The Yale Center for British Art, designed by architect Louis Kahn, has reopened following a refurbishment that “sets a new standard for the stewardship of modern architecture” according to Robert AM Stern (+ slideshow). (more…)
In terms of memorialization, being selected to represent your country as the face of a banknote is one of the highest honors you can achieve. Even if electronic transfer seems to be the way of the future, cash remains the reliable standard for exchange of goods and services, so being pasted to the front of a bill guarantees people will see your face on a near-daily basis, ensuring your legacy carries on.
In some countries, the names of the faces even become slang terms for the bills themselves. While “counting Le Corbusiers” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, a select few architects have still been lucky enough to have been featured on such banknotes in recent history. Read on to find out who the 15 architects immortalized in currency are and what they’re worth.
Le Corbusier (Switzerland)
An architect that needs no introduction, Le Corbusier was a preeminent pioneer of the Modernist movement. Works in his home country of Switzerland include the Heidi Weber Museum, also known as Centre Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier’s portrait is featured on the 10 Swiss Francs banknote, pictured with his distinctive spectacles.
Alexander Tamanian (Armenia)
A neoclassical architect prominent in the early 20th century, Tamanian is known for his Armenian Opera Theater and work throughout the capital city of Yerevan. He is featured on the 500 Dram banknote.
Mimar Kemaleddin Bey (Turkey)
Kemaleddin was Turkey’s leading architect in the late Ottoman period, blending traditional Ottoman styles with European sensibility. The reverse side of the current 20-lira banknote depicts Kemaleddin together with one of his major works, Gazi University in Ankara.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Scotland)
A leader of the Art Nouveau movement in the UK, Mackintosh was known for buildings such as the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art. He can been seen on the £100 denomination, in circulation since 2009.
Mimar Sinan (Turkey)
The chief architect for the Ottoman Empire under the rule of sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III in the 16th century, Sinan designed many of Turkey’s notable mosques and baths. Sinan’s portrait was depicted on the backside of the Turkish 10,000 lira banknotes from 1982 to 1995.
Otto Wagner (Austria)
Wagner was an Austrian Secessionist architect whose important works include the Austrian Postal Savings Bank in Vienna. The 500 Shilling note featuring his likeness was printed from 1986 to 1997.
Victor Horta (Belgium)
Seen on the Belgian 2000 Franc note from 1994 to 2001, architect Victor Horta is most famed for his biomorphic details at Hotel Tassel, which he completed in 1894 and is often recognized as the first instance of Art Nouveau in architecture.
Alvar Aalto (Finland)
Perhaps the most influential Nordic architect, important works by Modernist Alvar Aalto include the Viipuri Library and Säynätsalo Town Hall. His face graced the Finnish 50 mark note from 1986-2002.
Gustave Eiffel (France)
Most widely known for the tower that bears his name, Eiffel was an acclaimed architect and engineer, designing many bridges and buildings in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was featured on the 200 Franc note from 1996 to 2002.
Balthasar Neumann (Germany)
18th Century Baroque architect Neumann was featured on the German 50 mark note from 1991-2002 alongside one of his greatest achievements, the impressively lavish Würzburg Residence.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italy)
Arguably the greatest of all the Baroque artists, Bernini’s sculptures and buildings can still be seen today throughout Italy, notably in his colonnade design for St. Peter’s Square. Bernini adorned the 50,000 lira note from 1985–2002.
Francesco Borromini (Switzerland)
Rival to Bernini, Borromini designed some of Rome’s most dramatic churches, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza. He was featured on the Swiss 100 franc note from 1976–2000, though not without some controversy, as his hometown of Ticino, while now Swiss territory, was considered part of Italy during Borromini’s lifetime.
Jože Plečnik (Slovenia)
From 1992 to 2007 Secessionist architect Plečnik’s portrait could be seen on the 500 tolar note, recognizing his contributions to the architecture of Ljubljana, including the iconic Triple Bridge.
Christopher Wren (UK)
One of the most acclaimed English architects in history, Wren is remembered most fondly for his design of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Wren could be seen on the 50 pound note from 1981 to 1996.
Thomas Jefferson (USA)
Though he is obviously more fondly remembered as a founding father of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson was also a noted architect, employing neo-palladian ideals in designing the campus of the University of Virginia and in his homestead, Monticello. Jefferson can be found today on the front of the rarely-used 2 dollar bill.
Along with the Radical Park, the Youth Arena will be one of the greatest 2016 RIO Legacies. Both integrate Deodoro Olympic Park, a project by the Brazilian architecture office Vigliecca & Associados. During the games, it will stage the Women’s Basketball competitions, Modern Pentathlon Fencing and Wheelchair Fencing. Once a legacy, it will be used as an education and training center for athletes.
One of the most challenging aspects of the project was to design a single space able to house the Pentathlon Fencing games area in which simultaneous matches take place and the Basketball court that requires only a fourth of this space. The games for both sports will take place six days apart – the first one is Basketball. So in order to adapt its layout to both sports and also make it useful once in legacy mode, temporary installations were created within the permanent installation.
The project uses a sports hangar as its concept, being coherently elegant with the Olympic scale and presenting a great span of 66.5 meters, able to house several sport modalities. The building was designed to operate with only natural ventilation and illumination once in legacy mode. The adjustable shading devices and screens on the facade and exhaust openings on the roof as well as large shaded areas on the facade all contribute to a lowered maintenance cost. The artificial lighting and air conditioning are demanded by the Olympic Committee but will only be used during the Olympic Games.
During the basketball competitions, the stands will be placed on all sides of the court with a seating capacity for 5.000 people. The concept of creating a bowl in which the public surrounds the players is used in sports arenas to create the atmosphere of a spectacle.
In the competition of Modern Pentathlon Fencing, which requires a larger area for its games compared to basketball, the stands will be reduced to 4.000 seats and will only occupy the sides of the court. Once a legacy, the Youth Arena will have eight sports courts and 2.000 seats only on one side.
Most part of the structure was done in steel since it was the most appropriate material to create large spans and also for being faster to build. To reduce costs, we tried to work with the smallest possible spans while attending all Olympic requirements. These spans are made possible by 7 triangular trusses of 4.30 m high all connected to a steel-structured trussed facade.
Once in legacy mode, the Youth Arena will work as an athlete training and improvement center will greatly contribute to an ongoing work that has already been taking place in Deodoro.
Heathrow Airport is offering a first glimpse at commissioned expansion proposals by Zaha Hadid Architects, Grimshaw, HOK, and Benoy, that will shape the future of the global hub in London. The project brief called for “bold ideas to create a world-class sustainable airport that [will] deliver innovations in passenger service, integrate local communities, and showcase the best of British design.” Challenging the architects to push the boundaries of what is the current airport typology, the proposals are meant to drive a step change in global airport design.
According to Heathrow’s Head of Design, Barry Weekes, “The visionary concepts are just the start of a dialogue which will fundamentally redefine what an airport is, how it looks and feels, how it interacts with its environment and an increasingly demanding generation of new passengers, and importantly enhancing how it connects with the communities around it. Our ambition for expansion is to transform Heathrow…[into a] global gateway at the forefront of sustainable development and innovative design.”
The proposals will be refined further before a final concept designer is selected in July.
Swathes of ribbed concrete and glass form curvaceous walls and a spiralling walkway for this art faculty at a Tenerife university, designed by local studio GPY Arquitectos (+ slideshow). (more…)
Future Makers: German athlete Denise Schindler is working with Autodesk to become the first cyclist to compete with a fully 3D-printed prosthetic leg at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (+ movie). (more…)
Competition: Dezeen has teamed up with publisher Thames & Hudson to give five readers a copy of a new book that explores architecture and design projects by artist Olafur Eliasson (+ slideshow). (more…)
UK design graduate Sam Wrigley has launched a collection of designs that aim to make flat-pack furniture even more adaptable and easy to move (+ slideshow). (more…)
Singapore-based WOHA’s “Fragments of an Urban Future” will be on display at the 2016 Venice Biennale, addressing some of the critical issues that megacities face today — “unprecedented urbanization, accelerating climate change and the need for preservation of tropical biodiversity.” Part of the Global Art Affairs Foundation’s collateral exhibition, “TIME SPACE EXISTENCE,” WOHA’s contribution will be housed in the Palazzo Bembo.
The multimedia exhibition features three of WOHA’s most innovative projects, all of which use vertical eco-systems to take advantage of the challenges facing tropical cities. Sited in Singapore – an exemplar of the hyper-dense, Asian tropical city – these buildings feature “porous façades, airy pathways, and communal gardens” hinting at an “utopian urban future” that is already taking shape.
Among these projects are PARKROYAL on Pickering, SkyVille @ Dawson, and the Oasia Downtown Hotel. Each features a unique, topographical architecture that blurs architecture and landscape. Ranging from hotels to social housing, each project’s use of living systems creates a more vibrant and sustainable life for both the occupants and the city.
The architects will also present a publication featuring their work: “Garden City Mega City” alongside Patrick Bingham-Hall, the author and publisher of the book. The book features photographs, diagrams and infographics to present WOHA’s case for re-imagining the 21st century city.
The opening reception for the exhibit and release of the book will take place at the Palazzo Bembo on May 27th at 4pm.
