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UNStudio fashions a speaker-like building for a major K-Pop agency’s headquarters.
“Amsterdam-based UNStudio has used sweeping geometric lines and metal surfaces to bring a sense of performance to the Seoul headquarters of South Korean music agency YG Entertainment. Abutting an existing office building used by the agency, the seven-storey headquarters contains offices, meeting rooms and recording studios. Designed to resemble a speaker, the building contrasts the exposed concrete of the neighboring building with a central glazed section flanked by “shell-like” metal panel cladding.” —[H/T Dezeen]
Derrick Adams will start a database that documents Baltimore’s thriving Black culture.
“This week, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation announced that it will award $1.25 million to the Black Baltimore Digital Database, a new archive cataloging important cultural contributions by Black Baltimoreans. Conceived by Baltimore-born, Brooklyn-based artist Derrick Adams as a “collaborative counter–institutional space,” the database will catalog locals’ achievements in areas as varied as arts, entrepreneurship, literature, music, science, and sports, according to the announcement. The database will be developed over the next three years, with the Mellon Foundation supporting two years of organizational capacity.” —[H/T Artnet News]
Sou Fujimoto Architects unveils visuals for a nature-driven community center in Japan.
“Sou Fujimoto Architects has unveiled its design for the Hida Furukawa Station Eastern Development, a regional community-based center that aims to enrich the life, leisure, and culture of the residents of Hida City, in Gifu Prefecture. The Center will include a university research base, student accommodation, an all-weather playing field, and commercial facilities, all interconnected to form one harmonious community.” —[H/T ArchDaily]
A Spanish muralist may be fined for his unauthorized revamp of an historic chapel.
“For more than six centuries, the austere interior of the chapel of Sant Cristòfol has greeted weary hikers as they make their way through the mountains near Spain’s Costa Blanca. That was, at least, until “intense” inspiration struck Jesús Cees, who decided to transform the white walls of the remote chapel with a riot of vivid murals that the artist describes as some of his best work. Not everyone has been as impressed: regional officials are weighing up whether to fine him for painting over a protected heritage site without permission, while Spanish media swiftly likened the chapel’s makeover to the botched “Monkey Christ” restoration.” —[H/T The Guardian]
The Guggenheim Foundation announces the 180 recipients of its 2022 fellowships.
“The Guggenheim Foundation on April 7 revealed the 180 recipients of its 2022 fellowships. Those awarded the coveted honor include painters, filmmakers, photographers, writers, academics, scientists, engineers, historians, and mathematicians. A total of fifty-one fields of interest are represented this year, with recipients spread across thirty-one states, the District of Columbia, and four Canadian provinces. Of note, a number of fellows are involved with projects directly responding to issues including climate change, pandemics, Russia, feminism, identity, and racism. A full list of recipients is available on the foundation’s website.” —[H/T Artforum]
According to the UN, nearly everyone in the world is breathing substandard-quality air.
“The UN health agency says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesn’t meet its standards for air quality, calling for more action to reduce fossil-fuel use, which generates pollutants that cause respiratory and blood-flow problems and lead to millions of preventable deaths each year. The World Health Organization, about six months after tightening its guidelines on air quality, on Monday issued an update to its database on air quality that draws on information from a growing number of cities, towns and villages across the globe — now over 6,000 municipalities.” —[H/T The Huffington Post]
Today’s attractive distractions:
Two notebooks by Charles Darwin that were reported stolen have been returned.
Spain is investigating someone’s taxidermy collection of more than 1,000 animals.
Heron Preston is sick and tired of the near-constant deluge of brand collaborations.
AnonyMouse unveils a mini-museum and arcade in the gutters of Malmö’s streets.
