It’s Pronounced “NYC by Design”: NYCxDesign kicked off this morning — in Brooklyn, no less — and will run for the next 11 days, through Tuesday, May 19. The citywide design festival includes tentpole events such as ICFF, Wanted Design, Collective Design, Sight Unseen OFFSITE, and BKLYN Designs, as well as Frieze Art Fair and more satellite events than ever before. For the full event listings, check out the official guide from Metropolis and Core77 — though we can already guarantee that the A+Awards Gala will be the highlight.
L: Googleplex by BIG and Heatherwick Studio; R: WTC PATH Terminal by Santiago Calatrava, via NYT.
LinkedIn, Google Out: Just a few days ago, Google unveiled plans to use robots in the construction of their futuristic new campus in Mountain View, Calif. — but now the entire project appears in peril thanks to a council decision dictating that LinkedIn will get the majority of the two-million-square-foot site.
Pitch Perfect in Poland: The Szczecin Philharmonic Hall by Arquitectura-G has scooped the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award, arguably the top prize for architecture in Europe. The gleaming white, cathedral-like venue was hailed by the jury as a “contemporary monument” chosen for its “convincing form and spatial strategy”.
Oculus Opening: Santiago Calatrava’s pearlescent PATH transportation hub, the subject of heated debate over the past two years, will open to the strap-hanging public next month. But is it a graceful, white-winged bird taking flight or a “turkey skeleton after it’s been stripped clean at Thanksgiving?” You decide.
Starchitects for Sale: The Van Alen Institute is holding a very architectural auction to raise money for its new programs, offering bidders the chance to take a ride over London in Norman Foster’s private helicopter, “smoke up” with Bjarke Ingels (it’s not what it sounds like), or even take a dip in Charles Renfro’s hot tub (it’s exactly what it sounds like).
L: Protests at Milan Expo 2015 © EPA/Matteo Bazzi; R: ‘The Key in Hand’ installation by Chiharu Shoita, Venice Art Biennale 2015, via Designboom.
Places
Art Attack: While riots marred the opening of Milan Expo 2015, another Italian cultural extravaganza will surely kick off in a more serene manner: the Venice Art Biennale on May 9th. Curated by Okwui Enwezor and entitled “All the World’s Futures,” the exhibition will explore the “current disquiet of our time” through “historical and counter-historical projects.”
Danish Delights: Copenhagen and Aarhus will play host to a major international architecture week for the first time: RISING Architecture Week will explore the theme of ‘Growing Cities’ through interactive events across each city and is set to launch on September 14th this year.
L: David Adjaye via NY Mag; R: Henry N. Cobb via Warszawa Gazeta.
People
U.S. Pres to Elect Brit?: Word has it that David Adjaye could become the first non-American to design a presidential library as the rumor mill starts anew with the decision to build Obama’s museum and archive in Chicago. The architect became friends with the president at the groundbreaking ceremony for the soon-to-be-completed National Museum of African-American History and Culture just down the road from the White House.
Decorated Modernism: The Architectural League has awarded the President’s Medal to Henry N. Cobb, founding partner with I. M. Pei of Pei Cobb Freed and Partners. Cobb is known for some striking examples of modernist architecture including the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York (where ICFF will take place next week), the John Hancock Tower in Boston, the Palazzo Lombardia in Milan, and, more recently, the Kristal Kule in Istanbul.
L: Cole Smith’s water-saving faucet, via Fast Company; R: Phlo Clutch, via Cool Hunting.
Products
Water Way to Go: Cole Smith, a student at Virginia Tech, has designed a “tap with brains.” The recycled copper faucet features a reserve chamber that takes 20 seconds to refill — the expert-recommended timeframe for users to lather up with soap before rinsing.
Go with the Phlo: Chinese fashion designer Vega Zaishi Wang has produced what must be the most architecturally alluring clutch ever. She teamed up with Christian Melz to create Phlo, a purse made from timber veneer with a futuristic form that would surely be the perfect accessory for a certain Zaha Hadid (who has just launched a new product collection of her own).
Non Sequitur
Slippery Slope: Word on the street is that you may soon be able to slip’n-slide down said street: Utah’s “Slide the City” offers a 1,000-foot-long, urban version of the summer pastime long a fixture of gently sloping backyards; cities, not so much. Curbed reports that they’re “currently working … to finalize the details” for bringing it to NYC.
Sky High Dubai: One of the most viral videos of the week came from Dubai, where some BASE jump aficionados took a leap from the Princess Tower, the world’s tallest residential-only building. Prepare for some seriously sweaty palms watching this one…
Top Image: Superkilen Park in Copenhagen, set to host RISING Architecture Week. Via Realdania.