MINNEAPOLIS--If not for the Walker Art Center I would have scant reason to spend extra time in Minneapolis. Minneapolis is not lacking for charm or culture, but it certainly falls in that middle range of American cities, somewhere between New York and nondescript, which is to say that it is not a destination in and of itself, yet it offers reasons to extend a stay for those who find themselves so far north for other reasons.
Museums
WSJ Asks "Why Should Museums Be Stuck in Cities?"
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opens next Friday in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Holly Finn says "sophisticates" who gripe that the collection should be less remote and more accessible are elitist.
The Wall St. Journal
The "Urban-Vegetal World" of the Future
An exhibit in Paris presents elaborate, lush visions of "La Ville Fertile", or "The Fertile City."
Design Observer
The Urbanism of Making Do
Communities in the slums of India are well known for "making do". A new exhibit looks at how that spirit of innovation and adaptation plays out in these cities and how other cities can learn from them.
The Architect's Newspaper
Museum Steps in as Budget Cuts Threaten Watts Towers
As the city of Los Angeles's budget faces deep cuts, money to pay for the upkeep of the city's iconic Watts Towers folk art installation has dried up. But a museum is stepping in to try to keep the Towers alive.
The New York Times
The State of Development in Abu Dhabi and Doha
Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture critic for The New York Times, offers this lengthy look at the state of development and design in Abu Dhabi and Doha.
The New York Times
A Museum-Based Charrette on Riverfront Revitalization
A new museum exhibit in Vermont invites visitors to review various proposals for updating the riverfront in Brattleboro -- and allows them to submit their own ideas.
Change Observer
100 Acres of Art
100 Acres is the name (and size?) of a new park in Indianapolis that is a "hybrid of landscape, art, and architecture," according to Edward Blake, of Landscape Studio, the designers.
ASLA's The Dirt blog
Tiny Town Counting On Boom Courtesy of 007
Gensler has revealed the designs for The Museum of Bond Vehicles + Espionage, which will be located in Momence, Illinois. Momence, pop. 3000, is hoping the museum could jump start their economy and put them on the map.
Fast Company
All You Need is Louvre
A war-battered town in Frances will be the site of a new extension of the venerable Louvre museum, and locals hope the addition of the cultural site will revive the struggling city.
The Washington Post
Stepping Forward on Abu Dhabi's Art Island
Construction is underway on Saadiyat Island. The atoll off the coast of Abu Dhabi is seen by developers as a new artistic oasis in the middle east. But some question whether the plan will pay off.
Telegraph
Connecting the Museum With the Community
Museums are transitioning from niche cultural sites to community hubs, and expanding their engagement with their cities.
Christian Science Monitor
Bid to Build Museum in San Francisco's Historic Presidio Dropped
A controversial effort to develop a modern art museum in San Francisco's Presidio has come to an end.
San Francisco Chronicle
Anti-Transit Bias Revealed in Museum Exhibit
Conrad DeFebre of Minnesota 2020 went to an exhibit about transportation at the Minnesota History Center titled "Going Places: The Mystique of Mobility" and found an overt bias against transit.
Minnesota 2020
Drive-By Art
Art 'on the scale of architecture' is cropping up in Los Angeles, enticing passing drivers out of their cars and onto the street. Chris Burden's 'Urban Light' installation at LACMA is a notable example.
The New York Times
San Francisco Rail: A Living History
S.F. historian Carl Nolte examines S.F.'s vibrant streetcar history and today's modern light rail replacements.
San Francisco Chronicle
Museums and Historic Preservation
An Eero Saarinen house in Indiana has been acquired by the Indianapolis Museum of Arts in a cross effort to preserve and exhibit the famous work. Christopher Hawthonre wonders if this could be a model other cities and museums should follow.
Los Angeles Times
New Museum Restores Milwaukee Streets. Oh, and There's Motorcycles.
The new Harley-Davidson Museum recently opened it's doors to the public, and the architecture firm Pentagram designed both the enormous exhibit space and the outdoor public spaces that connect the museum to the grid.
The New York Times
Public Housing Museum Idea Moves Forward
A non-profit group in Chicago wants to open a museum dedicated to American public housing in the Former Public Housing Authority Building.
The Chicago Tribune
Toward An Architecture Of Place
Tue, 02/27/2007 - 14:32
At Project for Public Spaces, Inc. we think successful public spaces are the key to the future of cities. By “successful spaces” we mean spaces that are used, but what we find more often than not, in the centers of cities, are some very bad spaces – meaning that they are pretty much devoid of opportunities to do anything – even though they look good. We have also found that the least successful spaces and buildings are often the newest ones.
