OZ | July 29th, 2007 | Architecture and Events | 
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The Royal Institute of British Architects announced on Thursday the shortlist for this year’s Stirling Prize.
“The RIBA Stirling Prize in association with The Architects’ Journal is the UK’s most prestigious architectural prize and is awarded annually to the architects of the building which has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year. Winners must be RIBA members and the building may be anywhere in the European Union. The prize is named after the architect Sir James Stirling (1926 - 1992). The winner will receive £20,000.”
RIBA in London will host an exhibition featuring the shortlisted selections from September 14 through November 24. Citations for each nomination follow.
Continue reading ‘Stirling Prize Shortlist’
OZ | July 29th, 2007 | Books and Events | | Bookmark
Art book publisher, TASCHEN has staked claim to another Los Angeles landmark, the clock tower at the historic Farmers Market. As of this past Monday, it’s home to a second Los Angeles TASCHEN bookstore. “Philippe Starck has designed the space - as he has done with all TASCHEN Stores in New York, Paris, and Beverly Hills.”
Continue reading ‘New TASCHEN Store’
The avant-garde exhibition, Frank Stella: Painting into Architecture, commented on last week by TIME Art & Architecture Critic Richard Lacayo, ends this Sunday at New York’s Metropolitan Museum.
Meanwhile in Milan, The Triennale is featuring Le città visibili (Invisible Cities), an exhibition of Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Pritzker winner Renzo Piano & company designed the recently completed New York Times building in Manhattan and the magnificent Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center. Over halfway into its schedule, you still have till September 16th to visit.
Continue reading ‘Last Call for NY, Milan Exhibitions’
OZ | July 25th, 2007 | Architecture | | Bookmark
In September 2010, Mexico will celebrate 200 years since the beginning of its War of Independence against Spain. To commemorate this occasion, real estate developer Group DANHOS and Architects Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, announced plans to build a 984 foot (300m) skyscraper overlooking Mexico City’s historic Chapultepec Park. Slated for completion by the aforementioned date, this will be the tallest building in Latin America.
Its bold form has already received numerous derisive comments on forums. My reaction is one of ambivalence, perhaps tempered by its apparent historical inspiration. The dual pyramid design abstractly evokes the Templo Mayor, the great pyramid in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan that is today Mexico City. Even the voids that cut through the Torre Bicentenario (Bicentennial Tower) represent passages, their orientation carefully aligned as in its historical forebearer.
Continue reading ‘World’s Tallest Pyramidal Skyscraper’
OZ | July 21st, 2007 | Events and Products | | Bookmark
The Industrial Designers Society of America’s, 2007 International Design Excellence Awards were just announced. The jury selected 81 winners in 14 categories ranging from furniture and ecodesign to packaging and transportation.
The sponsor Business Week has published an interactive slideshow with information on each winner.
Continue reading ‘2007 IDEA Winners Revealed’
OZ | July 21st, 2007 | Events and TV | | Bookmark
On Thursday morning, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced their nominations for the 2007 Primetime & Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
I’ve never given much credence to the Primetime Emmy Awards. Its selection process is inherently flawed. One cannot judge a 10 to 24 episode series based on a single episode. This is further compounded by bias shown toward certain individuals, popular programs and an aversion to science fiction. These problems reached a breaking point last year when Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn received an Emmy nomination for a mere 14 second appearance in “Mrs. Harris”.
Continue reading ‘Creative Arts Emmy Nominations’
OZ | July 18th, 2007 | Architecture | | Bookmark
Commissioned by developer STT Group, Foster + Partners is leading the push to define the urban Russian landscape of the 21st Century.
Continue reading ‘Foster + Partners in Russia’
OZ | July 17th, 2007 | Advertising, Film and TV | | Bookmark
The last five years have seen a steady increase in well designed animated transformations, culminating of late in the blockbuster movie Transformers and even ranging to individual efforts, notably Ssasumind’s Maxwell rendered cell phone to mech transformation.
Continue reading ‘Transformations’
OZ | July 13th, 2007 | Aircraft | | Bookmark
On Sunday Boeing premiered its newest commercial jet in thirteen years, the 787 Dreamliner. It’s “the world’s first mostly composite commercial airplane, will use 20 percent less fuel per passenger than similarly sized airplanes, produce fewer carbon emissions, and will have quieter takeoffs and landings.” Yet what really stands out is the interior design, a collaboration between Boeing and veteran design firm Teague.
Continue reading ‘787 Dreamliner Interior’
OZ | July 11th, 2007 | Automotive | | Bookmark
Nagare, Japanese for flow. This is the design philosophy behind Mazda’s recent concept cars. Last year’s Nagare followed by Ryuga and Hakaze that debuted respectively at the 2007 Detroit North American International Auto Show and Geneva Motor Show.
None of this is breaking news, though arguably the significance in establishing an automotive surface form language hasn’t been sufficiently recognized. The pursuit of embedding motion in a car’s form now extends to its skin utilizing etched lines that even redefine the car grille, interior and lights. The light streaks are reminiscent of capturing an automobile via slow shutter speed photography. It’s frozen motion that isn’t superfluous.
Continue reading ‘Mazda’s Revolutionary Design’
