OMA Finishes the Taipei Performing Arts Center, and Other News

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OMA’s Taipei Performing Arts Center prepares to open in Taiwan later this summer. 

“The long-awaited Taipei Performing Arts Center in Taiwan has been completed by Rem Koolhaas-led studio OMA ahead of the official opening on 7 August 2022. Commissioned by the Taipei City Government in 2009, the 59,000-square-meter cultural landmark has a distinctive form with three auditoriums protruding from a central cuboid volume. Pritzker Architecture Prize-winner Koolhaas, who led the design alongside OMA managing partner David Gianotten, wanted the building to stand out from “standardized” contemporary theaters being built in major cities around the world.” —[H/T Dezeen]

California is deciding whether to build a desalination plant as the drought intensifies. 

“California officials are poised to decide the fate of a controversial desalination plant planned along its southern coast, in a vote that comes as the American west battles an increasingly perilous drought. California water use leapt 19% in March, amid one of the driest months on record. After more than a decade of debate, the California coastal commission on Thursday will finally vote on a proposal for a $1.4bn desalination plant in Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles. Desalination plants, which convert seawater into potable water, have long been considered a possible solution, as residents, developers and policymakers look to capture the water crashing against the California shores.” —[H/T The Guardian]

Consulting firm Arup will receive this year’s National Building Museum Honor Award. 

“Industry-leading consulting firm Arup will be presented with a National Building Museum Honor Award as part of the institution’s returned annual awards gala on June 16th. The 76-year-old consultancy, which has eleven offices across the country, is being honored for its ‘seven decades of collaboration and creativity dedicated to shaping a better world through the built environment.’ The museum is also working with Arup to display its proprietary mLab technology until the 15th of August, providing climate-focused content to visitors of the Washington, D.C. institution.” —[H/T Archinect]

Deana Lawson wins the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize.

“Deana Lawson, a photographer whose work is currently the subject of a traveling survey in the United States, has won the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. Though it comes with only £30,000 (about $36,600), the award is considered to be among the most important devoted to photography. Artists including Trevor Paglen, Walid Raad, Juergen Teller, Cao Fei, and Andreas Gursky are among previous winners. Lawson is best known for her portraits of Black men and women often posed in domestic settings.” —[H/T ARTnews]

Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala dress continues to anger museum and textile conservators.

“Following a fit of public outrage, much of it from textile conservators, over Kim Kardashian wearing an iconic Marilyn Monroe dress to the Met Gala, the International Council of Museums has issued renewed guidelines on handling historic garments. Although she wore the dress only on the museum’s red carpet, and changed into a replica once inside, conservators, including the former head of the Met’s fashion conservation department, Sarah Scarturro, blasted the socialite.” —[H/T Artnet News]

Coinbase says that its potential bankruptcy may completely wipe out its users’ funds.

“Hidden away in Coinbase Global’s disappointing first-quarter earnings report—in which the U.S.’s largest cryptocurrency exchange reported a quarterly loss of $430 million and a 19% drop in monthly users—is an update on the risks of using Coinbase’s service that may come as a surprise to its millions of users. In the event the crypto exchange goes bankrupt, Coinbase says, its users might lose all the cryptocurrency stored in their accounts too.” —[H/T Fortune]

Today’s attractive distractions:

Tiffany revamps the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Trophy with nods to Magic Johnson.

Residents of Hell, Michigan, elect a funny-looking cat as the city’s next mayor.

Charli XCX is performing in Roblox’s metaverse if you play enough mini-games.

Goop sets the internet ablaze with a pricey set of virgin alpaca wool diapers.