Archinect - News

Saudi Arabia begins securing financing agreements for various NEOM developments

2023-07-17T12:52:00-04:00

Saudi Arabia's megaproject Neom is seeking to raise 10 billion riyals ($2.7bn) in loans, according to a report in Bloomberg published on Monday. The early stages of the $500bn planned city will be financed by money raised from local lenders, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. Banks are currently in negotiations with Neom, and the loan could be completed in the next few months.

A separate $3 billion loan will be required for Shushah Island, the luxury resort component of the $500 billion megadevelopment whose record-setting centerpiece is promised for 2025. Another $800 million was secured recently towards the development of Sindalah, which is set to be the project’s first portion to open next year. $5.6 billion more is on the way to build temporary housing and other facilities for 95,000 workers on The Line. The Saudi Private Investment Fund (which underpins NEOM) holds $778 billion in assets currently, according to Bloomberg.

Citigroup taps WilkinsonEyre to transform its aging 25 Canada Square headquarters

2022-01-28T05:00:00-05:00

An aging financial relic in London’s Canary Wharf is about to become the capital city’s next high-profile retrofit project thanks to a new plan from WilkinsonEyre.

Architects’ Journal UK is reporting that the firm will lead a massive retrofit of the 21-year-old structure after the financial house has apparently opted away from its original demolition plans.

The need for more adaptive reuse efforts has been much publicized of late, especially in London, where major projects like the Barbican Centre redesign and RIBA’s recently-announced Portland Place overhaul establish high-profile showcases. The decision on Citigroup’s part is being framed as a significant victory for AR proponents across the country.

WilkinsonEyre’s efforts will involve the reuse of over 100,000 tonnes of embodied carbon in the transformation of Cesar Pelli’s original 1.2-million-square-foot structure into a more flexible modern office space that is more in tune with the post-pandemic demands on workers. Offices...

'Act of Parliament', by Shift//Delete, turns the Gherkin into the world's biggest penis

2013-05-31T17:47:00-04:00

... we have turned the Gherkin into the worlds tallest penis. A penis that is being gratified by our parliament with a sexual act. A 180m high erection for deregulation and global capitalism. We have created this art work for all those that are suffering cuts to their budgets, benefits, working hours, rights, freedoms and quality of life as Parliament perpetuates the age old practice of taxing the poor for the mistakes of the rich.

21 bank branches vs. 21 architecture students

2011-06-15T19:13:44-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, while i was visiting him at the School of Design and Crafts at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Otto von Busch told me about an extraordinary experiment that architect Armin Blasbichler had carried out with 21 of his architecture students at the University of Innsbruck. I didn't get much details, except that Blasbichler's students had been assigned to pick up a bank in the city, study it, identify its Achilles' heel and plan a bank robbery.