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Zaha Hadid Opens An Art Museum In Rome With No Art
Oh my gosh, would you believe that another building by Zaha Hadid got built? The Baghdad-born architect is famous for her futuristic designs, but most only stay looking good on paper. She has a few buildings scattered around the world, but the newest one in Rome takes the cake in terms of scale and space.
Dubbed the MAXXI Museum, or National Museum of the XXI Century Arts, it is a triumph for Zaha. Having opened only several days ago and described by the NYT as "less a unified lone structure than a convergence of long, shiny, serpentine modules — a bit like a space-age highway interchange," the Maxxi is already going down in architecture history. And since we've got a thing for good design, modern art and any new museum exhibitions, the Maxxi is fresh on our radar as well.
Tags: Missouri Travel / Memorials / Architecture Travel / National Parks / → All Tags
St. Louis' Gateway Arch Looking To Have Some Work Done Before Turning Fifty
Now that Southwest Airlines has announced that they are all about St. Louis, the city is eager to get to work on their most famous attraction. After all, with an influx of new visitors thanks to cheap flights, the city needs to show off its offerings. Late last week the National Park Service released an almost 300 page set of plans dealing with the future of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial—that’s the Gateway Arch for those less familiar with its full name.
The park service is looking to preserve and maintain the grand lawn area beneath the Arch and wants to add some snazzy new stuff to the north and south ends of the area. The entire memorial is almost 100 acres large, so they have a lot of room to play with. One of the biggest updates would be to expand the park across the Mississippi River. That would provide East St. Louis with a little Arch love, and would allow the Arch to be better connected to the downtown area. Certain blocks downtown could be cleared to allow for new walkways for pedestrians to check things out.
Tags: Chicago Field Trip / Architecture Travel / Zaha Hadid / Museum Travel / Chicago / Art Travel / → All Tags
Chicago's Millennium Park Piles On The Culture With New Pavilions
Forget the mirror-finish "Cloud Gate" sculpture, otherwise known simply as "The Bean" by Anish Kapoor, Chicago's Millennium Park has blossomed into something even greater than a sanctuary for great architecture and green space—it's become a work of art all it's own.
From all sides, Millennium Park is the place to visit in Chicago; the north holds Frank Gehry's Pritzker Pavilion auditorium and lawn, the south end is the Art Institute with its new Modern wing, the east edge of the park is the lakefront and harbor, and the west edge pulses with Michigan Avenue. Everything within the park continues to grow; from a huge garden of indigenous-to-Illinois plants to the sculptures scattered throughout.
The absolute freshest addition to this garden of al fresco delights, aside from a wading stream, are the two Burnham Pavilions being built to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the city plan. The first (pictured above), designed by Ben van Berkel of UNStudio, has been up for almost a month now and will remain until late October. It's neighbor by architect Zaha Hadid, however, lags severely behind.
Tags: Name Changes / Sears Tower / Chicago Travel / Architecture Travel / Travel News / → All Tags
A Sad Day For Chicago: Sears Tower Officially Renamed
It's official: there is no more Sears Tower in Chicago. Today the naming right to the building, an icon of the Chicago skyline since its construction in the 1970s, switched over the British firm Willis, who bought the rights along with office space in the tower.
Now called the Willis Tower, the skyscraper at least has a buzzworthy addition that somewhat distracts from the name-change: the new glass ledge viewing balconies on the 103rd floor's Skydeck. But is waiting in a line just so that you can stand for a minute above the entire city enough to appease a community that holds the originial Sears Tower so dearly in their hearts? We said it once, and we'll say it again: if Chicago can get over Comiskey Park becoming US Cellular Field, home of the White Sox, then with time they will surmount even this.
Nonetheless, after the official announcement went out today, Twitter's hot trending topics lit up with mentions of the new Willis Tower name, and none of them too positive. Except for @abearatemyparen it seems, who says: "Willis Group? London based insurance company? No, I'ma pretend that's Bruce Willis' tower now." Or we could all just use this as an opportunity to constantly quote Gary Coleman from Diff'rent Strokes: "Whatchu talkin' bout Willis?"
Related Stories:
· London Firm Renames Chicago, Pisses Off Chicago [Jaunted]
· Look Down: Sears Tower Jumps On Glass Floor Bandwagon [Jaunted]
· What you talkin' bout, Willis? Sears Tower renamed [AP]
· Sears Tower Name Change Becomes Official [Chicagoist]
Tags: Architecture Travel / Chicago / Real Estate / Movie Set Travel / → All Tags
Ferris Bueller Travel: The Ferrari House Hits the Market
While nothing would give us greater pleasure than to do a series on places featured in the classic movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a simple visit to Chicago should take care of most of your curiosity. That is, unless you've got a hankering to visit the real stars of the movie like Ferris' school or, even better yet, the infamous Ferrari House.
Since Ferris was filmed both in Chicago's downtown and suburbs, the suburban destinations are the hardest to locate and reach, thereby giving them cult status. While anyone is welcome to drive into the parking lot at Northbrook's Glenbrook North High School, the forest-hidden contemporary house in Highland Park, which serves as the home of Ferris' friend Cameron Frye, is far more secluded.
Tags: Souvenirs / Architecture Travel / Frank Lloyd Wright / → All Tags
Legos Are Back, And They Are Cloning Tourist Attractions
Move over postcards and sno globes; souvenir shops of some specific major landmarks will soon be getting welcome new additions to their stock. LEGO has just announced a very neat partnership wtih an architect, whereby some famous buildings are being turned into building block sets, a la Puzz-3D. We think this is just another excuse for staycatiioners, but anything that allows us to sit the Sears Tower on our desk is good by us.
In the "Lego Architecture" line, people will be able to buy sets for building Empire State Building, Chicago's John Hancock Building and Sears Tower, and the Seattle Space Needle. Perhaps the most exciting release are the two Frank Lloyd buildings, Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum.
To further crank up your wanderlust once you've completed the structure, each box contains a book of facts, notes on its architectural significance, and points of interest in the city. Although they aren't quite yet for sale behind the glass of your local gift shop, they can be pre-ordered in sets here. Do we sense a perfect Father's Day gift from this?
Related Stories:
· New LEGO Architecture Series by Adam Reed Tucker [If It's Hip, It's Here]
· Architecture Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
[Images: If It's Hip, It's Here]
Tags: Architecture Travel / Zaha Hadid / Chicago / → All Tags
Chicago's 'Bean' To Get Some Serious Competition This Summer
For visitors to Chicago, a must-do is taking a picture of your own reflection in the smooth, mirrored surface of Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate" sculpture at the entrance to Millennium Park. Nicknamed "the Bean," the massive blob holding court at the Michigan Ave entrance to the park is about to get some serious competition for touristic affection on June 19, when the city unveils not one, but two new pavilions which will do more than just sit there and look pretty.
Tags: Architecture Travel / Beer Travel / Tokyo / Design Travel / → All Tags
Where to Tipple in Tokyo: The Asahi Beer Hall
Twenty years old and still partying like any good Philippe Starck structure should, Tokyo's Asahi Beer Hall is known as more than just a hot piece of architectural history on the banks of the Sumida River, but also for being a damned good place to eat and imbibe. So long as you can down Asahi with the best of the office workers, some of whom wander over from the Asahi headquarters next door, then you'll feel right at home.
Outside of the beer hall, the striking modern lines of the Starck design remain an attraction, made all the more interesting by "La Fiamma," the flame, perched atop the roof like froth in a beer glass. Over the years, this gold swish, a trademark form of Starck which can be seen throughout his other works, has gained nicknames such as "the golden turd," while Asahi executives think of it as the burning soul of the company.
We tend to take a positive view of the architectural flair of it, as it truly stands out from the other grey and black office buildings that dominate Tokyo's skyline. Next time you take a drinking tour of Japan, be sure to send us a postcard; we appreciate a hearty foreign bonding experience over booze just as much as the next salaryman.
Related Stories:
· Asahi Super Dry Hall [GlassandSteelandStone]
· Japan's New Asahi Betters With Age [Jaunted]
· Architecture Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: naoyafujii]
Tags: Marijuana / Communal Living / Architecture Travel / Seasteading Institute / → All Tags
Eager Engineers Plan A 'Green' Island City In The Bay Area
Like any big city San Francisco is running out of room. Even with great public transit and the constant flow of eco-friendly options coming from America’s tech center, there just isn’t enough space to keep everyone happy. Engineers, including an ex-Googler, are looking to fix this with an idea that’s one part experiment and one part solution. Their dream is to create a seastead—a manmade island structure right off shore.
Unlike Dubai’s offerings, this new “island” creation looks to do more than just provide swanky accommodations and high elevation tennis. The team at The Seasteading Institute has already begun to draw up plans that would create a floating landmass. They take their design from oil platforms, and hope to create one right on the Pacific Ocean. One engineer likened his design to that of a cruise ship, but we doubt that viewing it from shore will bring back memories of your first Carnival Cruise.
Tags: Architecture Travel / Sears Tower / Name Changes / Skyscrapers / → All Tags
London Firm Renames Sears Tower, Pisses Off Chicago
Those little etched glass statues and various overpriced souvenir plaques of Chicago's Sears Tower will be discounted just as fast as they are snatched up as souvenir manufacturers race to create new "Willis Tower" tchotchkes. The surprise renaming of the iconic monolith won't officially happen until July, but it's got the city in an uproar now.
Tags: Architecture Travel / Chicago / ORD / Airport Art / O'Hare / Mies van der Rohe / → All Tags
O'Hare Airport Stars in Chicago Photography Exhibition
It just may be the original airport photoshoot: Chicago's Architecture Foundation is paying homage to O'Hare Airport, that great hub on the city's western fringes that usually only receives bad ratings for security wait times. The FREE show, "ORD: Documenting the Definitive Modern Airport," is displaying the vintage photographs from O'Hare's shiny past, before it became the bottleneck it is now.
On display through May 1, the exhibit wants you to get a feel for the buildings of O'Hare free of the departing flight bustle. Influenced by Mies van der Rohe (wasn't everything in Chicago in the '50s and '60s?) yet conceived by Helmut Jahn, O'Hare is known as "Chicago's Versailles," even though we think it's more akin to Chicago's Grande Arche de la Défense; something through which many people pass, but few stop to recognize.
Since nothing excites us more than the combination of free and vintage airport art, we recommend getting down to 224 South Michigan Ave. They've even got a pair of the Eames O'Hare tandem sling seats on display, as well as historical documents and an acoustic installation of airport sounds. Checking out the exhibit may not get you to your flight any faster next time you're at O'Hare, but perhaps it will make you look up and around, quieting your anxiety, and that makes all the difference.
Related Stories:
· ORD: Document the Definitive Modern Airport [Official Site]
· O'Hare Having a Party, No One Coming [Jaunted]
· Architecture Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Hedrich Blessing]
Tags: Design Travel / Architecture Travel / Modernism Week / → All Tags
Palm Springs Kicks It Mid-Century Style With Modernism Week
This goes out to all you Atomic Ranch readers and melamine fiends: set your George Nelson starburst clocks for 2pm on Friday, February 13, as Palm Springs is due to kick off its annual Modernism Week, celebrating all things mid-century (yes, even avocado-color appliances).
With a week solid of vintage shows, exhibitions, and even double-decker bus tours, Palm Springs is pulling out all the stops to attract everyone from the hardcore retro collectors to the curious.
$75 will get you access to everything, including highlights such as the screening of two films about designers Charles and Ray Eames, a vintage car show, and all-day house tours of some masterpieces of modernist design that will easily put the Brady Bunch's swinging pad to shame.
Even if you've never before considered a multicolor mobile to be a necessary living room element, Modernism Week is sure to delight. After all, you're out in the California sun getting sneak peeks into people's eclectic homes and observing the icons of mid-century design in their natural elements. We guarantee that it will only take you a few A-frame houses before you're obsessing over plastic tables and Osterizer blenders with the best of them.
Related Stories:
· Palm Springs' Modernism Week [Official Site]
· A Palm Springs Event Chock-full of Minimalism [NYT]
· Design Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: NYT]
