From Ancient Past to Critical Present to Near Future: Today’s Must-Reads

The Monuments Men: Aaron Betsky takes on the preservation of ancient architecture, arguing against the seed-bank instinct to hoard these site- and culture-specific relics (in part or whole) despite the threat of destruction. Meanwhile, Alan Brake reflects on New York’s Landmarks Law on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

But Who Criticizes the Critics?: Patrik Schumacher, outspoken director of ZHA, has posted a tirade against architecture critics: “Iconic architecture and the star-system are both creatures of the architectural critic … ” (For you TL;DR types, ArchDaily and Dezeen have unpacked it a bit.)

Speaking of — or Rather to — Hadid: The latest interview isn’t as outright quotable as her last, but she shares at least a few insights on the occasion of her latest project with United Nude, Rem’s nephew’s shoe company. “Our collaborations with other creative industries provide us with an opportunity to express our ideas through different scales and in many diverse media.”

L: Photo via Full Grown; R: “Current Table” via Marjan van Aubel

If Furniture Grew on Trees: For the past four years, British designer Gavin Munro has been trying his hand — specifically, his green thumb — at growing chairs, tables, and lamps, and his efforts have finally come to fruition. Insofar as Mother-Nature-as-manufacturer marks the logical conclusion of biomimicry, the results look something like Nakashiman live-edge cross-bred with topiary à la Thonet — and, considering that each piece takes several years to Fully Grow into the custom molds that Munro has developed, the horticultural home furnishings may well command similar prices.

Currently Trending: Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel has adapted her semitransparent solar-panel table into a proper fenestration with a similar chevron pattern. Thanks to technology that has been likened to chlorophyll, the “Current Window” harvests solar energy while letting sunlight pass through its elegant, insect-wing-like stained-glass panes. (H/T Curbed)

IN BRIEF

Floor War Ignored: Situated in Zona Tortona — where crowds will descend upon Fuorisalone festivities this week — Milan’s Museo delle Culture (MUDEC) is on track for its April 26 opening, despite the previously noted controversy. As of last week, architect David Chipperfield had disowned the project due to unsatisfactory floor tiles; ArchDaily has more.

Can’t-Miss Appointments: Farshid Moussavi has been elected into the ranks of the Royal Academy of Arts, one of 15 architects (and 80 Academicians total). And ICYMI, SCAPE‘s Kate Orff, of Oyster-tecture fame, will head up GSAPP come June; today also sees the appointment of Pradeep Sharma as Provost of RISD (where he has been interim provost since January 2014).

L: Photo by Jelson25/Wikimedia, via Core77; R: Photo by Matthieu Gafsou for TIME

A Bridge Too Far: OMA’s proposal for London’s Nine Elms to Pimlico bridge might have been a ruse, but it seems that a plucky young congressman is serious about a proposal to build a bridge made of repurposed aircraft carriers to span Seattle’s Puget Sound. Of course, some have their doubts about the project.

“The Volume of Nearly Nine Empire State Buildings”: That’s the amount of rock (13 million cubic meters) that the Swiss have excavated in order to build what will be the world’s longest tunnel, some 5,900 feet beneath the formidable “Gotthard Massif” (hold the puns). Scheduled to open next June, some 24 years since construction started, the $10-billion rail tunnel has its proverbial work cut out for it in terms of digging out of the EU’s economic quagmire.