Judith Edelman, A “Firebrand for Women in Architecture, Dies at 91

New Settlement Community Campus; NYC (2012) / Dattner Architects and Edelman Sultan Knox Wood

 

By Karissa Rosenfield
October 20, 2014, Arch Daily

Judith Edelman, FAIA, an American architect and feminist who hoped to rid architecture of its “gentleman’s club” status, has passed away at 91. Starting her career in an era when hiring “girls” wasn’t the norm, Edelman’s work to elevate women in architecture has paved the way for many of today’s leading architects; She was the first woman ever elected to the executive committee of the AIA’s New York chapter and she helped co-found the Alliance of Women in Architecture in 1972. Read more…

Architect Frank Gehry opens $126-million Louis Vuitton art museum

The Louis Vuitton Foundation art museum and cultural center, created by architect Frank Gehry, in Paris, Oct. 17, 2014. The $126 million building, with billowing glass casing and 11 gallery spaces, has been compared to an iceberg or giant sailboat and took over a decade to make. (AP / Christophe Ena)

By Thomas Adamson,
October 17, 2014, The Associated Press

PARIS — Architect Frank Gehry opened his latest project on Friday, the more than $126 million Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, which has bowled over critics.

Glistening in the morning sun in west of the city, with billowing glass casing and white concrete panels, the nearly 12,000 square meter building resembles an iceberg.

Gehry used the occasion to show the building to the media; it will officially open to the public at the end of October with a special exhibit dedicated to him.

The structure was commissioned to house the art collection of billionaire Bernard Arnault, the CEO of the world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH, Louis Vuitton’s parent company. It also will be used as an art gallery with some 11 display spaces of different sizes.

Decorated with “L’s” and “V’s,” the building has been branded by some as a “vanity project” of tycoon Arnault, Europe’s richest man.

But for Gehry it’s about the art. “The idea for me became of a building that had movement, sails,” he told The Associated Press.

He said the bare, unfinished-looking nature of the glass atriums, like a blank canvas, was designed to encourage other artists to “intervene” and use the space in the future. He said contemporary artist Daniel Buren plans to paint on the structure.

“I like my buildings (to be) not complete so that it invites people to play,” he said. Read more…

US architect’s recycling centre plan may help solve Hong Kong’s waste woes

By Cheung Chi-fai
October 20, 2014, South China Morning Post

An award-winning American architect has proposed transforming some of the city’s municipal services buildings and refuse collection points into multistorey recycling and community centres.

Thomas Schmidt, a founding member of the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong, has drawn up a conceptual plan of a low-rise complex that could serve as the focal point of collection and handling of waste generated from a neighbourhood.

The buildings, of up to six floors, would house recycling, community, leisure and educational activities under one roof.

Schmidt came up with the scheme as the saga over funding for the extension of landfills and an incineration plant continues in the legislature.

“The goal of such a centre would be to sort and process as much waste as close to source as possible and divert as much material away from landfill as possible,” he said. Read more…