Posts will resume when I return.
Until then...
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Have a Good Weekend
Off to St. Louis to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend. 'Tis the time of flags, barbecues, and the WWII Memorial dedication.
Posts will resume when I return.
Until then...
Posts will resume when I return.
Until then...
World's Tallest, SOM Style
The Chicago Tribune reports that Adrian Smith of SOM is making another bid at designing the world's tallest building, this time in the United Arab Emerates. At over 2,000 feet (unofficially 2,313 ft. according to The Guardian), Burj Dubai, due for completion in 2008, would be over 600 feet taller than Taipei 101, the current record holder.
Burj Dubai by SOM, 2004 - Mile High Skyscraper by FLLW, 1956 (not to scale)
Frank Lloyd Wright must be grinning in his grave!
Burj Dubai by SOM, 2004 - Mile High Skyscraper by FLLW, 1956 (not to scale)
Frank Lloyd Wright must be grinning in his grave!
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Wal-Mart Hits Chicago
Crain's Chicago Business reports that Chicago's City Council approved a zoning change that will let Wal-Mart build its first store within the city's limits. The 150,000 s.f. store will be located on the city's west side, near Austin Avenue, in a poor, primarily black and Hispanic neighborhood.
But the City Council rejected a second attempt by the world's largest retailer to locate a store on the south side, in a racially diverse, middle-class neighborhood.
The article illuminates the promotional and lobbying tactics that Wal-Mart uses to push its image, obviously glossing over its notorious reputation of paying low wages and providing inadequate health care.
The article also mentions that Wal-Mart has had its eye on Chicago for a while, searching for a location that can accommodate the massive footprint of its store and parking. Unlike other big-box retailers, like Home Depot, Wal-Mart appears to be hesitant to abandon its tried-and-true prototype for a design more sensitive to urban conditions. While the west side store will create jobs for the struggling area, hopefully the negative effects of Wal-Mart will not offset this one benefit.
But the City Council rejected a second attempt by the world's largest retailer to locate a store on the south side, in a racially diverse, middle-class neighborhood.
The article illuminates the promotional and lobbying tactics that Wal-Mart uses to push its image, obviously glossing over its notorious reputation of paying low wages and providing inadequate health care.
The article also mentions that Wal-Mart has had its eye on Chicago for a while, searching for a location that can accommodate the massive footprint of its store and parking. Unlike other big-box retailers, like Home Depot, Wal-Mart appears to be hesitant to abandon its tried-and-true prototype for a design more sensitive to urban conditions. While the west side store will create jobs for the struggling area, hopefully the negative effects of Wal-Mart will not offset this one benefit.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Most Endangered
Yesterday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2004. Including such diverse places as Nine Mile Canyon in Utah, Chicago's Cook County Hospital, the Madison-Lenox Hotel in Detroit, and the state of Vermont, the list sheds light on the scope of preservation, as it ranges from individual buildings to a whole state.
Beyond illustrating the variety of structures that preservation concerns itself with, the list also brings attention to the reasons for their being endangered, from tourism to politics and Wal-Mart. Moreso, the list helps us realize where we place value, in the past and in the present. For example, the Bethlehem Steel Plant, now dormant and in bad condition, was left to deteriorate after closing, not taking into account its value, its place in U.S. history. Now that is becoming apparent, hence its inclusion on the list.
Beyond illustrating the variety of structures that preservation concerns itself with, the list also brings attention to the reasons for their being endangered, from tourism to politics and Wal-Mart. Moreso, the list helps us realize where we place value, in the past and in the present. For example, the Bethlehem Steel Plant, now dormant and in bad condition, was left to deteriorate after closing, not taking into account its value, its place in U.S. history. Now that is becoming apparent, hence its inclusion on the list.
When Buildings Collapse
Terminal 2E at Charles-de-Gaulle Airport outside Paris opened on June 25, 2003, at a cost of almost $900 million. 2E was designed by acclaimed architect Paul Andreu, who has created numerous unique airport designs all over the world since Aerogare 1, also at Charles-de-Gaulle, in 1974.
In the image above, Terminal 2E lies in the left and middle foreground, two tunnel-like structures connected by a central passageway. It is "clad in glass, the 650-m-long concourse building is enclosed by a concrete vault, springing from a raised slab, with numerous square window openings...with a flattened ellipse section, the vault spans around 34 meters." Using tried-and-true tunnel construction, the column-free design is "bold, but nothing revolutionary", according to the architect. Reminiscent of other contemporary designs by the likes of Helmut Jahn and Renzo Piano, as well as other air and rail stations in France, it's difficult to see how design and/or engineering could be at fault in the collapse.
Speaking of the collapse, it occurred in a 30m (98') section of the outer (left-hand) building, just beyond the connecting passageway. While many theories have been thrown out in the days after the incident, from design flaws, material inconsistencies, ground-settling, construction delays, to terrorism, nothing will be known for a while, especially with continuing creaks and other noises leading people to entertain the possibility of demolishing the whole terminal. Upon hearing what happened, I was amazed and relieved that only four people lost their lives; at a busier time there may have been more fatalities.
The loss of 2E goes beyond the four lives that were taken in the collapse. The terminal was France's efforts to make Charles-de-Gaulle airport the premier airport in Europe, moving it ahead of London's and Frankfurt's airports. Built for the carrier Air France, the terminal also would have helped make the airline the number one airline in Europe, or at least that was the plan.
In the image above, Terminal 2E lies in the left and middle foreground, two tunnel-like structures connected by a central passageway. It is "clad in glass, the 650-m-long concourse building is enclosed by a concrete vault, springing from a raised slab, with numerous square window openings...with a flattened ellipse section, the vault spans around 34 meters." Using tried-and-true tunnel construction, the column-free design is "bold, but nothing revolutionary", according to the architect. Reminiscent of other contemporary designs by the likes of Helmut Jahn and Renzo Piano, as well as other air and rail stations in France, it's difficult to see how design and/or engineering could be at fault in the collapse.
Speaking of the collapse, it occurred in a 30m (98') section of the outer (left-hand) building, just beyond the connecting passageway. While many theories have been thrown out in the days after the incident, from design flaws, material inconsistencies, ground-settling, construction delays, to terrorism, nothing will be known for a while, especially with continuing creaks and other noises leading people to entertain the possibility of demolishing the whole terminal. Upon hearing what happened, I was amazed and relieved that only four people lost their lives; at a busier time there may have been more fatalities.
The loss of 2E goes beyond the four lives that were taken in the collapse. The terminal was France's efforts to make Charles-de-Gaulle airport the premier airport in Europe, moving it ahead of London's and Frankfurt's airports. Built for the carrier Air France, the terminal also would have helped make the airline the number one airline in Europe, or at least that was the plan.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Monday, Monday
This week's update:
The Sharpe Centre for Design at the Ontario College of Design in Toronto, Ontario by Will Alsop.
Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:
Archinect has relaunched with features, links, job postings, image galleries, an event calendar, a discussion board, and the ever-dependable news updates, making it one of the best architecture sites on the internet.
chil.us, a graphic examination of Chicago as a global city, organized by local architecture firm UrbanLab (thanks to Eric M. for the link).
Hugh Pearman's coverage of the New Scottish Parliament by the late Enric Miralles (via Archinect).
The Sharpe Centre for Design at the Ontario College of Design in Toronto, Ontario by Will Alsop.
Some unrelated links for your enjoyment:
Archinect has relaunched with features, links, job postings, image galleries, an event calendar, a discussion board, and the ever-dependable news updates, making it one of the best architecture sites on the internet.
chil.us, a graphic examination of Chicago as a global city, organized by local architecture firm UrbanLab (thanks to Eric M. for the link).
Hugh Pearman's coverage of the New Scottish Parliament by the late Enric Miralles (via Archinect).
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Oh Canada, Vol. 2
Some more pictures from my recent trip to Canada, this time from Toronto.
Shim Sutcliffe's award-winning Ledbury Park. The pool and bathhouse, an intelligent plan that allows pedestrian access across the pool, is in unfortunate disrepair, with a damaged wood trellis and concrete steps, among other areas. This view shows the walkway towards the pool with changing rooms on the left.
Graduate House, by Morphosis, at the University of Toronto, acting as a gateway to the campus.
The University of Toronto Early Learning Centre by local firm Teeple Architects, soon to be a weekly dose.
The Sharp Centre for Design at the Ontario College of Design by Will Alsop, tomorrow's weekly dose.
Shim Sutcliffe's award-winning Ledbury Park. The pool and bathhouse, an intelligent plan that allows pedestrian access across the pool, is in unfortunate disrepair, with a damaged wood trellis and concrete steps, among other areas. This view shows the walkway towards the pool with changing rooms on the left.
Graduate House, by Morphosis, at the University of Toronto, acting as a gateway to the campus.
The University of Toronto Early Learning Centre by local firm Teeple Architects, soon to be a weekly dose.
The Sharp Centre for Design at the Ontario College of Design by Will Alsop, tomorrow's weekly dose.
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