Urban intervention and Miami icon 'The Living Room' by Robert Behar and Rosario Marquardt, 2001

Architonic talks to Miami-based artists Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt about the relation between art and architecture, and how public space has become more contested than ever.
Long before architects were commissioned to sign their names on skylines across the globe, artists were largely responsible for creating local icons. And few of those public artworks have achieved the notoriety of ‘The Living Room’. Created by Robert Behar and Rosario Marquardt, who work under the name R & R Studios, the 2001 installation arguably qualifies as the most widely recognised of their interventions in Miami, their adopted hometown since 1985.

'All Together Now', Denver, by Robert Behar and Rosario Marquardt, 2007

Since then, R & R Studios has continued exploring subjects that ‘The Living Room’ captured so well, such as the scale (and more generally, the attitude) of public monuments, urban life, and the perceived permanence of cities in works like ‘House of Cards’ for the Miami Art Museum and ‘All Together Now’ in downtown Denver. Here, Behar and Marquardt delve deeply into ‘The Living Room’ and discuss how recurring themes in its work reflect the state of American cities as well as the relationship between artistic and architectural practice.


to the interview @ Architonic

Seville University Library, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects

Residents are said to have disapproved of the loss of land surrounding the library including planting. Even though the 250 removed trees and 500 shrubs were transplanted elsewhere in an effort to ensure the trees were not wasted, a ruling has been made by the Andalusian high court against the continuation of works at Seville University Library – the site of Zaha Hadid’s dramatic 9,000 sq m building.

Despite the ruling, construction which is already underway, will continue: “Works continue at the construction site of the University of Seville Library,” said a spokesperson for Zaha Hadid. “Projects such as this library – offering a wide variety of civic, cultural, educational and research programmes – are vital for every community. As the university has outgrown its existing facilities, the new library is essential for the university’s development and reflective of its deep commitment to the future of Seville.

Public prompt ruling against Seville University Library design

“The Government of Andalucía, the Seville City Council and the University of Seville will be appealing the ruling. All construction works continue as normal throughout the appeal process,” he added.

Seville University Library designed by Zaha Hadid Architects

more info at World Architecture News

Barriers and seating arrangements on Nørrebrogade

Anyone who has driven through Copenhagen by car, will know how heavy the traffic and how crowded the entrance streets are. The Danish company Møller & Grønborg (M&G) Architects, together with the engineering company COWI, are creating a new plan for Nørrebrogade in Copenhagen. Nørrebrogade is one of the main entrance streets towards the inner city of Copenhagen.

Rearranging the street dimensions by painting the paving surfaces

The purpose of the project is to strengthen the infrastructural conditions for busses and bicycles and to create a street environment which accommodates city life instead of just extensive car-use.

In search of the right permenant plan for the future development of Nørrebrogade – an experiment was initialised where the infrastructure was restructured. By painting the paving surfaces and thereby rearranging the street dimensions – different traffic models and hierarchies were tested for cars, busses, bicycles and pedestrians in search of a sustainable and realistic solution.

Temporary urban furniture

There have been produced barriers, seating arrangements and bus stops which work as the urban furniture to come. These installations are all temporary and enable a makeshift setup which can be rearranged not only in real-time but in real-life.

more information at World Architecture News