architecture

“[As a kid], I wanted to be an architect. I don’t even know where I got that idea from. I think I was told ‘you should be an architect’ somewhere early on, and I just latched onto it. My idea of being an architect was envisioning variations of what my room could be, split-level secret chambers, transportation in and out, that sort of stuff. I guess that’s why I enjoy getting to build these fantasy locations.

My house in New York is pretty spare; it’s sort of organized, but it is very simple. I do have some old telephones, but they are touch-tone. Everything else I use is all Apple. In a movie, if someone is going to listen to music, nine times out of ten I have them put on a record, which I myself never do. It looks so much nicer to me, to see this thing spinning and put a needle on it. It is what I grew up with, but it is also just a more beautiful object and it does something, you know – it spins. At the same time that is a little bit like fetishising this stuff. I met this guy in Italy who wanted to take me to this place where he has his collection of reel-to-reel tape recorders, because he thought I was obsessed with them. Well, I’m not obsessed. I don’t own a reel-to-reel tape recorder, but it does look nice when it spins and you film it.”

-Filmmaker Wes Anderson, in an interview with Tim Noakes for Dazed & Confused. Anderson’s latest film, Moonrise Kingdom, is in theaters Friday. Click below to watch the trailer.
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Marina Abramović and OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu with a model of the Marina Abramović Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art (Photo: OMA / Loren Wohl)

Artist Marina Abramović began her Met Gala Monday in Queens, inside MoMA PS1′s geodesic Performance Dome, where she detailed her plans to transform a crumbling old theater in Hudson, New York into the Marina Abramović Institute for the Preservation for Performance Art (MAI for short). Hours later, having sharpened up her all-black ensemble, she was striding up the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of the Art on the arm of James Franco. “Today is a big day for me,” she told the morning assembly of press, curators, critics, and friends after a warm introduction by PS1 director Klaus Biesenbach. “In the life of an artist, it’s very important to think of the future. When you die, you can’t leave anything physical—that doesn’t make any sense—but a good idea can last a long, long time.”

Her good idea is to channel 40 years worth of pioneering performance art into a living archive-cum-laboratory that will explore “time-based and immaterial art,” including performance, dance, theater, film, video, opera, and music. The focus will be on “long-duration” performances, those lasting for between six hours and…forever. “Only long-duration works of art have a serious potential to change the viewer looking at it and also the performer in doing it, because the performance that is long becomes more and more like life itself,” she said. “There’s no division between normal daily activity and the performance. This is what I experienced especially at my [2010] performance at MoMA, which was three months long. That really changed me mentally, physically, in many other ways.”

(Rendering: OMA)

Abramović commissioned OMA to transform the crumbling theater that she acquired in 2007 into a space for training artists and audiences alike. “It has an interesting level of decay,” said OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu, pointing out a rotted column and ghostly baselines from the building’s post-theater incarnation as an indoor tennis court. “The project has to house a very specific program of long-duration performance, so the first thing we decided to do was insert a very monastic box inside that can house many things. It’s actually slightly bigger than the tennis court, so you can still play tennis if you wanted to.”
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Remember those commercials featuring Zack the Legomaniac? His real-world, adult equivalents are known as LEGO Certified Professionals, a designation that only a dozen people worldwide have achieved. One of them is Adam Reed Tucker, a Chicago architect-turned-“architectural artist” that now builds exclusively with tiny plastic bricks. “Working with my hands, creating art and sculpture, the freedom to create and explore my own vision of design without computer reliance, and to share architecture with the world all made this a natural move for me,” he says. “I wanted to work on ways to inspire and motivate those familiar with architectural elements and those with no design knowledge at all.”

Tucker is to thank for the LEGO Architecture product line, launched in 2008 with kits devoted to the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center. He’s also the tireless brickbuilder behind “LEGO Architecture: Towering Ambition,” on view through September 3 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Tucker’s 15 globe-spanning LEGO landmarks (including the Empire State Building, Frank Lloyd Wright‘s Fallingwater, and the Burj Khalifa) recently got some new neighbors, as the museum welcomed LEGO versions of 15 Central Park West (downsized by its original designers, Robert A.M. Stern Architects) and a couple of hometown favorites: a Metro station (ZGF Architects) and a traditional center hall colonial home (Gulick Group). Total brick count on the three models? 77,000. This weekend, Tucker returns to the museum to put the finishing touches on his LEGO White House. Stop by between noon and 4 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday to join in the architectural fun. Can’t make it to Our Nation’s Capital? Build your own LEGO White House (considerably smaller than the museum version) with this 560-piece kit. No word as to whether the gift shop also sells a LEGObama figure to place inside.

Could we actually be seeing, dare we even let the thought cross our collective brains, a consistent upward trend? After years of being burnt in this exact situation, when the American Institute of Architects‘ monthly Architectural Billings Index would stay in the positive for a few months, only to plummet back and make everyone gloomy, we’re not entirely ready to dust off the helium tank and start filling up the balloons just yet, particularly because the ABI was actually down just a bit from last month. It’s currently at 50.4, a few notches lower than 51 in February, but as anything above 50 indicates an increase in billing, and provides a general sense of growth within the industry, we’ll take it. Here’s a bit from the AIA’s defender of the digits:

“We are starting to hear more about improving conditions in the marketplace, with a greater sense of optimism that there will be greater demand for design services,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “But that is not across the board and there are still a number of architecture firms struggling so progress is likely to be measured in inches rather than miles for the next few months.”

Michael Heizer’s “Isolated Mass/Circumflex (#2)” (1968–72), an earth sculpture embedded into the front lawn of the Menil Collection in Houston. (Photo: The Menil Collection)

In 1945, while on a business trip to New York, John de Menil picked up a souvenir—a dreamy little Cézanne watercolor sketch—and a drawing collection was born (the purplish pink mountain scene soon had good company in works by the likes of Picasso and Magritte). More than 60 years and 1,200 drawings later, the Menil Collection established the Menil Drawing Institute and Study Center, “dedicated solely to the collection, exhibition, and study of modernist drawing, including the medium’s role in contemporary artistic practice.” Now the museum is adding a separate facility on its Houston campus to house the growing drawing collection, and today announced a shortlist of contenders to design it: Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico City), David Chipperfield Architects (London), Johnston Marklee (Los Angeles), and SANAA (Tokyo).

“The Menil’s campus is one of the world’s most cherished cultural landscapes. We intend to move forward with respect to what exists, preserving and nurturing its spirit as we move forward in the Menil’s tradition of commissioning exceptional architecture,” said Leslie Elkins Sasser, chair of the Menil’s architecture selection committee, in a statement issued this morning. “Each of the four firms we have selected for the short list, after months of research, travel and discussion, have the potential to achieve a remarkable addition—for our campus, for our city of Houston, and for the many visitors from around the world.” Despite his London HQ, Chipperfield may have something of a home-court advantage, as he recently created the well-received master site plan for the Menil campus. A final selection is expected in June.

The end of an era is at hand. Yesterday it was announced the New Yorker‘s longtime architecture critic, Paul Goldberger, will be leaving the magazine he’s called home for the past 15 years for greener, more ad-heavy pastures, to become a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. The two magazines are, of course, both owned by Conde Nast, meaning the move isn’t a tremendous hike, and Goldberger has a history with VF, having contributed pieces here and there over the years. Still, it’s something of a major in-house coup, which the Observer has plenty of juicy details on, including that the critic hadn’t been getting along with New Yorker editor David Remnick, who he claims made getting stories into the magazine much more difficult, and that his decision to leave was in part related to a biography of Frank Gehry he’s in the middle of working on. On the Vanity Fair side, here’s what the magazine’s triumphant editor Graydon Carter had to say:

“This is an appointment that thrills me profoundly,” Carter said. “Paul is about as gifted a commentator on architecture, urban planning, and design as anyone you’re going to find these days—in other words, he’s just a brilliant writer.”

In the end, it apparently takes a whole lot to topple a famous architect and his heavy pillars. After months of discussion, and an increasingly vocal group of family members speaking out against the project, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission has released a statement (pdf) of full support behind Frank Gehry, who designed the national tribute, set to be built (someday) in Washington DC’s National Mall. As early as last week, Susan Eisenhower, the former president’s granddaughter, had spoken at a congressional hearing, asking for a redesign. However, it was to no avail, at least to the Commission, who write in their statement that they “will work to address the outstanding issues that remain” but seemed to waiver not a touch when it came to Gehry’s plans:

We confirm our selection of him, confirm our enthusiastic endorsement of his design concept, and express our regret and sadness at the tone and nature of the selected comments that have been made on Mr. Gehry’s design for the memorial.

The whole debate hasn’t ended here though. The National Capital Planning Commission, which we learned from the lengthy battle over the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial can sometimes be a tricky group to work with, will have the final say on Gehry’s design. Onward with the battle!

In Las Vegas, when people refer to “culture,” it usually involves French-Canadian acrobat savants, ersatz monuments, or dancing fountains, but change is afoot. This month, Sin City welcomed the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, a megaproject that was set into motion during headier, pre-recession days. We dispatched writer Doug McClemont to try his luck at getting an inside look at the newly opened cultural complex, and he came up trumps.

Photos: Steve Hall/HedrichBlessing

Most narratives of current state of things in Las Vegas include “overbuilt” or “downturn” in the very first sentence. Indeed, since roughly 2006 the fortunes of the legendary desert oasis have changed for the worse. Visitor spending in the destination city is on the decline, the housing market remains troubled, and MGM’s shining new star City Center, a 72-acre sprawling complex of hotels, gaming, condos, and high-end retail at the heart of the Strip, posted an operating loss of $45 million in the fourth quarter of last year. So this might seem a strange moment to be celebrating the construction of a new $470 million cultural center on the outskirts of the (still more beleaguered) downtown area. But then again Las Vegas—that ultimate paean to pastiche and panache—is not known for its introverted ways.

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, a lavish art deco-influenced, multi-purpose complex that features music, visual art, theater, and education opened earlier this month. It dominates a 61-acre site in a former rail yard that is now called Symphony Park. “All of the budgeting was done in the old economy,” according to architect David M. Schwarz, “the Center was built in the new.” As a result, the architects were able to utilize high-end materials and avoid troublesome cost-cutting concerns when creating Las Vegas’s newest addition. A 170-foot tall bell tower with 47 imported bronze bells is just one opulent feature of the inviting collection of buildings.
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The sight of crumbling modern architecture—buildings often conceived and built in a flurry of systematic optimism, zippy colors (or pure, grime-magnet white), and, less than enduring materials—can be soul-crushing, as can the laborious and costly process of restoring a modern marvel to its former glory. The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) in Los Angeles has committed to aid in this cause through the Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative, an international program announced this week. “This research-based initiative will increase knowledge for the field and develop new tools to assist practitioners to conserve the architecture of the modern era,” said GCI director Tim Whalen in a statement issue by the The J. Paul Getty Trust. They didn’t have to look far for the first project: the Eames House in Pacific Palisades. A GCI team will undertake investigative work and analysis to understand the current condition of the house, built in 1949 by Charles and Ray, along with its contents and setting. They’ll also assist the Eames Foundation in developing a plan for the house’s long-term conservation and care. Architect Kyle Normandin, formerly of NYC-based Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, has joined the GCI to manage the new initiative, which is overseen by Susan Macdonald.

And speaking of valiant efforts to thwart the growing threats to modern architecture, our sharp-eyed friends at the World Monuments Fund are now accepting nominations for the 2012 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize. The $10,000 prize will be awarded this fall to a design professional or firm in recognition of “innovative design solutions that preserved or saved a modern landmark at risk.” The deadline for nominations is July 31. Click here for full details.

By our count, we’re now in our fourth straight month of being in the black when it comes to the American Institute of Architects‘ monthly Architecture Billings Index. Our minds are always relatively cloudy, but we can’t even remember the last time that was the case. Looking back through our archives (which is chock full of repeated phrases like “inches up ever so slightly” and “takes another dive”), we see the last time we came close was the summer of 2010, when after three months of growth, you guessed it, the ABI “took another dive.” This month, like those preceding it, haven’t been giant leaps, but we’ve landed at 51.0, up from 50.9 the month prior (anything above 50 indicates an increase in billings and a general look at the health and wellness of the industry). So while not huge growth, we’ll certainly take four months of good news over the alternative. Here’s the AIA’s chief digit bearer:

“This is more good news for the design and construction industry that continues to see improving business conditions,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “The factors that are preventing a more accelerated recovery are persistent caution from clients to move ahead with new projects, and a continued difficulty in accessing financing for projects that developers have decided to pursue.”