The Architects - Naysayer (LIVE - SAN FRANCISCO)
May 17, 2014 at the Bottom of the Hill (shot with a Samsung Note 3) See pix of the whole show at http://absolute-chaos.com/pt/LETLIVE--THE-ARCHITECTS-w-special-guests-I-The-Mighty--Glass-Cloud-5.19...
By: Raven Wynd
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The Architects - Naysayer (LIVE - SAN FRANCISCO) - Video
Miami Worldcenter - Interview With Architects
Miami Worldcenter - Interview With Architects Elkus Manfredi.
By: partner56239248
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Miami Worldcenter - Interview With Architects - Video
From its inception, architect Zaha Hadids design for the 2020 Olympic Stadium in Tokyo was met with controversy. And now, Tokyo-based architect Toyo Ito and Pritzker Prize-winning Fumihiko Maki have organized an online petition to halt the construction of the new sports arena. Instead, they propose saving the citys existing Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium and neighboring gardens.
The architects are arguing that the proposed stadium, which will be as tall as a 20-story skyscraper when complete, will be totally out of scale to its location and will ruin the Meiji Shrine Outer Gardens, while forcing residents of the nearby Kasumigaoka Public Housing facility to relocate. The petition also states that the 130 billion yen price tag will divert resources from the relief efforts of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Hence, the petition calls for a more greener and democratic alternative. Rather than spend taxpayer money on a new stadium, Ito and other architects propose renovating the existing one.
Its not everyday that architects petition against another architect's design in this way, (though feuding among architects is not entirely unheard of.) At the time of this writing, the petition had over 14,000 signatures. But Hadids design does have its supporters: architect Tadao Ando helped to select the design over 10 other finalists. The demolition of the Jingu Gaien National Stadium is slated to start in July.
For more information on the petition, visit Change.org
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Japanese Architects Petition Against Zaha Hadid's Olympic Stadium in Tokyo
Media release Tuesday 20 May, 2014
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Auckland design competition seeks exemplary models of medium density housing
Responding to Aucklands housing shortage and to concerns about the quality of medium-density housing in the ever-growing city, the New Zealand Institute of Architects is partnering with Ockham Residential to run a design competition for a multi-unit residential development in a mixed-use area in inner-city Eden Terrace.
Auckland urgently requires more medium-density housing, says Pip Cheshire, President of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, and Aucklanders have to be convinced that this type of housing can be produced to a good standard.
Cheshire notes that the Auckland Housing Accord agreed by the Council and the Government calls for more than 30,000 new dwellings in Special Housing Areas, and that many of these homes will be apartments and townhouses out of necessity.
A range of well-designed, infill residential projects are vital to promote community understanding and acceptance of higher density housing types in suburban locations.
Its important that we the Council, developers and architects dont just tell the public about the need for medium density housing, but that we show that this housing model can be successfully integrated into selected neighbourhoods.
We need to tap into the creativity of New Zealands architects to design smaller, well-designed homes that are more socially and environmentally sustainable.
For these reasons, Cheshire says, the New Zealand Institute of Architects is pleased to work with Ockham Residential, a company with a strong record in the development of innovative, high-quality medium density housing projects in Aucklands inner suburbs. The design competition is for a multi-unit development site in Akepiro Street, near the city end of Dominion Road.
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Auckland design competition for medium density housing
The look, feel, size and culinary offerings of the Cantina Aspen restaurant could change dramatically before the summer tourist season is underway.
The owners are awaiting a city building permit that would allow the large dining area at the south end of the restaurant space to be walled off from the middle dining area. That space, featuring large windows facing South Mill Street, would revert back to the building owner. Commercial real estate broker Karen Setterfield, of Setterfield & Bright, already has listed the 1,200-square-foot area as future retail property.
Setterfield said Sunday that plans call for two separate retail spaces of 600 square feet. The listing asks for $140 per square foot, which amounts to about $7,000 per month, a price that does not include insurance, utilities, taxes and other costs. A potential tenant could lease both spaces to house a larger retail operation, she said.
The Cantina Aspen bar and restaurant operation will change significantly, according to managing owner Aidan Wynn. Plans call for retiring the Tex-Mex concept in favor of modern Mexican fare, Wynn said.
Were going to offer a smarter product, better service, better quality food and an overall new experience, Wynn said. The Cantina has been The Cantina for 28 years and its kind of had its time. We still want to be a locals place. I was born and raised here.
As one employee of the restaurant told The Aspen Times informally, We want to class up the place. The popular restaurant, prominently positioned at the corner of Mill and Main Streets, will be renamed El Rincon, which translated from Spanish to English means The Corner, Wynn said.
With the bar area and outdoor patio seating as well as the middle dining area, the restaurant simply doesnt need the large dining room, he said. The entire restaurant typically only fills up a few times a year during special events, such as the Super Bowl or New Years Eve.
Were going to make a smaller, more quaint restaurant, Wynn said. Itll be easier to control the quality. Were going to make some subtle menu changes and a slight redevelopment of the bar area and a little remodel of the dining room.
The cuisine will still be Mexican, but in a different way.
Mexican food on its head, I guess you could call it, Wynn said. Well still have some of traditional Tex-Mex favorites, but we want to try things like duck carnitas, goat stew, pan-roasted rock cod with a chicken-mole sauce, for instance.
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Big changes in store for Cantina Aspen restaurant
Brazil is the worlds seventh-largest economy and the United States ninth-largest merchandise trading partner, with two-way trade totaling nearly $72 billion last year. The U.S. is Brazils second-largest export market and its leading foreign investor, with an accumulated foreign direct investment stock in 2012 of $79 billion. Brazil has begun an ambitious program to draw in private capital and managerial expertise to upgrade the nations infrastructure. With this in mind, Joel Reynoso, commercial officer, and Patrick Levy, commercial specialist in charge of the architectural, construction and engineering sectors with the U.S. Embassys Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro, discussed these opportunities in a question-and-answer format.
Q: In Brazil, what are some trends, economic or otherwise, that U.S. companies should be aware of?
A: Brazils large and growing economy offers U.S. companies opportunities in many different industry sectors. Its large and fast-growing middle class is attracted to high-value goods and services. Furthermore, Brazil has a wealth of natural resources, such as water and oil and gas, which places the country on the right path to sustainable growth. However, the countrys investments in infrastructure have not kept pace with its economic growth over the past decade, which has impeded further economic growth. As a result, Brazils current government is ramping up investments in infrastructure, including in areas such as power generation, railroads, highways, airports, urban mobility and seaports.
Q: What kind of infrastructure, engineering and construction opportunities and projects are available?
A: Several. First, we will provide a brief overview. The Brazilian government has introduced incentives for infrastructure investment in the country and is planning to ease regulations in order to attract more investment. The infrastructure investment is estimated at approximately $400 billion over the coming years. This amount does not include investments already in place that are directly related to the upcoming World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. As the population throughout Brazil continues to move to urban centers, we are seeing plans for constructing schools, hospitals, hotels and residential projects, both upscale and low-income housing. For example, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which is hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics, three new state-of-the-art hospitals are being planned. According to the builders' association, SindusCon, civil construction in Brazil grew 4% in 2013. Below is a snapshot of some key infrastructure opportunities:
One of the primary goals is to ease the burden of transporting goods in the agricultural and commodities sectors. Currently, farmers in the center-west part of the country must transport their export products 1,200 miles south to ports in the states of So Paulo and Paran. The Brazilian government recently announced that private-sector investors will compete for concessions to control approximately 4,500 miles of toll roads and 6,000 miles of railways. Since September 2013, the Brazilian government has auctioned four federal highways, and its Ministry of Transportation envisions attracting $18 billion in private investment into this sector.The ports sector is set to receive $23.5 billion in new private investment under Brazils Investment in Logistics program. It is expected that terminals at the Port of Santos and the northern state of Para will be the first auctioned under this program.
Concessions to renovate five of the largest airports in the country are also under way. A fast-growing Brazilian middle class that now exceeds well over 100 million people has led to greater demand for air travel and airport infrastructure. The international airports in the southeastern region alone, which includes So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, represent more than 70% of the countrys total airport operational passenger demand. With more concessions in regional airports expected, current and future winners of airport concessions in Brazil will need to work with worldwide suppliers of services and technologies to expand and modernize Brazils airports.
While So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro continue to be the countrys primary business hubs, U.S. firms also should look to project opportunities in the growing northeastern part of the country. Pernambuco state recently held is first open bid for, exclusively, solar-energy projects, which closed successfully last December. This open bid resulted in the selection of six consortia to install nearly 123 megawatts of solar-energy capacity, about 10 times greater than what all of Brazil had installed by the end of 2013. Pernambuco is home to the region's industrial complex and the Port of Suape, with more than 100 companies in operation and another 25 in various stages of construction. Suape hosts the largest shipyard in the Southern Hemisphere and has two new shipyards under construction. Plans for future expansion in this state offer potential lucrative opportunities for U.S. firms. According to local business leaders, the government of Pernambuco plans to invest $20 billion over the next 10 years to develop 14 planned cities.
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Commercial Opportunities in Brazil for U.S. Firms
BY SUSAN DEMAR LAFFERTY slafferty@southtownstar.com May 19, 2014 7:24PM
Updated: May 19, 2014 8:48PM
Planning for Will Countys new judicial complex could begin this summer if the county board approves the scope of services outlined by Darien-based architectural firm Wight & Co.
In a meeting of the ad hoc courthouse committee on Monday, Jason Dwyer, Wights project executive, said the firms preliminary design work would include population projections, visits to other courthouses, meetings with those who use the facility, cost estimates and a concept plan.
Wights plan of action is to be discussed at the June 3 capital improvements committee meeting before going to the full board June 19.
Chief Judge Richard Schoenstedt said presiding judges are eager to start and ready to cooperate.
To him, the most important aspect is to have the most technologically current courthouse possible, he said.
Dwyer said the planning process will incorporate technology and security, as well as overall efficiency and flexibility of operations.
The judicial complex will house judges, and departments including court clerk, states attorney, public defender, jury commission, sheriffs department, court administration, court reporters and probation.
Dwyer said he plans to meet with all these groups to determine how they interact and how much space they need. If Wights plan is approved in June, he said he would like to begin meeting with staff right away.
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New Will County courthouse moving into planning stage
GUAGUA -- Franz Dominic Layug, son of Presidential Merit Awardee for Ecclesiastical Art Willy Layug, recently finished a year-long art restoration and conservation course at the prestigious Lorenzo de' Medici School (LdM) in Florence, Italy.
The young Layug is the first Kapampangan and arguably the only Filipino artist to finish a professional course in art restoration the said school. LdM specializes in the arts, such as studio art, fine arts, liberal arts, and language studies.
Layug flew to Italy last year to get actual working knowledge on art restoration from the best instructors and art restorers in Europe. He said that the knowledge would greatly help him in restoring local art treasures in Pampanga and the country.
Layug took up fresco and sculpture restoration subjects under the famed Italian art restorer Lorenzo Casamenti. Casamenti is the head of the Department for Restoration at the prestigious Lorenzo de' Medici Art Institute of Florence and a master of "more than 800 church restorations across Italy as well as Brazil, Argentina and Chile".
Like his father, the younger Layug is a sculptor with a penchant for religious and contemporary art subjects. He was encouraged by his father to take up restoration course in Italy as real and professional restorers not readily available in the country.
"We have a rich treasure trove of art, mostly religious art. Most people are oblivious on the proper care and restoration of religious art and even old buildings and churches. I hope to help in some way in the need to restore these artistic treasures," Layug said.
Layug finished his course along with foreign students from all across Europe. Layug is set to come home this week to work on an initial restoration project.
Published in the Sun.Star Pampanga newspaper on May 20, 2014.
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First ever Kapampangan finishes art restoration course in Italian school
WASHINGTON, May 19 (UPI) --San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro will be nominated as the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, a move that both indicates the Obama administration's confidence in its ability to get nominations through the Senate and one that could have implications for the 2016 presidential campaign.
The Texas Democrat, 39, shot to attention with a lauded keynote speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, when the parallels between his splashy entrance into national politics and that of then-Senate candidate Barack Obama in 2004 were well noted.
As one of the party's rising stars, Castro's Hispanic identity and compelling biography as the grandson of Mexican immigrants have put him and his twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, on many Democrats' shortlists as future presidential or vice presidential material.
Immigration is expected to play an outsize role in 2016, as Latino groups have grown angry with President Obama over continued deportations and Republicans have blocked legislative efforts for reform in the name of border security.
While the GOP has several powerful Latinos on their 2016 bench, including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas and New Mexico Gov. Susanna Martinez, Democrats are less prepared. Both parties have acknowledged an interest in recognizing the growing size and influence of the country's Hispanic population.
Castro had previously rejected administration overtures to join Obama's cabinet: In 2012, he turned down the chance to head the Department of Transportation, and earlier this year said he planned to finish out his term as mayor rather than take a chance to run for governor. He has not yet commented on his change of heart, although former HUD Secretary under President Bill Clinton, Henry Cisneros, said he encouraged him.
"I advised that he accept a position for President Obama," Cisneros said earlier this year. "I thought that if he was going to be vice-presidential material in 2016, then he needed to be more than mayor at that time."
Castro's elevation is the latest move in Cabinet shakeup that began with the resignation of Kathleen Sebelius as head of the Department of Health and Human Services last month. President Obama nominated Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell as Sebelius' replacement, and will nominate current HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to take Burwell's place.
Burwell was confirmed 96-0 last year to her previous post, and is expected to sail through Senate confirmation despite the Sebelius' rocky tenure. Democrats were able to push through a rule change last year meant to circumvent Republican filibusters that had held up many administration nominees during Obama's first term, instead allowing for Cabinet and judicial picks to be confirmed with a simple majority.
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Obama to nominate Julian Castro to HUD in Cabinet shakeup
New Delhi, May 18: Narendra Modi has set cabinet-formation talks in motion amid a general indication that veterans should not get too high on hope and that a few heavyweights may be held back for party work.
Modi dropped a clear hint for ministerial hopefuls this morning when a group of newly elected MPs from Karnataka called on him at Gujarat Bhavan.
The visitors included South Bangalore MP Ananth Kumar, who was the urban development minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, and former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
A source said that Modi reminded them the BJP organisation was at least as important as the government, if not more, implying that every heavyweight should not expect a cabinet berth.
He apparently added that the Modi hawa (Modi wave) could peter out in three months or so, therefore it was important to keep the party on its toes constantly.
One indication that party sources have received so far is that Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar could be moved to Delhi and given charge of a critical ministry. Such a move would be of a piece with Modis maxim that running a state is as difficult and complex as overseeing the Centre.
Parrikar, serving a second term in Goa, is credited with coalescing the Christian and Muslims votes for the BJP in the 2012 Assembly elections by repairing the partys image among the minorities.
He had promptly cracked down on the Karnataka-based vigilante outfit, Sri Rama Sene, when its chief Pramod Muthalik tried to set up base in Goa.
BJP sources, however, said a good replacement would have to be found if Parrikar was to relocate. Besides, in dissidence-prone Goa, Parrikar had managed to stave off intra-party conflicts.
It now seems more and more unlikely that veterans L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi would find a place in the government, even outside of the cabinet.
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Modi tries to temper high hopes
