading Room, a dramatic feature of the central two-story atrium, enhances interdisciplinary studies by realizing the long-planned consolidation of the many important special collections of the Arts Library, including the Arts of the Book Collection, one of the largest special collections at Yale and one of the most important book arts collections in North America. The Special Collections Exhibit area, which will continuously showcase exhibitions of the Library’s treasures, will feature a plaque recognizing a significant gift from William H. Wright, ’82.
More information on Arts Library services during the planned move period will be made available over the coming weeks on the Library's web site: www.library.yale.edu/art/.
