Archinect - News

John Portman's personal Sea Island retreat for sale for $40 million in Georgia

2024-11-22T10:48:00-05:00

This house from John Portman has hit the market in coastal Georgia for $40 million. The Peachtree Center architect’s vacation home from 1986 until his death in 2017, Entelechy II is a 13,000-square-foot design with seven bedrooms and eight full baths. The Robb Report says it "represents an apotheosis of the innovative (if sometimes underappreciated) architect and developer’s dramatic signature style."

Sotheby's International Realty has the listing with a special video tour. Another beloved architect's home, George Homsey’s Third Bay Tradition style former personal residence in San Francisco's Liberty Hill Historic District, hit the market recently for $2.45 million. Writer Colin Marshall's 2020 dive into the legacies of Portman and fellow neo-futurist Syd Mead can be found here.

Image courtesy Bartolotti Media

German study finds broad social acceptance of integrated PV panels

2024-11-22T07:40:00-05:00

New findings produced by the Institute of Psychology at the University of Freiburg and German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have shown the proven social acceptance of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) in different urban conditions.

According to techxplore.com, which first reported the news: "The conclusions showed that the acceptance of integrated photovoltaics in urban areas is generally very high and that PV on modern buildings is viewed more positively than on historic buildings."

Additionally, the study found that colored PV panels that match their buildings’ roof or facade design increased their rates of acceptance. Andreas Wessel, a PhD student and co-author of the study says: "The study provides initial insights into the social acceptance of PV systems on and around buildings. It confirms that the acceptance of PV systems can actually be increased through good visual integration with colored modules, especially for historic buildings."

$1 billion Gensler plan could give ancient Houston Astrodome a brighter future

2024-11-21T16:55:00-05:00

The historic Houston Astrodome could soon receive a $1 billion revival courtesy of Gensler.

Plans for Vision: Astrodome from the Astrodome Conservancy called for the erection of four new smaller structures inside the stadium. An arching internal pedestrian boulevard comparable to the New York High Line then interjects itself as an elevated connector to the adjoining NRG Stadium and NRG Center venues.

Image courtesy Astrodome Conservancy

Officially a 450,000-square-foot plan that will rejuvenate the facility (at one point known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World") into a retail and entertainment destination for Houstonians, the endeavor is being supported by favorable results from the Conservancy's 2020 public engagement survey.

Image courtesy Astrodome Conservancy

If approved, the 86% majority of Harris County residents will get their wish in the form of the retail, office, cultural, hospitality, other commercial, and food/beverage offerings lining the selection of redeveloped spaces...

Mecanoo's enigmatic theater design stages Jacob's Pillow for a new era of performance in Massachusetts

2024-11-21T13:17:00-05:00

Mecanoo’s next cultural building in the United States, the new Doris Duke Theater for the Jacob’s Pillow dance center in western Massachusetts town of Becket, has announced its opening date of July 9th, 2025.

After the popular Berkshires destination suffered a devastating loss from a fire in late 2020, the $30 million rebuilding effort was launched, focused on creating a new home that, in the words of the center’s Artistic Director Pamela Tatge, is "grounded in the Indigenous history of the land on which we dance."

Image: Robert Benson, courtesy of Jacob's Pillow

Joining Mecanoo for its reimagined design was Marvel, now fresh off the groundbreaking of its new Bronx Museum of the Arts renovation/expansion and work on the esplanade for the new Universal Hip Hop Museum led by Michael Ford’s BrandNu Design Studio.

Image rendering by Mecanoo Architects and Marvel, courtesy of Jacob's Pillow

Francine Houben, Mecanoo’s founder, says: "At the heart of the new Doris Duke Theatre lies a celebra...

RIBA's House of Architecture plans become clearer with updated Benedetti proposal

2024-11-20T18:05:00-05:00

Plans for the upcoming restoration of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 66 Portland Place headquarters in London have become clearer with the release of an updated proposal detailing the scope of work on the new House of Architecture project.

Benedetti Architects will be leading the project, which was won in 2022 after a short competition. The estimated £58.8 million (about $74.3 million USD) effort will enable full accessibility throughout all 28 levels of the 90-year-old Art Deco building while removing extant fossil fuel-dependent systems to support a push toward net zero. The original George Grey Wornum design has been protected under a historic Grade II* listing since 1970.

Image courtesy Benedetti Architects/RIBA

RIBA says: "[The] House of Architecture brings together three critical areas of our work that need investment, and will deliver on improvements that are fundamental to RIBA’s ongoing mission."

The project adds a new café while reinstating the building’s ...

Populous' new Riyadh soccer stadium symbolizes a germinating seed emerging from the earth

2024-11-19T14:19:00-05:00

A new stadium design from Populous for what will become one of the world’s largest sporting venues, the future King Salman Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been unveiled ahead of the country’s turn as host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Fans will have to wait until 2029 to see the full vision for the stadium and master plan realized. When it does come to fruition, the stadium design, which is to be located in one of the city’s northern precincts, will be approximately square feet and have a capacity for 92,000 people. An adjacent area with separate athletics facilities will join alongside it in the master plan, pollinating the spaces next to King Abdulaziz Park as though germinating seeds meant to represent the growth of sports within the country.

Image courtesy of Populous

Amenities inside the stadium include a Royal Box, hospitality skyboxes and lounges, 300 'VVIP' seats, and 2,200 VIP seats, plus an array of internal screens, indoor gardens, and a rooftop walking path that offers...

Three firms selected to overhaul galleries at the Toledo Museum of Art for 2027

2024-11-19T10:05:00-05:00

Michael Maltzan Architecture, Studio Zewde, and Once–Future Office have been named as the team behind a major upcoming reinstallation of the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) in Ohio. The work will enable a chronological journey through its newly reinterpreted collection brought forth by a curatorial team that has quadrupled in size since 2020. The design team has been active in the past year gauging community feedback and conducting outreach surveys as per the announcement.

Plans will be unveiled in 2025, followed by the start of construction later in the year towards a 2027 completion. The six-building, 40-acre campus includes Frank Gehry’s Center for the Visual Arts (CVA) and SANAA’s Glass Pavilion from 2006. Michael Maltzan says: "By integrating diverse media and technology and prioritizing inclusivity, we aim to create a transformative visitor experience that can serve as a model for cultural institutions worldwide."

Image rendering courtesy Toledo Museum of Art

Image rendering courtes...

Inside the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s new $75 million expansion

2024-11-18T07:20:00-05:00

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) has opened its $75 million NHM Commons expansion to the public. Designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners, with landscape architecture by Studio-MLA and exhibition spaces by Studio Joseph, the NHM Commons comprises approximately 75,000 square feet of renovated and newly constructed space.

Image credit: Benny Chan

The centerpiece of the design is a transparent glass façade, creating a visual connection between the museum and Exposition Park. Inside, the Commons Theater and various multipurpose spaces have been built to accommodate an expanded slate of community-centered programming. The new spaces facilitate engagement with science, culture, and nature, including areas for those visiting without a ticket.

Image credit: Benny Chan

Outside, Studio-MLA has developed a community plaza in collaboration with Native American advisors, featuring sustainable planting, Tongva-inspired mortar i...

Four contemporary LA homes by RIOS: Your Next Employer?

2024-11-18T06:39:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to AUX Architecture, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in Los Angeles this week to explore the work of RIOS.

Founded in 1985, the firm employs approximately 280 team members across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia Pacific. Last month, Archinect reported on the firm’s proposal for One Beverly Hills, designed in collaboration with Kerry Hill Architects and Foster + Partners, while several of the firm’s projects were recently honored at the 2024 LA Architectural Awards.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for several positions to join their Los Angeles team. For candidates interested in applying for a position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four contemporary Los Angeles homes by RIOS that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Shifting Boxes. Image courtesy of RIOS

Shifting Boxes, West Hollywood, CA

Shifting Boxes is formed of seemingly irregular stacked volumes whose po...

Major League Baseball says damaged Tropicana Field won’t be playable until 2026

2024-11-17T08:00:00-05:00

A new roof would be the largest expense, according to the report, accounting for about $23.6 million, but the report states that “the primary structure is serviceable and capable of supporting a replacement tension membrane fabric roof.” Based on the preliminary timeline in the report, it would take a little less than 13 months from the start of construction until “final completion,” with the repairs wrapping up just before a projected Opening Day in late March of 2026.

The cost of repairs has been stated at $55.7 million. The Rays will play their home games in Tampa at George M. Steinbrenner Field (the Yankees’ Spring Training home since 1996) while repair work continues. The vexing financial fiasco is further complicated as the franchise is set to expand into new digs anyway by the start of the 2028 baseball season. Winds in excess of 125 mph removed 18 of the stadium's 24 fiberglass roof panels during Hurricane Milton back in October.

10 architectural facades that stood out this week

2024-11-16T08:00:00-05:00

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 Fancy Facades.

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

↑ Vertical Rainbow in Tokyo, Japan by SAKO Architects; Photo: Koji Fujii

↑ Formosa1140 in Los Angeles, CA by Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects [LOHA]; Photo: Lawrence Anderson

↑ University of Wisconsin-Madison, Hamel Music Center in Madison, WI by Steinberg Hart

↑ Amirá in Querétaro, Mexico by Archetonic; Photo: Rafael Gamo

↑ Stony Hill in Amagansett, NY by Bates Masi + Architects; Photo: Bates Masi + Architects

↑ Beijing City Library in Tongzhou, China by Snøhetta; Architectural Terracotta Manufacturer: LOPO International Limited

↑ Office Building in Mestrino, Italy by Studio Alvise Stramare; Metal Construction and Facade:...

Home owned by late Sea Ranch architect George Homsey lists for $2.45 million

2024-11-15T12:15:00-05:00

The home once owned by one of the leading late-modernist figures in Northern California—the EHDD co-founder George Homsey’s exemplary Third Bay Tradition style former personal residence in San Francisco—is now for sale for $2.45 million via Superstructur.

The online brokerage, which claims to focus "solely on architecture and design with integrity," has the listing in the Liberty Hill Historic District. They say: "The house is in very original condition and now requires a custodian who is sensitive to the building's architectural importance and to the Homsey family's wishes that it may be carefully restored and preserved for the enjoyment of future generations."

Homsey passed away at the age of 93 in April of 2019. Last month in the region, we also highlighted the listing of Julia Morgan's original 1908 home in Berkeley for $1.9 million.

OMA's New Museum expansion tops out on the Bowery

2024-11-15T10:11:00-05:00

Shohei Shigematsu has provided an update on the newly topped out New Museum expansion designed by OMA with Cooper Robertson. The $89 million project adds 60,000 square feet, effectively doubling the institution’s exhibition spaces while supporting a host of new programmatic inclusions for the public and arts community. OMA expects the new building to debut in 2025 alongside its SANAA-designed neighbor, whose facade's materiality is repeated while fusing laterally with the new structure on its second through fifth floors.

The project was announced in 2019. Image courtesy of OMA and Bloom.

The Getty Foundation announces new $1.55 million investment in Conserving Black Modernism

2024-11-14T10:15:00-05:00

Good news for preservation advocates! The Getty Foundation is investing an additional $1.55 million in the conserving Black Modernism program managed by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The new contribution follows a $3.1 million gift that was announced in 2022. Money will be put toward preservation and storytelling efforts for eight 2025 grantees who are "continuing to diversify our nation’s architectural history." To date, the Fund has invested $27 million in 304 sites across the country.

Invisible Studio creates rammed stone yoga studio in UK countryside

2024-11-14T08:27:00-05:00

UK-based Invisible Studio has completed a rammed stone yoga studio for the Newt Hotel in Somerset, UK. Aside from its innovative use of rammed earth, the scheme is defined by a 36-foot-long rooflight made from a single insulated double-glazed unit.

Image credit: Jim Stephenson

The studio is lined entirely in beech slats to provide a "warm and immersive sanctuary-like space." The external skin uses the same rammed stone as the hotel’s adjacent gym, made from local limestone to give it a distinctive red color. Meanwhile, copper detailing borrows from the palette of materials established by the hotel’s Beezantium.

Image credit: Jim Stephenson

“The rammed stone external skin is something we get asked about a good deal, particularly with no roof overhang,” Invisible Studio founder Piers Taylor explains. “The mix is colored only by using local ‘Hadspen’ limestone, which has a distinctive red hue, which is crushed from 45mm to dust. Th...

Airbnb lets you inside the Colosseum for a special gladiator theme experience

2024-11-13T18:01:00-05:00

Airbnb has announced a new partnership with Paramount Pictures for a unique experience as part of the promotional campaign for Ridley Scott’s new Gladiator II sequel. Its setting is the famed Colosseum in Rome. Lucky guests will be guided via concierge into the structure’s hypogeum for a special one-night-only tour before selecting battle armor and readying for combat in the moonlit arena. Fans of the ancient tradition shouldn't miss the opportunity to register here by December 9. Please note: this is not an overnight stay. Ancient Roman posca sports drinks are also not included.

Image: Christopher Anderson/Airbnb

Image: Daniele Castellaro/Airbnb

Caltech's new Resnick Sustainability Center gets scientific from the outside in

2024-11-13T16:58:00-05:00

Caltech’s new Resnick Sustainability Center (RSC) has opened after the completion of an 80,000-square-foot design produced by the LA-based Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign.

The project, which had been marketed as an interdisciplinary and cohesive "makerspace" for Caltech scientists and engineering students, stands out thanks to an innovative building envelope shaped by an "undulating glass skim" that's noticeably distinct from other academic buildings on campus.

Image courtesy of Cannon Design

A language of diagonal sunscreen frits covering a low-E coated glass curtain wall and its supporting mass timber "gridshell" in the facade contribute to the building's impugned profile against the presence of the aforementioned older structures. The use of timber as a structural and aesthetic component also blends the atrium and walkways with a concrete shell core housing suites of research laboratories and academic spaces to make an elaborate yet wholly scientific composition from the outside i...

Studio Gang completes first French project behind cylindrical stone facade

2024-11-13T12:13:00-05:00

Studio Gang has completed its first project in France: the University of Chicago John W. Boyer Center in Paris. Located in the city’s 13th arrondissement, the new academic hub aims to energize the local neighborhood while integrating into the “urban and intellectual fabric of the city.”

Image credit: Fabrice Fouillet

Set on a corner site on Paris’s Left Bank, an area known for research and higher education, the center is the focal point of a new mixed-use development that includes residential buildings designed by PARC Architectes. The scheme’s signature brise soleil façade is comprised of 900 cylindrical stone batons, which filter light based on the interior function, offering privacy in study spaces while revealing public areas. Clad in Lutetian limestone, the batons echo Chicago’s main campus while rooting the building in Paris’s architectural heritage.

Image credit: Fabrice Fouillet

Image credit: Corentin Lespagnol

“The Center in Paris is designed as a...

University of Salford confirms demolition plans for first Stirling Prize winner

2024-11-13T11:04:00-05:00

CNN has confirmed the planned demolition of Stephen Hodder‘s RIBA Stirling Prize-winning Centenary Building at the University of Salford. A spokesperson from the university told the network: "While the Centenary Building has been part of our university estate for a number of decades, unfortunately its ageing infrastructure means it no longer meets modern standards and requirements. It has now been vacant for a third of its built life."

Speaking to his former client's plans for the building, which was the first RIBA Stirling winner in 1996, Hodder told AJ: "For a university that promotes its sustainability credentials, the intention to demolish surely undermines the credibility of its policy. We urge it to reconsider, and hope the architectural community and wider industry collectively exclaim its concerns."

University administrators had previously floated the idea of repurposing it into a K-12 facility before deciding on the demolition.

The Line names Gensler, DMAA, and Mott MacDonald to its project team

2024-11-12T18:57:00-05:00

NEOM has announced three new architectural partners who will participate in its ongoing planning and design development process for The Line megacity component. The press release names Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA), Gensler, and Mott MacDonald as additions.

DMAA (the Phase One master planners) and Mott MacDonald will each be responsible for engineering and infrastructure project management, with the city asset design architect Gensler being tapped to lead "city design coordination and city planning, providing leadership and governance across the project on crucial areas, including planning policies and frameworks, land use and design compliance."

The announcement mentions the start of planning for individually-designed neighborhoods in Phase One, which will be created by a different "suite of architects" beginning in early 2025. A British ITV documentary film crew recently reported on the growth of human rights concerns at The Line site after construction began.

...

Thomas Phifer and Partners completes new MSN Warsaw museum project in Poland

2024-11-12T10:52:00-05:00

An opening for the forthcoming new Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland (MSN Warsaw) from Thomas Phifer and Partners is right around the corner, timed to the 20th anniversary of its founding early next year. The commission, says the museum's director Joanna Mytkowska, helps the MSN Warsaw "take on a new role as a centre for conversations animating contemporary art of all kinds.'

Image: © Nate Cook, courtesy of Thomas Phifer and Partners

The firm has provided a preview of its 213,000-square-foot concrete addition to the city’s cultural fabric, which recaptures the heart of the city’s Parade Square. It represents Phifer and Partners’ first completed project in the EU as well as the first purpose-built home for the institution whose operations had been spread throughout different temporary spaces in the capital for many years.

Image: © Nate Cook, courtesy of Thomas Phifer and Partners

Phifer describes: 'Our mission with this project was simultaneously to recognize the legacy of Parade...

Five bespoke LA projects by AUX Architecture: Your Next Employer?

2024-11-11T10:58:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to OFFICEUNTITLED (OU), we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in Los Angeles this week to explore the work of AUX Architecture.

Founded in 2008 and led by Brian Wickersham, the 40-person studio has amassed a portfolio along an ethos that “brings craft and clarity to designs at every scale—from hearth to urban realm.” Archinect has previously reported on the firm’s success at the 2023 AIA|LA Design Awards, the 2022 American Architecture Awards, and the 2022 AIA California Design Awards, while 2022 also saw Archinect speak with Wickersham on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on architectural practice.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for a Designer to join their Los Angeles team. For candidates interested in applying for a position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up five unique Los Angeles projects by AUX Architecture that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Glorya Kaufman Performing...

10 new examples of brick and stone in architecture

2024-11-09T08:00:00-05:00

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 Bricks & Stones.

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

↑ The Grand Mulberry in New York, NY by MA | Morris Adjmi Architects

↑ Porcelain Factory Plugin Revival in Jingdezhen, China by People's Architecture Office; Photo: Zhu Yumeng, People’s Architecture Office

↑ House14a in Hellerup, Denmark by pihlmann architects; Photo: Hampus Berndtson

↑ The renovation of Phoenix Terrace in the Taihu Resort Area in Wuxi, China by Parallect-design

↑ Manhattan Brownstone in New York, NY by Delson or Sherman Architects; Photo: Jason Schmidt

↑ Glaze in Toronto, ON by Kilogram Studio; Photo: Scott Norsworthy

↑ MRIIA HOUSE in Ukraine by MAKHNO Studio

↑ South E8 in Raleigh, NC by Lorcan O'He...

Studio Gang unveils a new 'creative ecosystem' for the California College of the Arts in San Francisco

2024-11-07T17:42:00-05:00

The wait is over for followers of Studio Gang’s campus expansion for the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco. The project, which was first announced in late 2016, establishes an overlapping "creative ecosystem" inside the footprint of the school's existing campus located in the heart of the city’s Design District.

Image courtesy Jason O'Rear

The program adds a total of 82,305 square feet of space in the form of two hybrid mass timber pavilions set on top of a concrete slab base and sheltering both a makers yard area and other conditioned outdoor spaces used for fabricating and multidisciplinary design education.

Image courtesy Jason O'Rear

The first, 24,300-square-foot Hooper Pavilion includes 48 art studios worth a total of 5,300 square feet. Along with those, there is a new 2,100-square-foot gallery for the exhibition students’ work, small lounge, another classroom space, and a 1,100-square-foot lecture hall with seating for up to 60 people.

Image courtesy Jason O'...

Google updates Thompson Center renderings before first full year of construction

2024-11-06T17:56:00-05:00

The renovation of Helmut Jahn’s fought-over Thompson Center building in Chicago for Google has provided an updated pair of renderings for the $280 million project. The update follows last December’s release of the initial images for the reimagining. Google is pledging to deliver a LEED Platinum-certified project in line with the late architect's post-modernist vision. Initial demolition work began in May and will advance over the next year towards completion in the year 2026.

Image courtesy Google and Pixelflakes

Trahan Architects adds 25 years and a slate of new improvements to New Orleans' historic Superdome

2024-11-06T15:29:00-05:00

With the upcoming 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on the horizon for 2025, the new interior renovations by Trahan Architects to one of its tragic epicenters—the historic Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana—is an important project to highlight following the completion of work in September of this year.

The extension of an initial engagement, which began in the immediate aftermath of the storm, the latest commission authored a full interior renovation meant to improve accessibility, the fan experience, wayfinding, operational efficiency, and the team facilities for the city’s beloved New Orleans Saints NFL franchise.

The project, which was carried out in phases from 2020 on until the start of this year's football season, reconfigures perimeter concessions areas while installing a series of new atrium volumes that ease the speed of access to upper-level guest suites.

"The ingenuity of the original design enabled us to think beyond ...

SO – IL’s shifting 'Anima' design will debut at Art Omi Pavilions at Chatham in 2026

2024-11-05T18:02:00-05:00

SO – IL’s Anima pavilion design for Art Omi Pavilions at Chatham, Art Omi's brand new satellite pavilions offshoot in New York’s Hudson Valley, has been released ahead of its anticipated 2026 debut.

Image courtesy SO – IL

Forming as a "shifting presence" on the undulating meadows at the site, the pavilion offers visitors five interconnected gallery spaces defined by their own distinct lighting and proportions and serviced by unidirectional (e.g. one way in and out) entrances.

Image courtesy SO – IL

Set against its surroundings with monochromatic dark gray cladding and a conical stacked wooden block roof structure, the design is equal to about 1,860 square feet and oscillates between 7 and 35 feet in height at its pinnacle.

Image courtesy SO – IL

The roof itself is composed of thousands of small wood blocks stacked to crate a "gauze-like" illusion and discrete filigreed texture. Back inside, the gallery spaces are reserved for the presentation of individual artworks. This is meant to a...

MVRDV adds a protective design to Aldo van Eyck's Tripolis complex in Amsterdam

2024-11-05T15:41:00-05:00

MVRDV has completed the restoration of Aldo Van Eyck’s Tripolis Park office complex in Amsterdam.

The project, which founder Winy Maas says was deeply personal to him as a fan of the eccentric late Structuralist master, re-establishes two buildings within the monumental original design to cater to Uber and other high-end tenants while greening the site and constructing a new 12-story 'landscraper' to protect against vehicular noise pollution.

The complex links to one of Van Eyck’s most beloved designs, the Amsterdam Orphanage from 1960. MVRDV felt it was their responsibility to protect both its future and the architectural character of the Tripolis buildings’ facades—an act which required careful research done in unison with surviving Van Eyck family members and his available archives.

The work they performed thereafter included adding an all-wood cladding material outside, while designing a more usable office environment i...

One of Helmut Jahn's final designs distinguishes itself on the Chicago skyline

2024-11-05T12:05:00-05:00

Critics are coming out in favor of a distinctive new residential apartment tower from Jahn after the building opened at the south end of Michigan Avenue in Chicago in June. The 1000M project is a new high-rise accommodation meant to anchor the historic thoroughfare with 73 total stories and 738 units.

Image credit: Tom Rossiter

Helmut Jahn is credited with leading its revised design from 2015 until his death in 2021, joined by a team that included Philip Castillo, Lynda Dossey, Peter Hayes, and Lucie Rigaldies.

Image credit: Tom Rossiter

Residents enjoy access to its ground-floor lobbies from both the street level and a stately porte-cochere located on the western axis. The manipulation of air rights for this project allowed the design's floor plates to gradually expand at the northeast or southeast corners from a rectangular base into a more softened parallelogram form.

Image credit: Tom Rossiter

A seven-level parking structure with 325 spaces services the building, which is draped...

Gensler works on new hybrid timber data centers for Microsoft

2024-11-04T18:48:00-05:00

A Gensler and Thornton Tomasetti-led data center project that highlights the enormous potential for similar environmentally-minded hybrid mass timber designs in the booming typology is on its way toward completion in the suburbs of Northern Virginia.

The firm is working with Microsoft to deliver a pair of new centers made using CLT materials. Microsoft says their presence will reduce the buildings’ overall carbon footprint by 35% compared to conventional steel construction, and another 65% compared to those made from precast concrete—an important step as such projects gain priority in the new data-driven economy.

Video courtesy of Microsoft

Microsoft has previously committed to becoming fully 'carbon-negative' in its construction footprint by decade’s end, developing a plan that has since seen setbacks due to the volume and pace of expansion and a subsequently high rate of 'indirect emissions' skyrocketing by 30.9% over just three years.

Another innovation meant to combat this i...