This week in design news: Frank Gehry downplays his involvement in the LA River project, Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens, and English country houses may not be around forever.
World Architecture Festival Awards
Above: Toho Gakuen School of Music in Japan by architect Nikken Sekkei won the Higher Education and Research category. Photo via Arch Daily.
The three-day World Architecture Festival drew to a close on Friday in Singapore. More than 30 projects were named as category winners, and the overall World Building of the Year award went to high-end housing development The Interlace in Singapore by Ole Scheeren and OMA. The Best Future Project went to Vancouver House, an unbuilt twisting residential tower by Bjarke Ingels Group to be completed in 2019. Browse the rest of the winners at World Architecture Festival.
Who Will Save the English Country House?
Above: The Old Rectory in Kent, a Queen Anne-style country house built in 1713. Photo via Daily Mail.
British MP William Cash writes in the Telegraph about the demise of the great English country house. Compounding the financial burden of death taxes and high upkeep costs, he argues, today English country houses are under threat due to government support for unneeded infrastructure and development projects and backward tax benefits for new construction. “So much for the government safeguarding the heritage assets that make us the envy of the world,” he writes. Read it at the Telegraph.
Dubai Design Week
Above: The Deconstructing Zone, an installation by Brazilian designer Henrique Stabile, in Dubai's historic Al Fahidi district. Photo via Yatzer.
Founded to highlight the work of Middle Eastern designers, the first Dubai Design Week came to a close on October 31. Among the highlights: Abwab, a pavilion competition by designers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Tunisia; the Soundweaving installation by Hungarian designer Zsanett Szirmay, which turned the patterns of traditional Hungarian embroidery into music; and Earth Hives by Emirates artist Latifa Saeed and Syrian artist Talin Hazbar, which explored modern interactions with traditional terra cotta pottery. Read more at CNN and Yatzer.
Frank Gehry Downplays LA River Project
Above: The LA River at twilight. Photo by Dave Bullock.
Architect Frank Gehry has earned criticism for so-called "secret" involvement in a plan to redevelop the LA River. Criticism has come primarily from community groups like the Friends of the Los Angeles River, who say they were not consulted on plans to involve Gehry, though the architect is working pro-bono. After accepting an award from the Museum of California Design last week, Gehry dismissed the controversy, saying his involvement has been misunderstood, and that the project is still in the information-gathering stage, not planning. “We haven’t even got to the design part yet,” he said. Referring to the community groups, he said, “Once we get there, they can design and build whatever they want.” Read it at Los Angeles Magazine.
Trevi Fountain Reopens
Above: Image via St. Bernard Travel Blog.
Rome's famed Trevi Fountain reopened on Tuesday after 17 months of restoration work prompted by partial collapse of the structure in 2012. The city had declined to restore the fountain, citing that it wasn't a priority for city funds during the financial crisis, so fashion house Fendi donated £1.56 million to restore the work. Read it at the Guardian.
More from this week:
- Remodelista Obsessions: Eastward Bound
- Trending on Gardenista: A Creative Landscape
- Gardenista Obsessions: The City on a Hill
- Trending on Remodelista: Holiday House
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