Plastic Fantastic: Designed by SelgasCano, the 2015 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion (pictured above) opened today in London. The wire-framed structure is wrapped in a rainbow-colored skin of ETFE plastic. The Spanish architects’ sculptural form is the 15th created since the pavilion program began and is open until the 18th of October this year.
Bridge Over Troubled Waters: It seems that Thomas Heatherwick’s Garden Bridge project simply cannot break free from controversy — asArchdaily reports, there is now an investigation into the procurement process leading to the architect’s selection for the job, following revelations of the bridge’s hefty price tag.
L: Alison Smithson, via BDOnline; R: Le Corbusier at Eileen Gray’s Villa E1027, via the Guardian.
Brit Brut’ Birthday: It’s Alison Smithson’s birthday; the English architect, well known for bringing brutalism to Britain with her husband Peter, would have turned 87 today. Meanwhile, debate over the architects’ controversial Robin Hood Gardens estate continues — Richard Rogers says he would “absolutely” live in a flat there and has now been challenged by struggling residents to do just that …
Modernism Laid Bare: Eileen Gray’s icon of contemporary design in Cote d’Azur, Villa E1027, will open to the general public for the first time this week. Admired for its modernist elegance and relationship to many murals by a certain Le Corbusier (who painted them stark naked), the private house will be viewable by appointment only after undergoing many years of painstaking restoration.
London Tube rendering via Quartz.
A Series of Tubes: Transport for London has released the official 3D drawings of London Underground stations, and they’re really quite beautiful. (A helpful Londoner has reportedly cleaned them up a bit.) Quartz also reports that TfL is rolling out all-night train service on select lines come September, welcome news for anyone looking for a quick, easy way to get home later than midnight.
Helsinki or High Water: On the eve of the announcement of the winner of the Guggenheim Helsinki, Taller de Casqueria has updated their video infographic of the data behind the blockbuster design competition.
