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10 architectural details we enjoyed this week

2024-12-21T10:00:00-05:00

In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.

Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Details.

Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles.

↑ Fergie-Whistler Cabin in Whistler, Canada by Studio AR&D Architects

↑ Time Valley in Shenzhen, China by Ballistic Architecture Machine (BAM)

↑ Cabin by a Lake in Muskoka, Canada by Still Architects

↑ Ju+ Coffee in Nanjing, China by modum atelier; Photo: Howie

↑ AB+D House in Los Angeles, CA by Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects [LOHA]; Photo: Paul Vu

↑ West Village Townhouse in New York, NY by Haute Architecture DPC; Interiors: Haute Interior

↑ Youthhostel Gerlos in Krimml, Austria by Lechner & Lechner Architects; Interiors: Stephan Keil; Photo: Julian Höck

↑ Plykea Workshop in London, United Kingdom by Erbar Mattes

↑ MRIIA HOUS...

Tales from a toxic superculture: A closer look at the defining architecture controversies of 2024

2024-12-21T08:00:00-05:00

If there is a lesson to be taken from this year, it is that small evils lead to ever-bigger ones. The wrong behaviors and motivations get rewarded until the process capitalizes into a singular upending spectacle. That reality is just as resurgent in professional spheres and does appear likely to retain its dominance over other civic ones. Unethical practices, the influence (good or bad) of politics and public opinion, removal of history, and a culture of dishonesty coursed, as ever, through the domain of architecture in 2024. Inside its ranks, questions as to why the cycle itself is so prevalent continue to go unsettled.

Here, instead, is an impartial breakdown of the year’s most controversial news headlines in architecture. What can be taken from it is a testimony to the ways moral disintegration is both reflected and can be defeated in our built environment. We’ll start with the biggest stories and slowly narrow into a spotlight on the global salients within more limited constrain...

2023 saw twelve-year high fatality rates for construction workers

2024-12-20T16:33:00-05:00

Last year was one of the deadliest on record for construction workers since 2011. The findings produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the rate of deaths in 2023 was still unchanged from the previous year’s survey. The fatality rate (9.6 per 100,000) has been hovering around what OHSA considers to be a relatively high 10 per 100,000 for over a decade, the span in which the workforce has grown some 31%. (h/t Construction Dive).

New architecture and design competitions: Students Reinventing Cities, Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition, Kitchen Design Awards, and Ostrava Soccer Stadium

2024-12-20T15:17:00-05:00

This edition of Bustler's curated picks of noteworthy architecture and design competitions features four calls seeking designs of new soccer stadium for Czech club, FC Baník Ostrava, outstanding kitchen designs, exceptional projects by North American designers who showcase inventive uses of Italian ceramic tiles in their work, and innovative student-driven proposals that aim to accelerate green urban redevelopment.

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

Foster + Partners unveils next two-tower luxury scheme for Dubai’s Business Bay

2024-12-20T14:27:00-05:00

Months after inaugurating the new Lana Residences and hotel complex in Dubai, a new design for a neighboring plot from Foster + Partners has been announced featuring two new luxury residential towers with heights totaling 590.5 feet (or 180 meters). One apartment is allotted per floor to bring the total to 60 in both towers. Each unit is equipped with a range of wellness amenities to go along with winding interlocked terraces offering views of Dubai's high-rise architecture and the adjacent Marasi Marina.

Image rendering courtesy Foster + Partners

Previewing TWBTA and Davis Brody Bond's new U.S. Embassy in Mexico City

2024-12-20T13:55:00-05:00

Work is wrapping up on the new U.S. Embassy facility in Mexico City designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien (TWBTA) and David Brody Bond at a reported cost of around $1 billion. The LA Times recently checked in on its delayed progress. The project first began construction on the Paseo de la Reforma in February 2018. An opening is now expected by the last quarter of 2025.

Image rendering by DBB/TWBTA

3XN's mass timber Sydney Fish Market project tops out in Australia

2024-12-20T13:16:00-05:00

Construction on the new Sydney Fish Market from 3XN has topped out in Australia. The 700,000-square-foot building will become the largest fish market and have the largest glulam roof structure in the southern hemisphere once completed. Its PV-paneled roof is calibrated to withstand high wind loads while meeting the spatial demands required by the marketplace, is held in place by 594 beams, and is capable of harvesting rainwater throughout the year.

The project offers a worthy follow-up to the Danish firm's award-winning work on the upcycled Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney. They are working locally with local architects BVN, GXN Innovation, and the landscape architects Aspect Studios.

British Museum taps London's Studio Weave for new welcome pavilions design

2024-12-20T10:01:00-05:00

A winner has been crowned in the international competition to deliver a new welcome pavilion and public realm design at the British Museum’s north and south entrances. The London-based Studio Weave emerged from a shortlist of five teams that was announced in October. Joining them for the project are Wright & Wright Architects, Webb Yates Engineers, Tom Massey Studio, and Daisy Froud. The museum expects construction to be ready by spring 2026.

2024 showcased the potential of 3D printing in architecture

2024-12-20T08:00:00-05:00

The architecture world witnessed a transformative year in 2024, with 3D printing continuing to broaden the possibilities of design and construction. From high-profile collaborations between architecture firms and technology companies to groundbreaking projects that span continents—and even reach beyond Earth—this year marked a surge in innovation across construction sites and research labs alike.

This year, Archinect’s editorial included exclusive insights from BIG’s Bjarke Ingels and ICON’s Melodie Yashar, digging deeper into a collaboration spanning 3D printing materials, hardware, software, and business models. Elsewhere, we saw notable projects such as North America’s first 3D-printed three-story home and the world’s tallest 3D-printed tower in Switzerland, and innovative research led by institutions including MIT, Princeton, ETH Zurich, and IAAC, dwelling on topics as diverse as fish scales to liquid metal.

To further explore these trends, we have set out the key developments a...

Nonprofit begins 100 home 3D printed supportive housing project in Austin

2024-12-19T16:46:00-05:00

ICON’s 100 home 3D printed Community First! Village is underway in an effort to combat homelessness in the Austin, Texas area. The only neighborhood of its kind in the nation, Community First! Village provides permanent housing solutions and supportive care for those experiencing chronic homelessness.

ICON's contribution to the larger development, which serves 1,800 people, follows its previous work with Lennar on the Wolf Ranch in Georgetown, Texas.

The homes 3D printed by ICON across in the Village’s expansion are a mix of townhome units and family designs with footprints varying between 380 to 1,040 square feet.

Image courtesy ICON

Construction starts rise 5% in November, led by booming nonbuilding market

2024-12-19T14:55:00-05:00

The total number of construction starts increased by 5% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.2 trillion. According to Dodge Construction Network, nonresidential building starts grew by 2%, nonbuilding starts were 16% high, and residential starts fell by 1%.

For the 12 months ending November 2024, total construction starts were up 4% from the 12 months ending November 2023. Residential starts were up 7%, nonresidential starts were up 2%, and nonbuilding starts rose 4% over the same period. The number of manufacturing starts was down 52%.

"Construction starts continue to move sideways as the market waits for further rate cuts," Richard Branch, the chief economist of Dodge Construction Network, stated. "Elevated interest rates, labor shortages, and strict lending standards will continue to constrain construction activity in the near term."

The largest nonbuilding proj...

26 featured architecture jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area

2024-12-19T13:43:00-05:00

This week's edition of our curated career roundup from the Archinect Job board features 13 architecture and design firms in the San Francisco Bay Area currently offering a range of exciting opportunities.

For helpful guidance on how to get that next job, make sure to check out Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series and our Archinect Tips collection.

Sand Harbor Visitor Center by Bull Stockwell Allen.

Bull Stockwell Allen seeks a Designer, a Job Captain, a Project Architect, and a Senior Project Architect in San Francisco

Designer details: "The Designer will play a key role in supporting the design and production process throughout all project phases. Working closely with the Senior Designer and Job Captain, you will help create visual presentations and communicate design objectives using various methods of representation. Additionally, you will assist with project management tasks such as client meetings, contractor coordination, and ensuring that all project deliverables meet contra...

Los Angeles' best new and future projects honored at the 2024 AIA|LA Design Awards

2024-12-19T12:10:00-05:00

The 2024 AIA|LA Design Awards winners were announced recently during a special ceremony at the brand new AIA|LA and Architecture for Communities Los Angeles (ACLA) Center for Communities in historic West Adams.

As in past iterations, the AIA|LA says these projects best represent their organizational values of equity, diversity, inclusivity, community, and sustainability while also exemplifying the industry’s proactive fight against climate change.

"We’re thrilled to introduce the Center to our members and the broader community," said Carlo Caccavale, Hon. AIA|LA, Executive Director of AIA|LA and ACLA. "This space elevates our capacity to serve both the profession and Los Angeles, setting a new standard in how we connect, collaborate, and create lasting impact."

Gruen Associates partner Debra Gerod joined the field as the winner of this year's Gold Medal Award.

2024 AIA|LA DESIGN AWARD WINNERS

Typology: Adaptive Re-use/Renovation/Historical Preservation

Merit Award: Sandi Simon Center for...

Helsinki Harbor's Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design names five shortlist teams

2024-12-19T08:45:00-05:00

Five finalists have been named in the competition to create the first home for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design in Helsinki’s South Harbor area.

The designer’s names will remain anonymous through this stage while entries are listed by their initial number and title. A total of 624 were submitted from across the world. The 13-member jury will grant each a €50,000 ($52,000) development fee and expects to come back with the final winner's announcement by September 2025.

Beate Hølmebakk, jury panel member and partner at Manthey Kula in Oslo said: “The five finalist projects represent different visions for an inviting and inspirational museum situated on one of Helsinki’s most important sites. What these entries share is their potential to be buildings of extraordinary and lasting architectural quality. It is the jury’s opinion that they all have distinct urban presence and exceptional spatial properties that allow the new museum of architecture and design to organize the ri...

Venice begins glass replacement of Calatrava's slippery Constitution Bridge

2024-12-18T17:19:00-05:00

Santiago Calatrava’s marvelous yet befuddling pedestrian bridge at the Ponte della Costituzione in Venice is now in the process of reconstruction in the wake of the city government issuing fines in response to slip and fall injuries that followed its opening in September 2008. All 284 glass steps are to be replaced with safer stone upgrades, according to The Times’s reporting. The repairs, which were finally agreed to by officials in 2022, will cost approximately €500,000 ($518,000 USD). That's enough for almost 13 of his new Gübelin watches!

Heatherwick Studio opens ceramics-rich Xi’an CCBD development in China

2024-12-18T16:08:00-05:00

Heatherwick Studio has updated the new Xi’an Centre Culture Business District upon its first public opening after sharing details of the project with Archinect last November.

The development occupies space between the ruins of the Temple of Heaven and the famed Shaanxi TV Tower. Central to its design is the artistic heritage of ceramics in the region. A nod to the historical presence of the Terracotta Army can be seen in the exterior tiled cladding on each of its buildings’ facades.

Photo credit: Qingyan Zhu

This confers an inviting tactile impression that will further lure its users. The studio’s founder, Thomas Heatherwick, says it also results in an "unexpected three-dimensional urban landscape" equalling 155,000 square meters (or more than 1.6 million square feet).

Photo credit: Qingyan Zhu

Within its pedestrian-centric "sensory experience" comprised of a retail podium, offices, a hotel, and apartments, activity converges around a central plaza with a 187-foot high vertical park ...

November's AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index nearly flat for second month in a row

2024-12-18T12:54:00-05:00

The latest AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) for November has recorded a second consecutive flat reading. The slight decrease to 49.6 indicates a near-equal balance between the number of firms experiencing a decrease in billings versus those seeing increases. Inquiries into new work continued to grow, while the value of newly signed design contracts declined for the eighth month in a row.

"Given the extended weakness in business conditions at architecture firms, increasing firm profitability remains the top concern for 2025, with one-third of firm leaders selecting it as a major issue—the highest since 2017," Kermit Baker, the AIA's Chief Economist, said in a statement.

"Negotiating appropriate project fees ranked second, chosen by 21 percent, while 20 percent identified finding new clients and markets or improving business planning and marketing as a top concern, up from 18 percent last year," his statement continued.

Related on Archinect: Architecture Business Metrics ...

City of London approves record-tying skyscraper design from Eric Parry Architects

2024-12-18T12:11:00-05:00

A challenger to The Shard’s title as the tallest skyscraper in the UK is moving forward with plans to construct a new building designed by Eric Parry Architects that will equal its record height of 309.6 meters (or 1,015.75 feet). The height is limited by aviation safety rules for the City of London, where the planned 1 Undershaft will soon begin construction towards an anticipated early-2030s completion.

As was first reported by The Guardian, "On completion, 1 Undershaft, which is being built on the site occupied by insurer Aviva’s former headquarters, will provide almost 13% of the office space required in the City of London to 2040."

Image: DBOX/Eric Parry Architects

Project Stress Index records 14.7% increase for November

2024-12-18T09:59:00-05:00

The Project Stress Index (PSI) composite closed November 2024 at 119.8, rising 14.7% from a revised October reading of 104.5.

Sharp increases in on-hold (29.4%) and abandonment (31.9%) activity drove the month-over-month increase. The month's reading is a new high for the PSI following its August 2024 low of 87.9. Conditions are 20% above the average 2021 level, and the composite remains more than 5% below the level from the start of the year.

ConstructionConnect's Chief Economist Michael Guckes noted: "Since the Federal Reserve began adjusting the Federal Funds Rate lower in mid-September, the PSI has made multiple drastic monthly moves, ranging from a 14% decline to a 17.6% increase."

Related on Archinect: November's construction input prices remain flat

"The election of President-elect Trump has brought with it many ideas and plans that could substantially shift the business landscape and impact both existing and prospective commercial real estate owners and developers."

"Until re...

Pratt Institute is searching for a new Chairperson for Graduate Architecture

2024-12-18T08:56:00-05:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Preservation Architect at Architectural Preservation Studio, DPC, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Chairperson of Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design at The Pratt Institute School of Architecture.

The role, based in New York, calls for a “dynamic and visionary leader with outstanding communication, listening, and organizational skills who will build upon the strengths of the existing programs to serve as Chairperson for the Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design (GA/LA/UD) department.” The successful candidate will provide academic, curricular, and administrative leadership, as well as work with faculty to establish a vision for the department and each program. Among the required qualifications is a professional degree in architecture and at least five years of college-level teaching experience.

Related on A...

Grenfell victims' families file ARB complaint against refurbishment architect

2024-12-17T17:43:00-05:00

The BBC is reporting on an effort led by family members of victims of the fatal 2017 Grenfell Fire tragedy to hold Studio E, the architectural firm responsible for its design, accountable in front of the UK’s Architects Registration Board (ARB).

The action outlines Studio E as a negligent party. The BBC reports Studio E is already undergoing the liquidation process. Petitioners are, however, hoping to "set a precedent enabling other residents of buildings with dangerous cladding to file a complaint against their architects with the ARB."

Studio Gang updates progress on mass timber conference center at Harvard

2024-12-17T16:12:00-05:00

The new David Rubenstein Treehouse conference center project from Studio Gang for Harvard University has topped out near its campus in the Allston neighborhood of Boston.

What will become Harvard’s first-ever mass timber structure is included as part of the larger 36-acre Enterprise Research Campus (or ERC) development that was announced last summer along with designs from MVRDV, Moody Nolan, and Marlon Blackwell. It follows another creative higher ed timber design from Studio Gang, the new two-building campus expansion for the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, which was unveiled in November.

Sang Dae Lee wins 2024 American Prize for Architecture

2024-12-17T14:27:00-05:00

The South Korean-born academic, architect, and urban designer Sang Dae Lee has been awarded the 2024 American Prize for Architecture by both The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Searching for new architecture and design jobs? WORKac, OPEN OFFICE, Frida Escobedo Studio, Revel Architecture & Design, and Richardson Pribuss Architects are hiring

2024-12-17T14:25:00-05:00

In this week's curated employer highlight from Archinect Jobs, we are featuring five architecture and design firms with current openings in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco/Mill Valley, California.

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

WORKac has an opening for a Senior Architect with ten-plus years of experience in New York City. Applicants should have prior experience as a project leader and be proficient with Revit, AutoCAD, Rhino, and Adobe Creative Suite. One should be capable of leading the creation, development and management of BIM related efforts. Additionally, the firm is seeking proactive and self-motivated individuals who possess a strong attention to detail.

Miami Collage Garage by WORKac. Photo: Miguel de Guzman (ImagenSubliminal)

Architecture and design practice Frida Escobedo Studio is hiring for a Senior Architect in New York City.

UPDATE: This position has now been fi...

Evelyn Lee inaugurated as the 2025 AIA President

2024-12-17T13:54:00-05:00

Evelyn Lee’s ascension to the 101st President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) was capped by her inauguration ceremony last week. The Bay Area-based architect and designer follows Kimberly Dowdell and Emily Grandstaff-Rice to become the third consecutive female architect to hold the position.

The AIA's press release highlighted her "technology-driven focus," along with her involvement in other areas of business as an investor and startup advisor, as professional highlights to coincide with her involvement on the Board of Directors of Shepley Bulfinch and Luckett & Farley.

"The rapid pace of technological and environmental change has created challenges that can feel overwhelming," Lee commented. "But moments of tension and uncertainty—are also opportunities. They call us to come together, collaborate, and remind ourselves...

MAD completes ‘flying saucer-shaped’ installation for China’s Guangdong Nanhai Land Art Festival

2024-12-17T11:22:00-05:00

MAD Architects has unveiled The Never Hut, an interactive installation at the Guangdong Nanhai Land Art Festival 2024 in Yanqiao Village, Foshan City, China. Set in a village with over 600 years of history, the installation reimagines a former elementary school playground into a community space for rest and connection.

Image credit: Zhu Yumeng

Inspired by Yanqiao Village’s Qing Dynasty architecture, river systems, and its iconic banyan tree, The Never Hut features a flying saucer-shaped structure supported by three tentacle-like forms crafted from local fishing nets. The design responds to environmental elements, swaying subtly with the breeze to create a dynamic relationship between movement and stillness.

Image credit: Zhu Yumeng

The installation’s bright, colorful eaves provide a shaded, circular space, encouraging interaction among villagers and visitors. The scheme’s playful aesthetic contrasts with the historic surroundings, establ...

BIG's four-building 670 Mesquit scheme approved by LA City Council

2024-12-17T11:10:00-05:00

Bjarke Ingles Group (BIG) has received planning permission to build the new 670 Mesquit project in Downtown LA.

Situated at the eastern edge of the Arts District overlooking the LA River, the four-building scheme yields 894 new residential units, a hotel, charter school, and more than 676,000 square feet of office space. Studio-MLA is attached to the project as its landscape designer, delivering a layered connection of terraces and other areas between the former industrial site and riverbank that allows for an active indoor-outdoor lifestyle year-round for its users.

Image credit: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

BIG’s founder said he and the design team "asked ourselves if we can renew the arts district by embracing rather than replacing the qualities that have spawned this unique urban culture. We have imagined a hybrid of two unique local typologies: the downtown warehouse and the case-study house."

Image credit: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

"Like a flexible framework the project operates on...

Zaha Hadid Architects continues work on Chengdu's 'Unicorn Island' tech hub

2024-12-17T09:35:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has updated their progress on the Unicorn Island tech hub development in Chengdu, China. The 165.5-acre project delivers worker housing and office/research space for 70,000. Buildings are arranged in clusters and established "organically" along a radial distribution since the project began completing its first buildings in January 2020. The master plan is located in the Tianfu New Area. The firm also completed work on the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum in the city last October.

New 3D concrete printing method captures carbon to reduce construction emissions

2024-12-16T18:53:00-05:00

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, have developed a 3D concrete printing process that captures and stores carbon dioxide (CO₂) during production. The method incorporates CO₂ and steam—by-products of industrial processes—into the concrete mix, where CO₂ chemically bonds into a solid form.

The method, described in Carbon Capture Science & Technology, demonstrates a reduction in cement’s carbon footprint, a material responsible for 8% of global CO₂ emissions. The process has shown improved mechanical properties, including a 36.8% increase in compression strength and a 45.3% improvement in bending strength, and traps 38% more carbon compared to conventional 3D concrete printing.

Additional findings include:

Reduced Porosity: Open porosity decreased by up to 72%, improving durability and resistance to environmental factors.
Enhanced Printability: The process improves printability, allowing structures to be built with a 50% increase in build height capacity...

David Chipperfield Architects debut three-building La Confluence contribution in Lyon

2024-12-16T17:18:00-05:00

David Chipperfield Architects has just completed a three-building scheme for the larger La Confluence master plan in Lyon, France designed by Herzog & de Meuron.

The program includes a small office building, housing block, and mixed-use tower. The firm tells us each is "shaped by their structure and defined by their simple rectilinear forms yet react to their specific location in different ways."

All three mirror each other and the other buildings in the plan thanks to the choice of mineral-like materials to cover each of their facades. The three buildings combined offer a gross floor area equal to 30,000 square meters (appx. 323,000 square feet) and were designed especially to enhance their site's riverfront connection.

Housing—or at least its possibility—b...