GSD News Archive: December 2007
Tourism and the Commodification of Urban Culture By Susan S. Fainstein [Professor of Urban Planning] “Tourism is the new favorite strategy for central city planners and is a central component of the economic, social and cultural shift that has left its imprint on the world system of cities in the past two decades. As a result, urban culture itself has become a commodity, and cities have a competitive advantage over suburbs. The most important group of travelers economically are those traveling on business, since these travelers spend the most. Globalization has greatly increased business travel, despite telecommunications, because decentralized production and outsourcing makes travel a necessity. My principal concern is the way in which cities are shaped by efforts to attract and control visitors and by the economic, spatial, and cultural impact of non-residents….” Full article... (PDF file) [“Celebrations of Urbanity” - The Urban Reinventors, Issue Nr. 2, December 2007] |
Harvard University Graduate School of Design Department of Architecture and Department of Landscape Architecture Get Top Ranking in the 2008 DesignIntelligence ® Survey of America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools The GSD Department of Architecture ranks number one nationally for the sixth successive year. The Department of Landscape Architecture ranks number one nationally for fourth successive year. Recent graduates from the Department of Architecture also rank number one in their preparedness for entering the architectural profession according to the nation’s leading architectural firms. Design skills that were assessed include design, research and theory, communications skills and analysis and planning. Recent graduates from the Department of Landscape Architecture rank number one in their professional preparedness in design and research and theory. Charles Eliot Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture Michael Van Valkenburgh was selected as one of the nation’s 25 Most Respected and Admired Educators. DesignIntelligence ® is published by Greenway Communications, LLC and the Design Futures Council, a global network of design and construction industry leaders with the mission to explore trends, changes and new opportunities in design, architecture and building technology for the purpose of advancing innovation and leading members to new levels of success. |
Beyond the Harvard Box exhibition, curated by Associate Professor Michael Meredith, awarded AICA New England Chapter award
The New England Chapter of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) has awarded the Beyond the Harvard Box exhibition, which was curated by Associate Professor of Architecture Michael Meredith in fall 2006, a 2008 AICA chapter award. The award will be presented to Professor Meredith at the 2008 AICA New England Awards Ceremony on February 27 at the Rose Art Museum of Brandeis University. In addition, the award will be announced at the Annual AICA/USA Awards Ceremony on March 17 in New York.
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The dangers of overreacting to mortgage crisis By Richard Peiser [Michael D. Spear Professor of Real Estate Development] As the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis continues to grow, millions of borrowers are in danger of losing their homes. Predatory lenders are being blamed for encouraging borrowers to take on mortgages that they could not afford. Crackdowns on predatory lending are certainly appropriate. All borrowers, including subprime borrowers, should be protected from lending practices that reward mortgage originators for taking advantage of unsophisticated borrowers. The danger, however, is in overreacting. In their zeal to protect borrowers from abusive lenders and to protect borrowers who may lose their homes, lawmakers could hurt all borrowers. Among the interventions being considered are steps to make it more difficult for lenders to foreclose on defaulting borrowers and to change bankruptcy laws. Both of these types of measures would have lasting consequences that will cause much more damage in the long term than they will prevent in the short term. [The Boston Globe, December 18, 2007]
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Veronica Rudge Green Prize Presented to Weiss/Manfredi
Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, principals of Weiss/Manfredi of New York, received the 9th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design on December 5th in Piper Auditorium at the GSD. The Prize honors their work on the Olympic Sculpture Park, designed for the Seattle Art Museum. This is the first time the winning project has been located in the United States. |
Miami Art Museum, designed by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, Arthur Rotch Design Critics in Architecture, a highlight of Art Basel Miami Beach
Miami Heats Up The annual art and design event energizes the city. By Melanie Ryan We often see the line between art and design blurred, but never more obviously than in Miami in December. Design Miami/ has been riding the coattails of Art Basel Miami Beach since its inception in 2005, but every year the two shows become more difficult to distinguish: Limited-edition objects mix with one-of-a-kinds, and multi-media presentations abound. The 2007 shows promise to be a groundbreaking week for creative professionals worldwide. Here are some highlights. . . . . .The Miami Art Museum unveils the design concept for their expansion, which will break ground in 2008. The project was designed by celebrated architects Herzog & de Meuron (most recently working on the expansion of the Tate Modern in London and the deYoung in San Francisco). The exhibition reveals the step-by-step development of the design and includes floor plans, diagrams, models, and multimedia presentations detailing Herzog & de Meuron’s creative process. Herzog discussed the exhibition and plans on Friday, December 7th at the Colony Theater. [Metropolis, November 29, 2007]
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Brad Pitt Commissions Designs for New Orleans (Thom Mayne, MArch ’78 among architects selected)
Concordia’s idea for the devastated Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans includes a house with wide steps where neighbors can gather. (click image to view larger)
By Robin Pogrebin Thom Mayne of Morphosis in Los Angeles designed a house that would float if the city floods. James Timberlake of KieranTimberlake Associates in Philadelphia created a house with native vines climbing up the side walls to provide shade and coolness. Steven B. Bingler of Concordia in New Orleans envisioned a house with wide front steps ideal for a traditional crawfish boil. Hurricane Katrina Those are three of the designs by 13 architecture firms commissioned by the actor Brad Pitt to help rebuild New Orleans’s impoverished Lower Ninth Ward, one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The project, called Make It Right, calls for building 150 affordable, environmentally sound houses over the next two years. In a telephone interview from New Orleans, where he plans to present the designs today, Mr. Pitt said the residents of the neighborhood had been homeless long enough. “They’re coming up on their third Christmas,” he said. [The New York Times, December 3, 2007] image: Concordia
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