Archinect - News

Moody Nolan is donating a home to 11 different cities as part of its Legacy House Project

2021-07-28T12:25:00-04:00

The firm, cofounded in 1982 by Moody’s father, Curt, and now the largest Black-owned architecture firm in the U.S., moved to refocus its giving on a more tangible outcome. The firm’s architects decided to put their money where their skills are and created the Legacy House project, a planned annual gift that will grant a free home to a family in need in one of the 11 cities where Moody Nolan has offices.

The high cost of homeownership is an increasingly large social and political issue that other architects are addressing with a variety of different experimental housing models.

Moody Nolan was compelled to the measure after re-examining the tangible impacts of its annual donations in each of the communities in which it has an office. Housing stocks in the Columbus area are at an all-time low.

The first two homes are in Ohio and Nashville, Tennessee respectively. Each property will be mortgage-free. The firm has said it would like others to take its lead in donating space in the cities they, too, called home.

Fast Company has more on the program here.

California's Quattrocchi Kwok Architects helps bring broadband internet to rural students amid COVID-19

2020-05-05T12:36:00-04:00

When Santa Rosa-based Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) heard a local call to action to help economically disadvantaged schools in Sonoma County facilitate distance learning, they answered the call. Due to COVID-19 many of the underprivileged students in the area lacked the basic resources needed to continue their education online.

QKA has so far provided 60 Wifi hotspots to families without internet access, 350 reams of copy paper, and monetary contributions to the Roseland Public School's Family Relief Fund to help feed families in need. The firm specializes in education design and co-founder and Principal Mark Quattrocchi, FAIA, personally reached out to school across Sonoma County and Lake County to see how he could help.

"Listening to their stories of material shortages is heart-wrenching, as we see up close the uneven playing field these disadvantaged schools experience — from no laptops, to laptops but no Wi-Fi, and to Wi-Fi “hotspots” but no cell coverage," Quattrocchi wrot...

Los Angeles architects band together to raise funds for local elementary school

2019-11-27T12:50:00-05:00

A group of architects at NAC Architecture in Chinatown LA have come together to raise money for the students at Castelar Elementary School located just a few blocks from their office.

“We are a community-focused practice, and we love the community we’re in. So a chance to help our neighbors and learn from each other is a valuable investment of our time,” said Helena Jubany, FAIA, a Principal at NAC Architecture, “There are lots of talented artists at design firms, so why not mobilize them for a cause?”

Humberto Herrero, Job Captain at NAC Architecture working on his piece for the auction.

After identifying a need for laptops at his kids' school, Edwin Fang, an architect at the firm, founded Boundary/Threshold, an art show and silent auction that will be held at the Eastern Project Gallery in Chinatown. As its name suggests, the theme of Boundary/Threshold centers around an idea of transition.

Piece by Louise Griffin, Project Manager at NAC Architecture.

The art for the event explore...

LeBron James will transform historic building into housing for students of his 'I Promise School'

2019-11-05T12:11:00-05:00

LeBron James is adding safe housing to the school he founded in his hometown, so students have a stable place to live while they get their education. The NBA star announced Monday that a historic apartment building in Akron, Ohio, is being renovated and turned into transitional housing for families in need at his I Promise School.

"Initially, our work was focused on helping these kids earn an education. But we've found that it is impossible to help them learn if they are struggling to survive — if they are hungry, if they have no heat in the freezing winter, if they live in fear for their safety," said James, according to CNN.

Graduate Hotels will renovate the Lynman R. Walker-designed Tudor Revival apartment building before donating it to the school. It is scheduled to open in July for the next school year, reports CNN.

15 awesome architectural organizations to support this Giving Tuesday

2016-11-29T09:15:00-05:00

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’re probably aware of the hectic, often deadly consumer feeding frenzy known as Black Friday. Then, of course, there’s Cyber Monday, when you can get all kinds of deals without having to leave your bedroom. But less people know about #GivingTuesday, a project started in 2012 by the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact and 92nd Street Y. As its name suggests, #GivingTuesday is all about giving back. If you’re willing and able to donate some of your hard-earned cash, here’s a list of some architecture-relevant organizations that could use your help:

Open Architecture Collaborative

The Open Architecture Collaborative is an international network of local grassroots chapters that teams architects and designers with nonprofits, municipalities, and local community groups in order to utilize their skills to help marginalized communities. Many of the chapters first started off as part of the now-defunct Architecture for Humanity. Find out more here...

Architecture for Humanity is being sued for $3M for mismanaging funds

2016-07-12T13:07:00-04:00

The founders and board members of Architecture for Humanity (AFH), the influential and accoladed non-profit organization, is being sued for $3M for alleged mismanagement of funds, according to an exclusive report published by Architectural Record. The report helps shed light on the circumstances under which the non-profit closed down last year.

Among those named in the lawsuit, which was filed on June 10, are the founders Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr, both paid employees, and the 10 volunteer members of the board of directors, including the former head of the American Institute of Architects Clark Manus and architect Toshiko Mori.

According the lawsuit, AFH acted with "gross negligence", misappropriating restricted funds – donations made with specific caveats as to their use – in order to pay overhead such as executive salaries and promotional expenses.

The lawsuit alleges that AFH "completely disregarded the ‘restricted’ and ‘unrestricted’ nature of the funds and began a wholesale ...

LA architects design shelters for homeless cats – with adorable (and charitable) results

2016-03-22T12:51:00-04:00

To raise awareness and funds to address the 3 million feral cat population in Los Angeles, “Architects for Animals” recently tasked twelve local architects to design outdoor cat shelters. Their designs would then be put up for auction to benefit FixNation, a pro-spay and neuter nonprofit. Twelve firms in all, including HOK, Perkins + Will, Knowhow Shop, Standard Architects, RNL Design, Formation Association and more contributed designs – some of them deliciously whacky, others impressively practical to their feline program.

Check out the designs below (the model Tabby has already been adopted, so don't ask):

↑ Knowhow Shop

↑ HOK

↑ Standard Architecture & Design

↑ Lehrer Architects

↑ WORD + Schmidt Designs

↑ Perkins+Will

Check out the rest of the shelters in the image gallery.

Hurry if you want to own a piece of Tokyo's iconic modernist Hotel Okura

2015-11-13T14:32:00-05:00

For those former guests and architectural buffs who lamented the demolition of the iconic Hotel Okura Tokyo, they can soon preserve a piece of it in their homes. Hotel officials plan to sell on the Internet some of the furniture and fixtures used in the guest rooms and restaurants during the main building's 53-year history, with the proceeds going to charity. [...] The 11-story main building, which opened in May 1962 [...], was called “a masterpiece of Japan’s modernism architecture.”

Previously:

Sneak peek: What's in store for designjunction 2015 in London

2015-09-05T04:15:00-04:00

As part of the London Design Festival, the designjunction 2015 tradeshow brings together a stellar international group who are at the top of their game in contemporary interior design. Taking place at The College and the Victoria House along London's Southampton Row from September 24-27, visitors are guaranteed to find something that will catch their eye from nearly 200 brands. This year's designjunction will feature a distinct range of pop-up stores, talks, live workshops, eateries, and a children's charity auction that will showcase 21 artistic interpretations of the iconic Eames Elephant.

Planning a trip to designjunction? Read on to learn more about what to expect this year.

Inside the Victorian-era College — the former home of Central Saint Martins — over 100 brands will showcase their latest cutting-edge designs, including new product launches. Designjunction will take over five floors of the Lethaby building and other stunning spaces within the campus.

Be on the lookout for He...

£200,000 disappears at UK charity Article 25, book keeper arrested

2015-07-18T04:00:00-04:00

Article 25’s office manager and book keeper Scott William Golding has been charged with fraud and false accounting after £200,000 went missing from the charity’s accounts

Article 25, a UK charity that helps provide shelters in disadvantaged communities worldwide, had its future thrown into question in June, when £200,000 of its funds (equivalent to approximately $312,060) were found to be missing. This past Tuesday, Article 25’s book keeper and office manager, Scott William Golding, was arrested in conjunction with the lost funds, and is being charged with “fraud and false accounting”.

In response, the nearly ten-year-old charity is rallying to “tighten up” its financial management. The arrest coincided with the charity’s annual fundraising effort, which met its goal, and Article 25 does not plan to stop its projects while investigation is ongoing. Article 25, named after the right to habitable shelters as decreed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has collaborated with local governments, NGOs and charity programs for a variety of scaled projects all around the world, often in response to disaster scenarios. It was founded in 2006 by former...

Hello Wood to give 5,000 pieces of Christmas Charity Tree firewood to Budapest community

2014-12-22T19:48:00-05:00

Getting caught up in holiday madness has become so normal that it's easy to forget that the holidays can act as a reminder that caring for each other -- no matter how simple the act -- can go a long way. Architecture firm Hello Wood, who built the 11-meter Christmas tree made out of 365 sleighs last year, recently built another Christmas tree installation in Budapest called the Charity Tree.

This time around, Hello Wood worked with Design Terminal and the Hungarian Interchurch Aid to construct the 11-meter Charity Tree, which was built in 5 days from 5,000 pieces of firewood that weigh 150 quintals (or about 30,000 lbs.).

Visitors can also walk inside the tree to find a chapel-like interior space. At night, the tree glows with lighting effects by Philips Hungary.

After the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6, all the wood used to make the installation will be given to local families in need. The Charity Tree addresses the issue of the many Hungarian families lacking daily heating d...

10x10 London auction renders 100 drawn perspectives around The Shard

2014-10-30T18:14:00-04:00

10x10 Drawing the City London is an annual fundraising event established by British architect Tim Makower and organized by charity group Article 25 that gets its name from the 100-square grid that captures one particular area in the city of London.

Each square of the grid is assigned to 100 participants, who are typically some of the U.K.'s most well-known and emerging architects, designers, and artists. Participants will then create and donate an original work of art inspired by the buildings and public spaces within their assigned square. For 2014, The Renzo Piano-designed Shard will be the center of the grid.

This year's set of participants include notable names and 10x10 favorites like Norman Foster, Ivan Harbour, Sheila O'Donnell, C.J. Lim, Piers Gough, Chris Wilkinson, textile designer Celia Birtwell, artists Norman Ackroyd and Roger FitzGerald, and 10x10 founder Tim Makower himself.

Online bidding for the art begins November 4 through November 25, followed by an exclusive evenin...

Warby Parker partners up with Architecture for Humanity

2014-04-07T13:59:00-04:00

For over 15 years, Architecture for Humanity has improved the livelihood of individuals and communities around the world through a global network of professionals who provide quality design and management services where these resources may otherwise be overlooked or out of reach. [...] We’re saluting Architecture for Humanity’s 15th anniversary with two collaboration frames, Aslin and Fowler, inspired by an appreciation for streamlined angles and built-to-last materials.

Warby Parker goes on to pledge: "Warby Parker will donate $15 for every pair of Warby Parker x Architecture for Humanity collaboration frames purchased from April 7, 2014 to September 6, 2014, with a minimum contribution of $15,000, to Architecture for Humanity."

"A Dolls’ House" auction raises nearly £90,000 for KIDS charity in London

2013-11-14T13:40:00-05:00

The Cathedral Group's A Dolls' House raised close to £90,000 at the end of the live auction event on Nov. 11 at Bonhams in London. The project invited 20 well-known UK architects, who collaborated with artists and other designers, to create their own doll houses with the goal to raise £100,000 for the KIDS charity. Architects included Adjaye Associates, FAT, MAKE, Zaha Hadid Architects, Coffey Architects, and Studio Egret West.

The doll houses were then auctioned for online from September to noon on Nov. 11, and finally at the live auction event that evening. To read more on the project, click here.

Here's a part of the Cathedral Groups press release on the event:

"The stylish event saw over 400 guests come together to celebrate and bid on the selection of dolls’ houses, including models by Zaha Hadid and David Adjaye. The highest bid of the evening was for Zaha Hadids’ dolls’ house, ‘This must be the place’ reaching an impressive £14,000.

Not far behind was the 1.5m hi...

Doll houses designed by 20 big-name architects such as Adjaye, Zaha, DRMM, FAT, Make to be auctioned for KIDS charity in November

2013-10-09T17:52:00-04:00

A Dolls' House, a project by Cathedral Group, adds a contemporary twist to a childhood pastime. The UK developer rounded up 20 big-name UK architecture firms -- like Adjaye Associates, Zaha Hadid Architects, Coffey Architects, dRMM, Duggan Morris, FAT, MAKE, and Studio Egret West -- in collaboration with designers and artists to have each of them create their own modern version of a doll house that will be auctioned in November to raise £100,000 for KIDS, a charity that supports disabled children, young people, and their families throughout England. The doll houses will also be presented and exhibited at Bonhams before they are auctioned at an evening event on November 11.

Aside from showing off the personal visions of each design team, these one-of-a-kind doll houses include at least one element designed specifically as a learning aid for children with a disability.

Among the list of well-established names and their reinvented doll houses include MAKE Architects whose "Jigsaw ...

Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Robert A.M. Stern, and Others Design a Collection of Rugs for Arzu Studio Hope

2013-02-12T11:22:00-05:00

Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, Zaha Hadid, Robert A.M. Stern, Margaret McCurry, and Stanley Tigerman have designed rugs for Arzu Studio Hope’s new Masters collection. However, Arzu’s mission is about much more than making beautiful carpets—the Chicago-based not-for-profit organization is dedicated to improving the lives of Afghan women weavers and their families, based on a model of social entrepreneurship.

Architecture for Humanity Launches Philippines Floods Response Program for Long-Term Disaster Mitigation

2012-08-09T18:01:00-04:00

On August 6, the Tropical Storm Haikui brought two days of heavy rains that caused massive flooding and landslides throughout the capital city of Manila in the Philippines. Over 800,000 people were evacuated from their homes and 250,000 people have moved into emergency shelters. [...] Architecture for Humanity is committed to helping communities in Manila rebuild and prevent future disasters. We need your help.

AFH's I Love Architecture Charity Auction Starts Today

2012-06-19T18:29:00-04:00

Over 70 contributions from 50 of the world's top architects and designers are being auctioned. Proceeds will support Architecture for Humanity. Help us reach our fundraising goal of $150,000 by June 30.

Here are just a few selected sketches and design contributions which will become available later today on eBay as part of Architecture for Humanity's I Love Architecture Charity Auction:

↑ Renzo Piano, La scuola a S. José di Costarica. 3/31/12, Pen, Pencil, Marker, & Post It on Trace Paper, 17.5 x 24.5

↑ Richard Rogers | Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, The Centre Pompidou, Screenprint, 24 x 36

↑ Michael Szivos | SOFTlab, 3D lasercut models | set of 3, Plastic light cutouts, 13 x 19

↑ Moshe Safdie, New Wing Expansion Peabody-Essex Museum, Print Ed. 47/118, 16 x 20

↑ Ball-Nogues Studio, Feathered Edge Test Print. 2010, pigment print on somerset velvet paper, 15 x 23

↑ Richard Meier, The Getty Center / I-Research Institute ed.11/20. Spring 1998, Tyler Graphics Print | Original lithograph print on paper, 20.5 x 28

↑ J. Mayer H., From Dataprotection Pattern Installations. 13.2.2012, Printed on card stock, 11.6 x 16.5

↑ Stéphane Malka, AME-LOT. 2...

An Eames Chair Makeover for Charity

2012-03-19T19:14:00-04:00

Presented with an Eames molded plastic chair, 30 San Antonio based designers and architects transformed the modern icon into a canvas for art.