Monthly Archive for October, 2011

A Masterpiece at Ground Zero

Published on October 29, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

From Martin Filler at The New York Review of Books…

I wept, but about what precisely I cannot say. Much to my amazement, after having done everything possible to shut out the ubiquitous maudlin press coverage that engulfed the tenth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, I visited Michael Arad’s National September 11 Memorial in New York City—which was dedicated exactly a decade after the disaster—to find that it impressed me at once as a sobering, disturbing, heartbreaking, and overwhelming masterpiece.

Arad’s inexorably powerful, enigmatically abstract pair of abyss-like pools, which demarcate the foundations of the lost Twin Towers, comes as a surprise to those of us who doubted that the chaotic and desultory reconstruction of Ground Zero could yield anything of lasting value. It is generally held that great architecture requires the participation of a great client, but just how this stunning result emerged from such a fraught and contentious process will take some time for critics and historians to sort out. More…

Call for Book Reviewers

Published on October 28, 2011 in Book and Newsletter. 0 Comments Tags: .

Common Ground Publishing is seeking distinguished peer reviewers to evaluate book manuscripts submitted to The Constructed Environment Book Series.

As part of our commitment to intellectual excellence and a rigorous review process, Common Ground sends book manuscripts that have received initial editorial approval to peer reviewers to further evaluate and provide constructive feedback. The comments and guidance that these reviewers supply is invaluable to our authors and an essential part of the publication process.

Common Ground recognizes the important role of referees by acknowledging book reviewers as members of The Constructed Environment Book Series Editorial Review Board for a period of at least one year. The list of members of the Editorial Review Board will be posted on our website. In addition, Common Ground also offers a US$200 voucher for each completed review which meets the standards set out by the Commissioning Editor at the commencement of assignment. Vouchers may be used in the Common Ground Bookstore or for registration at one of our international conferences.

If you would like to referee book manuscripts submitted to The Constructed Environment  please email:

  1. a brief description of your professional credentials
  2. a list of your areas of interest and expertise
  3. a copy of your CV with current contact details

If we feel you are qualified and we require refereeing for manuscripts within your purview, we will contact you.

Interview: Rem Koolhaas on OMA’s current preoccupations

Published on October 14, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

From Dezeen Screen…

Interview: Rem Koolhaas on OMA’s preoccupations from Dezeen on Vimeo.

The Art-Architecture Complex

Published on October 4, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

Review from Edwin Heathcote at the Financial Times on The Art-Architecture Complex, by Hal Foster…

I like this title. It suggests the uncovering of a huge conspiracy, a moneymaking axis on a par with the military-industrial complex or the newer, more sinister military-entertainment complex (which sees the confluence of shoot-’em-up computer gaming and training soldiers to kill without compunction). Unfortunately – because, surely, we all love conspiracy theories – it is nothing of the kind. Instead it is a collection of essays, some very good, some less so, on the state of contemporary architecture and contemporary – particularly minimal – art.

Hal Foster, a US art critic and author who writes for the London Review of Books, purports to reveal an alliance of the corporate and the cultural in an increasingly globalised world of contemporary visual culture. He backs this up by pointing to the ubiquity of big-name artists in homogenous new museums designed by an elite group of “starchitects”.

It is an intriguing proposition and one, you would think, that could be bitingly critical. But Foster feels, perhaps, too much affection for his protagonists. Essays on the architecture of his namesake Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano and Zaha Hadid present standard histories paired with perceptive but slightly bland analyses of their work. A chapter on what he calls “minimalist museums” – white walls, concrete, raw industrial spaces and so on – identifies a trend that is by now so familiar as to have become a cliché. We all know these are the default spaces of modernity; the question is, what is the next phase? More…

Today at Dezeen Platform: JAILmake Studio

Published on October 3, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

From Dezeen…

JAILmake Studio will pack seeds and soil into bricks using their one meter by one metre factory at Dezeen Platform at Dezeen Space.The Brick Replacement Service produces bricks from the seeds of wildflowers, trees, grasses and herbs packed into clay and soil. The bricks fit into holes in existing walls, or can be used to build new structures. As the seeds grow, an array of plant life sprouts from each block. The bricks are available to buy from Dezeen space until 16 October. Each day, for 30 days, a different designer will use a one metre by one metre space to exhibit their work at Dezeen Space. More…