Italy is building pop-up vaccination pavilions designed by Stefano Boeri, AIA updates its code of ethics, and Manhattan’s notorious 21 Club closes its doors. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Ukraine seeks UNESCO World Heritage status for Chernobyl
Street signs of the towns and cities evacuated after the 1986 disaster collected in Chernobyl; photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The Ukrainian government has announced its pursuit to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status for Chernobyl. Although it’s the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, the deserted communities of Chernobyl and Pripyat continue to attract tourists, totaling nearly 124,000 visitors in 2019 alone, Hyperallergic reports. Ukrainian culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko argues that the designation would inspire preservation of the area’s decaying structures and also reposition the exclusion zone as a testament against nuclear catastrophe. Specific locations within the exclusion zone—which won’t be safely habitable for another 24,000 years—will be proposed for UNESCO status by March 2021; however, an official decision by UNESCO may not be announced until 2023.
Stefano Boeri develops COVID-19 vaccination stations
Rendering courtesy of Stefano Boeri Architetti
As Italy looks toward healing from the devastation of COVID-19, Stefano Boeri is plotting a garden of sorts. The Milanese architect has conceptualized COVID-19 vaccination stations that will occupy the country’s many public piazzas. According to Dezeen, the proposal will realize 1,500 pop-up vaccine pavilions to be rolled out nationwide starting in January. The circular structures feature a large pink primrose on exterior walls and roofing, as a nod to the public forums blossoming once again. Each easily dismantled pavilion will be composed of a prefabricated timber frame wrapped in a water-resistant, recyclable textile. Interiors would be partitioned with textile walls, similar to the façade, and equipped with sound-absorbing properties.
New York’s iconic 21 Club permanently shutters
The exterior of 21 Club; photo by thenails
One of New York’s most storied dining rooms is no more. Temporarily shuttered since restaurant restrictions were first implemented in March, the iconic 21 Club in Midtown Manhattan has made the decision not to pursue reopening. Although the 90-year-old business may examine opportunities to return in another form, nothing official has been announced. According to Eater NY, 21 Club is expected to lay off 148 employees in March 2021. The fate of the colorful jockeys adorning the restaurant’s two-story façade remains unknown, as is that of the eclectic interior’s tchotchkes and décor.
AIA prohibits the design of spaces intended for execution and torture
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
The board of directors for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has amended its Code of Ethics to prohibit the design of spaces intended for execution and torture, “including indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more per day without meaningful human contact, for more than 15 consecutive days.” The new measures also call for members to remain “committed to working with their clients to promote criminal justice reform and rehabilitation,” promote design solutions that address issues impacting recidivism, and ensure the physical needs, health, dignity, and human potential of all those who come in contact with the justice system. The announcement is the latest effort by the organization to emphasize its commitment to racial justice and the reform of mass incarceration practices in the United States. Earlier this year, the AIA board issued a statement condemning “systemic, state-sanctioned violence against people of color” and calling upon the architecture community to serve in dismantling systemic racial injustice and violence in America.
Hotel brands prepare for a prolific 2021
The forthcoming Wunderlocke in Munich, designed by Holloway Li; photo courtesy of Locke
Following numerous opening and construction delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, several hotel brands are looking to make up for lost time with a series of debuts throughout 2021. Among those companies is lifestyle brand Locke, which is expected to grow its European footprint further. Delayed properties, including Kingsland Locke and Zanzibar Locke, are now scheduled for January debuts in London and Dublin, respectively. Locke will also introduce units in Munich and Berlin shortly thereafter. Ian Schrager’s EDITION Hotels is also set to add seven international properties to its portfolio, including brand debuts in Iceland, Mexico, and the UAE. Meliá Hotels International, meanwhile, will expand with five openings across Asia, the Middle East, Central America, and Europe. And Accor, on the heels of an announced merger with Ennismore has its sights set on expansion in Australia and New Zealand, with five properties in the pipeline across four of its brands.
