FOG

[EDS]

MIT is suing FOG. From The Boston Globe: "The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has filed a negligence suit against world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, charging that flaws in his design of the $300 million Stata Center in Cambridge, one of the most celebrated works of architecture unveiled in years, caused leaks to spring, masonry to crack, mold to grow, and drainage to back up. The suit says that MIT paid Los Angeles-based Gehry Partners $15 million to design the Stata Center, which was hailed by critics as innovative and eye-catching with its unconventional walls and radical angles. But soon after its completion in spring 2004, the center's outdoor amphitheater began to crack due to drainage problems, the suit says. Snow and ice cascaded dangerously from window boxes and other projecting roof areas, blocking emergency exits and damaging other parts of the building, according to the suit. Mold grew on the center's brick exterior, the suit says, and there were persistent leaks throughout the building.

Guess he never designed for a cold climate.

EDS

[3D Peruna]

As much as I'd love to pile on (I'm not a FOG fan), I can feel for him. We've had a few experiences where we designed and detailed things right and the builder ignored what we asked them to do and the owner accepted the inferior/unspecified construction. They then call us when there are problems. The owner then blames us for letting the contractor do what they did (paperwork notwithstanding). It'll be interesting to see how this works out...

I will say, though, that it's clear he didn't think about snow & ice - and this is the architect's problem. Every time I design something for a cold climate I try and consider where the water, in whatever form it's in, will go. It's got to drain somewheres...

[Pierre Levesque]

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Ahhh... to have the knowledge of and use of crickets....

[Michael Bulatovich]

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This will be the first winter for our "crystal", which is more of a "crumple". Any wagers?

[JD]

A couple of fun editorials...

This group used to have a few Gehry fanatics. Where are you guys?

[Michael Bulatovich]

You must go way back. I can't recall any.

I wrote to the editor of the Toronto Globe and Mail, who's former editor in chief, William Thorsell, later commissioned Libeskind to design an addition to the Royal Ontario Museum, and asked the question, "Who is dumber? The architect who pulls his pants down and stumbles around in public for money, or the guy who pays him money to do it?" No one answered, but it points to the shared responsibility in architecture between the client and the architect.

Good architecture takes good clients and good architects. Star-struck, or otherwise uncritical, clients will likely get what they deserve. Sit back and enjoy the show.

[++]

I think there should be more one board open design competitions to raise the number of so=called design architects and to vary the short lists of pepople allowed to compete for projects. A new sense of the old American Public Works Program would help, too. What's the situation in Canada?

[Michael Bulatovich]

From my perspective, competitions are not for small (one man) practices for practical reasons, unless you married well. Public work is done by various levels of governments, and they vary in how receptive they are in giving work to small practices:

The Feds are not friendly at all. They wear belts and suspenders.

The Province, as I understand it, is pretty good about spreading around the work, though I've never bid on any myself. I've been meaning to give it a try, as one of my current clients use to be a big wig at the agency that doles out the work, and he could hold my hand though the process, but it's relatively uninteresting to me so I never do it.

The municipalities are highly political, and, blind competition or not, the staff know the work of their friends, and the staff pick the juries who also know the work of their friends...We're starting to get a bland sameness to public work that a colleague has dubbed, "Beaver Modern." This has led to a race to hire name brand foreigners selling 'sizzle' on purple stilts, or crumpled aluminum trainwrecks overhanging the public realm, where the commissions are by semi-private institutions.

For some, a more worrisome local trend has been the bundling of projects so that you have to be big to do a small thing, because they'll only give out small things out in clumps, or attached to big things. There are billions about to be spent here over the next few years so there is a feeding frenzy now going on with big firms eating other big firms to become bigger firms so they can handle all this work, and American firms are buying up mid-sized firms to get a foothold in the province. Pity the employees after it's all over....

I keep my nose out of it and work for private clients, mainly entrepreneurs. They are used to weighing options, making decisions, and judging people's abilities.

[++]

I rather like suspenders, when the are red or bright green or otherwise scream.

I rather like the patriotic aspect of federal or local work.

Have any examples you can steer us all to view? Hard to get a concept.

My most unfave was what I call the neobrutalists....

The bundling aspect is bad, especially since some large A/Es try to claim they can do it all when sometimes they would be better off , or the project would be better off, subcontracting certain parts of expertise.

Doesn't Canada have small business setasides? I actually wish the US had micro business setasides to keep small firms in actions, especially tiny minority and tiny women owned (or both or all). I really think that architectural vision is enhanced when there are lots of happy helping hands, so to speak.

That's solid

[Michael Bulatovich]

Not you too! Don, no problem. Ken, of course, but you?

I like the *civic* aspect. I mistrust patriotism.

Muted color pallete. A little zinc, some exposed varnished wood, even though it'll disintegrate. Add clear annodized aluminum, maybe some horizontal stone, a pinch of stucco. Gluelam with exposed metal connectors. Oh yeah...must be assymetrical. Very safe.

Links?

If I knew what that was I could answer. As I said, the province here does make an effort to see that some of the work is available to small firms through the ORC, which uses "Merx"

, or at least, it has in the past.

[++]

Particularly like 'em orange.

Patriotism need not be equated with nationalism. Civic pride is but one aspect of patriotism.

yeech...Yes, I've seen it. It kind of like a parks building only larger.

I should have called them by what they call themselves, deconstructivists. Now you know them, right?

hmmm. Problem here is that "small" definition in the US is huge, otherwise.

[EDS]

USA had a WAM (Women and Minority) program for small firms up to a few years ago (may still be running) The firm I was last at was minority (chinese) owned and got a lot of government jobs. I was the token WASP ;-) EDS

[Michael Bulatovich]

Oooh. The *cool* kids. We don't take many chances up here so they haven't done too well. We like our Beaver Modern.

[Michael Bulatovich]

Did you get to sit in the front or back row of the company picture?

[EDS]

The back. I was the tallest ;-)

[gruhn]

Wikipedia alone lists:

Completed

Vitra Design Museum, Vitra premises, Weil am Rhein, Germany (1989) Frederick Weisman Museum of Art, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (1993) [2] Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA (1987-1992) [3] Disney Village, Disneyland Resort Paris, Paris, France (1992) Center for the Visual Arts, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA (1993) [4] American Center, Paris, France (1994) [5] (currently Cin=E9math=E8que Fran=E7aise) Dancing House ("Fred and Ginger"), Prague, Czech Republic (1995) Photo

1, Photo 2, Photo 3 Der Neue Zollhof, D=FCsseldorf, Germany (1999) [7] Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (1999) [8] Cond=E9 Nast Cafeteria, fourth floor of the Cond=E9 Nast Publishing Headquarters at Four Times Square in New York City (2000) DG Bank building, Pariser Platz 3, Berlin, Germany (2000) Experience Music Project, Seattle, Washington, USA (2000)

Dancing House in PragueGehry Tower, Hanover, Germany (2001) Issey Miyake, Flagship Store, New York, New York, USA (2001) Peter B. Lewis Building, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA (2002) [9] [10] Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, USA (2003) [11] [12] Maggie's centre, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, Scotland (2003) [13] Ray and Maria Stata Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. (2004) [14] Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA (2004) [15] MARTa, Herford, Germany (2005) IAC/InterActiveCorp Headquarters New York City[12][13]

Dunno, do high profile offices like that only do work that shows up on Wikipedia lists or do they have hundreds of projects running?