Archinect - News

Small and mid-size cities are attracting more millennials

2018-05-04T15:24:00-04:00

Mid- or second-tier cities, loosely defined as those under a million people that aren’t regional powerhouses like Austin or Seattle, are increasingly seen as not just places to find a lower cost of living, easier commute, and closer connections with family, but also a more approachable, neighborhood-oriented version of the urban lifestyle that sent many to the larger cities in the first place.

Census data shows that smaller metros are seeing more migration from millennials while larger cities are experiencing slower growth. These smaller cities have been attracting new growth in part due to investing in green spaces and parks, upswings in local tech hubs, and downtown redevelopment.

Clickbait is making affordable housing even more of an uphill battle

2016-03-08T13:50:00-05:00

when media outlets report cost of materials as being some $13,000, I want to know what was donated in terms of materials, too. Were permit fees waived? There are many times when you need a licensed architect or engineer for certain permits, and that’s not likely in these totals. It is completely fine to get around having to do that stuff, but it’s not truthful to report the results without the real numbers as a part of the story. These kinds of things get shared around...

Related on Archinect:

Richard Rogers' Homeshell built in 24 hours at London's Royal Academy

2013-08-20T14:33:00-04:00

The pre-fabricated, flatpack homes of Pritzker laureate Richard Rogers are a centerpiece for his 50-year retrospective, “Richard Rogers: Inside Out”, currently at London's Royal Academy of Arts until Oct. 13. The homes, which are an adaptation of his 2007 Oxley Woods housing development, are described as "stepping away from the traditional mud and mess of the domestic building site" and with a full list of pros: easily adaptable, lightweight, energy-efficient, low-cost, fire- and water-retardant, even earthquake and hurricane-proof, and of course, innovative -- just to name a few.

The pieces of the 3-story technicolor Homeshell arrived at the RA last week. It was fully assembled within 24 hours, making a clear statement in the debate for the wider availability of cost- and energy-efficient, mass-production homes in Britain.

Watch the video below to see a time-lapse of the house's construction.
And click here for another video that gives an exclusive look into Rogers' retrospe...

Zaha Hadid says austerity is not an excuse for low-quality housing

2012-06-26T18:03:00-04:00

"I think that [austerity] is used as a cliche because people don't have ideas, they want to crib [old ones] to do bad stuff," she said, in a Q and A session with Guardian deputy editor Kath Viner. "Schools, housing, hospitals – I think the government should invest in good housing."