National Archives
Curbed National: SHop's Bricks, Byrne's Racks, Lil' Tokyo's Rainbow
And now, a look at what's happening elsewhere in the Curbed Nation.
1) Uber-hip architects SHoP bring back brick with a sexy undulating facade in Manhattan. [Curbed]
2) In an act sure to introduce jealousy into the irony-laden emotional spectrum of the fixed-gear-riding Mission hipsters, New York City has installed bike racks designed by artist and one-time Talking Heads front man, David Byrne. [Curbed]
3) The proposal for the new Nikkei Center in LA's Little Tokyo is a rainbow vision of low-res blurred color. [Curbed LA]
Morning Mortgage Meltdown: Gov to Bail Fannie and Freddie?
Despite the fact that both companies claim to have more than enough capital, mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie are hemorrhaging money to the tune of $14 billion (and counting) in the last year. Things aren't looking so hot; most experts agree that the firms will need to raise yet more money, a task that might be a bit tricky as the companies stock plummets — in the last two days, share prices for both companies fell by over 24%. It's starting to look like the only hope for Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a direct injection of money from Big Brother. $40 billion should just about do it. Luckily, the government passed legislation last month allowing them to do just that.
· Some Say Bailout of Housing Giants Is Inevitable [NYT]
· Morning Mortgage Meltdown: Bush Bails Fannie and Freddie [Curbed SF]
Curbed National: Case Studies and Chocolate
1) Architectural canon destroyed: A Rodney Walker Case Study House in LA sees a "cruel and unusual" renovation. Oh the humanity.
2) Bay Area based architects, IwamotoScott continue to realize their unique vision of a better tomorrow at SCI-Arc's gallery. The Voussoir Cloud is a site-specific installation that depends on "the geometric performance of the individual units and their relation to the gallery walls." [Curbed LA]
3) Designed by Beyhan Karahan & Associates Architects,the Chocolate Factory is a 29 unit conversion of a one-time Tootsie Roll Factory. [Curbed]
WTF?: Federal Housing Package Redux
While the newly-signed Federal housing package won't work any miracles overnight, it should help California move towards a more comfortable market. By insuring up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages, putting new caps on Fannie and Freddie-backed loans, and creating $15 billion in housing tax breaks, the great Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 could flush foreclosed homes from the market so that those who want to buy can, and those who want to sell will do so (hopefully) sooner than later. It's not about miracles, says the Fed— it's about getting the market back on its feet. Here's the breakdown:
Morning Mortgage Meltdown: Bush Bails Fannie and Freddie
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can rest a little easier today as President Bush as signed off on new housing legislation to protect the ridiculously named mortgage giants. The bad news? Well, some of the bad news: The bill raises the national debt limit to $10.6 trillion to accommodate the potential expenditure of millions of dollars in the event that Fannie and Freddie need a Federal bailout. The good news (besides safeguarding half of the country's mortgages): the law will help 400,000 homeowners by replacing their mortgages with more affordable, government-insured loans. The new legislation has been called "the most aggressive intervention by the government into the housing market in more than a generation." Some have even compared it to the New Deal, but likening Bush to Roosevelt seems a little absolutely insane far-fetched at this point, no?
· Bush Signs Sweeping Housing Bill [New York Times]
Architecture Watch: Louvre Makes Peace With Paris
Join us for Architecture Watch, wherein Curbed SF steps out into the blue yonder, collecting the best, worst, and wonkiest of projects. Nominate!
Known as "The Veil," the new Islam Wing of Paris' Louvre will be the largest exhibition space for Islamic art in Europe. The new galleries will function as a renovation to an existing Louvre courtyard, capped off with the undulating glass canopy. The project's architect, Mario Bellini, call it a "giant glass Muslim headscarf in the heart of Paris." To former French President Jacques Chirac, who laid the first new museums' first stone today, the design is a gesture towards mitigating cultural tension in France. With the outrage caused by a simple contemporary art museum in the Presidio, it might be hard for San Franciscans to imagine a museum that eases conflict instead of creating it. The new 3,000 sq meter wing is due to open in 2010.
· Louvre draws a veil over artistic neglect with bold new Islamic wing [Guardian UK]
Fannie, Freddie and Britney Spears: the Connection is Made
Remember a few months back, when Britney Spears went completely batshit insane and the court placed under a conservatorship controlled by her father? (C'mon, admit it— you read Us magazine while waiting on line at Safeway, plebe.) Let's draw a quick analogy here: In the following narrative, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae stand in for Britney Spears. Britney's breakdown is akin to Freddie and Fannie's current stock crisis; shares have plummeted even further since yesterday — 41 percent for Freddie, and 36 percent for Fannie. George Bush stands in for Britney's dad, as he has vowed to overtake both companies and place at least one under conservatorship if they don't clean up their act, pronto. As Britney has remained on relative lock down, losing press by the second, Bush's plan for Freddie and Fannie would render their stocks nearly worthless— and put the screws on taxpayers. The administration has also proposed a government guarantee on the $5 trillion in debt owed or guaranteed by Fred&Fan, which would tighten those screws even further. And here's where Britney Spears exits stage left ...
· Fannie and Freddie Shares Fall by as Much as 50 Percent [NYT]
Curbed National: Wright, Art, and Coney Island
1) Priced "on request," (son of FLW) Lloyd Wright's Sowden House has languished on the market for over two years. Owner's aolution? Rent it, fully tricked out — for $25k per month. As one Curbed commenter puts it "A great example of the obscure "Temple of Doom" years in Wright's career." [Curbed LA]
2) Fresh off his show at the SFMOMA, art star Olafur Eliasson has installed a series of waterfalls in NYC. Frankly, color us unimpressed.. If you want to see what these things look like, Curbed has the video. [Curbed]
3) New renderings dropped this week of the Coney Island Redux. Designs look harmless enough. Another day, another development. [Curbed]
Morning Mortgage Meltdown: Double Whammy Edition
1) Long story short, home prices are down and resales are up by 2 percent in the West. Median home prices dropped to $203,600 last month from $222,700 in May of 2007, a 6.3 percent drop. Resales are up to 4.99 million annually. Econ 101: The drop in home values has most likely increased demand in especially hard hit areas, such as this very state.
2) 'Twas only a matter of time— the housing relief package that looked as though it might actually move forward despite Bush's protests has stalled out in the Senate. The beef: one Republican senator now has put the c@ck block on the legislation, refusing to ratify the legislation until provides tax breaks for renewable energy. Brother has obviously been hitting the Scotch with Gavin, no? (And the bill is likely to pass after July's vote, according to word on the Senate floor.)
· Home Resales in U.S. Rose to 4.99 Million Rate in May [Bloomberg]
· Housing legislation stalls in U.S. Senate [UPI]
Greener Than Thou: Build Green, Make Bank
Greener Than Thou is our report on San Francisco’s obsession with all things green, giving credit where credit is due and calling bullshit when the need arises. Feeling morally superior on the green front? Testify!
The green building industry isn't unlike a televangelist who promises to save souls in exchange for a healthy donation to the church. Build green, go to environmental heaven— or so goes the Greener Than Thou logic. Question: Are green buildings actually worth more? The answer is a resounding "yes," according to a Berkeley professor conducting the first study of the economic impact of sustainable construction. In his study, investing in green construction resulted in significant increases in a commercial property's market value. LEED certified buildings for all? No— the study found that LEED certified buildings didn't yield higher rental rates. Energy Star buildings (those that use 15% less energy) did, however. Maybe Thom Mayne's LEED rants aren't so far off base.
· Analysis Shows Green Building Leads to Green Pockets [Environmental Protection]
Back to top
Sign up for our email newsletter.
About Curbed SF
From the Golden Gate to The Mission, in San Francisco, it all comes back to our neighborhoods: where we live, where we work, where we eat, and where we play. Covering real estate sales, rental prices, and news-making deals and much more, it's all on Curbed SF. More about Curbed SF...
Email Curbed SF
Full Content FeedArchives
Curbed SF
Editor
Sarah Hromack
Contributing Editor
Jimmy Stamp
Blogger
Andy J. Wang
Logo/Banner Design
Khoi Uong
Publisher/GM
Kyle Crafton
Head of Technology
Eliot Shepard
Other Curbed Sites
San Francisco
Eater SF
New York
Curbed NY
Eater NY
Racked NY
The Beach (seasonal)
Los Angeles
Curbed LA
Eater LA
Contact Us
Email Curbed SF
