Archinect - News

Heatherwick's 'Humanise' campaign inspires 'joyful' architecture degree at UK university

2024-05-15T18:01:00-04:00

The UK’s Loughborough University has accepted Thomas Heatherwick's challenge to ‘humanize’ and create ‘joyful’ architecture with a new academic offering: A master's degree aiming to give students the opportunity to take part in a burgeoning movement created to solve a global “urban crisis” over the next decade. The 115-year-old university will become the first to affiliate itself with the Humanise campaign academically with new supplementary course content exclusive to its new Master of Architecture & Design program.

Courses will leverage research into architecture, neuroscience, and human psychology in accord with Heatherwick’s philosophy of design, which was recently the subject of a new treatise of the same title. The program's official launch is slated for the fall of 2025 and includes a series of lectures and workshops exploring the idea of emotion as a function of design, an announcement from the university read Tuesday.

Dr Robert Schmidt III of the School of Architecture, Bui...

Converted grain silo opens as new art destination in southern Norway

2024-05-15T17:02:00-04:00

Norway’s new Kunstsilo Museum has opened to the public in the southern port city of Kristiansand.

The new home for the private collection of Nicolai Tangen is the product of a six-year transformation authored by Spanish studios Mestres Wåge Arquitectes, Mendoza Partida, and BAX in a former grain silo (hence the name) and integrates the Southern Norway Art Museum’s holdings seamlessly into one space that covers three floors and yields a total of 3,300 square meters (35,520 square feet) for exhibitions and cultural programming.

Photo: Alan Williams Photography, image courtesy Kunstsilo.

The overhaul of Arne Korsmo and Sverre Aasland’s original 1935 functionalist design evokes both the Tate Modern in London and Thomas Heatherwick’s popular 2017 reimagining of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.

Photo: Alan Williams Photography, image courtesy Kunstsilo.

Inside, the collection of around 5,500 objects is presented in 25 galleries surrounding a large (69-...

New London Architecture celebrates Don't Move, Improve! 2024 winners

2024-05-15T14:53:00-04:00

New London Architecture has named the overall winner of the 2024 Don’t Move, Improve! competition in the culmination of the annual contest’s 15th edition.

Emil Eve Architects’ Aden Grove renovation in Hackney was elevated above 15 others on the previously announced shortlist to win ‘Home of The Year’ honors. Its materials palette and overall resourcefulness were among the project superlatives championed by jury members, which this year included Ellie Stathaki, Ed Jarvis, Marie-Louise Schembri, and Jennifer Dyne.

Sou Fujimoto's wooden Grand Ring for Expo 2025 Osaka is taking shape

2024-05-15T12:42:00-04:00

The Sou Fujimoto-designed wooden Grand Ring roof for the upcoming Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, is coming together just under a year before the fair officially opens to the public on April 13th, 2025.

As detailed in an earlier construction update, the structure will be realized at 1,969 feet (600 meters) in diameter and serve as the main circulatory route for visitors to access the exhibition’s 161 total participating countries and locations.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Expo2025 大阪・関西万博 (@expo2025japan)

A recent press announcement mentions: “With one year to go until Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai Japan welcomes the world to Osaka on 13 April 2025, Japan is ready to bring the international community together for six months of collaboration, creativity, innovation, wisdom, dialogue, and action. In an age where humanity is facing a myriad of unprecedented challenges, the need to unite and cooperate, to make genuine, positive, and sustainable change has never...

Rowan Moore pleas to end the time-wasting for Glasgow’s lost Mackintosh library rebuild

2024-05-15T12:05:00-04:00

Much though the school’s director Penny Macbeth insists that “our commitment is not diminished in any way shape or form”, an implication of their current approach is that the building’s renewal has to be justified in terms of regeneration and tourism. It seems to reopen the question whether the rebuild should happen at all. Lacking here is a conviction that the building must be brought back, whether or not it’s good for business on Sauchiehall Street.

Moore also claims “the responsibility to bring back a national treasure should not be theirs alone” (meaning the school’s) in support of his view that setting up an SPV for development would be, for now, the best way to go in order to meet the original promises issued in 2018.

Next Saturday (May 25th) marks the tenth anniversary of the first devastating 2014 fire. A new insurance dispute is further delaying the process even after The Glasgow School of Art announced a second tender for the proposed restoration project could come by the end of next month.

Lloyd Wright's landmarked Wayfarers Chapel to be disassembled due to landslides

2024-05-14T18:42:00-04:00

Lloyd Wright's historic closed Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, will be disassembled in the face of irreparable landslide damage, the group responsible for its stewardship announced via a press release Tuesday.

Architectural Resources Group will handle the disassembly work with great care, as the LA Times and other outlets have reported its structure is rapidly deteriorating from the movement underneath its foundation, which is now occurring at rates 2–3 times more severe than was recorded back in February.

The firm's principal, Katie Horak, told the outlet: "With each passing day, more of this material is lost or irreparably damaged. Our team is working against the clock to document and move these building components to safety so that they can be put back together again."

Previously on Archinect: Lloyd Wright's landmark Wayfarers Chapel closes indefinitely due to landslide threat

"The chapel will not be able to withstand much more damage before it becomes imposs...

WilkinsonEyre team selected for new Toronto pedestrian bridge project

2024-05-14T17:19:00-04:00

WilkinsonEyre, together with Two Row, Zeidler, ARUP, and PLANT, has been awarded first place in the competition to deliver the new Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge in Toronto. The bridge is part of the third facet of a larger CAD $1.3 billion (USD $950 million) redevelopment of the city's Port Lands post-industrial area.

Grafton Architects wins Cambridge University library competition

2024-05-14T16:46:00-04:00

A Grafton Architects-designed proposal for the new Library at Christ’s College, Cambridge University, has been selected over four other proposals in an international competition and is now advancing toward a 2026 construction start date.

Construction input prices rise another 0.5% in April

2024-05-14T14:37:00-04:00

The latest analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data for April from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) shows a 0.5% increase in construction input prices.

For the month, nonresidential construction input prices increased by 0.6%. Overall and nonresidential construction input prices are 2.3% and 2.2% higher, respectively than a year ago. The cost for concrete and steel mill products decreased slightly at 0.2% and 2.7% each over April, while prices increased in 2 of the 3 energy subcategories for the month overall.

Chart credit: Associated Builders and Contractors

“Construction input prices jumped half a percentage point higher in April and have increased 3.5% over the first four months of the year,” ABC’s Chief Economist Anirban Basu stated. “While iron, steel, asphalt and gypsum product prices fell in April, oil and copper prices surged, driving the monthly increase. Rising input prices will put pressure on profits at a time when nearly 1 in 4 c...

David Chipperfield’s K-Project corporate headquarters breaks ground in Seoul

2024-05-14T12:53:00-04:00

David Chipperfield Architects has just broken ground on a new corporate headquarters project for a South Korean IT company in Seoul. Construction for the new K-Project will advance toward a late 2027 completion and culminate in a new highly adaptable design that doubles as a piece of “social infrastructure” for the city’s Seongsu district.

Chipperfield says: “The energy and culture of the company occupying the building, and that of the diverse neighbourhood in which it is located are used to define a strong identity for the headquarters both visually through its dynamic façades and programmatically through a multi-use atrium.”

Rendering: Artefactory Lab, DCA, Brick

Programmatically, the concept works by traversing ‘Hardware’ and ‘Software’ layers vertically supported by eight vertical cylindrical cores, which lift the office component above a two-level ‘multiplex’ for retail and culture. This is the firm’s second corporate commission in Seoul after the completed Amorepacific Headqua...

Searching for new architecture and design jobs? Lang, Waechter, Arlene Shechet, Matt Peterson, and WCA are currently hiring

2024-05-14T12:37:00-04:00

Take a look at our latest curated selection of architecture and design firms currently hiring on Archinect Jobs: This week's featured employer highlight includes job openings in New York City, Los Angeles, Kingston, New York, and Portland, Oregon.

For even more opportunities, head over to the Archinect job board and explore our active community of job seekers, firms, and schools.

Portland-based firm Waechter Architecture is seeking a Project Designer with three to five years of experience and proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite. Knowledge of Revit, Rhino, and V-Ray is preferred but not required. Qualified applicants should have a strong understanding of architectural design phases and basic set organization. Additionally, they should be communicative, curious, and organized, with a resourceful mindset.

Furioso Vineyards by Waechter Architecture.

In Kingston, New York, Arlene Shechet Studio is accepting applications for a Studio Assistant (Design) with three-plus years of experience...

Harvard GSD presents Loeb Fellowship class of 2025

2024-05-14T11:53:00-04:00

The Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Loeb Fellowship Class of 2025 cohort was announced this morning. Each mid-career professional will come to campus with a diverse background and abilities to reconstitute architecture around equity and resilience as they "harness the power of collective action."

The ten-month fellowship will allow them time for academic immersion in the GSD and via audited MIT exchange courses. Fellows will also host workshops and participate in academic life in other ways before joining a prestigious alumni network of past Loeb Fellows that dates to its inception in 1970.

In a press statement, Dean Sarah Whiting said: "Every year, Loeb Fellows bring an incomparable breadth and diversity of experience to the GSD. They inspire us with their accomplishments, enrich conversation across our school, and challenge us to think critically about how designers can create a more just world. I could not be more excited to welcome the class of 2025 to campus next fall, and to...

OMA Conversations

2024-05-13T21:09:00-04:00

the drawing for (Parc de) la Villette...was based on very definite sources...Of course...it was no gigantic leap if you were familiar with those Belgian cartoons. Willem-Jan Neutelings would always draw these little cartoons for the buildings he made, certainly when he opened his own office...The other inspiration was a painter in Chicago named Roger Brown, who made these tip-up paintings—all his scenes were using that perspective—and he was influenced by Italian 13-14th Century painting.

In collaboration with Drawing Matter, Architect Richard Hall is publishing a 6-part series based on twenty-three in-depth conversations with key collaborators working with OMA during its formative years. Most of the image material is from the in-house project archive of OMA at the Rotterdam office and/or the personal archives of its previous members and the Drawing Matter Collection.

Supergraphics pioneer Barbara Stauffacher Solomon dies at 95

2024-05-13T19:06:00-04:00

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon, the influential California-based graphic designer and landscape architect, passed away on May 7th in San Francisco at the age of 95.

Stauffacher Solomon died a prominent member of the design community whose career advanced aside an unusual synthesis of modern art, design, and architecture with many noted collaborators in all three channels and will be particularly remembered for the Supergraphics paintings she made in the late 1960s while in residence at the Sea Ranch utopian community.

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon's Land(e)scape, 2018. Image courtesy Rob Corder/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0 Deed)

“It took a lot of verve for Bobbie to survive in a hostile environment, let alone blaze a trail,” biographer Joseph Becker recalled to the New York Times’ obituary section. “But she had the ability to create these amazing works that reflect her attitude that there should be something fun about the spaces we inhabit. In graphic design, landscape architecture, and her boo...

Mexico City’s fraught water crisis could prove decisive in the upcoming national elections

2024-05-13T17:36:00-04:00

It’s a crisis a decade in the making and, without dramatic fixes, experts say the city could be approaching “Day Zero” — when a city simply runs out of water — around June. That would leave up to 20 million people in and around the capital facing a summer without running water. June also happens to be the month when Mexico will choose its next president.

'Day Zero' (or the day water taps run dry) could be looming for June in the Mexican capital and home of over 9 million people just within the city proper. Its known air quality issues have improved under Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum’s green policy agenda, helping her meet some claims produced by rival Xochitl Galvez and her head environmental policy advisor Rodolfo Lacy Tamayo, a former UN special climate envoy who promises a "civil rebellion" should the looming threshold be crossed.

"Even if officials pumped desalinated water from the Gulf of Mexico at great expense and environmental detriment," News Lines tells us, "it wouldn’t be enough if 40% continues to go missing. And it is true that the water which would have been saved by Sheinbaum’s promise to find and fix the city’s leaks would soothe the current crisis. Whether that would ever have been possible is another question, but it would not future-proof a system that is gradually drying."

Rafael Pelli and Gruen Associates push to restore father César’s masterwork San Bernardino City Hall after 52 years

2024-05-13T17:21:00-04:00

César Pelli was a rising architect when he got the job of designing a new City Hall for San Bernardino. [...] a push is on to renovate City Hall and restore it to use. The lead architect: Rafael Pelli, son of César Pelli. [...] “The idea is to preserve what’s great about it and make it better,” Pelli said of the building. “The bones of it are very good. We just need to bring it forward.”

Chief of among the estimated $60 million renovation tasks is the work of replacing the building’s over 6,000 original windows, which Rafael Pelli says will now be double pane for improved insulation against the heat. The City of San Bernardino, California, shut down operations in the building in 2017 due to seismic concerns. The design features an early version of the same glass curtain facade solution later used in the Pacific Design Center. As the San Bernardino Sun reported, a decision to finance the expected four-year restoration could come as soon as late May.

Ennead and Dattner share first SPARC Kips Bay images ahead of 2031 completion

2024-05-13T17:01:00-04:00

Ennead and Dattner have shared preliminary project visuals to accompany the latest announcement of their winning bid to deliver the Science Park and Research Campus (or SPARC) Kips Bay to the East Side of Manhattan.

The project for the New York City Economic Development Corporation will culminate with a new 700,000-square-foot academic building to be used by three separate CUNY schools and a new high school for STEM careers. Close to two million square feet of educational spaces are being planned overall, and the project development will be complete with a new pedestrian bridge that fosters a connection to the East River waterfront.

Preliminary project visual. Image courtesy Ennead Architects + Dattner Architects

Ennead Partner Thomas J. Wong (the project's Design Lead) shared: “We bring a commitment to civic space, along with deep experience creating leading healthcare and education facilities to our work for SPARC Kips Bay, where, together with Dattner, we will develop an innovati...

Zaha Hadid Architects wins bid for new cruise terminal project

2024-05-13T15:03:00-04:00

A bid from Zaha Hadid Architects has placed first in the international competition to design the new Riga Ropax Terminal in the Latvian capital. The project will convert an existing warehouse space into a new 20,000-square-meter (215,000-square-foot) terminal for cruise passengers with an added glass and timber fourth level and new triple-height grand hall. ZHA says this will become a new transit hub for Riga, connecting with local tram lines while effectively doubling the capacity of the current port to handle departures and arrivals.

Hotels surmount offices for residential conversion projects for the first time

2024-05-13T13:43:00-04:00

The balance of power in the market for residential conversion projects in the United States has shifted from offices to hotels for the first time, according to new statistics included in RentCafe’s latest market snapshot report for 2023.

Per their analysis of Yardi Matrix data, 4,556 of the 12,700 new apartments that were converted in 2023 were hotels. Office buildings were only slightly behind, with 3,587 converted units, representing 28% of the overall total. New York City led all markets with 733 conversions, followed by Albuquerque and Richmond, Virginia. A total of 151,000 conversion projects are in the pipeline currently across all 50 states, with a 17.6% increase being recorded year-over-year. The number of hotels being converted was up another 38.8% over the previous year.

Forty RIBA London Awards winners highlight the best architecture in a changing capital

2024-05-13T13:04:00-04:00

A group of 40 Greater London projects has been selected as this year's RIBA London Awards winners. The field was led by Grimshaw's winning Building of the Year effort on The Elizabeth Line, which was praised by judges as being "the most significant contribution to London’s transportation in over 20 years."

Speaking of the other 2024 winners, Muyiwa Oki, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, added: "This year’s RIBA Award-winning schemes showcase the true value of quality architecture and the positive impact it has on people’s lives. While carefully considering the needs of the environment, these truly remarkable places and spaces deliver for communities, for residents, for visitors, and people of all ages up and down the country. They are pinnacles of design excellence and show what can be achieved when architects and clients collaborate successfully."

Six projects received individual regional special awards. Each of the Regional list winners will now go on to compet...

Three rural renovations by Murdough Design: Your Next Employer?

2024-05-13T12:07:00-04:00

Following our previous visit to California-based Walker Warner, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Massachusetts this week to explore the work of Murdough Design.

From their studio in Concord, the firm has built a portfolio specializing in residential and small institutional projects. “We merge practical requirements with intangible qualities distinct to each design problem,” the firm says about its design outlook. “Our approach considers relationships between landscape and architecture, space and light, material and form.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for an Emerging Architect / Designer to join their Concord team. For candidates interested in applying for the position, or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up three rural renovation projects by Murdough Design that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Reclaimed Barn. Image credit: Chuck Choi

Reclaimed Barn, Central Harbor, NH

Murdough Design led the restoratio...

MVRDV reveals tribune-shaped, mixed-use design with communal terraces

2024-05-13T11:46:00-04:00

MVRDV has unveiled its design for a tribune-shaped, mixed-use building in the Dutch city of Eindhoven. Located in the city’s revitalized Strijp-S neighborhood, the project, called the Strijp-S Tribune, includes a mixture of social housing, mid-sector rental units, commercial spots, and outdoor spaces organized through large, stepped terraces.

The building will stand along the Ketelhuisplein, a lively public square that hosts a range of events and recreational activities throughout the year. Formerly defined by its industrial presence, the area has transformed into the cultural heart of Eindhoven, with a mixture of creative companies and residents now inhabiting repurposed factories and newly constructed high-rises. This history has informed the shape of the Strijp-S Tribune.

Image: MVRDV

At its tallest, the building stands eight stories tall. It steps down to two stories alongside the plaza of the Ketelhuisplein. The stepping shape allows the structure to fit neatly with its surroun...

New architecture and design competitions: British Museum Western Range, Built by New York, Future School for Ukraine, and London Design Summit

2024-05-11T11:00:00-04:00

This edition of Bustler's curated picks of noteworthy architecture and design competitions features four calls seeking adaptive concepts for new schools across Ukraine, outstanding work of design practitioners based in New York City, proposals for the restoration of the British Museum's Western Range, and creative solutions addressing the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.

For the complete directory of newly listed competitions, click here.

Floating house from Pixar’s ‘Up’ is now available to rent on Airbnb

2024-05-11T08:00:00-04:00

Airbnb has added a replica of the floating house from the popular 2009 Pixar film Up and other unique pop culture-inspired stays to its inventory. The experience is part of Airbnb's new Icons line of vacation rentals, which CEO Brian Chesky recently unveiled to the public in Los Angeles.

Image courtesy Airbnb

The sure-to-be popular Up home will be located in Abiquiu, New Mexico, and, thanks to a crane, is intended to appear as though it were floating. An Airbnb spokesperson told KRQE News 13: “Our community’s safety is incredibly important to us, so guests will not be inside the house while it is lifted. All guests will remain 100 ft away from the house while the house is lifted. The house will not exceed the height of 50 ft designated by engineering and crane operators as safe for lifting.”

Image courtesy Airbnb

Other Icons stays include a replica of Shrek’s home in the Scottish Highlands, Christina Aguilera's Las Vegas mansion, and the three-bedroom style house in Minneapolis made ...

62% of A&E firms report using artificial intelligence increased efficiency, according to new Deltek study

2024-05-10T18:28:00-04:00

Statistics revealed in the latest Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Industry Study have indicated wide optimism about the use of AI technology, even as most firms struggle to determine where and how to apply emerging trends in the face of prevailing economic headwinds.

According to the 45th annual report, 62% of all 650 surveyed A&E respondents across the United States and Canada have successfully begun using AI to augment their daily operations. Only 20% of firms now report at least three-quarters of their project leadership teams as possessing the proper project management training to best utilize such tools, with another 44% reporting insufficient time to invest in skill-based learning. Other leading challenges include prioritizing applicable trends and the cost of technology.

The findings add to a body of recent valuable industry trends reporting, including last month’s Autodesk study which stated that 76% of all AEC professionals now feel confident about incorporating ...

Nonresidential project abandonments show improvement despite discouraging performance in the public sector

2024-05-10T17:39:00-04:00

Project abandonments remain on an upswing across the country, according to an analysis of construction project data in the latest ConstructConnect Project Stress Index for the week ending April 27th. Over the past month, Delayed Bid, On Hold, and Abandoned activity have increased by 4%, 7%, and -6%, respectively. The number of Abandoned projects in the public sector is now up 44% when compared to year-ago levels.

Meanwhile, ConstructionConnect says: “The PSI continues to trend within a narrow range of between 120 and 130, indicating a steady level of industry project stress that is 20% to 30% greater than our 2021 base period."

“We traded a more severe form of stress for a lesser form of stress,” said Michael Guckes, senior economist at ConstructConnect, told Construction Dive in reference to last month's more concerning declines. “[This] is a positive. We would rather see more on-holds than abandonments. For this reason, it has been harder for us to be excited about the latest dec...

British Museum launches international competition for Western Range galleries redesign

2024-05-10T14:56:00-04:00

The British Museum has announced the launch of an international competition to redesign major portions of the gallery spaces inside the institution’s Grade I-listed neo-classical Smirke building in Central London. The brief calls for submissions to be judged in two phases and considered for further development toward a final design in a collaborative process between the museum, architects, and other stakeholders.

The museum says: “The competition is accepting entries from all design teams who feel they have the key characteristics the panel are looking for. Overall they must demonstrate they have the creative ability and design flair to put forward an innovative proposal which reimagines the building but keeps the collection at its heart and recognizes how it can be displayed, accessed, and preserved for the future. The panel will also be looking for expertise in sustainability — both environmental and economic.”

The British Museum Western Range Architectural Competition is open for e...

Pritzker Prize winner Riken Yamamoto to speak in Chicago May 16th

2024-05-10T13:42:00-04:00

The Pritzker Architecture Prize and Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture will convene a special event featuring 2024 laureate Riken Yamamoto on Thursday, May 16th, titled Community: The Architect as Catalyst for Change, the 2024 Laureate Lecture and Panel Discussion. The gathering is being presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center and gives fans of architecture the chance to hear rare public remarks from Yamamoto at an American venue.

The Japanese architect will discuss his career-long orientation to community design and desire to create space for people to find each other at a time when architects are everywhere looking to affect a socially dispositive built environment. Past Laureates David Chipperfield (2023), Francis Kéré (2022), and Anne Lacaton (2021) join the 79-year-old for a post-talk discussion in historic S.R. Crown Hall.

Oceanwide Plaza, LA's unfinished high-rise graffiti mecca, faces impending sale

2024-05-10T12:00:00-04:00

The Chinese owners of the stalled residential, hotel and retail complex towering over Crypto.com Arena have hired real estate brokers to sell the property to buyers who could restart the project after work stopped in 2019. Taggers recently covered its outer walls with graffiti visible from far away.

The LA Times also reports the brokerage firm Colliers to have submitted an application estimating the property’s current value at $485 million and stating it is still just 60% completed. Another $865 million would be required to finish the block-scale development designed by CallisonRTKL. Some had speculated it could be demolished. Costs for the cleanup of possibly the greatest graffiti takeover of recent memory have been reported at $3.8 million.

A look at the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize nominees for 2024

2024-05-09T20:23:00-04:00

The Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize nominees have been announced along with a jury for the biennial award's 5th cycle by the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

Many of the highest-profile new American buildings made the list of 219 nominated projects; among them, 111 West 57th Street, The Brooklyn Tower, new Buffalo AKG Museum, and Center for Computing Sciences at Boston University were some of the most prominent. Other smaller U.S. nominees include John Ronan Architects’ Chicago Park District Headquarters and LEVENBETTS’ East Flatbush Public Library branch in Brooklyn. The new Louis Armstrong Center in Queens and International African American Museum in South Carolina led the country’s cultural output, while the Wrapper, Uber headquarters, and Google Bay View were among several Californian selections featured in the commercial sector.