Archinect - News

10 new kitchen designs we enjoyed this week

2023-03-25T08:00:00-04:00

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 Kitchen Spaces.

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

↑ Rustic Canyon in Los Angeles, CA by Walker Workshop; Photo: Joe Fletcher

↑ Camera House in Pemberton, Canada by Leckie Studio Architecture + Design; Photo: Ema Peter

↑ HT Residence in Manhattan Beach, CA by Laney LA; Photo: Joe Fletcher

↑ Walters Cassar Residence in Palm Springs, CA by Studio AR&D Architects; Photo: Lance Gerber

↑ Residence in Brookline, MA by ZeroEnergy Design; Photo: Eric Roth Photography

↑ GAGGENAU & NEXT125 Experience Store in Chengdu, China by HDC Design; Photo: Chuan He

↑ Residence in Atherton, CA by Feldman Architecture; Interior Design: BAMO

↑ Boathouse in San Juan Islands, WA by Prentiss ...

Taller | Mauricio Rocha’s Anahuacalli Museum expansion is the 2023 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize winner

2023-03-24T23:00:00-04:00

Taller | Mauricio Rocha’s expansion and remodeling of the Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City was just named the winner of the 2023 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize by the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago.

The $50,000 biennial prize celebrates the best recently-completed architectural projects across the Americas. Entries for this year's contest were completed between December 2018 and June of 2021 and were judged by a panel that included Julie Eizenberg, Philip Kafka, Alejandro Echeverri, Dirk Denison, Mónica Bertolino, and chair and 2018 MCHAP winner Sandra Barclay.

According to them, the project, which added three new buildings to Juan O’Gorman and Heriberto Pagelson’s original 1963 design of an earlier Diego Rivera concept, “creates a sensitive, open dialogue with the existing Anahuacalli Museum” while working out a solution that “addresses the unique heritage of the site and offers new public space and opportunities to encounter River...

The Silicon Valley Bank crash may carry huge implications for affordable housing development in Boston

2023-03-24T17:27:00-04:00

The fallout from the recent failure of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is having wide-reaching effects across the country. Take Boston, for example, where advocates for multiple in-progress affordable housing developments are concerned about their future following the bank's collapse.

The Boston Globe is reporting on the underpinnings of their dilemma, which concerns the future of the bank's over $1.6 billion worth of investments in the city.

The now-dissolved SVB had purchased the previously-fledgling entity known as Boston Private Bank in 2021, leaving many of its nonprofit clients vulnerable in the wake of the failure. Boston just unveiled its plan to add some 803 units through a $67 million investment, but the 600 or more units derived from projects that were underwritten by SVB remain on precarious footing in spite of several reassurances and the recent FDIC intervention.

Kate Wagner on AI's questionable 'disrupting' impact

2023-03-24T13:59:00-04:00

It is misrepresented as some inherently revolutionary technology, when in fact it is rather conservative aesthetically [...] Not only is this a gray area in terms of intellectual property; it also is, well, boring. An architecture dependent on AI will produce content of the lowest common denominator.

While AI applications like Midjourney may have their advantages, Kate Wagner sees their implementation into the architectural design process as deeply flawed and the product of too many industry hype mongers.

Despite their potential to make certain office tasks redundant, Wagner says there’s going to be an endpoint at which human designers are once again made inevitable, writing: "I believe that while design and construction documentation is the most boring part of making a building, it is also most likely to be the last to be automated, for the simple reason that architects and firms are extremely risk-averse [...] Architects would generally rather leave such features such as retaining walls to contractors rather than elaborate on specifics that would make the architect themselves legally responsible. This is, simply, not a practice open to 'disruption.'"

The points she raises about ...

Toni L. Griffin awarded the 2023 Special Recognition for Architecture, Design, and Urbanism by the SOM Foundation

2023-03-24T13:31:00-04:00

The SOM Foundation has announced Toni L. Griffin as the recipient of their 2023 Special Recognition for Architecture, Design, and Urbanism. The award supports Griffin’s The Laboratory of the Future exhibition as part of the 2023 Venice Biennale.

The six-part exhibition includes 89 participants, over half of whom are from Africa or the African Diaspora. The participants, whose average age is 43, also hold a 50/50 gender balance. 70% of the exhibits are by practices run by an individual or very small team, reflecting what the SOM Foundation calls “a seismic change in the culture of architectural production at large and an even greater shift in participation in international exhibitions.”

Frida Escobedo speaks to Vogue on her plans for The Met expansion

2023-03-24T12:24:00-04:00

One year after acclaimed Mexican architect Frida Escobedo replaced David Chipperfield as the designer for the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's $500 million modern and contemporary wing extension, Escobedo has spoken to Vogue about her vision fo the scheme. When completed, the project is expected to comprise 80,000 square feet of more accessible galleries and public spaces.

“My first thoughts were that this wing is quite isolated,” Escobedo told Vogue’s Dodie Kazanjian on a tour of the existing museum. “It feels like a separate part of the museum, and the question is, how can we integrate it more?”

While Escobedo is not due to present a design concept until June, she revealed to Vogue that her vision for the scheme will include some form of alteration to the building’s orientation. “Right now, the building is facing just one way, Fifth Avenue — the grand staircase, the Great Hall, and you can go in three directions to Egypt, to Greece, and to Europe,” Escobedo told the magazine....

New York Mayor Eric Adams pitches a case for windowless apartment units in the city

2023-03-24T11:58:00-04:00

Mayor Eric Adams opened a new window into his vision for building New York City out of the current housing crisis, with a riff on “dormitory” style accommodations [...] During a conversation on Monday at the Greene Space, New York Public Radio's live events venue, Adams said he wants to 'do a real examination' of the laws that require windows in bedrooms — a major tweak that could make it easier for developers to convert empty offices into apartments.

The Mayor’s comments in favor of window features found in Dormzilla-like residential design caught the ire of critics, who were quick to illustrate its potential fire hazards and physiological impacts. Adams’ suggestion seems a bit at odds with the city’s push to deliver better affordable housing with 40,000 office conversions and other measures, but are nevertheless in line with several of the recommendations for “flexible regulations“ attributed to the Adaptive Reuse Task Force proposed in December 2022.

According to Gothamist, Adams then also commended WeWork’s flawed housing development model and the widespread adaptation of single-room occupancy (or SROs) constructions that typically have windows but have been dwindling since being made illegal under New York City law in 1955.

Supportive housing advocate and pioneer Roseanne Haggerty told Gothamist they would “...

Syracuse University reappoints Michael A. Speaks for a second term as Dean of the School of Architecture

2023-03-24T11:54:00-04:00

The Syracuse University School of Architecture has announced the reappointment of Dean Michael A. Speaks to another five-year term.

Speaks, at the helm since 2013, has been instrumental in establishing numerous academic and faculty-focused programs, including the Harry der Boghosian Endowed Fellowship Program for emerging academics in architecture.

The former Dean of the University of Kentucky College of Design also worked to establish the school’s China Studies program, which now has studios in Beijing and Shanghai, along with a host of academic exchanges and scholarship programs in South Korea and Taiwan respectively.

“With Michael’s deanship has come a new era of success for the School of Architecture,” Syracuse Provost Gretchen Ritter said of his tenure thus far. “He has extended the school’s reach and enhanced its already strong academic program. I know the school will continue to flourish with him at the helm, and I look forward to our continued work together.”

Related Featu...

Tadao Ando’s tribute to Karl Lagerfeld will take over the Met’s Costume Institute this spring

2023-03-23T17:16:00-04:00

The three-decade professional relationship between Karl Lagerfeld and Pritzker winner Tadao Ando will be continued in a new exhibition designed by the architect for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Opening to coincide with the Lagerfeld-themed Met Gala during the first week of May, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty promises to be a treatise on Lagerfeld’s work organized around the duality between straight lines and the “Serpentine line” first theorized in William Hogarth’s 1753 essay The Analysis of Beauty.

The essay was supposedly an inspiration for the late fashion designer throughout his decorated career, the arch and milestones of which are covered in the introductory segment to the exhibition. This introduction will be followed by two galleries that hone in on themes derived from each type of line and are divided into nine ‘sublines’ included as examples of contradictory impulses throughout his friend’s long oeuvre.

Related on Archinect:...

Featured architecture, interiors, and landscape job openings at female-led firms in Chicago and the Midwest

2023-03-23T15:09:00-04:00

Following our recent curated employment highlights that focused specifically on current architectural job opportunities at women-led firms in New York City, Texas, Arizona, and California, we are setting our sights this week on Chicago and Missouri.

From Architectural Designers to Interiors Architects and Landscape Architects, take a look at these currently-available roles at design practices owned or run by women, and visit Archinect Jobs for the complete list of positions. To view only jobs at female-led firms, use our Diverse Ownership filters or this direct link.

To study up on specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, interviewing skills, and increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

Studio Gang seeks an Interiors Architect and Licensed Interior Designer in Chicago
"Studio Gang is actively seeking an Interiors Architect to collabor...

Winners unveiled for Volume Zero's Tiny House 2022 competition

2023-03-23T14:24:00-04:00

Competitions organizer Volume Zero has announced the winners of their Tiny House 2022 Architecture Competition. The contest attracted entries from more than 100 countries, with winners from Iran, Malaysia, Botswana, and Sweden.

"The built form of a home is evolving rapidly, its design adapting to various other needs that were not limited to this space before," the organizers said about their motivation for the competition. "Homes today are versatile entities – doubling up as offices, play areas, work-out zones, and spaces for interaction and recreation, transformative, multi-purpose, and evolving to adapt to us, not the other way around."

The winning entries have been published below.

First Prize: YOU DECIDE by Mohammad Saeed Maaleki and Amir Mohammad Hassani (Iran)

BIG tapped to design a new $51 million whiskey distillery in Kentucky

2023-03-23T13:55:00-04:00

BIG has been announced to lead the design of a new whiskey distillery in Georgetown, Kentucky for a three-year-old local company called Blue Run Spirits.

The 35,000-square-foot distillery and adjacent 20,000-square-foot rick house structure dubbed ‘Meander’ will begin construction later this year at the Lanes Run Business Park located at the northeastern edge of the city, which is just 15 miles from Lexington.

Renderings appear to show a stream-like curved sequence of four interconnected pavilion-like forms with interiors framed by a glass curtain wall and landscaping on a site that is well integrated into the undulating hillside.

Image courtesy BIG

“For Blue Run, we have boiled the entire process of whiskey-making down to a single linear sequence - from distilling to maturing to bottling,” Ingles describes in a preview. “The half-mile-long process meanders through the gentle hillsides creating bends and banks, inlets, and outlooks. A single shingled roof of photovoltaic tiles twist...

Featured architecture projects from female-led firms in the American Northeast

2023-03-23T13:23:00-04:00

In celebration of Women's History Month, we continue to highlight built work by female architects and female-led design practices.

After looking at some standout projects in the American West, New York, and globally in recent weeks, we head to the Northeast of the U.S. to showcase 11 firms that have posted projects to their Archinect Firm Profile.

Feeling inspired? Be sure to check out the job opportunities at female-lead firms in Archinect Jobs.

In the Dunes by Woodhull
The firm is led by directors Teresa Telander and Amy Kronenthal (CFO), along with founding principal Caleb Johnson and fellow directors in Portland, ME.

In the Dunes. Image courtesy of Woodhull. Learn more about the project here.

National Presbyterian Church - Addition and Renovation by Beyer Blinder Belle

The firm is led by partners Jil, S. Cavanaugh, Margaret Kittinger, and Elizabeth Leber (managing partner), principals Rayna Huber Erlich, Jennie Gwin, Elizabeth Kim, Carmen Menocal, and Cassie Walker, along with f...

Autonomous construction robot IronBOT launched to reduce rebar installation times

2023-03-23T13:13:00-04:00

Pennsylvania-based Advanced Construction Robotics (ACR) has unveiled its latest robot designed to handle rebar on construction sites. Named IronBOT, the system can lift, carry, and place up to 5,000-lb bundles of horizontal and longitudinal rebar.

According to ACR, the robotic system requires no pre-programming, pre-mapping, calibration, or BIM input, and instead automates rebar placement based on the user’s spacing requirements. The company also claims the system can be mobilized on a construction site within 4 to 8 hours and can operate day or night.

IronBOT’s release comes six years after Advanced Construction Robotics released TyBOT, an autonomous system that can tie together steel reinforcement bars. According to the company, a construction site that uses both IronBOT and TyBOT can reduce rebar installation times by 50%.

“We are confident the combination of TyBOT and IronBOT generates a disruptive technology, meaning the time and cost savings are so significant on a job that i...

Get Lectured: Thomas Jefferson University, Spring '23

2023-03-23T11:41:00-04:00

This week we are continuing the Get Lectured series with a look at the events still on the docket this semester at the College of Architecture & the Built Environment at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

This semester has brought speakers like Shawn Evans and Garron Yepa of the MASS Design Group, current NOMA President Elect Pascale Sablan, and alumni and HDR principal Sara Gally, among others.

The school shares: "The College of Architecture and the Built Environment’s 2022-23 Lecture Series is titled “Regenerate.” By definition, to regenerate implies future action. It means to form or create again; to be spiritually reborn or converted; and to restore to a better, higher, more worthy state. This theme, Regenerate, encourages voices that not only envision and strategize, but move forward in building new narratives of open and interactive design processes, community coherence, and civic and spatial opportunities to the CABE Lecture Series."

Events continue next week with ...

How schools are adapting their architecture for enhanced student safety amid lack of gun control

2023-03-22T19:57:00-04:00

But now, instead of calling for fortified entrances and security features that can put students on edge, experts are calling for a more holistic approach – where architecture serves as a conduit for both physical security and for supporting students' mental health to prevent violence in the first place.

Responsive elements like magnet-locking classroom doors, “shadow zones”, and even bulletproof storm shelters have been popular design solutions for school districts such as Fruitport, Michigan, which just spent $48 million on a new building based on those and other, less visible concerns.

Architects must consider not only the immediate physical prevention of violence but also the positive impact on the psychological development of pupils their designs can have. This means the K-12 sector may be undergoing its largest change since the 1970s, when the movement towards large classrooms and open spaces engendered many of the challenges safety upgrade projects are tying to mitigate.

Earlier on Archinect: Designing around gun violence

"They have these hallways and lockers, but there's no place to hang out, no place to socialize," architect Rene Berndt, who sits on the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) board of directors, explained to NPR. "And so, we're trying our b...

The ABI reports demand for design services declined again in February for the fifth consecutive month

2023-03-22T18:32:00-04:00

The latest data from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has shown a decline for the industry in February, bolstering a downward economic swing that has lasted through the new year as the prospect of a recession grows ever closer.

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) for the month was at 48.0, down slightly from the 49.3 figure that was recorded for January. New project inquiries did increase, however, along with the overall value of new design contracts. The AIA says these both provide indicators as to improve business performance over the coming months.

With the negative figure (only scores above 50 are considered positive) the ABI has now posted declines from the previous month five times in a row.

February ABI Highlights

Regional averages: West (50.4); Midwest (48.8); Northeast (48.4); South (47.3)
Sector index breakdown: mixed practice (57.0); institutional (46.9); commercial/industrial (45.8); multi-family residential (46.2)

“The combination of an unsettled economy and ...

Ai Weiwei’s minimalist New York apartment lists for $2 million

2023-03-22T14:58:00-04:00

Looking for the ultimate artist’s flat, perhaps one owned by an internationally renowned master? Look no further than this high-floor condo in the Loft 25 building in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. The 1,400-square-foot minimalist-minded pied-à-terre is owned by Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist Ai Weiwei.

As ARTnews reported, the loft was staged with Weiwei’s 1983 Dancers painting and three Marble Chair sculptures from 2008, the same year he moved to the 79-unit building located at 420 W. 25th Street in Chelsea. The 1-bed, 2-bathroom apartment features 12-foot ceilings and appliances made by Liebherr and Bosch, among others. Weiwei originally purchased the property for $1.7 million.

Weiwei’s Upstate Tsai Residence design also sold recently for $5 million. He will have to hope for a better experience with Compass, the real estate firm responsible for the listing, after battling a German company over the misuse of his Berlin apartment that was for sale much of last year.

All images courtesy of Compass

Meanwhile, his largest-ever Lego work just went on view at MoMA. Weiwei is currently between his homes in Cambridge, England; and rural Alentejo, Portugal, where the artist reportedly feels most comfortable.

All images courtesy of Compass

All images courtesy o...

45 winners announced for the 2022 Brick in Architecture Awards

2023-03-22T14:04:00-04:00

Winners of the 2022 Brick in Architecture Awards have been announced by the Brick Industry Association (BIA) for the 34th consecutive year.

The awards celebrate innovations in the material and the skillful application of craft in architectural designs, which this year hailed from the United States, Australia, Canada, China, and Germany, collectively. A total of 45 projects were awarded in Gold, Silver, and Bronze categories, with nine projects selected as the ‘Best in Class’ winners for their respective categories.

“Brick can create virtually anything as an inherently sustainable material with limitless design options, superior durability, fire resistance and energy savings,” BIA President and CEO Ray Leonhard said in a statement.

This year’s contest saw the addition of a new ‘Think Brick’ category. The full list of winners can be viewed here. An archive of past year’s awards can also be found by clicking on this link to the BIA website.

Scroll down to see more about each Best in C...

An open role at The New York Review of Architecture could help propel your career in architectural writing

2023-03-22T12:53:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for the CAED Dean at the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open position on Archinect Jobs for an Engagement Coordinator at The New York Review of Architecture .

The successful applicant to the part-time role will join The New York Review of Architecture’s team of four part-time employees in Chelsea, New York City. According to the outlet, the engagement coordinator will be “pivotal in amplifying the voice of the publication,” including social media posting, preparing content in collaboration with writers and editors, and assisting the publishing of content online and in e-mail lists.

Why the role interests us

The open role at The New York Review of Architecture offers us the opportunity to explore the work of a publication dedicated to pursuing architecture issues in New York and...

Michael Murphy and Michael Ford announced as keynote speakers for 2023 NeoCon

2023-03-22T12:27:00-04:00

This year’s 2023 NeoCon trade fair, beginning on June 12th in Chicago, will feature a pair of headliners familiar to our readers in the architecture and design community.

MASS Design Group co-founder and current Georgia Tech University professor Michael Murphy will join “hip-hop architect” Michael Ford together for the three-day conference, which also features futurist Amy Webb and the Grammy Award-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco.

Ford and Fiasco, who is also a visiting professor at MIT, will share a stage at the AIA Chicago on the 14th at 10 AM to discuss the importance of applying elements from hip hop into their design and pedagogical work under the monicker ‘Exploring the Rhythm of Design.’

Murphy will speak the day before at 10 AM about his work, which surrounds ethics and the empowerment of communities through better design. Webb, who is the first featured keynote speaker for the event this year, will kick things off on the 12th with a talk titled 'Designing a Way Forward' that cen...

400 hanging mushroom bricks used in Studio Link-Arc’s Shenzhen Biennale installation

2023-03-22T11:27:00-04:00

New York City firm Studio Link-Arc has created an installation in Shenzhen formed from 400 hanging mushroom bricks. Titled 'Mushroom Brick Pyramids,' the project was created for the 2022 Shenzhen Biennale, which adopted the theme ‘More than Human Adventure.’

Photo credit: Yu Bai

Seeking to respond to the theme with a project that explored “the intersection between living organisms and architecture,” the studio chose mycelia as their working material due to its ability to survive and adapt to varying environments. As a result, the installation aimed to reflect, visualize, and learn from the organisms in order to inform future architectural applications of the material.

Photo credit: Yu Bai

The resulting scheme was set within a converted old brewery, which included a gallery space between the continuous concrete frames. Beneath the 400 hanging mushroom bricks, a pool was created to provide a moist microclimate, while the indoor-outdoor nature of the space allowed for additional moisture...

Architecture of Mesa Verde's Sun Temple reveals ancient astronomical observatory

2023-03-22T10:39:00-04:00

It’s sheer genius...The architect did this with no known writing or numerical system, no computers. They laid it out with yucca cords and sticks. They were the Michaelangelo of their time.

A diagram of Sun Temple drawn by pioneering archaeologist J.W. Fewkes (National Parks Service)

David Gilbert digs into recent analysis by Dr. Sherry Towers who believes cliff-dwellings in southwestern Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park comprise one of the most advanced astronomical observatories in the ancient world. Though at least some indigenous Hopi argue they were more places for collective celebration, not measurement, of solar and lunar cycles.

Bird Safe Philly's 'Lights Out' campaign reduces avian collisions with buildings

2023-03-21T19:17:00-04:00

A new avian-friendly program aimed at protecting bird local populations during their spring migratory period is taking off in Philadelphia with the hopes of being applied elsewhere in order to combat a mostly invisible problem impacting the ecological systems surrounding major cities across the world.

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently published an interesting look at the success of the Lights Out Philly initiative, which encourages building owners, businesses, and individuals to turn off or reduce unnecessary lighting, especially during peak migration periods, minimizing light pollution and allowing migrating birds to navigate more safely. The program has shown a 70% decrease in the number of bird deaths caused by accidental collisions with buildings in the Center City area since being inaugurated in April of 2021.

Lights Out Philly is managed under the larger umbrella of Bird Safe Philly, a consortium of interest groups that includes the National Audubon Society and Drexel Univers...

Tim Disney's $1 million donation boosts SCI-Arc's DEI scholarship program

2023-03-21T17:51:00-04:00

SCI-Arc recently announced a new $1 million scholarship fund dedicated to the school’s efforts to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion interests in the architectural field.

Former trustee Tim Disney established the fund in order to augment the school’s growing Equity + Inclusion Scholarship and Mentorship program, which pairs students from underrepresented backgrounds with mentors while providing fully-funded tuition.

The current E+1 cohort is 16 students. Disney said, “I am very grateful to be able to support this work, and very proud that SCI-Arc has made equity and inclusion scholarships a top priority.”

Other DEI initiatives adjacent to the program will also be pursued along a five-year strategic plan as part of the gift. The school has continually expanded its Structural Actions to Promote Access, Inclusion, and Equity in Architecture over the past two and a half years, hiring new faculty and bolstering the liberal arts curricula and Kappe Library collection in addition ...

Construction starts rebound for February with 6% rise

2023-03-21T17:10:00-04:00

The latest data from the Dodge Construction Network (DCN) indicates a 6% rise in total construction starts for February, reversing January’s declines to a new seasonally adjusted annual rate of $912.8 billion.

During the month, residential and nonresidential building starts rose by 11% and 9% respectively, while nonbuilding starts declined by 5% overall.

“February construction starts were a mixed bag that led to marginal growth,” said DCN chief economist Richard Branch said. “Single family units posted a gain for the first time in 13 months, and manufacturing starts continued to be very robust, showing signs of promise early into 2023. However, the downturn in commercial and institutional building starts could very well be the beginning of an anticipated slow-down as the construction sector pulls back in the face of higher interest rates and lagging economic growth. While this ebbing should be comparatively mild, some construction verticals could face extreme stress as the year prog...

GSA announced 2022 Design Awards winners

2023-03-21T15:03:00-04:00

The General Services Administration (GSA) has returned to their Design Awards program for the first time since 2016 with a selection of 19 recently-completed projects honored over their contributions to the architecture and design of buildings used by thousands of federal employees and citizens every day.

The Design Awards were established in 1990 thanks to the vision of the GSA’s former chief architect Ed Feiner, who passed away last year. This year’s awards recognized projects that were completed between 2016 and 2022. Winners were evaluated by a panel of industry experts who separated their designs into Honor Awards and Citation categories unified by a shared capacity to “celebrate the power of public buildings,” according to GSA Public Buildings Service Commissioner Nina Albert.

“I’m thrilled to honor the professionals who have contributed their time and talents to ensure that federal buildings nationwide are vibrant, contributing parts of their communities,” GSA Administrator Ro...

M+ museum receives donations from Herzog & de Meuron including Bird's Nest stadium model

2023-03-21T13:51:00-04:00

Hong Kong's M+ museum of contemporary visual culture has announced a two-phase donation by Herzog & de Meuron, the firm behind its design.

The first phase of the donation consists of a section model of the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Beijing National Stadium (in collaboration with artist Ai Weiwei), known as the “Bird’s Nest”, which was the main site at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

Installation view of the National Stadium section model at the M+. Photo: Lok Cheng. Courtesy of M+, Hong Kong.

The second phase will include a selection of process materials from the firm’s key projects in Asia and elsewhere. This donation makes M+ the first museum in Asia to boast a significant holding of materials related to the work of Herzog & de Meuron.

The “Bird’s Nest” model is currently on display in M+’s East Galleries as part of an ongoing exhibition titled Things, Spaces, Interac...

Mexico is planning a new museum at Chichén Itzá

2023-03-21T11:53:00-04:00

The museum, which is still in the planning stages, will replace a much smaller building that closed more than ten years ago. It is likely to follow in the museo de sitio (site museum) model found at other complexes managed by the federal Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e História (INAH). Carlos Esperón, the director of the Maya Museum in Cancún, in the neighbouring state of Quintana Roo, tells The Art Newspaper that work on the museum “could take two years.”

Meanwhile, the Art Newspaper is reporting that several finds taken from the disputed new Maya Train project’s construction will be displayed at the new museum, which is the third most visited cultural site in Mexico. Some experts had feared it would eventually become at risk over the number of visitors interacting with the 1,500-year-old space.

The new museum will apparently be built away from the UNESCO-protected site's monumental area on the other side of a highway so as not to risk any further damage. A section called Chichén Viejo which had previously been off-limits will also be made public as part of the construction project. Costs are expected to exceed US$14.4 million.

This architect has identified the qualities office buildings need for converting to residential

2023-03-21T11:51:00-04:00

That simple recipe for pandemic lemonade—offices people no longer use, combining with central urban locations where people want to live—is blissfully ignorant of a wide range of architectural and economic factors that make the vast majority of office buildings simply unsuitable as housing.

Labeled by Fast Company as “Goldilocks” zones, the sweet spot for office buildings with the potential to become residential are ones that are mid-rise, built pre-WWII, with at least two sides facing open areas or streets near, but not within, a city’s financial core. According to San Francisco-based architect and structural engineer Charles F. Bloszies, the challenge with converting some office buildings lies in their large floor plates and lack of street exposure. Bloszies and his firm have been using publicly accessible data from the San Francisco Planning Department to identify offices that meet the ideal conversion characteristics.

Previously on Archinect: Gensler Principal Steven Paynter details new proprietary office conversion metric

This approach could be done in almost any city says Bloszies, and with higher office vacancies, greater housing demand, and lower real estate costs, this is an opportune moment to convert offices. There’s even the potential to make use of larger, ...