Archinect - News

Record-setting Gordie Howe International Bridge passes major construction milestone

2024-07-20T08:47:00-04:00

The important Gordie Howe International Bridge project is nearing completion at the U.S. border with Canada. The latest construction update now states that the design’s critical bridge deck component has now been installed on the entire length of the 2,800-foot span, connecting both countries through what will become the longest main span of any cable-stayed bridge in North America once it is completed in the fall of 2025.

All images courtesy Pont International Gordie Howe International Bridge

The Windsor-Detroit border crossing is also the busiest land border crossing in North America. Construction on the deck began in December 2022. Charl van Niekerk, CEO of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, said previously: "After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted completion date."

All i...

Mecanoo’s new Taoyuan Station project breaks ground in Taiwan

2024-07-11T11:13:00-04:00

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Taoyuan Station from Mecanoo was recently held in Taiwan. The 656,598-square-foot transportation project supports the country’s transition to an underground rail network as part of the initial segment of a two-phase master plan.

Image courtesy Mecanoo

The station is designed in collaboration with Sinotech as a "large, covered plaza" that includes commercial spaces and a bus station forming its reference as an "origami aeroplane." Its roof canopy features three distinct volumes separated by two voids with heavy structural columns that divide further into slimmer forms. The site is informed by the city's central axis. A patterned soffit combines with linear lights to distract travelers with a dynamic and vibrant ceiling to complete the experience, which will premiere finally in 2033.

Image courtesy Mecanoo

Texas High-Speed Rail route takes a big step forward

2019-09-16T12:45:00-04:00

Texas Central, the private company developing the Texas Bullet Train, announced it had signed a deal with Salini Impregilo, the Italian construction giant, and its American subsidiary, Lane Construction, to design, construct and install the 240-mile high-speed rail line using Japan’s Shinkansen trains.

The plan to build a 90-minute bullet train between Dallas and Houston still requires a number of local, state, and federal approvals before it can move forward.

Nonetheless, backers of the project are raising funding for the initiative and setting out to complete early design work. Texas Central optimistically hopes to break ground sometime in 2020.

Are phone-booth-sized offices the future of workstations?

2019-08-30T08:00:00-04:00

The idea of a workspace has transformed over the past decade, in large part, due to the emergence of co-working spaces like WeWork and Industrious. The shift has fueled the proliferation of the "open office," and the many documented problems associated with the setup. Is the pendulum ready to swing back to a focus on single-person workspaces?

Mitsubishi Estate Co., a Japanese real estate investment company, thinks so and has offered a potential solution to the problem of the open-office: a phone-booth-sized mini-workspace for one. Meet Telecube, the 13-square-foot, soundproof workspace that comes complete with a desk, seat, and power outlets.

In collaboration with office furniture maker Okamura Corp. and video-conferencing software vendor V-Cube Inc, Mistsubishi Estate Co. has unveiled plans to install 1,000 Telecube units by 2023. According to recent coverage from Bloomberg: "The companies are betting there will be enough demand for the mini workstations. Coffee shops in Tokyo ar...