Frontiers: On the Edge in Merced and Malibu

This month — in the spirit of August — we'll be focusing on pictorial features. First up is "Frontiers." In the past year the photographers Luther Thie and Kathrine Worel have been documenting houses "on the forefront of our interaction with the economy and the environment." Their investigation took them to the San Joaquin Valley town of Merced, a few years ago one of the white-hot real-estate markets of California, today the site of half-built ghost-town subdivisions. And it took them to the Pacific coast enclave of Malibu, where the combined effects of global warming and environmental engineering are eroding the famous beaches, and the multimillion-dollar homes are vulnerable to being swept out to sea.
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ARCHITIZER

China Portfolio: From the Linked Hybrid to the Bug Dome

A science center, an arts center, the headquarters of a real estate conglomerate, a mega-development "city of science and techniques," and a temporary performance pavilion that doubles as an "unofficial social club" for poor workers — in their latest portfolio for Places, the editors of Architizer select a group of projects that suggests the range of new building programs in China.
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WILLIAM L. FOX

Spatial Intelligence: New Futures for Architecture

"What if our forbears had professionalized architecture around spatial intelligence rather than the technologies of shelter?" asks Leon van Schaik in his latest book. "Might society find it easier to recognize what is unique about what our kind of thinking can offer?" Writer William L. Fox, director of the Center for Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, reviews Spatial Intelligence, which argues for an enlarged approach to practice, and, as Fox says, "an acknowledgement that buildings have the ability to make people happy."
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LAWRENCE VALE

Shanghai's Avenue Queue

Earlier this month MIT professor of urban design Lawrence Vale braved the crowds — and the queues — of the Shanghai Expo. This latest world's fair is a study in superlatives: the largest ever in area, cost and global participation, and apparently well on its way to being the largest ever in attendance. As such, says Vale, "it succeeds in staking out yet another case for China's restored global pre-eminence."
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UC BERKELEY

Berkeley Appoints New Chair of Architecture

Tom J. Buresh, Emil Lorch Collegiate Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, has been appointed professor and chair of the Department of Architecture in the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley.

CASSIM SHEPARD

Postopolis: Urban Portraiture

Last month an international group of prominent bloggers gathered in Mexico for Postópolis!DF — five lively days of talks and conversation about art, music, design, architecture, landscape and urbanism. One of the bloggers, Cassim Shepard, director of Urban Omnibus, describes his experience in the Mexican capital — the chance to participate in the "extemporaneous formation of a collective portrait of the creative energies defining a city at a particular moment."
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PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2000

Portfolio: Uneasy Spaces

New York City photographer Elizabeth Felicella focuses on what she calls "landscape of security."
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PARTNER SCHOOL

Pratt Institute, School of Architecture
The work of the students here at Pratt shows a clear appreciation and understanding of the possibilities of architecture today, as the mission of the school is dedicated to design and a complete understanding of the making of cities and buildings. The spirit of advancing architectural ideas in terms of both form and technique is at the essence of the transformation of contemporary design.

RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED

American Glamour
Alice T. Friedman

Reading the American Landscape: An Index of Books and Images
Lex ter Braak, David Hamers, Anne Hoogewoning, Erik de Jong, Frank van der Salm, Dirk Sijmons and Hanneke Schreiber

Boomtown 2050: Scenarios for a Rapidly Growing City
Richard Weller


WEEKLY EMAIL: AUGUST 04, 2010
FEATURED THIS WEEK : LUTHER THIE Frontiers: On the Edge in Merced and Malibu This month — in the spirit of August — we'll be focusing on pictorial features. First up is "Frontiers." In the past year the photographers Luther Thie and Kathrine Worel have been documenting houses "on the forefront of our interaction with the economy and the environment." Their investigation took them to the San Joaquin Valley town of Merced, a few years ago one of the white-hot real-estate markets of California, today the site of half-built ghost-town subdivisions. And it took them to the Pacific coast enclave of Malibu, where the combined effects of global warming and environmental engineering are eroding the famous beaches, and the multimillion-dollar homes are vulnerable to being swept out to sea. READ MORE
ARCHITIZER China Portfolio: From the Linked Hybrid to the Bug Dome A science center, an arts center, the headquarters of a real estate conglomerate, a mega-development "city of science and techniques," and a temporary performance pavilion that doubles as an "unofficial social club" for poor workers — in their latest portfolio for Places, the editors of Architizer select a group of projects that suggests the range of new building programs in China. READ MORE WILLIAM L. FOX Spatial Intelligence: New Futures for Architecture "What if our forbears had professionalized architecture around spatial intelligence rather than the technologies of shelter?" asks Leon van Schaik in his latest book. "Might society find it easier to recognize what is unique about what our kind of thinking can offer?" Writer William L. Fox, director of the Center for Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, reviews Spatial Intelligence, which argues for an enlarged approach to practice, and, as Fox says, "an acknowledgement that buildings have the ability to make people happy." READ MORE LAWRENCE VALE Shanghai's Avenue Queue Earlier this month MIT professor of urban design Lawrence Vale braved the crowds — and the queues — of the Shanghai Expo. This latest world's fair is a study in superlatives: the largest ever in area, cost and global participation, and apparently well on its way to being the largest ever in attendance. As such, says Vale, "it succeeds in staking out yet another case for China's restored global pre-eminence." READ MORE UC BERKELEY Berkeley Appoints New Chair of Architecture Tom J. Buresh, Emil Lorch Collegiate Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, has been appointed professor and chair of the Department of Architecture in the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley. More Information READ MORE CASSIM SHEPARD Postopolis: Urban Portraiture Last month an international group of prominent bloggers gathered in Mexico for Postópolis!DF — five lively days of talks and conversation about art, music, design, architecture, landscape and urbanism. One of the bloggers, Cassim Shepard, director of Urban Omnibus, describes his experience in the Mexican capital — the chance to participate in the "extemporaneous formation of a collective portrait of the creative energies defining a city at a particular moment." READ MORE		BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK \| FOLLOW US ON TWITTER PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2000 Portfolio: Uneasy Spaces New York City photographer Elizabeth Felicella focuses on what she calls "landscape of security." READ MORE PARTNER SCHOOL Pratt Institute, School of Architecture The work of the students here at Pratt shows a clear appreciation and understanding of the possibilities of architecture today, as the mission of the school is dedicated to design and a complete understanding of the making of cities and buildings. The spirit of advancing architectural ideas in terms of both form and technique is at the essence of the transformation of contemporary design. RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED American Glamour Alice T. Friedman Reading the American Landscape: An Index of Books and Images Lex ter Braak, David Hamers, Anne Hoogewoning, Erik de Jong, Frank van der Salm, Dirk Sijmons and Hanneke Schreiber Boomtown 2050: Scenarios for a Rapidly Growing City Richard Weller
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