Welcome back to another Friday roundup. As the 2020 (2021, now) Tokyo Summer Olympics kick off today despite heat warnings, athletes testing positive for COVID, and two staffing controversies thus far, it’s the perfect time to revisit AN’s roundup of the venues that will be used (sans spectators).
Here’s what you need to know going into the weekend:
The Cleveland Indians are now the Guardians, referencing the city’s art deco history
Cleveland’s hometown Major League Baseball team has finally settled on a new name after announcing it would drop the Indians moniker in December of 2020 (and Chief Wahoo, the Native American caricature that previously served as the team’s logo). Now, after 107 years as the Indians, the team has rebranded as the Cleveland Guardians. The name is a reference to the eight massive Guardians of Traffic that stand over the Hope Memorial Bridge. The 43-foot-tall art deco statues stand as pylons over the bridge (with four at each end), each carrying a different form of transportation ranging from carts to carriages to trucks. Carved from monumental blocks of sandstone by sculptor Henry Hering in 1932, the guardians are meant to represent the spirit of progress.
H/t to ESPN
Lord Aeck Sargent reemerges after Katerra bankruptcy as its own independent firm
After modular prefabrication startup Katerra revealed it was bankrupt and would be shuttering on June 1, questions swirled over what would happen to the architectural subsidiaries the company had acquired; namely Michael Green Architecture and Lord Aeck Sargent. Today the latter confirmed that it had become an independent firm once more, reemerging as Lord Aeck Sargent Planning & Design, Inc.
“Lord Aeck Sargent will continue to provide Responsive Design to all of our clients and will be an integral part of the industry and our communities—all six of our offices and eight areas of practice remain strong with a renewed commitment to creative solutions and to exceptional service,” said Joe Greco, AIA, president of Lord Aeck Sargent Planning & Design, Inc., in a press statement.
Wangechi Mutu sculptures take over San Francisco’s Legion of Honor
Sculptor Wangechi Mutu has brought her fairytale-inspired bronze sculptures to the neoclassical Legion of Honor in San Francisco, in a new show commenting on racism, sexism, and colonialism both in and outside of the institution. On view through November 7, Wangechi Mutu: I Am Speaking, Are You Listening? places Mutu’s contemporary sculptures in direct dialogue with the museum’s permanent European holdings.
H/t to Hyperallergic
More cities are adding chief resilience officers as climate crises mount
As floods, fires, droughts, and other climate change-exacerbated disasters become more and more common across the United States, more states are hiring inaugural chief resilience officers to help develop more sustainably—or beefing up the roles that their extant officials already hold. Smart Cities Dive has broken down which cities have had long-running officers in place, such as Chicago, which ones are filling the role for the first time, like Jacksonville, Florida, and how more cities are expanding into pre-climate disaster mitigation. Of course, a lack of federal funding is still stymying efforts across the country despite the best-laid intentions.
H/t to Smart Cities Dive
Vancouver launches the Sea2City design challenge to protect the city from rising tides
Speaking of, Vancouver has launched the Sea2City design challenge to help protect the city from rising sea levels. Starting this fall, the British Columbia city will select two winning design teams to help plan flood protection for 2050 and 2200, and could include everything from city-spanning seawalls to elevated walkways to installing new barrier islands. Rather than building an enormous wall around the entire city, the Sea2City challenge will focus specifically on novel solutions that will allow Vancouver to coexist with water, with the inner harbor of False Creek as the testbed.
H/t to The Globe and Mail
Saint Laurent drops a mirrored pavilion in Venice for its Spring Summer 2022 show
Saint Laurent has dropped its first physical installation since the pandemic began, following in the footsteps of its competitors. The French fashion house commissioned artist Doug Aitken to install a mirrored pavilion along the Venetian Lagoon as the backdrop to its Spring Summer 2022 menswear show; models strutted their stuff in front of plants native to the region reflected and refracted into infinity by aluminum panels polished to a mirrored shine.
H/t to ARTnews
