Archinect - News

Diamond Schmitt presents New Brunswick Museum design

2024-03-31T08:00:00-04:00

Canadian practice Diamond Schmitt Architects, along with Associate Architect EXP, has unveiled the design of the new home of the New Brunswick Museum (NBM) in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Canada’s oldest continuing museum, the NBM’s footprint is set to expand, with its research work and exhibitions united within one sustainable, decarbonized facility.

Rendering by PLAY-TIME Courtesy of Diamond Schmitt.

The design integrates the east wing of the museum’s historic Collections and Research Center and adds five new wings to the north. The new facility will span 134,000 square feet. A new main entrance on street level will lead visitors into a multi-story, public great room. In addition to its use for the museum, this space will host community gatherings, festivals, events, and receptions. It will feature a boutique, café, ticketing services, and a public “Introduction to New Brunswick” gallery. Exhibition galleries on the second floor will overlook the great room.

Rendering by PLAY-TIME...

New construction video highlights AECOM's nearly complete Intuit Dome in Inglewood

2023-07-19T13:35:00-04:00

Following reports of its topping out in March, the AECOM-designed Intuit Dome, the future home of the Los Angeles Clippers, is taking shape ahead of its expected completion in 2024.

A new video depicts the status of the project as of June 2023, where its standout steel frame with diagrid geometry can be seen wrapping the structure. This building skin is formed from a series of diamond-shaped, interwoven metal panels with multiple uses. According to the architects, the frame was inspired by the form of a basketball net as a ball passes through it.

A vast array of solar panels can also be spotted on the structure’s roof. Intuit Dome is set to operate 100% carbon-free, powered fully by batteries and solar power. The design team, alongside the Clippers organization, worked towards initiatives that will earn the stadium a LEED Platinum certification.

The $1.2 billion, 18,000-seat arena will be the centerpiece of a larger mixed-use project, including an 85,000-square-foot training faci...

BESIX and Boskalis awarded $800 million contract for first phase of Port of NEOM development

2023-05-27T13:24:00-04:00

Belgian-French construction group BESIX and Dutch dredging and heavylift company Boskalis have been announced as the first European contractors to be awarded a design and build lump sum contract by NEOM to work on the first phase of development for the Port of NEOM project.

BESIX will work in partnership with local partner Modern Building Leaders (MBL). Together, the companies will be responsible for the design and build of nearly two miles of quay walls of variant types. Boskalis will be responsible for the deepening and widening of the main access channel. Located on the Red Sea, near the Suez Canal, the port is the primary seaport entry to NEOM. It is currently Duba Port, which is one of Saudi Arabia’s smallest in terms of goods handling. This development aims to transform the existing port to become the world’s most technologically advanced, efficient, and sustainable.

The Port of NEOM will be surrounded by Oxagon, a planned floating city that is part of the NEOM project. It ...

A heat pump revolution could bring much-needed building decarbonization

2023-02-06T12:09:00-05:00

By 2030, around a quarter of UK buildings should be heated using them, according to the UK government's climate advisory body, rising to 52% by 2050. Electrifying heating will also be key to decarbonising buildings in the US, says Melissa Lott, director of research at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. One study in San Francisco referred to heat pumps as the "single most impactful lever" to reducing emissions.

Communal heatmains can be used to overcome the challenges of digging expensive boreholes for heat pumps in private homes and urban apartment blocks where most of the UK’s population resides. The country’s push to heat half of its homes using heat pumps, which are evolving, puts it squarely in line with Germany and other states looking to leverage the technology in the interest of achieving sustainability goals.

A recently-announced New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) design contest is also attempting to tackle the affordability issue with window-frame prototypes that cost no more than $3,000 per unit and can be installed in less than two hours.

Revived Toronto Quayside master plan is making headway

2023-02-03T17:16:00-05:00

A clearer vision is emerging for the futuristic Quayside project planned to transform a stretch of Toronto's waterfront, one that is shaping up to be one of the most architecturally-distinct pockets of development in the entire country.

Following over two years since the cancelation of the Sidewalk Labs plan to develop Toronto’s Quayside, a new approach to bring a mixed-use community to the lakefront site is being led by public entities Waterfront Toronto, the City of Toronto, PortsToronto, and private landowners. This past December, Waterfront Toronto’s Board of Directors approved an agreement with development partners Great Gulf Group and Dream Unlimited. The development is set to feature buildings designed by the likes of Adjaye Associates, Alison Brooks Architects, and Henning Larsen.

A recently-presented master plan update highlights new details about upcoming features at the site, including information on the Adjaye Associates-designed Timber House, the Alison Brooks Architects-designed Western Curve, and the Overstorey by Henning Larsen. The development will feature residential spaces, including affordable housing, retail, food, and cultural offerings. The master plan also aims to achieve near-zero greenhous...

Zero-carbon Forbes International Tower, designed by AS+GG Architecture, proposed for Egypt's new capital

2023-02-02T15:34:00-05:00

Forbes and Egyptian real estate development company Magnom Properties have announced plans to construct a 55-story zero-carbon commercial tower in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital outside of Cairo. Called the Forbes International Tower, this marks the first time the media giant has branded a commercial tower. Its design is led by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.

The partnership was announced on the concluding day of the recent Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, where world leaders and experts discussed the need for sustainable climate solutions in urban development. A Memorandum of Understanding to develop the project was signed by the Group Chairman of Rawabi Holding and Chairman of Magnom Properties, Abdulaziz Al Turki, and Forbes CEO, Mike Federle.

“Cities play a critical role in our race to reach net zero and buildings, which are responsible for up t...

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...

2022 is set to be a record year for wind and solar deployments

2021-11-11T08:30:00-05:00

U.S. solar and wind deployments are on track to hit new records in 2022 as momentum behind the energy transition grows, according to a new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The firm forecasts that as much as 44 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and 27 gigawatts of wind will come online next year. For solar, this is nearly double 2021’s estimated 23 gigawatts of new capacity. As reported by CNBC, the factors behind this upswing include the expansion of state-level renewable requirements and the expected extension of tax credits for the industry. The growth can also be attributed to an increase in demand from corporations, as shifting to renewable power is “typically one of the first and easiest steps” for companies looking to cut emissions.

Energy storage, which is key for wind and solar, is also growing, with S&P projecting the installation of 8 gigawatts of storage in 2022. This is six times higher than the prior record from 2020.

These record-setting projections align with the Biden administration’s goal of having a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and ultimately achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

The National Building Museum prepares to launch its Climate ABC programs

2021-10-29T17:51:00-04:00

The National Building Museum has announced the upcoming launch of its new program series, Climate ABC (Action/Building/Community). Commencing on November 16, the series will offer programs designed to both educate the public about climate action and to push for significant solutions in the building industries to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

As stated in The National Building Museum’s announcement: “The series will focus on three essential aspects to addressing climate change: Actions by individuals, businesses, nonprofits, policy makers, and civic entities; examples of Building, both physical structures and landscapes, as well as coalitions of stakeholders; and Communities at every scale that are working to reduce carbon emissions.”

The series will highlight innovative new technologies and best practices from around the world that are accelerating climate solutions. Offered live online, the programs will address topics that can positively influence climate change, includ...

U.S. Department of Energy says solar energy has the potential to produce 40% of the nation's electricity by 2035

2021-09-08T13:13:00-04:00

A new study released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) highlights the role solar energy could play in decarbonizing the country’s power grid.

The Solar Futures Study shows that by 2035, solar energy has the potential to power 40% of the nation’s electricity and employ as much as 1.5 million people, without raising electricity prices. This comes following the installation of a record amount of solar in 2020, which currently accounts for 3% of the country’s electricity supply.

The study shows that by 2035, the U.S. would need to quadruple its yearly solar capacity and provide 1,000 GW of power to ensure a renewable-dominant grid. The report goes further to say that by 2050, solar energy could provide 1,600 GW for a zero-carbon grid.

Solar Deployment 2020–2050, according to the Solar Futures Study. Image: DOE.

“The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the U.S. ...

Neste wants to help you build a sustainable cabin

2019-10-30T14:00:00-04:00

The Nolla Cabin is a sustainable summer cottage developed by Neste and envisioned by designer Robin Falck. The project is a part of Neste's Journey to Zero initiative that aims to push the world closer to a carbon-neutral existence. The A-frame prototype of the cabin was built in 2018 on Vallisaari island in Finland, utilizing only local materials.

In an effort to "have as small an environmental impact as possible," the cabin's energy supply came from entirely renewable sources: electricity is generated by solar panels, and the Wallas stove, used for cooking and heating, runs on a renewable diesel fuel. Nests's objective "was to prove that modern luxury experiences do not have to take a toll on the environment."

To build on this ideal, Neste is currently "organizing a competition that will allow 12 people to build their own Nolla cabins," according Sirba Tuomi, the Marketing Director at the company. Since the organization's design ethos takes into consideration the sustainable imp...

A Carbon-Free Chicago (home)?

2011-08-23T11:53:41-04:00

Five years ago, local architecture and urban-design firm Farr Associates was asked to solve the problem. The company built a 2,600-square-foot house that is now “very, very close” to generating all of its own power, architect Jonathan Boyer says. The owners and designers continue to tweak the tech, and he’s expecting net-zero energy use in the next year-end report.

Wired Magazine in a collaborative partnership with Architectural Digest explores the Windy City’s first, (almost) net-zero-energy home. The home employs a butterfly roof and other smart design ideas to help it unplug from the grid.

buried treasure

2011-05-27T19:39:54-04:00

This lovely underground home is slated to be the first zero-carbon home in the North West of England. Designed by Make Architects, this 4-bedroom oasis leaves the views of nature in tact above the ground while creating spaces filled with light and space below the ground plane.