Archinect - News

SO – IL and OSD to overhaul Detroit marina for new waterfront district

2024-04-30T11:45:00-04:00

SO – IL and OSD have designed a new waterfront district for Detroit’s Little Village. The marina overhaul, named Stanton Yards, will see the existing storage and service-based site transformed into a 13-acre cultural destination with 80,000 square feet of commercial and creative space, 85 boat slips, and waterfront parks.

Image credit: bloomimages

SO – IL will lead the adaptive reuse of four existing pre-war industrial buildings, which historically housed a former theater, marina showrooms, service ships, and a navy shipyard used during World War II. Select demolition and the addition of “unifying elements and upgrades to accessibility” will create a campus for arts organizations, retail, artist studios, and hospitality.

Image credit: bloomimages

“The ethos that 'new ideas must use old buildings' guides our transformation of Stanton Yards into a thriving, multifaceted community,” said Florian Idenburg, Co-founding Principal of SO – IL, about the scheme. “Our design ingrains four histo...

UVA architecture students present ideas for rebuilding a war-torn Ukrainian city to the U.S. Department of State

2024-01-08T14:25:00-05:00

The culmination of the 2023 Fall semester at the University of Virginia saw a contingent of students from UVA’s School of Architecture travel to Washington, D.C., to discuss ideas for rebuilding the war-torn eastern Ukrainian city of Izium upon a special invite from the U.S. Department of State.

Together with Professor Suzanne Moomaw, the cohort of 23 students who participated in the school’s Ukraine Green Recovery Lab were delegated to the National Museum of American Diplomacy in order to present their research to State Department officials, other government representatives, and the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova.

Highlighting topography and other similarities between Izium and Charlottesville, the students presented six phases of a proposed redevelopment to those assembled. What they took away from it was a rewarding experience delivering findings that will, in turn, be presented to the people of Izium for feedback. All in attendance report to have en...

LA's Destination Crenshaw pushes Sankofa Park opening to February 2024

2023-10-05T14:47:00-04:00

This fall’s anticipated debut of the Sankofa Park component of the new Destination Crenshaw public space redesign from Perkins&Will and Studio-MLA in Los Angeles has been pushed back to February of next year, according to an announcement made Wednesday by the group managing its construction in the city's Leimert Park neighborhood.

The park had previously received $3.4 million in federal funding, which added to another $2.4 million fundraising drive initiated by actress Issa Rae and star NBA guard DeMar DeRozan. Planners have now set Sankofa Park to open on February 24th. It is part of the larger $100 million project that will transform a 1.3-mile corridor into a new arts-oriented civic space. Perkins&Will says it is “destined to be a space for celebrations, protests, and demonstrations of grief and peaceful healing.”

Once it is completed, Sankofa Park will include art installations f...

Acclaimed Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier has died aged 63

2023-09-18T20:10:00-04:00

Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier, a deeply admired figure within the country’s design community, passed away on September 15th at the age of 63 following a battle with cancer, the CBC and other outlets reported over the weekend.

The founder of CCxA was behind many of the country’s most beloved public spaces, parks, and memorial designs, including Toronto’s Berczy Park, downtown Montreal’s new The Ring installation, and the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa. A statement from the firm credited him as being a “great visionary who influenced us in surprising and powerful ways, thanks to the creative force and joie de vivre he brought to all our lives.”

The RIng, Montreal. Photo: David Boyer Photographe Inc.

Born and raised in Quebec, Cormier studied at the University of Toronto and Harvard GSD before entering practice in Montreal in 1993. Over the years, Cormier’s work received more than 100 separate awards and honors, including being named to the prestigious Ordre Natio...

AIA Los Angeles pens open letter to 2028 Olympics & Paralympics organizers

2023-09-11T18:43:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects Los Angeles (AIA|LA) has released an open letter sent to organizers of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games on behalf of its members, encouraging their strategizing with the chapter toward outcomes they say will be a “big win” for multiple stakeholders in the community.

The text states the need for LA28 to consider the importance of placemaking and the games’ eventual aftermath, calling on organizers as a whole to work together on a progressive design agenda that benefits all while enshrining the region’s diversity and enhancing the events’ sustainable footprint.

Focusing on four key areas, the chapter’s letter calls for:

Engage with the AIA and the architecture & design community.
Consider the expansion of LA28’s legacy mission.
Expand partnerships with community stakeholders and leverage their resources to advance projects already in the Los Angeles pipeline.
Increase participation opportunities in the Games planning process and be a leader in in...

Former Chicago Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi joins Studio Gang in new planning role

2023-08-24T17:33:00-04:00

While the city’s top transportation post remains vacant, the department’s respected former commissioner has landed a leadership post at the award-winning Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang. Gia Biagi will join Studio Gang as Principal of Urbanism, the firm announced Thursday. Biagi told the Sun-Times that under the newly-created role, she’ll lead Studio Gang’s planning and urban design work nationally.

Biagi told the Sun-Times architecture critic, Lee Bey, her work will help Studio Gang’s efforts to shape “how we think about cities, how we revitalize them, and how that connects to other important systems, whether that’s emphasizing ecology or looking at the important public policy questions on the ground.” She will leverage further experience with the Chicago Park District and the Department of Planning and Development in the execution of her duties.

Previously on Archinect: Studio Gang's Gia Biagi picked to run Chicago Department of Transportation

Gang says Biagi, who worked previously at the firm from 2015 to 2019, shares the same goals and values essential to the core mission of the 12-year-old planning studio. Biagi holds degrees in planning from the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois Chicago.

The CDOT is still searching for a permanent replacement after she stepped down from the role at the end of July.

Arup’s VR95 experience tool offers the vantage point of small children for urban planners

2023-04-29T08:00:00-04:00

An immersive new VR experience tool developed by Arup called VR95 is helping architects and urban designers immerse themselves in the unique perspective of children in the hopes of creating a better environment for them to dwell in.

Arup feels this is an important venture as nearly 70% of the world’s population is expected to inhabit cities by mid-century. In order to prepare, they reached out to the Bernard Van Leer Foundation for help developing an experience that gives users a sense of the world at only 95 centimeters (or a little over three feet) tall.

According to the creators of the tool, it aims to "raise awareness about some of the common challenges currently faced by young children in cities around the world, and encourage decision-makers and thought leaders into thinking from the perspective of a 3-year-old."

Related Feature on Archinect: How Digital Spaces Can Shape Cities as We Exit the Pandemic

It is included as part of the Proximity of Care Design Guide, a tool that ap...

Renewed modernist Esplanade Place Ville Marie opens in Montreal

2023-04-18T14:46:00-04:00

A comprehensive overhaul of Montreal’s Esplanade Place Ville Marie by Sid Lee Architecture and Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes (MSDL) is now complete, marking the end of a $200 million revitalization project that’s brought much-needed civic life back to a busy section of the city’s downtown commercial core.

Originally constructed in 1958 and designed by I.M. Pei and Henry Cobb, who had opened their practice in New York just three years before, the site had become shopworn since its last redevelopment was completed in the 1980s.

Image: David Boyer

The new Esplanade PVM comes with improved pedestrian access, a modernized shopping mall, and reconfigured underground entrance to public transit. MSDL worked to enact new monumental staircases and a horizontal floating glass structure it says is the longest in North America. The perimeter of the plaza area is also reopened to attract circulation between the street and raised public level, and the original parking lot entrance ...

A job opportunity at the City of Tacoma offers insight into a career in urban planning

2023-04-05T16:36:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for the Architecture Program Chair at the University of Michigan, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open position on Archinect Jobs for a Senior Planner at the City of Tacoma’s Planning and Development Services.

The role, based in Tacoma, WA with the possibility of a remote arrangement, calls for an individual who is “passionate about working with diverse community members to solve complex problems and building great communities.” The position also asks for either a bachelor’s degree in planning, architecture, urban design, or a closely allied field with four years of planning experience, or a master’s degree with two years of experience in the planning profession.

Why the role interests us

The position at the City of Tacoma offers insight into the role performed by public planning department...

Destination Crenshaw's Sankofa Park segment sets an opening date for fall 2023

2023-02-01T17:46:00-05:00

LA's Destination Crenshaw initiative has revealed an updated opening day for its largest component along with news of $3.4 million in federal grant contribution that will help further shepherd the project towards its eventual completion later this year.

The development’s Sankofa Park segment will now open in the early fall of this year, according to CEO Jason W. Foster. The beautifully-metaphored nod to the eponymous bird of Akan folklore is designed by Perkins&Will’s award-winning Principal and Director of Global Diversity Gabrielle Bullock and includes art installations from heavyweights such as Alison Saar and Kehinde Wiley, along with additional murals and greenspaces that will be completed in the months immediately following its inauguration.

Sankofa Park. Image: Perkins&Will, courtesy of Destination Crenshaw

Situated along the northern end of the site on the border of the traditionally arts-centric Leimert Park neighborhood, the park is meant as a gathering space for the larger...

Want to help improve Chicago’s streetscape? Here's your opportunity!

2022-12-22T06:30:00-05:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Robotics Fabrication Lab Manager at the New York Institute of Technology, we are using our Job Highlights series this week to explore an open position on Archinect Jobs for a Project Manager at site design group.

The role, based in Chicago, calls for an individual to serve as a “municipal consultant” for the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT)’s Streetscape and Sustainable Design Program, responsible for managing streetscape design projects in collaboration with the public body. Among the qualifications requested for candidates are degrees in landscape architecture, architecture, or a related field, as well as three or more years of professional experience.

Why the role interests us

In recent years, our editorial has featured several instances of private design firms engaging with Departments of Transportation, and the st...

Adjaye Associates designs major 35-acre master plan for Cleveland waterfront

2022-12-06T12:03:00-05:00

Adjaye Associates has designed a major master plan along the Cleveland riverfront in collaboration with real estate firm Bedrock. The Cuyahoga Riverfront development spans 35 acres and is described by its designers as a “15-to-20-year vision” that “prioritizes accessibility, equity, sustainability, and resilience with the development of an 18-hour, 15-minute downtown.”

Concept rendering © Adjaye Associates

Under Adjaye’s plans, the waterfront development will host over 3.5 million square feet of space, including 2,000 residential units, 850,000 square feet of office space, 12 acres of public space, and supporting hospitality, retail, and entertainment venues.

“Our redevelopment strategy for the downtown Cleveland Riverfront taps into the lost heritage of the city, establishing a new relationship between the urban core and the shore,” David Adjaye explained. “As I became more deeply immersed, the need to build a more tempered flow of movement through the city became immensely clear.”

...

New 5G towers are altering the streetscape all over NYC

2022-11-08T14:27:00-05:00

But as is often the case when something new appears on the New York City streetscape, people seem startled by the large structures — and some have expressed unfounded fears about 5G. They’re concerned about the towers’ sheer size and, in some cases, the wrecked views from third-floor windows.

The three-story towers are part of the de Blasio Administration-backed LinkNYC wireless infrastructure network expansion that will eventually deliver more than 2,000 such structures to underserved neighborhoods in an effort to increase accessibility and combat racial inequality throughout the city before 2026.

The plan had to be approved by New York’s Public Design Commission and will be subsidized in large part by wireless carriers who can rent out space inside the poles, which are designed to last well into the era of 7G, according to CityBridge CEO Nick Colvin.

Norman Foster unveils San Marino Declaration of sustainability principles ahead of COP27

2022-10-04T17:40:00-04:00

Norman Foster is in San Marino this week to present what he says is a new set of sustainable urban design principles to the 83rd meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Committee on Urban Development, Housing, and Land Management.

The so-called San Marino Declaration appears as a sort of guidebook around which architects and urban planners can build cities that are “climate-neutral, safer, more inclusive, and resilient.” In it, a set of eleven interrelated principles are floated for universal adaptation based on past actions and directives taken by the UN Secretary-General that carry broad and direct implications to the built environment and ascending migration of populations into urban centers across the globe.

Previously on Archinect: At COP26, Norman Foster speaks about the primacy of cities in the fight against climate change

Speaking to Dezeen recently, Foster compared the plan to the Hippocratic Oath Western medical professionals typically sign, adding th...

Denver has hired its first chief urban designer

2022-08-17T13:05:00-04:00

The City of Denver has hired its first chief urban designer. Following a nearly year-long search, Eugenia Di Girolamo was selected as the city’s first employee to focus exclusively on urban design.

Di Girolamo most recently worked as the deputy director for urban design at the New York City Department of City Planning and will now be tasked with establishing a long-term plan for how Denver will develop, with a focus on community engagement.

As reported by Westword, Laura Aldrete, executive director of Denver Community Planning and Development, wrote to city staffers in an email stating: “Eugenia will work collaboratively with policymakers, Denver residents, and the development industry to create public spaces and neighborhoods that, by design, promote inclusivity, resiliency to climate change, and improve public health and well-being. In this position, she will champion design excellence citywide, from how it feels to walk down the street in Denver’s neighborhoods to large-scale t...

The Asphalt Art Initiative expands to more cities as new statistics point to improved pedestrian safety

2022-04-19T20:06:00-04:00

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a European expansion of its Asphalt Art Initiative on the heels of a new study from the organization and Sam Schwartz Consulting that revealed some eye-opening statistics about the improvement of blacktop spaces in urban areas. A total of 20 new cities will be given grants of $25,000 each as part of the program’s next round of funding, which has to date gone to fund 45 projects in 41 different locations across the United States.

The joint study of 22 different U.S. test cases revealed that arts-driven transportation projects produce, among other outcomes, a 50% drop in the rate of crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists, a 37% drop in the rate of crashes involving serious injury, another 25% drop in road rage incidents between pedestrian and motorist, and a 27% increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians who have the right-of-way, suggesting tremendous public health and safety benefits overall.

Asphalt Art Initiative, Amsterdam. Lead artist: ...

Foster + Partners-led team chosen to design new mixed-use Stockholm Central Station

2022-01-18T14:51:00-05:00

A team led by Foster + Partners in collaboration with Swedish firm Marge Arkitekter has been unveiled as the winners of the competition for the development of Stockholm Central Station in Stockholm, Sweden. The pair is joined by LAND Arkitektur, Thornton Tomasetti, Ramboll, Wenanders, and TAM Group. Together their proposal will see the creation of an integrated transport hub for a new pedestrian-friendly mixed-use urban district.

“As the world’s collective focus shifts to more sustainable ways of living, working and traveling, it is vital that we enhance and redevelop our transport nodes and repair and connect the urban fabric around them,” said Luke Fox, Head of Studio at Foster + Partners. “We look forward to developing these proposals with Jernhusen, Trafikverket and the City of Stockholm over the coming months.”

Originally opened in 1871, Stockholm Central Station sits in the heart of the city, serving as Sweden’s largest transportation hub. The new district will accommodate fut...

MAD Architects wins competition to design Chongqing Cuntan International Cruise Centre

2022-01-13T14:30:00-05:00

MAD Architects, in collaboration with the China Academy of Building Research (CASR), have won an international competition for the design of the Cuntan International Cruise Centre in Chongqing, China. The project will see the transformation of a cargo terminal into a cruise terminal and city complex.

The project site is currently a 66,000-square-meter cargo terminal located in Chongqing’s Liangjiang New Area. With access to the Yangtze River, MAD Architects’ scheme will see the development of a 65,000-square-meter international cruise terminal and city complex, comprising a 15,000-square-meter cruise port and 50,000 square meters of commercial space.

According to MAD’s press release, the design team was inspired by the large orange gantry cranes that filled the freight terminal. ”These gantry cranes became living alien creatures that gave a sense of surrealism,” said MAD Architects Founder and Principal Partner Ma Yansong. “The new scheme is therefore not only about reflecting the ...

8 highlighted job opportunities for urban designers and planners

2021-12-16T16:57:00-05:00

Firms are preparing for the new year and many are looking for candidates to join their team in 2022. For this week's curated job post we highlight urban design and planning positions currently listed on the Archinect Job Board.

If you're preparing for an upcoming job interview or refreshing your resume and CV be sure to check out the Archinect Tips section for helpful news articles and resources to get you ready for the professional practice.

Zuccotti Park. Image courtesy of Cooper Robertson

Cooper Robertson seeks a Senior Urban Designer
Location: New York, NY

Details: "Cooper Robertson integrates architecture and urban design across all scales, from individual buildings to campuses and city districts. Founded in 1979, we are a dynamic and diverse mid-sized office that operates as a collective of architects working closely together to wed practicality and professional rigor with art and design. We are seeking a highly motivated and talented senior urban designer with proven leadershi...

The nature of place: Petra Kempf on architecture, virtual media our shifting urban terrains

2021-12-01T12:13:00-05:00

Pink umbrellas tumble on hidden winds. IP addresses cross like city streets. Bright islands of community float like balloons tethered to gray infrastructural networks.

In her wall-sized drawing “Confronting Urbanization: The Interactive Tissue of Urban Life Pro[log]ue,” Petra Kempf, assistant professor of architecture and urban design in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, combines copious data and mischievous symbolism to explore how smartphones, online commerce, and global connectivity are reshaping the urban terrain.

Hires scan of Petra Kempf’s “Confronting Urbanization: The Interactive Tissue of Urban Life Pro[log]ue.” The full drawing, which measures roughly four meters in length, is featured in the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale. (Photo: Courtesy Petra Kempf)

Some two years in the making, “Confronting Urbanization” is featured in the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, one of the world’s premier architectural showcases, as part o...

Outdoor dining one step further towards becoming permanent in New York City

2021-11-19T15:23:00-05:00

Despite some ongoing litigation, New York City took a major step this week toward making outdoor dining a permanent part of the city's infrastructure. On Monday, the City Planning Commission voted unanimously for a zoning text amendment that will create a clean slate for the city to develop and regulate a permanent program, and will ultimately allow more restaurants to set up outdoor dining structures across the city.

The amendment removes geographic restrictions on where outdoor dining spaces can be located in New York, making the application process for sidewalk and roadway eateries much simpler.

The City Council and mayor will now have to approve the text amendment. Confidence that it will go through is high, given that the City Council voted to make outdoor dining permanent last year and current Mayor Bill de Blasio and incoming Mayor Eric Adams have both pledged support for the move. Once approved, the city will begin developing the specifications for the program, which will include a six-month outreach program in order to receive public input on the program’s design and rules.

Opponents of the plan argue that the outdoor structures for dining add litter, create more noise at night, and take up parking spots. As reported by Gothamist, a group of 22 New York City residents recently filed a lawsuit to block the Open Restaurants Prog...

NYC's new planning director Anita Laremont on the importance of the public realm

2021-11-04T15:08:00-04:00

COVID-19 also showed us the divide that we have in the city. There are BIPOC communities and communities with lower incomes that have very poor-quality public realms that we need to focus on more closely. People who live in the South Bronx need to have the same kind of opportunities to be outdoors and in quality settings in ways that they didn't before.

Anita Laremont, the newly appointed Director of the NYC Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission, when asked about her priorities in light of Mayor Bill de Blasio's term coming to an end soon: "We believe our priorities will continue to be the new mayor's priorities in dealing with the challenging issue of not having enough affordable housing for all our citizens. Other public realm issues we face coming out of the pandemic are job opportunities and economic development."

LAA Office transforms Columbus, Indiana street into vibrant public art space

2021-11-01T15:22:00-04:00

LAA Office, a Columbus, Indiana-based multi-disciplinary design studio, has unveiled its transformation of a street in downtown Columbus into a new arts district. Called 6th Street Arts Alley, the project was realized in collaboration with the Columbus Area Arts Council.

This project aimed to both establish greater connectivity between establishments and reinvigorate undervalued spaces between buildings along 6th Street, an area that is home to a burgeoning arts and design scene with several community organizations, creative businesses, and studios.

LAA Office introduced 10,000 square feet of street improvements, with the most notable addition being a vibrant, geometric ground mural made alongside student and community volunteers. Another mural on the south façade of the historic Odd Fellows building by artist Nick Abstract was also added. Additionally, a custom collection of modular furniture designed by LAA Office and moveable planters by Anova Furnishings are featured. Together ...

Mecanoo converts former urban railway line into green corridor in Taichung, Taiwan

2021-10-22T14:56:00-04:00

Mecanoo, in collaboration with S.D. Atelier Design & Planning, has completed the redevelopment of a 1.7-kilometer-long former railway line into a green corridor featuring an herb garden, fitness areas, playground, viewpoint, and waterpark in Taichung, Taiwan.

The aim of the project was to reimagine and reconnect a historic, disused railway that, due to its challenging location, has served as more of a barrier, impeding circulation from each side of it. The design, thus, opens the railway to the city via a green corridor that fosters biodiversity in order to meet the needs of the community. Bike and pedestrian lanes were also added to meet this goal.

As per the architects: “Within this linear site, the sustainable development covered a wide range of planning and design factors including urban regeneration, public participation, historic preservation, green and water resources, and circulation routes for pedestrians and bikes. Relying on Mecanoo’s extensive urban planning experience...

Destination Crenshaw reveals new renderings as LA grants approval for its arts program

2021-10-15T18:52:00-04:00

New renderings have been unveiled following the city’s Cultural Affairs Commission approval of the recently announced first slate of sculptural installations set to line the forthcoming Destination Crenshaw development in Los Angeles.

The $100 million community redevelopment scheme features a streetscape designed by Perkins&Will’s local office in addition to several green community meetings spaces from Studio-MLA.

Overhead view of Destination Crenshaw’s Sankofa Park featuring designs for works by Maren Hassinger, Kehinde Wiley, and Charles Dickson. Rendering by Perkins&Will, courtesy of Destination Crenshaw.

Overhead images reveal the Sankofa Park section of the corridor dotted with artworks by Kehinde Wiley, Maren Hassinger, Artis Lane, and Charles Dickson. The park lies along 46th Street on the northernmost bookend of the 1.3-mile-long site. Its elongated avian shape is derived from the eponymous sankofa bird, a traditional African symbol representing movement that Dickson captures...

Laguarda.Low Architects designs verdant mixed-use park in Shenzhen

2021-08-26T14:48:00-04:00

New York-based Laguarda.Low Architects has designed a sprawling 128-acre, mixed-use park in Shenzhen that aims to restore the city’s Bao’an district “to its former high level of livability.”

The OCT OH Bay Waterfront Retail Park, which opened in February of this year, joins the new Shenzhen International Airport, new government headquarters, and cultural facilities. The park is on a three-quarter-mile waterfront site, split into four primary zones: east and west waterfront retail park, urban business center, and Waterfront Cultural Park. A natural landscape intertwines with the built settings, dissected by pedestrian paths.

Entertainment venues, leisure facilities, and a performing arts center are all featured, emanating from an expansive open-air plaza. An abundance of natural light and “choreographed circulation,” as stated by the architects, redefine the traditional shopping experience.

The urban business center features terraced office buildings and a hotel that provide views ...

Gensler-designed 'Deer District' a model for NBA cities

2021-07-21T18:42:00-04:00

Last night, the Milwaukee Bucks secured their first NBA title in 50 years with a Game 6 win over the Phoenix Suns. Known for their lively fan atmosphere, the Bucks’ triumph was shared by 65,000 supporters who were present just outside of the Fiserv Forum in a dedicated fan section known as the Deer District. As the Bucks progressed through the playoffs, the reputation of the Gensler-designed entertainment area has grown and is now being used as a model for NBA cities across the country.

Image: Courtesy Milwaukee Bucks

Gensler designed the Deer District, in collaboration with Milwaukee-based firm RINKA, to become the city’s new “living room”. Formerly occupied by a parking structure, vacant lots, and a street, the site was cleared to connect the surrounding communities to the new Fiserv Forum, which opened in tandem with the district in 2019.

Image: Courtesy Gensler

The architecture is envisioned as a modern interpretation of the industrial heritage of the city, incorporating design ...

Third wave Open Streets: Open for whom?

2021-07-02T09:00:00-04:00

According to New York Times restaurant critic, Pete Wells, who “loves outdoor dining,” the Big Apple is in the process of another makeover with a “third wave” of Open Restaurants being added to the city’s already bustling streets.

Nevertheless, as more parking spaces are given over to myriad semi-permanent structures, how this program is enacted will determine who is able to enjoy the public realm. Are restaurant-going people the only New Yorkers that should stand to benefit from this significant shift in urban design?

Open Restaurants and Open Streets were conceived in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which indoor dining was prohibited, allowing restaurants to move their tables outside. The latter was designed to provide additional public space for New Yorkers to socially distance outdoors. Restaurant-going locals have enjoyed the redesign of city streets—however provisional the structures—and now, through regulation, the city has the opportunity to make this a...

City Planning: Who designs cities?

2021-06-02T08:50:00-04:00

Who designs cities? Architecture school may lead young designers to believe that their profession shapes the spatial and aesthetic qualities of the built environment, but a look at the composition of city planning boards suggests otherwise.

City planning has existed for millennia. The Roman castrum, the Spanish Law of the Indies, and Puritans’ utopian plans for cities like New Haven, Connecticut, all used precise grids to organize urban space. Nevertheless, city planning in its contemporary form is integrally related to zoning, which began in New York City.

In 1915, a 42-story skyscraper called the Equitable Building was constructed. The 1916 Zoning Resolution followed. Regulating the height and bulk of new buildings, the resolution controlled the rapid growth of the many tall buildings that sprang up on the island of Manhattan as steel framing and elevators revolutionized architecture and building technology. Today, zoning controls much more than height and bulk, underwriting not...

Inga Saffron on the dueling ideals of urban density

2021-04-06T14:24:00-04:00

Not so long ago, density was promoted as a way to enliven underpopulated cities, particularly their downtowns. Then it became a tool for fighting climate change. Now, density is increasingly seen as an equity issue. [...] Two notorious projects help us understand the difference between density that enhances a neighborhood and projects that big-foot their surroundings.

In her latest column for the Inquirer, architecture critic Inga Saffron dissects two new mid-rise apartment building projects at opposite ends of Philadelphia (the "poop building and the Scrooge building," as she nicknames them) and how their individual approaches toward urban densification can have beneficial or detrimental effects on their surrounding neighborhoods.

"Our challenge is to accommodate new housing while still maintaining our quirky, beloved, lived-in neighborhoods," writes Saffron. "That’s why we need the right density in the right place."