Last Remaining Frank Lloyd Wright Hotel Reopens as a 27-room Boutique. Was prototype for Wright’s Toyko Imperial Hotel.
Sep 19, 2011 thinking design
From ARCHITECT, The Magazine of the American Institute of Architects
By Alex Hoyt
Photo credit: Aaron Thomas
One by one, each of Frank Lloyd Wright’s six hotels have disappeared. A fire destroyed Montana’s 1909 Bitter Root Inn in 1924, by that time a roadhouse. Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel, completed in 1923, survived the Grant Kanto earthquake of the same year, only to be demolished in 1968.
His 1911 Lake Geneva Hotel burned to the ground in 1970. Then, in 1972, the last Wright hotel closed: the Park Inn, in downtown Mason City, Iowa. Completed in 1910, the Prairie School structure became an office building, then a strip club, then sat vacant for years.
Now, after a 12-year, $18 million renovation, the inn has reopened as a 27-room boutique hotel. Commissioned in 1999, local firm Bergland + Cram restored the building’s original brick and terra-cotta façade, as well as authentic window grilles and a 16-panel art-glass skylight, which had been found in a local home.
The lobby, ladies parlor, and balcony all appear as they did a century ago. The layout was revised to expand the guest rooms and incorporate private bathrooms, though one historic suite retains Wright’s original 10” x 10” configuration.
Is a Maserati still a Maserati if made in Detroit by Dodge…I mean Fiat?
Sep 13, 2011 thinking design
For Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Chrysler and its parent, Fiat SpA, the maker of luxury Maserati sports cars, the answer is yes.
Fiat on Tuesday will unveil a new Maserati sport-utility vehicle at the Frankfurt auto show. Due in 2013, the luxury car will use the same underpinnings as a Jeep Grand Cherokee and will be assembled at a plant in a blighted section of Detroit, an unlikely source for a luxury SUV that can sell for up to $100,000. Full article at Wall Street Journal: WSJ.com http://on.wsj.com/pwP72Z
How 9/11 Changed The Way Skyscrapers Are Designed | Co. Design
Sep 10, 2011 thinking design
via fastcodesign.com
Today, 1 World Trade is rising opposite the southwest corner of our building. The SOM-designed 102-story skyscraper, whose spire will reach 1,776 feet into the sky, will open in the first quarter of 2014. In a sign of how far we’ve come since the bleak days following the attack, the developer recently signed a 25-year, $2 billion lease with Conde Nast, the publisher of Vogue, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair, for 1 million square feet of space, to house more than 3,000 employees. It’s a move that speaks to both New Yorkers’ resiliency and America’s traditional optimism. Holt says he was surprised at how quickly the post-9/11 conversation became so forward-looking. “It wasn’t about hunkering down,” he says. “It was more about quality of life and responsible development. It was like the phoenix rising from the ashes.”
How 9/11 Changed The Way Skyscrapers Are Designed
Sep 10, 2011 thinking design
via fastcodesign.com
Today, 1 World Trade is rising opposite the southwest corner of our building. The SOM-designed 102-story skyscraper, whose spire will reach 1,776 feet into the sky, will open in the first quarter of 2014. In a sign of how far we’ve come since the bleak days following the attack, the developer recently signed a 25-year, $2 billion lease with Conde Nast, the publisher of Vogue, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair, for 1 million square feet of space, to house more than 3,000 employees. It’s a move that speaks to both New Yorkers’ resiliency and America’s traditional optimism. Holt says he was surprised at how quickly the post-9/11 conversation became so forward-looking. “It wasn’t about hunkering down,” he says. “It was more about quality of life and responsible development. It was like the phoenix rising from the ashes.”
Infographic: World Trade Center Reborn – Column Five Media
Sep 10, 2011 thinking design
In Column Five’s first infographic for the History Channel, they have created a piece that memorializes the history of the World Trade Center, and looks ahead to what’s in store for the future.
