Gyo Obata: How a Broad Horizon Paid Dividends

 

Gyo Obata Photo: courtesy HOK

 

If there are milestones in the world of architecture, the passing of Gyo Obata certainly marked one. Obata, along with Cesar Pelli, Richard Rogers and Helmut Jahn, belonged to a group of designers that had strong international connections, sometimes based on family histories. A second generation American

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The Thompson Center on the Verge of Survival?

 

A Progressive Developer Steps In

 

Updated version of Thompson Center Southeast view ©Jahn

 

In a September 28th article on our website, competitions.org, where we covered the Thompson Center competition sponsored by the Chicago Architectural Club, the stated purpose of the competition was to investigate possible designs that could re-imagine the building’s

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Richard Rogers: Purveyor of the High-Tech Message

 

Richard Rogers (1933-2021)

 

Image ©faber & faber

 

 

Could you imagine that a person who is anything but adept at drawing, and also dyslexic, would become one of the world’s great architects? Meet Richard Rogers, who was full of ideas, but engaged collaborators to fully realize them. One might even assume

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Helmut Jahn: A Life as Innovator

Blending Technology with Aesthetics

 

On May 8th of this year, the world lost one of its foremost architects in Helmut Jahn, 81, who died in St. Charles, a suburb of Chicago, his adopted home in America. Born and educated in Germany, he received his first degree in architecture from the Technical University in

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Jeffrey Ollswang – In Memoriam

 

 

If there was ever one to see the brighter side of life, it was Jeffrey Ollswang, architect, teacher and a glowing light in our firmament, who passed away last week at the age of 80. His personality can be summed up in a quote from the book he authored, together with his

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Urban Confluence Design Competition

 

Submission extended to 1 July 2020 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic https://www.urbanconfluencesiliconvalley.org

William Menking (1947-2020)

Photo courtesy Architects Newspaper

 

The passing of Bill Menking represents the loss of one of our most important voices in the architecture world of publishing and criticism. Bill was interested in all facets of design, and regarded design competitions as an instrument to push the design envelope. My initial encounter with Bill occurred

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Architecture at Zero Deadline Extension

In light of current circumstances the registration and submission deadlines for this year’s competition are being extended.

The new Deadline is Wednesday, May 20th at 6:00pm pacific.

The 2020 Architecture at Zero competition challenge is to create a zero net energy library for the San Benito County Free Library in Hollister, CA. Full details

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Michael Sorkin (1948-2020)

 

 

Back in 2014 I discovered that Michael Sorkin had been a recent juror on the Surfer’s Paradise Precinct design competition panel in Australia. Having been familiar with Michael’s articles and other writings, I was hoping he would be available for an interview—the exuberant design by ARM Architecture that won certainly had pushed

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Urban Confluence Silicon Valley Competition:
New Deadline!

Sponsors: San José Light Tower Corporation

Type: open, two-stage

Eligibility: no restrictions

Language: English

Location: San José, California

Fees: none

Jury: TBD (11 members)

Compensation: Three (3) finalists will each receive a sum of US$150,000 to complete their designs.

Timetable: 15 January 2020 – Registration/Submission deadline

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