Welcome back to another news roundup, one that comes halfway through the week and month.

Here’s what’s going on today:

The SketchUp beta comes to iPad

Today (one day after Apple unveiled its latest line of revamped tablets) Trimble announced that the beta version of its popular modeling program SketchUp was available on the iPad. The move allows architects, designers, landscape architects and general enthusiasts the ability to draw more intuitively using their fingers or compatible pressure-sensitive styluses. Cloud-based file sharing will also allow users to access and export files across all SketchUp’s PC, web, and iPad versions.

“With the features we’ve developed specifically for Apple Pencil, we’re able to digitally emulate the paper and pencil sketching paradigm and provide a unique and compelling 3D modeling experience on iPad devices,” said Christopher Cronin, vice president and general manager at Trimble SketchUp, in a press release.

If you’re interested in signing up for the beta, Trimble has created a request form at https://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-for-ipad.

U.K. housing secretary Robert Jenrick is replaced with controversial Michael Gove

In a major cabinet shakeup across the pond earlier this morning, U.K. housing secretary Robert Jenrick was sacked and replaced with minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove. Although Jenrick had his fair share of controversies during his two-year tenure as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (including his comments regarding housing safety after the Grenfell fire, breaking COVID lockdown restrictions, and potential conflicts of interest), Gove has a history of alienating architects with comments indicating that they only exist to collect fees.

H/t to The Architects’ Journal

Gagosian will open a third gallery in Paris next month

Larry Gagosian is building up his Parisian presence and preparing to launch his third gallery in the city on October 18. To mark the occasion, the American art mega-dealer will install the little-seen 1975 Flying Dragon outside, a swooping red sheet metal piece by Alexander Calder. The new gallery on rue de Castiglione was designed by Rémi Tessier, better known for his “superyacht” projects.

H/t to The Art Newspaper

Stonehenge will undergo decades of delayed repairs

Stonehenge hasn’t actually been standing around in a perfect circle for 4,500 years, as the ancient stone monoliths have repeatedly been knocked over, damaged and repaired, and full-on moved over the years. To that end, Stone 122, which fell in 1900 and was patched back up with concrete mortar in 1958, is in dire need of attention. The UNESCO World Heritage Site will be closing for two weeks for repairs as conservators repatch cracks and fill in hidden holes at risk of expanding and contracting as the temperature changes. Members of the original 1958 restoration team will be on hand to commemorate the event and help guide the project.

H/t to Smithsonian Magazine

A sacred Native American cave is sold off in Missouri

The historic Picture Cave just west of St. Louis was sold off in a private auction on September 14, disappointing members of the Osage Nation at the auction who were hoping to preserve the 1,000-plus-year-old Native art and artifacts within. The winning bid of $2.2 million will get the cave and surrounding 43 acres of land. The art within is remarkably well preserved, and though disparaged, the Osage Nation hopes that the site’s remote location and state laws prohibiting vandalism or sale of Native American artifacts will keep Picture Cave intact.

H/t to the AP

Theaster Gates is awarded the Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts

Theaster Gates is on a roll this year, and the streak continues as the artist, designer, and urbanist has been awarded the Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts. The prize, handed out every two years Republic of Austria and the City of Vienna, comes with a $65,000 award and recognizes outstanding excellence in architecture, design, and stagecraft, in reference to polymath Frederick Kiesler.

H/t to Archinect