Archinect - News

A wave of new hemp designs appear on the horizon in Australia

2024-11-26T15:37:00-05:00

While big architectural gestures commonly feature glass and steel, those building with the material hope to show that hemp can be grand in its own right.

The Guardian points out Public Realm Lab’s Powerhouse Place, the recently named winner of the National Award for Sustainable Architecture at the 2024 National Architecture Awards, as an example of Australia’s embrace of hempcrete and other hemp products as alternative building materials. Hemp is gaining in popularity in the United States after being effectively outlawed until a 2018 federal reclassification paved the way for it to be added to the U.S. building code appendix in 2022.

Back down under, Public Realm Lab’s co-founder Anna Maskiell tells the outlet: "We were really sick of designing buildings that were just less bad, tinkering around the edges with solar panels and that kind of thing. We were really on this mission to try to find a material that was truly regenerative. It’s a very different way of working, but we think there’s a lot of efficiencies in it."

UMaine experiments with 3D printed floor panels made from recyclable natural materials

2024-08-10T11:00:00-04:00

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Maine are leading interesting new engineering research into floor cassettes made using recyclable natural materials that are strong enough to be used in multi-story buildings. Thanks to experiments at UMaine's cutting-edge Advanced Structures and Composites Center (which previously contributed to our coverage of bio-based 3D printed homes), engineers were able to produce a capable model made from polylactic acid and lumber by-products, such as wood flour.

The SM2ART Nfloor cassette components can be 3D printed in roughly two-thirds the time it takes for a typical floor cassette to be factory assembled, thus saving labor costs. Scott Tomlinson, a structural engineer at the Center, shared: "This technology holds a lot of promise for the future of sustainable buildings." The project came together at the initiative of the SHoP offshoot Assembly OSM.

The work was also recently on display as part of the ...

Snøhetta's high-tech Vertikal Nydalen mixed-use project opens in Oslo

2024-04-27T10:00:00-04:00

A new mixed-use project in Oslo from Snøhetta has been completed following a nine-year design and development phase that culminated in 118,400 square feet and 18 floors with restaurants, an office component, and 40 apartment units all built in.

Vertikal Nydalen is the focal point of a new town square in the Norwegian capital and features a self-sufficient climate system bolstered by PV panels, geo-wells, heat pumps, and an advanced building monitoring system that allows user feedback to inform its controls.

Image credit: Lars Petter Pettersen/Snøhetta

The project was born out of a pilot program that combined two research efforts supported by the Research Council of Norway. It focused on enhancing the building’s ventilation strategy and helping its heating/cooling systems run with little added energy at an efficiency rate of up to 2.5 times the industry’s current leading standard.

Image credit: Lars Petter Pettersen/Snøhetta

Snøhetta's Kjetil Trædal Thorsen says: "We are proud to f...

Henning Larsen debuts Open Detail, a digital biomaterials resource for architects

2024-03-21T18:34:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has unveiled a new tool for designers that allows them access to a database of biogenic materials examples taken from around the world.

The firm debuted its new Open Detail resource at the AEC Hackathon in Copenhagen. Together with collaborators Copenhagen School of Design and Technology (KEA), Ramboll, Speckle, and Chevrant, the entry took home first place for the 'Best Mashup Project' at the Hackathon.

Now, their aim is to "foster a shift towards low-carbon architecture" by making such "tangible" biogenic design solutions more easily accessible to the public and practitioners as an open-source repository and knowledge-sharing platform.

The searchable Open Detail will allow users to contribute and download material details in either 2D or 3D format once actualized. Henning Larsen says this is "only the beginning" for Open Detail, adding that the project's off...

A new museum for one of Australia's most serene artistic escapes

2022-02-05T09:00:00-05:00

The art ecosystem of Australia’s South Coast region got a significant boost over the weekend after the official unveiling of the new Bundanon Art Museum and Bridge for Creative Learning designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects.

The Melbourne-based firm worked with landscape architects Wraight Associates, Craig Burton, and sustainable design engineers Atelier Ten to create a multifaceted arts destination on an important 1,100-hectare (2,718-acre) property located in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales.

Photo by Zan Wimberley

Designed to be a weather-resilient education center as well as an art museum and retreat destination, the entire development consists of a 500-square-meter (5,382-square-foot) museum, paddock-to-plate café, an education center, and lodging for up to 64 people. All this is inspired by the art of landscape painter Arthur Boyd, who, together with his wife Yvonne, gifted the property to the Australian people in 1993.

Photo by Zan Wimberley

The museum is split into ...

Framework for decarbonizing buildings published by the World Economic Forum

2022-02-04T13:46:00-05:00

The World Economic Forum has published a briefing paper setting out its recommendations for sustainable building development. Titled Accelerating the Decarbonization of Buildings: The Net-Zero Carbon Cities Building Value Framework,” the document sets to establish a series of practical steps at the design stage to reduce operational carbon emissions.

“With over half of the world’s population living in cities and producing over 70% of carbon emissions, cities play a key role in combatting climate change,” the report reads. “Construction and the operation of buildings are responsible for 38% of global emissions, and there is an urgent need for solutions to help accelerate the decarbonization of the urban built environment to limit the global temperature rise to below 1.5°C.”

Archinect Feature: Business as Usual or Build Back Better? Architectural Leaders Share Their Thoughts on This Weekend’s COP26 Opening

The report sets out three categories for action: invest in and combine decarb...

Ontario's first mass timber higher education building is taking shape at Centennial College in Toronto

2022-01-10T14:04:00-05:00

The first mass timber academic building in Ontario is taking shape at Toronto’s Centennial College. Located at the college’s Progress Campus in Scarborough, the A-Block Expansion Building will have the potential to be the province's first net-zero carbon, mass timber, LEED Gold higher education facility when completed in 2023.

Image: Dialog

First unveiled in February 2020, the $82 million building was designed by Canadian architecture firm Dialog, in collaboration with Smoke Architecture, and EllisDon as contractor. The design for the expansion was based on the Indigenous concept of “two-eyed seeing,” in which people view the world through an Indigenous lens with one eye or perspective, while the other eye sees through a Western lens. The new campus building aims to embody the college’s commitment to truth and reconciliation, Indigenous education, and sustainable design.

Image: Dialog

“The two perspectives amplified each other,” said Craig Applegath, Principal-in-Charge at DIALOG. “F...

De Zwarte Hond designs a multi-use supermarket made entirely out of wood

2021-11-16T18:46:00-05:00

In Meerstad, a neighborhood in the Dutch city of Groningen, De Zwarte Hond is designing a multi-use supermarket made entirely of wood. Called the SuperHub, the project is labeled as a sustainable and flexible building that is also a host to a variety of social functions.

Meerstad, which was added to the municipality of Groningen in 2017, is known for its spaciousness, greenery, and the newly constructed Woldmeer, a lake for recreation. The focus of the area is on healthy living and sustainability. The neighborhood is also growing, as it anticipates the construction of around 5,000 homes over the next 25 years. To meet the needs of Meerstad’s expansion, De Zwarte Hond was tasked with designing a facilities cluster that could grow with the district. It was envisioned to be the heart of the changing area, where people not only did their shopping but also come together and spend time.

The building is transparent and all-sided, offering impressive views of a nearby new park and the la...

Making clients go green: A free report by WGBC helps architects pitch sustainable design as good business

2021-11-05T11:55:00-04:00

The World Green Building Council has published a free interactive report setting out the economic and social benefits of constructing sustainable buildings. The 114-page “Beyond the Business Case” report was launched at COP26 and may serve as a valuable tool for architects to communicate to commercial clients the financial and social value of investing in environmentally-conscious projects.

“A growing body of evidence has shown that unmanaged climate change generates significant value risks for investors and that the inclusion of climate factors can improve returns,” reads the report. “Consequently, financial markets are increasingly directing their investments towards projects and companies that guarantee (in addition to economic profitability) the achievement of social and environmental development goals.”

Related on Archinect: The Build Better Now Virtual Pavilion at COP26

The report puts forward a range of client-facing economic benefits for green buildings, noting that green ...

Architensions prioritizes outdoor space with speculative cooperative fourplex proposal in Los Angeles

2021-06-08T19:30:00-04:00

New York and Rome-based architecture firm Architensions and architect and design educator, Andrew Bruno, have designed a speculative, cooperative fourplex sitting in the Vermont Knolls neighborhood of south Los Angeles.

Called Knolls Co-Living, the project is a proposal for the Low-Rise: Housing Ideas for Los Angeles competition. The $100,000 design challenge tasks architects and landscape architects to envision appealing and sustainable models for low-rise, multi-unit housing. The project also expands, as stated by the firm, “...Architensions’ interest in reimagining contemporary housing as multi-generational and deeply communal.”

Previously on Archinect: Winning designs for the City of LA's Low-Rise Design Challenge explore new opportunities for housing through research and community engagement

This project follows other cooperative housing proposals by Architensions, such as Big Ideas Small Lots in New York and Ex-Galateo social housing in Italy. Knolls Co-Living challenges tradit...

Buro Happold unveils sustainability plan for Battery Park City

2020-09-08T17:02:00-04:00

Buro Happold and the Battery Park City Authority have published a 10-year sustainability plan that aims to achieve carbon neutrality for the 36-acre district situated on the southern tip of Manhattan by 2050.

The district, which sits just beside the World Trade Center site, contains over 22 million square feet of built area, according to Buro Happold's report, and its new plan is considered among the largest such district visions in the country.

The plan aims to articulate a "holistic vision" for drawing down operating emissions from buildings in the area through a mix of approaches that includes deep energy retrofits, building electrification conversions, low-carbon district energy systems, implementation of renewable energy supply and storage advances, and extensive monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the plan would implement wastewater treatment and recycling strategies, including for storm water runoff, greater supervision of construction waste streams, and va...

Studio Ma completes work on Arizona townhome complex guided by "bioclimatic design"

2020-08-27T13:10:00-04:00

Studio Ma has completed work on The Hollyhock, a collection of 11 townhouses located in Arizona that strive to offer ecologically-minded design amid the region's suburban context.

The project offers a collection of single and dual-story units arranged around a series of xeriscaped "neighborly courtyards," walkways, and private gardens.

According to the architects, the homes are built with "exceptional insulation, energy efficiency and low water use," efforts that include daylighting and passive ventilation as well as high-performanc low-emissivity glass, "insulated faux stucco," galvanized metal, sustainably harvested wood, and exposed concrete floors. These approaches, the designers explain, make up the project's "long-lifespan palette" of materials that "reduce carbon emissions associated with typical construction."

In addition, the project was brought to life through a close working relationship with the general contractor, The Construction Zone. “Together, the team pledged to ...

University of Arkansas debuts the largest mass timber building in the U.S.

2019-12-02T14:00:00-05:00

Boston-based architecture practice Leers Weinzapfel Associates recently completed the construction of the 202,027-square-foot University of Arkansas Adohi Hall, noted to be the "first large-scale mass timber residence hall and living learning setting" as well as the "largest cross laminated timber (CLT) building in the United States" by the practice. For the project, the firm collaborated with Modus Studio (Fayetteville, AR), Mackey Mitchell Architects (St. Louis), and OLIN (Philadelphia) to complete the project.

Image © Tim Hursley/courtesy Leers Weinzapfel Associates

According to the firm's website, "A series of interconnected buildings arranged in a sinuous, serpentine configuration set in a forested landscape provides a variety of communal outdoor spaces that offer a sustainable way of re-imagining campus housing in contrast to traditional housing on the campus quad. Other important sustainability initiatives include a sign...

LafargeHolcim Awards seeks progressive sustainable construction projects from architecture's "Next Generation"

2019-10-09T09:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by LafargeHolcim Foundation

Call for exemplary construction projects and visionary design concepts. The LafargeHolcim Awards seeks leading projects of professionals as well as bold ideas from the Next Generation that combine sustainable construction solutions with architectural excellence. The 6th cycle of the international competition is open for entries until February 25, 2020. The Awards offer a total of USD 2 million in prize money and foreground projects and concepts from architecture, engineering, urban planning, materials and construction technology, and related fields.

Image © LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction

Submissions in the LafargeHolcim Awards main category include sustainable construction projects at an advanced stage of design, with a high probability of realization. Construction/fabrication must not have started before January 1, 2019. The Awards Next Generation category seeks visionary design concepts and bold ideas at...

USBGC seeking input on the future of LEED

2019-07-15T19:25:00-04:00

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced a call for proposals to solicit feedback and concepts for the next version of LEED certification standards.

According to the announcement, the organization is looking to expand and improve upon its recently completed suite of LEED v4.1 rating systems. Aside from focusing on lowering carbon emissions and improving energy and water efficiency ratings like previous editions of the LEED certification guidelines, LEED v4.1 makes an appeal to the growing building wellness movement by also emphasizing "health and well-being of the people who live, work, learn and play in these buildings, cities and communities every day."

Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of USGBC explained in a prepared statement that LEED v4.1 "has allowed us to become more agile and adaptable to incorporate real-time feedback so that we can realistically raise the bar on the marketplace."

Ramanujam added, "Building on this success, we are excited to enga...

Yale students upgrade the "triple-decker" type

2019-07-11T15:20:00-04:00

First-year professional degree students of Yale School of Architecture are hard at work designing and building a new three-unit affordable housing complex in New Haven's Hill neighborhood.

Formally known as the Jim Vlock First Year Building Project, the year-long studio has been an annual ritual at the university since 1989 when then-dean Charles Moore instituted the program. Since then, Yale students have worked to design and build homes for over 50 New Haven families, according to the university. This year's run of the program is being carried out in partnership with Columbus House, a non-profit organization that works to address homelessness in the New Haven area.

View of project model. Image courtesy of Yale School of Architecture.

Initially divided up into competing teams, the students in the studio started by tackling a series of fundamental conceptual exercises to develop approaches for addressing issues of inhabitation, enclosure, unit aggregation, and interior design.

For...

RIBA joins international Climate Emergency Declaration

2019-07-03T14:50:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has agreed to join a global declaration acknowledging the existence of an environmental and climate emergency.

In recent months, New York City, the Vatican, the city of Vancouver, and the government of Ireland, among some 700 additional jurisdictions and governments, have joined the call for "an immediate emergency mobilization to restore a safe climate" around the world.

In a statement announcing the declaration, RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said, “The climate emergency is the biggest challenge facing our planet and our profession," adding, "The implementation of a five-year action plan we have committed to today will ensure we are able to benchmark change and evaluate the actions that make most impact.”

RIBA's announcement comes as the organization works to implement its Ethics and Sustainable Development Commission action plan, a framework that aims to support the United Nations's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The A...

The 2019 International LafargeHolcim Awards for Sustainable Construction Calls for Entries

2019-06-25T12:03:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by LafargeHolcim Foundation

LafargeHolcim Awards 2017 for Middle East Africa prize handover ceremony in Nairobi. Winners celebrate their recognition in the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design. Image © LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction

Submissions in the LafargeHolcim Awards main category include sustainable construction projects at an advanced stage of design, with a ...

Kengo Kuma: 'My dream is to start my own school'

2019-06-19T18:52:00-04:00

INT: Do you think sustainability in architecture is less of an issue in Japan? KK: Historically, traditional Japanese architecture uses very sustainable designs that incorporate features such as natural ventilation instead of air conditioning, and things like that. But in the 20th century, as Western culture came to Japan, we forgot these kinds of designs. That’s what I’m trying to go back to.

"My dream is to start my own school and pass my lessons on to younger generations in the same way that Frank Lloyd Wright did with his School of Architecture at Taliesin [in Wisconsin]," Kengo Kuma told It's Nice That when asked about his future aspirations. "He has inspired me in many ways, but I think this has been his biggest influence on me. It will be an international school in Tokyo, where students will be taught the art of building in harmony with nature."

The Kengo Kuma-designed V&A Dundee in Scotland opened in 2018. Photo: Beth/Flickr

France is cooling their streets with pavers made with shellfish waste

2018-12-05T17:27:00-05:00

In the main axis of the new multimodal hub in the French city of Nice, for the first time in Europe, a large expanse of urban cooling paving is being installed.

It corresponds to the areas of most intense pedestrian presence (bus stops, pavements, etc.) and represents an attempt to improve the thermal conditions of the urban space in a hot climate such as that of Nice.

It consists of an underground irrigation system controlled by exterior sensors that cool special breathable pavers, manufactured experimentally using mollusc shells.

Via

AIA approves new rules specifically addressing sexual harassment and sustainability

2018-09-12T17:54:00-04:00

The AIA Board of Directors have recently approved new changes to the AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct to explicitly address sexual harassment, equity in the profession, and sustainability.

AIA 2018 President Carl Elefante, FAIA stated, “The architecture profession is at a threshold moment. The Board’s adoption of these changes provides us with another step toward ending sexual harassment in the workplace, advancing equity in our profession, and promulgating sustainable practices. I applaud the members who raised their voices to offer these improvements to the code, and the AIA delegates, Board of Directors, and National Ethics Council who acted on their concerns.”

You can find the full list of new and updated rules on the AIA's website here.

Studio Gang reveals new twisting tower design for San Francisco

2018-08-25T11:03:00-04:00

Studio Gang reveals a new, 400-foot tall residential tower called "MIRA" for San Francisco's Transbay neighborhood. The building features classic bay windows staggered in a twisting design around the structure.

"MIRA" high rise rendering by Studio Gang, located in San Francisco. Image: Studio Gang.

The design provides each unit with ample lighting and views of the bay, while also creating a high-performance facade reducing energy consumption.

"MIRA" high rise rendering by Studio Gang, located in San Francisco. Image: Binyan.

40% of the building's units have been designated to be priced below market rate.

"MIRA" high rise rendering by Studio Gang, located in San Francisco. Image: Studio Gang.

The high rise also includes sustainable features such as a VRF cooling system, a graywater harvesting system, green roofs, and high-efficiency fixtures and is targeted for LEED Gold certification.

Deborah Berke Partners completes new $19M residence hall for Dickinson College

2018-08-23T18:06:00-04:00

Ahead of the new academic year, Dickinson College has opened a new $19 million residence hall that will house 130 students. The High Street Residence Hall, the Carlisle liberal arts college's first new residence hall since 1973, is part of a $46 million campus investment plan that began in 2012. Officials said demand for on-campus housing exceeded available space, prompting the start of construction on the new residence hall last year.

Deborah Berke Partners' new dormitory for Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA is now open for the upcoming academic school year.

The 40,500 square foot building is currently targeted to be LEED Platinum, making it the first college residence hall in Pennsylvania to achieve this level if approved. The dorm features an upgraded stormwater management system with four rain gardens.

The residence hall was designed with an energy efficient roof, exterior walls, and windows. The facility connects with the colleges' central energy plant to reduce carbon emissions.

Collaborating Firms
Deborah Berke Partners – Architect and Interior Designer
Andropogon – Landscape Architect
Kohler Ronan – MEP Engineer
Steven Winter Associates – LEED/Environmental Consultant
PHT Lighting – Lighting...

Air conditioning's challenge for the built environment

2018-08-16T16:14:00-04:00

The US expends more energy on air conditioning, for example, than the whole of Africa does on everything. Then again, it expends even more energy on hot water, which doesn’t get the same rap. The question then is not whether to condition climate, but how. As long ago as the 1940s the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy demonstrated, with his village of New Gourna near Luxor, how traditional techniques of orientation, ventilation, screening and shading could be revived.

Rowan Moore dives into the history of air conditioning and how the development of this technology shaped architectural design over the years. Rather than condemn its use, Moore advocates for optimizing both old and new techniques for sustainable cooling with the current challenge to scale up for rapidly expanding cities.

Liverpool aims to be world's first climate-positive city with blockchain technology

2018-07-26T16:20:00-04:00

Liverpool City Council (LCC) has announced a new partnership with a blockchain platform company to offset more than 110% of its carbon emissions, with the city announcing its bid to become the world's first climate-positive city by the end of 2020. LCC will conduct a year-long trial with the Poseidon Foundation to use a blockchain platform to offset the carbon impact of all products and services in the city by supporting global forest conversation projects.

Liverpool's ambition to become the world's first climate-positive city by 2020 has been announced with the city's blockchain technology partnership. Committing to a year-long trial of this sustainable technology, Liverpool City Council strives to reduce its carbon impact by installing more than 15,000 energy saving LED streetlights across 2,000 streets to reduce streetlight energy consumption by 82%.

The Poseidon’s Foundation, Laszlo Giricz stated, “This is a ground-breaking partnership not just for Poseidon and Liverpool, but globally. For the first time, a city will use blockchain technology to go beyond rebalancing its carbon footprint – leading the way in the fight against climate change."

MIT's mass timber longhouse is more sustainable than concrete

2018-07-23T15:15:00-04:00

Changing the mindset behind short-term wooden constructions is MIT. A group of researchers at the university are leading an initiative to investigate new mass timber designs- wood-based buildings designed to be more efficient and cheaper than, yet just as durable as, concrete and steel buildings. The team proposes building mass timber longhouses - large wooden engineered houses built from massive pieces of timber.

Mass Timber Design, MIT's architecture workshop exploring sustainable building design at the intersection of architecture and technology, has developed a Longhouse prototype. Mass timber, a wood-based building design and construction technology, has continued to be explored for its sustainability over other materials such as concrete.

The Longhouse prototype by MIT's Mass Timber Design Workshop. Image: MIT.

A major environmental concern, concrete production accounts for about 5 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions alone.

The Longhouse prototype by MIT's Mass Timber Design Workshop. Image: MIT.

The Longhouse draws on its historical background serving as a multi-functional building designed for shared communal space.

The Longhouse prototype by MIT's Mass Timber Design Workshop. Image: MIT.

The structure consists of a series of timber laminated veneer lumber (LVL) arches spanning across the building’s shorter dimension.

The Longhouse prototype by MIT's Mass Timber Design Wo...

KieranTimberlake develops an app to analyze occupant experience in passive architecture

2018-05-08T15:51:00-04:00

Architecture studio KieranTimberlake used passive strategies to cool their new Philadelphia office building and installed 300 sensors to record data on how it was performing. Along with their network of sensors, the firm also developed an app called Roast for their employees to rate how they felt in the building.

The Roast app asks the user, “How are you feeling today?” allowing quick surveys pre-populated questions based on building industry standards.

The app offers an interactive online interface to analyze occupant comfort. Filter results to compare comfort acrosss space over time.

This kind of post-occupancy evaluation focuses not just on the building's stats, but also on how people are experiencing the space. Together with metric data and employe experience feedback, the firm was able to produce an overall better design. The building was awarded the AIA’s new Top Ten Plus Award this month, an annual honor given to a building with outstanding performance data.

Want to work at K...

Celebrate Earth Day with the latest in green architecture from 2018

2018-04-22T09:00:00-04:00

In honor of Earth Day today, we look at the latest in sustainable architecture revealed in 2018 so far. Working with our natural environment, upcoming green projects range from sculptural electric charging stations to the world's largest single-domed tropical greenhouse. Our future is being shaped by new technologies such as a machine to recycle demolition waste, progress in nuclear fusion power, and mass timber building techniques.

Scroll down and get inspired to further harmonize our built and natural environments:

Social housing goes green with another urban forest designed by Stefano Boeri

Charging in Style: Danish firm COBE is rethinking fueling stations

Signum Architecture designs sustainably minded Napa Valley winery and office

The case for a semi-permeable architecture

Biocylcer wants to recycle construction waste into new building materials

Largest timber-constructed office building in the nation planned for Newark’s waterfront

The Solar Decathlon Competition Showcases Cut...

Jeanne Gang’s High Line ‘Solar Carve’ tower tops out, see new renderings and photos

2018-04-16T10:09:00-04:00

Formerly known as the Solar Carve tower, the new High Line-hugging commercial building by Jeanne Gang has officially topped out. The 10-story glassy building was shaped by the firm's strategy of studying the sun's angles to prevent shadows but increase natural daylight and view inside. Get a better look in the new renderings and construction photos released by developer Aurora Capital.

Fluxus assists HUD manufactured housing regulatory reform

2018-04-04T13:24:00-04:00

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has asked for public comments on the current and planned standards for manufactured housing. This action is taken following an executive directive to reduce the U.S. government’s overall regulatory complexity.

In January HUD announced a review of manufactured housing rules seeking public comments on identifying regulations which stifle affordable housing.

Fluxus LLC, a prefabricated building technology platform, has submitted the following comment for the HUD Regulations Division’s consideration in current and planned manufactured housing rules. The group identifies two main issues and offers two recommendations each to address these issues:

Problem Statement No. 1
The definition of HUD-code Manufactured Homes constrains its potential applications typologically, programmatically and aesthetically. According to the definition below, the HUD-code Manufactured Homes applies only to dwellings with an attached permanent chassis on which they are transported to the site in one or more sections.

Recommendation
1. Focus on creating outcome and performance based standards to replace overly prescriptive design standards.
2. Focus on code development cost of ownership not cost of construction

Problem ...

Archinect - News

A wave of new hemp designs appear on the horizon in Australia

UMaine experiments with 3D printed floor panels made from recyclable natural materials

Snøhetta's high-tech Vertikal Nydalen mixed-use project opens in Oslo

Henning Larsen debuts Open Detail, a digital biomaterials resource for architects

A new museum for one of Australia's most serene artistic escapes

Framework for decarbonizing buildings published by the World Economic Forum

Ontario's first mass timber higher education building is taking shape at Centennial College in Toronto

De Zwarte Hond designs a multi-use supermarket made entirely out of wood

Making clients go green: A free report by WGBC helps architects pitch sustainable design as good business

Architensions prioritizes outdoor space with speculative cooperative fourplex proposal in Los Angeles

Buro Happold unveils sustainability plan for Battery Park City

Studio Ma completes work on Arizona townhome complex guided by "bioclimatic design"

University of Arkansas debuts the largest mass timber building in the U.S.

LafargeHolcim Awards seeks progressive sustainable construction projects from architecture's "Next Generation"

USBGC seeking input on the future of LEED

Yale students upgrade the "triple-decker" type

RIBA joins international Climate Emergency Declaration

The 2019 International LafargeHolcim Awards for Sustainable Construction Calls for Entries

Kengo Kuma: 'My dream is to start my own school'

France is cooling their streets with pavers made with shellfish waste

AIA approves new rules specifically addressing sexual harassment and sustainability

Studio Gang reveals new twisting tower design for San Francisco

Deborah Berke Partners​ completes new $19M residence hall for Dickinson College

Air conditioning's challenge for the built environment

Liverpool aims to be world's first climate-positive city with blockchain technology

MIT's mass timber longhouse is more sustainable than concrete

KieranTimberlake develops an app to analyze occupant experience in passive architecture

Celebrate Earth Day with the latest in green architecture from 2018

Jeanne Gang’s High Line ‘Solar Carve’ tower tops out, see new renderings and photos

Fluxus assists HUD manufactured housing regulatory reform

Deborah Berke Partners completes new $19M residence hall for Dickinson College