Archinect - News

Employees at Apple's new headquarters keep walking into its famed glass walls

2018-02-16T15:39:00-05:00

There’s been one hiccup since it opened last year: Apple employees keep smacking into the glass.

The Apple headquarters in Cupertino, CA, designed by Foster and Partners, was built with much glass—the building's exterior features the famed curved panels of safety glass while the interior is populated with work spaces, also made from glass. Well, apparently, the favored building material is starting to be a real pain as Apple employees keep bumping into the clear, spotless walls.

This is not the first time Apple's penchant for prioritizing aesthetics over functionality has posed a safety risk. This winter, their flagship store in Chicago, also designed by Foster, caused a snow-related safety hazard due to its thin, gutter-less, carbon fiber roof.

Apple's design flaw in its acclaimed Chicago store creates hazards for shoppers

2017-12-29T15:38:00-05:00

The recently opened Apple store in Chicago has been praised by one of the city’s papers as an “elegantly understated… boon to the city’s riverfront,” but perhaps that perception will change after the discovery of a significant design flaw.The structure’s ultra-thin carbon fiber roof was fashioned in the shape of a MacBook Pro but does not have any gutters to catch water, so melting snow has begun to turn into icicles and sliding snow that can harm pedestrians below.

Outside Apple's recent Chicago store signs read: "CAUTION Watch For Falling Snow and Ice" as noted by blogger Matt Maldre. The new design by Foster and Partners was intended as a “town square” experience for the community, and to serve as a flagship design for all future Apple stores. Unfortunately, this design has a flaw in it's carbon roof warding off Chicago shoppers to steer clear of the building.

The roof's lack of gutters creates a potential hazard as melting snow may fall directly on pedestrians. Matt Maldre comments in his blog, “Maybe next time Apple will consider the actual community where their stores are built [...] Y’know, basic things like in Chicago, the weather gets cold. It snows. The snow falls off the roof. Don’t design a sloping roof where the snow can’t be caught or guttered off somewhere.”

This bacteria-infused concrete "heals" when cracked

2017-05-11T12:35:00-04:00

While there's no word on what would happen if someone skinned their knee on this bacteria-infused concrete, the premise is certainly intriguing in theory: concrete that patches cracks in itself for up to 200 years after its initial formation. Here's a brief video outlining the process:

Architects constitute the fifth most likely profession to commit suicide

2016-07-06T21:06:00-04:00

Less depressing than construction, not nearly as happy-making as arts, design, entertainment, sports and media: according to the CDC, architects are the fifth most likely to commit suicide in comparison with members of other professions, especially if you're a male architect (data for female architects was unavailable).

The study chose to focus on 12,312 suicides that took place in 17 U.S. states in 2012. According to the CDC report, "Occupational groups were stratified by sex, and rates of suicide were calculated for each group using denominators derived from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey March Supplement (5), which includes a question about the person’s primary occupation during the previous calendar year."

For more on mental health in architecture:

Surviving in style: the world's largest private doomsday shelter has a swimming pool, wine cellar, art vaults

2015-11-16T13:51:00-05:00

This is The Oppidum, a massive 323,000 square foot property with plans for a spectacular estate. What lies hidden beneath, carved deep in the mountain is the largest residential doomsday shelter in the world. [...] The planned luxurious underground compound on two levels includes a total space of 77,500 sf with 13 foot high ceilings. The layout features one large 6,750 sf apartment and six 1,720 sf apartments. Construction on the secret facility began in 1984, at the height of the Cold War.

Related on Archinect:

Cheesegrater skyscraper loses another bolt – the third one in three months

2015-01-15T14:36:00-05:00

The owners of the 222-metre (734ft) “Cheesegrater” building, the second tallest building in the City of London, are to replace dozens of long bolts on its structure after it was revealed that another one had fractured. The bolts, among 3,000 on the building’s 15,000-tonne frame, are each just under a metre long. Two snapped in November, with some debris falling to the ground from the fifth floor. Nobody was hurt, but an area below the tower is still cordoned off.

Previously: Bolt part falls off Cheesegrater skyscraper in the City of London

Bolt part falls off Cheesegrater skyscraper in the City of London

2014-11-06T13:41:00-05:00

No-one was injured but an area around the 47-storey Leadenhall Building in the city has been cordoned off. It fell from the fifth floor to the ground at the side of the building - another bolt also broke off but was contained within the skyscraper. It is understood the bolts are about the size of an arm and the piece that fell was about the size of a hand.

Skywalking - hacking architecture in Russia

2012-04-30T15:07:00-04:00

Skywalking basically involves a photographer making his way up to a death-defying height, and snapping a photo that’s meant to give you both a perspective you’ve never seen before, and that feeling like your stomach just made its way into your throat.