Archinect - News

Ellen van Loon departs OMA after 26 years

2024-07-26T19:10:00-04:00

The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) announced the retirement of Partner Ellen van Loon from the firm after 26 years.

The announcement says: “Ellen has indicated that she wishes to enter a new phase in her life in which she will have more time to herself. It goes without saying that we deeply regret her decision. Ellen has been a trusted colleague and powerful force within our firm for decades. She also is, and will remain, a dear friend to all of us.”

Van Loon, who was born in the Netherlands and educated at TU Delft, joined the firm in 1998 after working at Foster + Partners. OMA is approaching its 50th year in 2025. Partners Shohei Shigematsu, Jason Long, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, David Gianotten, and Reinier de Graaf remain in charge along with founder Rem Koolhaas, who turns 80 in November.

Just in time for the Summer Olympics, Kengo Kuma's Saint-Denis–Pleyel metro station opens in Paris

2024-07-26T18:55:00-04:00

Kengo Kuma’s completed design of the Saint-Denis–Pleyel metro station in Paris is one of the largest and most significant new projects highlighting the city’s push for sustainable urban renewal as a consequence of its turn as the host of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Images shared following its inauguration on June 24th with President Emmanuel Macron in attendance showcase a horizontal composition distinct from the verticality of its surroundings. (It will later boast a sculptural installation from the French artist Prune Nourry.)

Image: © Kengo Kuma & Associates - Photography by Michel Denancé

The station measures 377,000 square feet, making it the largest in the Grand Paris Express rail network. It’s designed to service 250,000 passengers a day from the new Metro lines 14 through 17, with connections to both RER D and GPE 4 commuter trains.

Image: © Kengo Kuma & Associates - Photography by Michel Denancé

Image: © Kengo Kuma...

Modernist early-70s marvel restored as training venue for green-friendly Paris Olympics

2024-07-26T15:40:00-04:00

Reuse and refurbishment will be part of the buzz surrounding this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris, and Chatillon Architectes' new renovation of the Grand Nef de l'Île-des-Vannes sports complex is getting top billing as one of the key projects contributing to a ‘green’ games.

The facility had been vacant since 2018. Chatillon sought to upgrade its energy efficiency and accessibility ratings while preserving its aesthetic and spatial qualities, which have existed since it was constructed in 1971. Today, it has an interior space of 32,300 square feet supported by a superstructure comprising two inclined concrete arches of 82 feet each.

Image: © Antoine Mercusot/Chatillon Architectes

Work included the installation of acoustic wood panels, the addition of new seating and a state-of-the-art multisport floor for athletes, LED conversion of lighting fixtures, and new HVAC systems.

Image: © Antoine Mercusot/Chatillon Architectes

The Grand Nef is now compliant with the latest code requirements...

Bernheimer Architecture union ratifies collective bargaining agreement, the industry's first

2024-07-26T14:01:00-04:00

The historic effort by staff at Bernheimer Architecture to form the industry’s first union at a private-sector U.S. architecture firm is now complete after their ratification of a collective bargaining agreement in the firm's New York office this week. The vote on Thursday was unanimous. Founder and 2023 AIA NY Medal of Honor recipient Andy Bernheimer is said to have worked openly with organizers to meet a mutual understanding on the contract, whose finalized terms are still forthcoming.

The process began in the summer of 2022 following the failed effort of workers at SHoP to form their own union, an episode that vaulted the conditions of architectural labor into the broader national media spotlight. The BA Union, as it is so-named, is part of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), which has over 646,000 active members in the United States and Canada.

Groups such as Architectural Workers United are hailing its formal establishment as a major vic...

New architecture and design competitions: Young Climate Prize, AIA COTE Top Ten for Students Competition, Seoul Station, and The Home of Shadows

2024-07-26T12:40:00-04:00

For this week's curated picks of architecture and design competitions listed on Bustler, we are highlighting four briefs seeking young mentees driven to develop climate-focused initiatives, creative proposals for the transformation of Seoul Station into a more pedestrian-friendly and green public space, designs of a home with no artificial light, and innovative student projects that foster health, sustainability, and equity.

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

Terner Center's report on construction defect liability turns a new page for California housing reformers

2024-07-26T11:48:00-04:00

The latest report from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation on the stasis of multifamily developments in California has identified existing construction defect liability laws as a barrier to enabling housing justice statewide.

This issue involves the risk taken on by developers of condominium projects and particularly affects BIPOC communities who are less likely to be homeowners than their peers. California’s policies are therein compared to others in the United States and Canada. The findings will help lead to legal reforms to increase homeownership and should be considered especially by architects working in the state's surging multifamily market.

Department of Transportation commits $5B to repair significant large bridges across the U.S.

2024-07-25T19:53:00-04:00

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that more than $5 billion in grant awards will be used to repair or replace nationally significant large bridges across the United States.

The money is being delivered via Large Bridge Project awards through the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program, which was established by the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program has set out to invest $40 billion over four years towards the reinforcement of the country’s bridges.

The grants will support the reconstruction, repair, and restoration of 13 bridges, which are viewed as being critical economic drivers, in 16 states. The projects will also address important safety issues, making the bridges more resilient to extreme weather conditions.

Previously on Archinect: 36% of all U.S. bridges are structurally deficient, study finds

The grants were available to bridges with total eligible project costs over $100 million, with minimum grant awards bein...

The NYT picks up on the 'gender mainstreaming' movement in urban planning

2024-07-25T19:32:00-04:00

A new planned community is built on the urban design philosophy known as ‘gender mainstreaming.’ [...] Ms. Kail acknowledges that the parameters of gender mainstreaming are in flux. Where there used to be “a focus on the everyday life of white, middle-class women and their children,” she said, over the past decade or so, a new crop of urban planners has widened the lens, just as she’s stepping out of it.

Vienna (the city previously declared by the Times to be a "renters utopia") owes a tremendous thanks to Eva Kail for its apparent equity strides. Though recently retired, the urban planner touts the new Aspern Seestadt development and its "female face" as the embodiment of the movement to infuse gender-conscious urban design concepts to socially engineer cities and suburbs into places of empowerment for women and other traditionally marginalized groups and classes.

The leading cities to embrace the movement toward "gender mainstreaming" include Stockholm, Glasgow, and Barcelona. In line with this movement, the UN-Habtitat also quietly announced the launch of its 'Women-led Cities' initiative last June.

Competition for Finland's Museum of History and the Future picks winning design

2024-07-25T18:23:00-04:00

The international competition to design the ambitious new Museum of History and the Future in Turku, Finland, recently selected the proposal "Squāma" by Finnish practice Sigge Architects Ltd as the winning entry.

The firm, which merged with Helsinki's Sarc Architects earlier this year to form the new Sarc + Sigge venture, beat out 400 submissions for the chance to design the museum. Their winning scheme will serve as a catalyst for the revitalization of the 150,000-square-foot site on the banks of the Aura River.

Coffee, concrete & bulldogs: Look inside this cavernous new café space from TOUCH

2024-07-25T15:51:00-04:00

Thailand is home to an increasing number of coffee drinkers, and there’s lots of interesting architecture to keep up with the rising demand. Today, we’ll highlight a new coffee shop in the country's third-largest city, Nakhon Ratchasima, called French Kitsch III. The concept blends material inspiration and creative spatial configuration together with form.

Photo: Metipat Prommomate

Bangkok-based TOUCH Architect designed the structure with a total floor area of 2,900 square feet using concrete as its main building material, leaving behind an instantly “strong, memorable” image upon its opening last year. The team had imagined a wedding of kitsch and their client's love for French bulldogs in the form of architecture. What it produced, in the end, enhances the brand identity while creating a retail experience that's easy and sure to lure customers back for another sip.

Photo: Metipat Prommomate

The team of four architectural designers explains their work: “By us...

Featured architecture firms hiring for multiple positions right now

2024-07-25T14:30:00-04:00

The latest edition of our curated job highlights from Archinect Jobs features 10+ architecture and design firms with three or more available positions across the country.

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

Ascendium Education Group by Flad Architects.

Flad Architects is hiring for 35 positions across New York City, Tampa, Madison, San Diego, Seattle, Atlanta, Raleigh, Boston, and Gainesville. The firm seeks a Healthcare Architect, Healthcare Planners, Project Architects, Science Planners, Project Managers, Architects, and a Director of Science and Technology.

The Dime by Fogarty Finger.

In New York City, design practice Fogarty Finger is seeking a Junior Architectural Designer, an Intermediate Interior Architectural Designer, a BIM Specialist, an Intermediate Architectural Designer, and a Junior Interior Designer.

East Hampton Modern by Workshop/APD.

Luxury home and high-end commercial developm...

Global BIM market expected to more than triple to $26.4B over the next decade

2024-07-25T14:00:00-04:00

A new report released by the market research company Prophecy Market Insights on the global market for BIM software has predicted substantial growth by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.3% over the next decade, reaching a total valuation of $26.4 billion by 2034.

Key market players like Autodesk have been proactive in their embrace of the new revolution in technologies such as generative AI and virtual reality. A rise in the use of the software by construction contractors is another factor in the expected market expansion.

As it stands, the current valuation for BIM design software is estimated to be around $8.45 billion worldwide.

Calgary's new Scotia Place arena to unite NHL Flames fans for 2027

2024-07-25T12:30:00-04:00

Construction has begun on the new Scotia Place events center in downtown Calgary from HOK and DIALOG.

The arena design reportedly considers its site’s Indigenous forebears from the Treaty 7 Peoples and the Metis Nation and establishes a new home for the Calgary Flames NHL franchise while also standing as the anchor of a 10-acre entertainment district and gathering place for 8,000 Calgarians who live nearby.

The new building is expected to open in fall 2027.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by DIALOG (@dialogdesign)

Florida Southern College to launch new School of Architecture on historic Frank Lloyd Wright campus

2024-07-24T17:41:00-04:00

A new academic program in architecture is coming to Central Florida: The newly established Florida Southern College School of Architecture will begin instructing the first students enrolled in its undergraduate program in 2025, with a master’s course to follow beginning in the 2028 academic year.

The future school boasts a unique learning experience thanks to its setting in the Ordway Building, which is one of 16 structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Lakeland campus between 1938 and 1958. According to the college, that makes it the largest single-site collection of Wright's architecture in the world.

Rendering of the future Florida Southern College School of Architecture building. Image: The Lunz Group/FSC SoA

"We are blessed that this next stage of educational excellence is being funded through a generous benefactor who will ensure that Florida Southern makes a profound impact on the architecture profession and thus on our lives as we live and work in the structures our...

Touring Notre Dame Cathedral with its army of restorers

2024-07-24T15:32:00-04:00

I personally grew fond of the general. Touring the different workshops, he always mentioned the “battle for France” that they absolutely had to win, but also spoke of his deep gratitude. That afternoon in June last year in Saumur, he told the compagnons: “Your pride in your work is beautiful to see. How lucky France is to have you helping to return this absolute masterpiece of a spire to the sky of Paris.”

A restoration of this order should take 10 to 15 years (that’s according to experts speaking immediately after the April 15, 2019, blaze). Instead, an army of over 2,000 workers and skilled tradespeople has diligently chipped away under the direction of General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who died unexpectedly last August. Their incredible pace has required a truly global effort.

The world gets its first glimpse at the restored national treasure when it officially reopens on the morning of December 8th with the now "happy" architect Philippe Villeneuve and President Emmanuel Macron in attendance.

Construction starts fall 19% in June, driven by stark decline in utility/gas activity

2024-07-24T15:01:00-04:00

The total number of construction starts fell by 19% in June, which resulted in a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.0 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network’s latest Construction Starts Index.

Nonbuilding starts dipped 46%, and nonresidential starts decreased by 13%. Residential starts, on the other hand, rose 9%. On a year-to-date basis through June, total construction starts were up 7% from the same period in 2023. Residential starts were up 14%, nonbuilding starts gained 8%, and nonresidential building starts rose 1%.

June’s decline is attributed to a stark dip in utility/gas starts following a high level of activity in May, in which a Liquified Natural Gas plant and an offshore wind project got underway. As a result, gas/utility plants fell 90% over the month.

“The construction market remains sluggish as high interest rates continue to reverberate through the sector,” sa...

June Architecture Billings Index remains down despite slight improvement

2024-07-24T13:41:00-04:00

The latest AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) for June has indicated a continuation of soft business conditions for firms, with a new recorded score of 46.4 (any score below 50 indicates a decline).

The number is slightly higher than May's score of 42.4, which represented a new post-pandemic low. The June data is augmented by other reported economic facts, including that the project pipeline is at its lowest point in three years (6.4 months on average).

"Architecture firms continue to face a period of headwinds in the construction sector, driven by elevated interest rates, high construction costs, and generally weak property values," AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker commented on the June ABI. "This is the seventeenth consecutive month of a billings decrease, and yet, despite the softness, firms remain generally optimistic that conditions will start to improve once interest rates begin to ease."

Federal Green Proving Ground program secures $9.6 million to test emerging building technologies

2024-07-24T13:08:00-04:00

Last week marked the announcement of the U.S. General Services Administration’s collaborative Green Proving Ground program with the Department of Energy. The initiative is aimed at producing “real world” evaluations of 17 different emerging technologies that may have a considerable impact on the future of the building industry and architectural design. Funding for the GSA’s initial $9.6 million investment will come from the Inflation Reduction Act.

This year’s program focuses on the following areas: building envelopes and enclosures, healthy and resilient buildings, HVAC systems for commercial buildings, and on-site renewables. The group being evaluated includes everything from heat pumps to geothermal retrofitting solutions and energy-saving ceiling tiles. Select testing will occur at the GSA's Applied Innovation Learning Labs with the first evaluations becoming available in 2026.

The GSA hopes this will ensure a transition to a net-zero emissions federal building portfolio by 204...

Denver inches forward on downtown KSE-Ball Arena Redevelopment

2024-07-24T12:12:00-04:00

Things appear to be moving forward for Denver’s proposed KSE-Ball Arena Redevelopment following the approval of a rezoning application from Shears Adkins Rockmore Architects (SAR+). The plan connects 75 acres around the 25-year-old sports venue to the future River Mile Development and other constituent parts of downtown, replacing surface parking lots with a 12 million-square-foot mixed-use program and 10 acres of landscaped open space.

ZGF Architects is also involved in the project as a design partner. Wenk Associates is the landscape architect. The plan addresses Denver's need for housing near the downtown core with 6,000 new units, 18% of which are considered affordable.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by SAR+ Architects (@shears_adkins_rockmore)

The Ball Arena scheme is similar in scope to the proposed 55-acre The 1901 Project redevelopment of the neighborhood surrounding the United Center in Chicago from RIOS and Field Operations, which we detailed ...

Celebrated design mogul Paolo Pininfarina is the 2024 American Prize for Design laureate

2024-07-23T20:46:00-04:00

A well-deserved tribute to the influential late Italian businessman and multihyphenate designer Paolo Pininfarina, who passed away unexpectedly this April at the age of 65, has come in the form of the 2024 American Prize for Design. His selection as its newest laureate was announced by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies in conjunction with Good Design.

Pininfarina, who is credited with successful expansions of his father's legacy automotive business into new fields of design (including architecture), was revered as a visionary whose creative impulses propelled the continued influence of Italy's design culture over the international scene into the 21st century.

MAD's bubble installation revitalizes a historic house in the Japanese countryside

2024-07-23T20:01:00-04:00

MAD Architects has unveiled a captivating installation that resembles a bubble being gently blown from a traditional wooden structure.

Called the “Ephemeral Bubble,” the project was created for the 2024 Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, an outdoor art exhibition held every three years in Japan’s Niigata Prefecture. The biomorphic design seeks to open a dialogue with the Japanese countryside, the architects say.

Image: Zhu Yumeng

The installation connects to a century-old house in Murono Village known as the China House Huayuan, which has been a hub for Chinese-Japanese cultural exchange. The bubble adds a temporary, flexible space that mimics the lightness and translucence of air.

Image: Zhu Yumeng

The interior of the bubble is expansive and undefined. The reflection of the surrounding greenery and colors within creates an atmosphere of soft light, which is suitable for performances, ceremonies, gatherings, and other events.

Image: Zhu Yumeng

As noted by the architects: “The Ephemeral Bu...

RIOS, Field Operations behind proposed $7B redevelopment of Chicago's United Center area

2024-07-23T19:39:00-04:00

The bigger picture of RIOS’s massive The 1901 Project proposal on Chicago’s West Side came into focus today as part of a planned $7 billion redevelopment of areas surrounding the United Center.

The 55-acre site is set to be transformed into a mix of retail, entertainment, and residential spaces over a period of ten years in a new privately funded venture that will join RIOS with Field Operations beginning in the spring of 2025.

The first phase of construction, which kicks off next year at what is now a surface parking area adjacent to the arena, will deliver a 6,000-seat music venue, a 10-acre elevated public park, new parking facilities, and a mix of retail and hospitality aimed at encouraging local businesses with a hefty sense of increased pedestrianism included.

Proposed The 1901 Project redevelopment. Image courtesy RIOS

Current situation. Image courtesy RIOS

Once that phase is complete, the plan's housing component will come into focus. The architects say this will include a mi...

Vassar's religious community finds a new home in adaptive reuse design from L.E.FT Architects

2024-07-23T17:48:00-04:00

School is out of session for the summer, but Vassar College’s new Center for the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practices is on our minds after a recently completed project from L.E.FT Architects restored the existing Pratt House into a campus hub for student’s wellness and intellectual growth.

Photo by Michael Vahrenwald/ESTO

Their adaptive reuse of the 109-year-old building turned its three-story Gothic Revival structure into a home for the office and their mission to serve twelve religious and spiritual student groups at Vassar. In what was originally the college warden’s residence, a new kind of space has evolved. In it, the architects say, the restrictive “dichotomies” dividing religious and secular life in America are dissolved into a communal space imbued with tolerance and the desire to enact change.

Photo courtesy L.E.FT Architects

“The conversations that resulted between the diverse and sometimes theologically-opposed participants were dynamic yet r...

Field Operations, Extell, Standard, Kadre, and Liollio are Archinect Jobs' latest featured employers

2024-07-23T13:44:00-04:00

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, and Charleston, South Carolina.

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

Los Angeles-based practice Standard has an opening for an Intermediate Architect. Qualified applicants will be proficient with Revit, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and Twinmotion. Candidates must possess a portfolio that exhibits excellent architectural design and graphic presentation skills, in addition to the ability to think conceptually.

Forest Knoll by Standard.

Field Operations is seeking a Marketing Coordinator with at least one year of related experience in New York City. Candidates must be proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, InDesign, Photoshop, and PowerPoint. The firm is looking for profession...

A skateable testament to physics and form takes over the Centre Pompidou

2024-07-23T12:57:00-04:00

This summer, outside of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the museum’s famous forecourt area will be the site of a timely skatepark activation by local artist Raphaël Zarka.

His new Cycloïde Piazza installation is meant to connect young Parisian skate enthusiasts and forms a key part of the Cultural Olympiad preceding this year's games, as presented by Centre Pompidou curator Jean-Max Colard.

Image courtesy Raphaël Zarka

Harkening to the experimentations of Galileo and other astronomers and mathematicians as its primary reference, the centerpiece skateable "sculpture" was designed in unison with the architect Jean-Benoît Vétillard to carry several references to France's rich art history and architectural culture.

Image copyright Fred Mortagne

A polychromatic color palette quotes Le Corbusier's "Clavier de couleurs" keyboard cards from 1931. Constructivism and the works of painters such as Lyubov Popova also hold weight over the installation's presentation, helping it to serve as an "urb...

'Teenage Dreams' come to life in an immersive new exhibition

2024-07-23T12:18:00-04:00

What’s the typical future teenager’s room going to look like? A current exhibition at the Danish Architecture Center explores that very question with a number of surprising answers relating to the influence social media, sustainability, and mental health concerns have all had on interior design as it moves headlong into the third decade of the 21st century.

Santiago Calatrava to receive a 2024 CTBUH Lifetime Achievement Award

2024-07-22T20:45:00-04:00

Santiago Calatrava has been named the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's 2024 recipient of the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award. In receiving the annual distinction, he joins SOM engineer John Zils, the winner of this year's Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award.

Both were selected for their respective contributions to the design of tall buildings worldwide, with Calatrava's (himself a trained structural engineer) work being hailed as one that "define[s] skylines and urban spaces across the globe" by CTBUH CEO Javier Quintana de Una.

White House releases recommendations to modernize federal environmental reviews

2024-07-22T20:18:00-04:00

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has shared its updated recommendations for modernizing the process of environmental reviews using new digital technologies. The 78-page report issued last week includes recommended steps and other guidances to complement projects pursued through the $1 billion Inflation Reduction Act and a slate of comprehensive federal permitting reforms that have occurred under the Biden Administration.

Recommended steps include:

Creating a data standard and taxonomy for NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act];
Developing a common architecture for interoperable agency systems;
Supporting agency adoption of shared NEPA tools through iterative development of new and existing software applications; and
Automating the exchange of data among agency systems to provide a unified experience.

Brenda Mallory, Chair of the CEQ, commented: "This report outlines how agencies can create better, more efficient digital tools so we can better allocate federal ...

Handel's 58-story ATX Tower tops out in Austin

2024-07-22T18:39:00-04:00

The forthcoming ATX Tower project in Austin from Handel Architects in partnership with Page celebrated its topping-out ceremony last week. The mixed-use, 425,000-square-foot design includes 369 high-end apartments and over 100,000 square feet of workspaces in a distinctive 58-story silhouette that captures the scale and material character of its adjoining neighbors near Republic Square.

The building will open its doors to occupants by early February 2025. The interiors for ATX Tower were created by New York-based INC Architecture & Design.

Image courtesy Ryan Companies

It will be followed by another mixed-use project — HKS's (scaled-back) Wilson Tower — and the 74-story The Waterline high-rise from KPF, which is on track to becoming the state's tallest.

Both Austin's downtown residential and office real estate markets have experienced downturns in the last year-plus, posing a considerable threat to the formerly breakneck pace of development that has transpired with the continued inc...

Safdie Architects stacks vertical gardens in new Shanghai tower complex

2024-07-22T16:07:00-04:00

Safdie Architects has shared photos of their latest contribution to Shanghai's Luwan district, the new LuOne Mixed-Use Complex, after its construction was completed in the past year.

Featuring an eight-story bronze colonnade-lined retail component and a 35-story office tower, the project “answers the pressing need for connection to nature and a place of community within Shanghai’s urban core,” in the words of Senior Partner Christopher Mulvey.

Image: Shao Feng. Courtesy of Safdie Architects.

Accordingly, the tower’s southwestern edge includes a glass-enclosed “corner garden” running vertically with a series of seven four-story garden spaces stacked to create the appearance of plant life ascending or “climbing” the length of its facade.

Image: Shao Feng. Courtesy of Safdie Architects.

The 484,000-square-foot tower was designed to complete the program, which began with the construction of the 1.5 million-square-foot retail galleria in 2018...