A photograph by Shirin Neshat for SIX.TWO Editions. Photography by Shirin Neshat…
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With SIX.TWO Editions, Photographers Rally for Earthquake Relief
On Feb. 6, two earthquakes wrought devastation in Turkey and Syria, claiming more than 50,000 lives and thrusting a years-long recovery effort. Within weeks, a cohort of American talents with ties to Turkey sprung into action with SIX.TWO Editions: a photography fundraiser benefiting earthquake relief efforts. Inspired by the Pictures for Elmhurst photo print sale that benefited the hard-hit Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens during the pandemic, organizers soon rallied 200 artists to participate.
Through March 20, collectors can purchase their choice of 10” x 12” prints from more than 200 photographers, including marquee creatives like Carolyn Drake, Sam Youkilis, and Shirin Neshat. Each print is priced at $150 and proceeds are distributed to NGOs through Turkish Philanthropy Funds. —Jenna Adrian-Diaz
“Home. Memories,” an art installation on Antarctica by Balbek Bureau. Image courtesy of Balbek Bureau…
Kyiv firm Balbek Bureau transforms a former fuel tank into an Antarctic art installation.
Balbek Bureau, a Kyiv-based architecture firm, transformed a decommissioned fuel tank at the Vernadsky Research Base in Antarctica into an art installation and “home away from home” for polar researchers that coexists with the island’s penguin population. Inspired by a rural Ukrainian house, the installation features a metal frame resembling a pencil drawing and mini-exhibitions on the exterior walls. Construction was completed by architect Slava Balbek and Wonder Workshop head Dmytro Zinoviev as a symbol of resilience and hope.
BIG will design an expanded University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design.
The University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design has enlisted Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to design site plans and concepts that will improve connectivity around campus. BIG’s forthcoming proposal, which will be part of the university’s 2024 Master Plan, aims to preserve the history of the school’s Marvin and Chalmers Halls while incorporating innovative teaching and research facilities. Bjarke Ingels stated the aim is to create a space that “provokes unexpected encounters, triggers critical conversations, and builds new bridges between discourses and skillsets, arts, crafts, and technologies.
Icon launches a building competition to create affordable, design-forward homes.
Icon, the 3D-printed home builders currently creating a new community of affordable homes in the Austin suburbs, have launched a global architecture competition called Initiative 99 to create affordable and aesthetic homes that cost no more than $99,000 to build. The competition, which offers a total prize of $1 million to winning design teams, aims to address the global housing crisis by bringing together the architecture, design, and building communities. The competition will be judged by a panel of experts, including Bjarke Ingels and Christophe Lalande of UN-Habitat. Winning designs will be built in multiple locations.
The Hammer Museum. Rendering courtesy of Michael Maltzan Architecture…
Michael Maltzan’s long-awaited overhaul of the Hammer Museum debuts on March 26.
After more than 20 years of work, Michael Maltzan’s overhaul of the UCLA Hammer Museum will finally debut on March 26. The transformation includes a new facade, lobby, and entrance from Wilshire Boulevard that welcomes visitors into enhanced spaces, as well as two floors of an adjacent midcentury office tower. Maltzan’s vision sustained the project, which added 40,000 square feet of space and increased gallery capacity by 60 percent. He expressed gratitude to his “daring and imaginative” client, Ann Philbin, who made it possible.
The Centre Pompidou inks a deal to open a museum in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla region.
The Centre Pompidou in Paris has inked a deal with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) to create a modern art museum in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla region. The French gallery and the RCU, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, signed the agreement on March 12. The museum will showcase immersive installations by artists from every inhabited continent, 21st-century land art, a public art program, and a collection of contemporary Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian art. An opening date has not yet been announced.
Tadao Ando is selected to design this year’s MPavilion commission in Melbourne.
Renowned Japanese architect and Surface cover star Tadao Ando has been selected to design the annual MPavilion at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens. No images of his concept have been released, but the Pritzker Prize winner describes it as “eternal” and focusing on creating a memory of the landscape in the hearts of the visitors. The MPavilion will host free cultural events and be open to the public starting Nov. 16.
“Faster Food,” a new campaign by DoorDash Canada and McDonald’s Canada. Image courtesy of No Fixed Address…
Today’s attractive distractions:
NASA’s innovative new space cup doesn’t require gravity, lids, or straws.
An artist’s 25-square-foot tiny home in a dumpster goes viral on TikTok.
