Architect and architecture critic
Architect and architecture critic for publications including New York Magazine and the New York Times
PROFILE
Joseph Giovannini
Guest
FROM Joseph Giovannini
Design and Architecture
Obama Library Brexit fallout for the US, how to combat ISIS, a volatile race for his successor… President Obama has a lot on his plate right now. But he’s still had time to think about his library to be built in Chicago, and he and the First Lady have just announced their chosen architect. It’s the firm of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, based in New York, and, says architecture critic Joseph Giovannini, they may have just the right temperament and approach for our president.
Design and Architecture
Zaha Hadid Zaha Hadid was just five years out of architecture school in London when she stunned her peers with her 1982 winning design for The Peak, a leisure club on Victoria Peak overlooking the Hong Kong Harbor. With this project, described by Joseph Giovannini as "an explosion or a geode or some kind of rock crystal that had been expelled from a mountainside", she "invented a new form of beauty," and she went on to become one of the most sought-after architects in the world, and a role model to many, especially women. Giovannini and others discuss her legacy.
Recommended
The Business
In 'Speechless,' Scott Silveri combines comedy, family & disability Scott Silveri has written and produced sitcoms for more than 20 years. In all that time, he never encountered a TV family that looked anything like the one he grew up in -- with a mom, a dad...and a brother with cerebral palsy. He changed that with his show Speechless on ABC. Silveri tells us about looking to his own past for stories, and why he was determined to make a family comedy and not just a "disability show."
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why did Jared Kushner want a back channel with Russians? News broke Friday that President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, tried setting up a back channel between the Trump transition team and the Russian government. What are the consequences for Kushner, President Trump, and the investigation into Russian meddling?
Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why is Trump so behind on filling staff jobs, establishing concrete policies? Yesterday Donald Trump signed a “decision memo” to revamp the air traffic control system. But there was little legislative detail in the plan. There’s not much to other splashy announcements from the White House, including tax cuts and the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. And hundreds of positions are unfilled in federal agencies.