The Angry Architect’s Review of the Year, Part 4

Check out Parts 1, 2 and 3 if you haven’t already!

As autumn turned to winter, things got frosty in a media conference in Spain…

Gehry’s retort. Via The Guardian

OCTOBER

Frank Gehry cranked up the controversy — and his middle finger — when asked for his response to accusations that he produces “showy architecture.” The reporter involved listened on, open-mouthed, to Gehry’s assertion that “98% of everything built today is pure shit.” While many agreed with this sentiment, most felt the way in which it was communicated was a little on the brutal side. Regardless, the Internet rejoiced: His finger became an instant meme.

All told, it was a busy month for Frank — his flamboyant Fondation Louis Vuitton opened in Paris, and the redesigned Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington D.C. was finally approved by the Commission of Fine Arts.

The Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, UK. Via Dezeen

Meanwhile, the UK’s premier architectural award was scooped by Haworth Tompkins, who won the Sterling Prize with their beautifully considered renovation of the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool.

While the London-based firm were clear and deserved winners, there was no such clarity in the competition to design the Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki – no fewer than 1715 anonymous submissions were received, giving the jurors a real headache. More on this later…

The Fun Stuff: We ogled at the most outrageous architectural promo videos, and were thoroughly seduced by the 10 sexiest models of all time— Mies included, of course.

The Museum of Narrative Art, Chicago. Via Archdaily

NOVEMBER

As the nights grew longer still, MAD Architects flirted with the Dark Side: their proposal for George Lucas’s Museum of Narrative Art in Chicago was unveiled to mixed reviews from Star Wars fans and architecture critics alike. The Force will awaken next year apparently, but Ma Yansong’s red carpet reception may have to wait a little longer…

Sweeping gestures were all the rage this autumn, with the unveiling of BIG’s peeled-up plan for Smithsonian’s South Mall Campus and Herzog and de Meuron’s swooping design for the National Library of Israel.

One World Trade Center. Via Time

In the Big Apple, One World Trade Center finally opened, bringing to a close one of the most emotionally charged — not to mention bureaucratic — construction projects in the history of architecture. While this skyscraper stands as a towering ode to paranoia and compromise, at least it was completed in the end. The same could not be said of Calatrava’s epic Chicago Spire: the project was finally cancelled, leaving the Windy City with nothing to show for it but a huge hole in the ground.

The Fun Stuff: Someone created the revealing quiz ‘Which Starchitect Are You?’, forcing some of us to face a harsh truth — that we may, in fact, have more in common with Daniel Libeskind or Zaha Hadid than we’d like to admit.

Thomas Heatherwick’s Garden Bridge, London, UK. Via Heatherwick Studio

DECEMBER

As winter closed in, the jurors of Helsinki’s Guggenheim competition emerged from their huddle to announce the six finalists for the major art museum commission. The task of choosing a winner will be a more leisurely affair: we won’t find out the victor until June 2015.

Back in London, Thomas Heatherwick’s beautiful but contentious garden bridge proposal won approval from Westminster City Council, and work should begin on the Mayor’s pet project next year. More green schemes were afoot across the Atlantic, as James Corner Field Operations was entrusted with creating San Francisco’s very own ‘High Line’.

James Corner’s Presidio Parklands, San Francisco. Via Dezeen

Finally, architects and product designers around the world scrambled to submit their entries for the 3rd annual A+ Awards — the definite global award program with 90+ categories and over 300 judges. The winners will be announced in the spring, so roll on 2015!

The Fun Stuff: We got into the festive spirit with these 3D printed Christmas decorations, and — for the less organized amongst you — check out this last-minute holiday gift guide full of achingly cool products. You’re welcome.

That’s all for now, but one thing is for sure: there is plenty of architectural anarchy to look forward to in 2015… see you there!

Yours annually,

The Angry Architect