Prince Charles in the White House? Expressway toll booth of the future ©Paul Spreiregen Recent news about a new U.S. government policy concerning the design of public buildings under President Trump bears a striking resemblance to the controversy surrounding that very issue in the U.K. in the second half of the 20thcentury. It was then that Prince Charles appeared on the scene to challenge the use of modern design in architecture. Prince Charles’ career as architecture critic on the public stage began in 1984 with his criticism of Mies van der Rohe’s design for a new tower on Mansion House Square in London. Unfortunately for Britain’s architects, the voice of the crown carries some weight in British society, and the Mies tower was scrapped, replaced by a post-modern structure by James Stirling—which the Prince also did not like. According to the Prince, those modernist buildings resembled “Frankenstein monsters.” According to U.K.-based architects who had to deal with Charles’ pushback on modern design during that period, he was the “worst thing that happened to architecture here.” Since then, Prince Charles’ influence in blocking the evolution of modern design in the U.K. has diminished considerably with the ascendance of modern architecture as a common staple—led by architects such as Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Amanda Levete, Zaha Hadid, John McAslan, Nicholas Grimshaw, Thomas Heatherwick, and others. Although not taken seriously by his European neighbors on the continent, Prince Charles’ ideas did find fertile ground in the U.S.—both in municipalities and even in academia, where classical architecture became a staple at such programs as Notre Dame and, to a lesser extent, Yale. At the latter, I learned from a former student there that Prince Charles even surfaced on a list of “architects” one could choose from as a topic in one seminar. Instead of peer review, federal architecture under the auspices of the General Services Administration (GSA) now will apparently be at the mercy of a “beautification” panel, which will see to it that modern architecture recedes into the background, if at all. U.S. architects may see themselves placed in the uncomfortable position German, Italian and Russian architects experienced under their totalitarian regimes in the 1930s. By embracing the primacy of classical architecture as a blueprint for public buildings, the Trump regime certainly has helped the National Civic Art Society reach its ultimate goal, at least at the federal level—requiring American architects to turn to the replication of 17thand 18thcentury-style buildings as the preferred design model. Assuming that happens, Prince Charles would be a welcome visitor in the White House. Addressing this issue, Paul Spreiregen FAIA, architect and professional adviser for the Vietnam Memorial competition states: “Architectural history is not a copybook. Rather It is a textbook, to be read with a deep understanding of the many principles upon which architecture comes into being. The history of architecture is not served by aping it but by building on it, addressing the programmatic needs of each new building in its own time and place, its neighbored respected, thereby reflecting and honoring the culture it serves. To use the “styles” of the past as a cloak for the new is a lie, a subterfuge for respectability and supposed prestige. That is the work of authoritarian governments. Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini were its more recent and notorious promoters. They produced not architecture but laughable if not tragic cartoons of architecture. All the great works of architecture of the past were, in their own times and places, masterpieces of ancient principles seen anew. That practice has been the glory of the best of American architecture.”** *Letters to the Editor, The Washington Post, 17 February 2020 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-glory-of-american-architecture-comes-from-building-on-its-history/2020/02/17/00296bd0-4f7d-11ea-967b-e074d302c7d4_story.html |
 ©Bauen+Wohnen An article, Trois tourettes et un jardin (Three Turrets and a Garden) by Swiss landscape architect, Valérie Hoffmeyer, in Werk, Bauen + Wohnen, is another recent example highlighting the value of green space in the design of mid-rise residential buildings. At a time when developers endeavor to maximize their profits by turning to highrise buildings, even when higher density is at stake, referencing the Garden City concept has been turning up as a more frequent theme.
Read more…  Budapest’s Nuugati Railway Terminal has reached it capacity, expecially when based on the future needs of the station. To date, the common practice of backing trains out after unloading to turn them around was time-consuming, and, as a result, had maximized the capacity for the terminal. The new plan foresees the hall’s extended tracts to be located underground, so as to create through traffic. Read more… Young Architects in Competitions When Competitions and a New Generation of Ideas Elevate Architectural Quality  by Jean-Pierre Chupin and G. Stanley Collyer published by Potential Architecture Books, Montreal, Canada 2020 271 illustrations in color and black & white Available in PDF and eBook formats ISBN 9781988962047 What do the Vietnam Memorial, the St. Louis Arch, and the Sydney Opera House have in common? These world renowned landmarks were all designed by architects under the age of 40, and in each case they were selected through open competitions. At their best, design competitions can provide a singular opportunity for young and unknown architects to make their mark on the built environment and launch productive, fruitful careers. But what happens when design competitions are engineered to favor the established and experienced practitioners from the very outset? This comprehensive new book written by Jean-Pierre Chupin (Canadian Competitions Catalogue) and Stanley Collyer (COMPETITIONS) highlights for the crucial role competitions have played in fostering the careers of young architects, and makes an argument against the trend of invited competitions and RFQs. The authors take an in-depth look at past competitions won by young architects and planners, and survey the state of competitions through the world on a region by region basis. The end result is a compelling argument for an inclusive approach to conducting international design competitions. Download Young Architects in Competitions for free at the following link: https://crc.umontreal.ca/en/publications-libre-acces/  Boardwalk photo: Courtesy Atlantic Beach Boardwalks, especially on oceanfront locations, have a pretty universal look. But how they fit into their local context is another matter. Topography, real estate and commerce all play a role in their function, and to some extent, design. In the case of Miami Beach, it’s primarily a promenade; Brooklyn’s 2.7 mile Coney Island boardwalk stretching all the way to Brighton Beach is a mixture of promenade and commerce, with the latter at both ends. In the case of Atlantic City, it’s mostly about retail.
Read more…  Winning entry – Hyunjoon Min Architects Office National Library of Korea Data Preservation Center Competition Retrofitting existing buildings is nothing new. The abandonment of old factory structures, especially in the northeast of the U.S., has been occurring at a rapid pace ever since those businesses ceased to be profitable in the face of foreign competition. However, in North America, retrofitting those structures has seldom been the subject of a design competition. In Korea, the recent plethora of design competitions for all types of projects has also included several for providing a new life for abandoned buildings. Read more… Countryside Dilemmas – New Rural Planning  1st Place – ©Tianjin University Team Planning used to be at the bottom of Chinese students’ lists of design priorities. One western architect, whose firm was at the forefront in the design and implementation of numerous planning projects in China, surmised that planning was an area that received little attention in the university curricula. So when planning for a major metropolitan area has occurred, the Chinese have almost always turned to outside international firms for ideas and implementation. Read more… The Chicago Architecture Club Shines the Spotlight on Another Endangered Landmark  Public Pool Image: ©Perkins&Will What do Bertrad Goldberg and Helmut Jahn have in common? Besides having high-profile buildings threatened by demolition, both served as subject matter for two competitions sponsored by the Chicago Architecture Club (CAC)—raising public consciousness about their impending fate. They both produced buildings in a city famous for its architecture that have been abandoned: Goldberg’s Future Prentice Women’s Hospital, demolished in 2014 after a valiant effort by preservationists to save it from the wrecking ball; and Jahn’s Thompson Center, now the object of a similar effort by the State of Illinois to sell it to a developer. Read more… |