“Much of Rafael Moneo’s €152m (£100m) extension is underground; the classical, red-brick pavilion that announces the presence of the extension is the tip of the architectural iceberg. It’s a substantial construction, made of concrete, granite, marble, oak, cedar, steel and bronze – with glass only where it really matters.”
Tag: 04.30.07
Paris To Get Its Tallest Building Since Eiffel
California architect Thom Mayne is “planning a glass office tower for Paris — the tallest structure to rise there since the Eiffel Tower in 1889. Mayne’s 68-story landmark will loom over an area called La Defense — a big, bleak, faceless business complex on the outskirts of town. The Phare Tower is scheduled to oepn in 2012.
Hamburg Opera Re-Ups Music Director’s Tenure
Australian conductor Simone Young has extended her contract with the Hamburg State Opera for five years, meaning she will remain music director and general manager at until 2015. “The endorsement is more gratifying for the conductor given her sacking from Opera Australia in 2002 after it was decided the company had insufficient funds to realise her artistic vision.”
The Museum, The Museum Expansion, And The Bank
The major new expansion to the Seattle Art Museum is the result of a real estate deal with Washington Mutual Bank. “If SAM would sell a big chunk of its downtown block to WaMu, the bank would manage the development, become a paying tenant in part of the added space SAM would get, and provide construction loans for the $375 million project.”
Carol Shields’ Maze
The late writer was a fan of mazes. Now a maze is being constructed in her honor in Winnipeg. “A big chunk of the $130,000 cost is coming from friends, family and Shields’s publisher, Random House of Canada. The labyrinth’s 2,000 square metres, with stone pathways, a reading area and a healing garden, will be the largest maze in Canada.”
British Columbia – Censorship Capital Of Canada?
A researcher delves into the censorship archives in Canada’s westernmost province. “Based on his archive research, Mr. Fox says it appears B.C.’s chief censors enthusiastically flexed their muscles and the censoring of films and newsreels was done with a machete rather than a scalpel.”
Tribal Leaders Protest Canadian Exhibit
The Royal British Columbia Museum opened an exhibition of native Canadian artifacts this weekend. But tribal leaders who showed up to speak at the opening were not impressed. “These treasures were intended to be passed from generation to generation. The way they were taken was one of the biggest mistakes that was ever made, and has been repaid.”
BBC To Offer Full “On-Demand” Programs
“The BBC said the new iPlayer system would allow viewers to catch up with programs from the previous seven days and store them on a computer for 30 days, while cable viewers will be able to use this service on their televisions.”
Alice Tully Hall Rebuild Begins
The Lincoln Center theatre is the first major piece of a restoration of the center. The Alice Tully makeover is “perhaps the largest piece of a project that many doubted would ever come to pass, partly because of the steep price. Yet today Lincoln Center officials are to announce that they have raised $482 million of its estimated $702 million share of the overall project.”