A round-up of trending stories relevant to architectural organizations and AAO Member Spotlights. Plus, you make the news! Timely posts by and for AAO Members.
On September 18-19, a quarter of a million people spent their weekend experiencing architecture during Open House London. The festival, now in its 18th year, had the largest turnout yet and offered free public access to more than 750 buildings. Read the wrap-up from Open-City for highlights and insightful feedback.
Thanks to Anna Cassidy of Open-City for bringing us this report on Open House London 2010.
Today's event announcement comes to us from Courtney Spearman of TCLF.
Arlington, VA (July 6, 2010) PBS announced today that MAKE NO LITTLE PLANS: DANIEL BURNHAM AND THE AMERICAN CITY, a new one-hour documentary by The Archimedia Workshop will air on Labor Day, Monday September 6, 2010, 10PM EST on PBS. The program is written, directed and produced by Judith Paine McBrien. Noted media arts organization Kartemquin Films and scriptwriter Geoffrey Ward consulted on the project.
Our latest blog entry comes from Julie Kim, the Public Engagement Director at the San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association (SPUR).
Calling all non-profits interested in preservation: The National Trust's "This Place Matters Community Challenge" is an opportunity for organizations to call attention to a place (a building, site, neighborhood, etc.) in your area that matters. The organization that collects the most public votes is awarded $25,000!
The AIA Collaborative Achievement Award is presented to organizations that advance the field of architecture. The 2010 honors went to the Alaska Design Forum (ADF). The jury was impressed with ADF’s caliber of speakers and the scale of impact. AAO asked representatives from AIA's awards jury and from the recipient organization to share some additional thoughts.
Vanity Fair surveyed 52 architects, educators, and critics asking "What are the five most important buildings, bridges, or monuments constructed since 1980?" and "What is the greatest work of architecture thus far in the 20th century?" The results, in the August issue and online, overwhelmingly pointed to Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
AAO learned about another conference on obesity and planning through our sister association in the UK, the Architecture Centre Network.
In May, AAO memeber AIANY/Center for Architecture hosted the fifth annual Fit City conference, which brought together city agencies and designers to discuss how architecture and urban planning can encourage healthier lifestyles. As a result of these discussions, the City of New York published the Active Design Guidelines, which offer concrete strategies for designing in a way that promotes activity.
Does your city host a Canstruction competition? Canstruction is a great way to involve the public in design and give back to the community. Teams of designers design and build a large model entirely out of cans of food, which are donated to the local food bank after the competition. So far, 10 million pounds of food has been donated. Seattle’s competition is on view now, so check it out if you’re in the area.