Archinect - News

Herzog & de Meuron’s Powerhouse Arts restoration opens in Brooklyn

2023-06-06T14:56:00-04:00

A crossover arts and manufacturing project from Herzog & de Meuron opened on May 19 following several years of construction that remade a former brownfield site into the new home of the non-profit Powerhouse Arts in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Coinciding with the ongoing cleanup of the Gowanus Canal, the project reused a Turbine Hall located at the site of Brooklyn's Rapid Power Transit Station from 1904 while adding new space in the shell of a reinstated Bolier House building that was semi-preserved in the process.

Image © Iwan Baan/Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron.

Nicknamed “The Batcave” by many of the city’s graffiti taggers after its decommissioning in the 1950s, the site was decontaminated as part of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup program prior to the firm winning the project's commission and then beginning its planning phase at the end of 2016.

Image © Iwan Baan/Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron.

Herzog & de Meuron says: “The industrial landscape and history of the site play a pivota...

R&D facilities for electric vehicle production are now the manufacturing sector's hottest commodity

2023-05-01T13:16:00-04:00

Last year, skyrocketing demand sent a record $128 billion into investments for E.V. manufacturing and battery plants, which require a large footprint. A battery plant can cover 4.5 million square feet, roughly the size of 25 Walmart Supercenters. Projections suggest the country may need 120 or more additional such plants. Before those batteries and the cars that use them can be made, they must be conceptualized. So automakers are pouring money into research and development facilities.

The Times speculates that the money being dumped into facilities that support E.V. development could lead to a golden era of highly technical corporate design for car manufacturers. Projects such as El Dorado’s 300 Kansas in San Francisco and the Snøhetta-led Research & Engineering Campus for Ford in Dearborn, Michigan are the leading examples. The city of Detroit is also working on a transportation innovation zone in conjunction with Ford’s new 30-acre Michigan Central mobility tech district from PAU to go along with another $130 million center for the University of Michigan that was announced recently for Ann Arbor.

Energy department commits $6 billion to decarbonizing industrial manufacturing

2023-03-13T19:14:00-04:00

The Biden Administration announced a plan to help decarbonize the industrial manufacturing sector through a new $6 billion investment it says will eventually help lower emissions while signaling a newfound demand in the “marketplace for clean products.”

As part of the government’s largest-ever investment into industrial decarbonization, manufacturers of things like concrete, cement, and steel that are known to be heavy polluters will be bolstered by support through the new Industrial Demonstrations Program, which in turn advances grants to early-stage projects in line with the administration’s broader 2050 carbon economy goals.

The White House says grants will cover up to half of the costs for qualifying projects. The funding was made possible as part of the new Inflation Reduction Act and previous Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Roughly one-third of all domestic carbon emissions come from the industries included in the decarbonization package, according to the Department of Energy (...

Mass timber, clean energy, biotech, and Indigenous communities are among the biggest winners of the $1 Billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge

2022-09-02T17:17:00-04:00

The Biden Administration has announced 21 winners of its $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge funded through last year’s American Rescue Plan and administered by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA).

Five-year capital grants ranging between $25 million and $65 million were awarded to transformative projects in 24 different states with demonstrated potential to rebuild regional economies, promote inclusive and equitable recovery, and create jobs.

The Brookings Institution today commented that the funding “represents a critical test for key assumptions of the broader Biden administration economic framework” and said it will critically deliver infrastructure investments with a mind for integrating marginalized groups and communities into the post-pandemic economic recovery nationwide. A survey of the projects seems to signal an interest in things like clean energy, advanced and next-gen manufacturing, biotechnologies, and a host of others...

Spec buildings have increasingly become the answer to commercial clients' pandemic growing pains

2022-07-29T18:09:00-04:00

“Historically, spec buildings have been risky, but in a market environment like we are in now, where there is a race to get goods to people faster and to manufacture more things, the flexibility of the spec space becomes an asset, not a liability.”

Biomedical clients are among the most popular movers of the building trend, propelled by demand imbalances for lab space. E-commerce is another common tenant, followed by light manufacturing operations from companies like IBM that leverage high-paying jobs in smaller communities like West Chester, Ohio already targeted by developers for their easier-to-navigate zoning laws.

The rise of inflation, labor shortages, materials costs, and ongoing supply chain lags are seen as both threats and contributors to the trend continuing unabatedly. Marquette University's Andrew Hunt estimated that the average warehouse construction costs 40% more when compared to last year but still thinks the economy is in developers' favor. As he told the Times, "It doesn’t feel like that party will end any time soon."

Inside the ‘world’s most sustainable furniture factory’ designed by BIG

2022-06-02T11:53:00-04:00

Norwegian outdoor furniture manufacturer Vestre has moved into The Plus, its new factory in Magnor, Norway, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The 75,000-square-foot (7,000-square-meter) factory was built in 18 months and claims to be the world’s most environmentally-friendly furniture factory.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

BIG’s scheme is divided into four production areas (the Color Factory, the Wood Factory, Assembly, and Warehouse), placed in four orthogonal wings. A circular courtyard sits at the heart of the scheme, surrounded by a visitor center.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

The factory seeks to become the first project of its kind in the world to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating. The building’s energy consumption is 60% lower than comparable factories, with 55% lower greenhouse gas emissions. A green rooftop accommodates 900 solar panels, while between 90% and 95% of the water used within the facility will be reused.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

P...

'Future of Construction' report forecasts construction growth to outpace the manufacturing and services sectors this decade

2021-10-12T11:43:00-04:00

Construction will be an engine of global economic growth in the decade to 2030, with output expected to be 35% higher than in the ten years to 2020, according to a new global forecast.

The report, titled Future of Construction, by Oxford Economics and Marsh McLennan subsidiaries March and Guy Carpenter projects that growth in construction output will average 3.6% per year from now until 2030, outpacing that of the manufacturing and services sectors. According to the study, this is driven by swift recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and stimulus support from governments. The spending of accumulated excess household savings and demand for residential space is also credited as a factor behind this growth.

Growth will be concentrated in China, India, the United States, and Indonesia, which will account for 58.3% of estimated global expansion. Infrastructure is expected to be the fastest growth sector for construction over the decade, driven by government stimulus plans fueling global infrastructure projects, such as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill in the U.S.

Carlo Ratti's new carbon fiber museum made out of…carbon fiber

2021-08-05T15:23:00-04:00

Plans for a new museum dedicated to carbon fiber technology are taking shape in the Italian city of Piacenza, showcasing the building material by way of an experiential space that designers Carlo Ratti Architects (CRA) are hoping forms a perfect fit in the country’s prosperous Emilia-Romagna region.

The new MAE Museum––named after the machine manufacturing company headquartered in the city––will be the first-ever museum space dedicated to the material, drawing from the 53-year-old company’s inventory of manufactured objects to create what the architect says is the largest acrylic fiber archive anywhere in the world.

Courtesy Carlo Ratti Associati

The museum is located in a former warehouse space adjacent to MAE’s newest production plant and is recursively comprised of new and recycled versions of the material to which its exhibition spaces are dedicated. CRA worked with the local studio Italo Rota for the museum’s layout and creative direction.

Courtesy Carlo Ratti Associati

A giant ...

Harvard researchers develop deployable structures made from a simple rotational motion

2021-06-29T16:57:00-04:00

Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) have developed a system that uses curved supports to transform flat objects into elaborate and customizable 3D structures.

Called Kiriform, the manufacturing method harnesses the mechanical instabilities in curved beams. The research team used a combination of experiments and numerical analyses to understand the geometry of curved, slender beams and what happens when those structural elements rotate and buckle. With just a simple rotational motion, buckling is used to create deployable structures.

Video: Harvard University

The system is created by layering flat sheets of elastic material on top of one another that interact to support each other when the 2D object is rotated into its 3D form. In addition to being lightweight and compact, Kiriform is fast to assemble and requires minimal hardware, making it cheap to manufacture and easy to d...

New additive manufacturing company aims to leverage 3D printing technology by transforming the way architects and designers can use wood waste

2021-05-18T16:20:00-04:00

3D print applications have revolutionized industries from architecture, construction, furniture design, and fashion. Last year, 3D print fabrication aided in provided medical professionals, patients, and facilities with PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. As fabrication continues to develop and expand, a company based in Burlington, MA, has found a way to turn upcycled wood byproducts into a promising new avenue for additive manufacturing.

"With the power of high-speed, high-resolution 3D printing, Forust is giving a new life to a discarded resource - creating strong, beautiful and carbon-friendly wood products from wood waste. For each tree saved, we reduce the CO2 footprint by a metric ton over the tree’s life." Image and text courtesy of Forust

Forust, an exclusively owned subsidiary of 3D printing and rapid prototyping Massachusetts-based company Desktop Metal creates "high-volume additive manufacturing of end-use wood parts possible." Launched in 2021, Forust's system "upcycles wo...

This 3D-printed, hands-free door opener could be a quick fix to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses

2020-03-28T12:50:00-04:00

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, many architects, designers, and students are turning to 3D-printing to rapidly produce much needed equipment, like protective gear for healthcare workers and respirator valves for sick patients. In their own effort to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, Belgian manufacturing company Materialise recently released free design files for a hands-free door opener that makes you use your wrist (ideally covered by a sleeve) instead of your bare hands to touch door handles, which are a hotspot for germs. Even MayoClinic has printed the door openers to be used in their facilities.

This add-on door opener doesn't require drilling holes or replacing your door's existing handle. According to Materialise, you only have to fasten the two 3D-printed pieces together with screws over your existing door handle. The company also created different designs to fit over different types of door handles. Or, you can adapt their design to make your own.

Last but no...

How Building Product Manufacturers Are Working Though This Pandemic

2020-03-25T16:27:00-04:00

With the outbreak of Covid-19, architects, designers and adjacent professionals are desperately searching for indicators to help determine just how seriously the industry will be impacted. Last week, I published a chart illustrating that specification activity that we’re tracking post outbreak is chugging along at a fairly similar pace as always. Though circumstances may change day-to-day, I’ve confirmed no change since March 19, which is encouraging.

Now, I want share some of my findings in communicating with a number of the industry’s largest building product manufacturers. Let me begin by emphasizing that manufacturers are still very much in business and working tirelessly to meet the demands of their customers. In fact, some manufacturers are reporting an increase in orders.

According to Jane Hawkins, A&D Market Manager at Armstrong Flooring, “We are seeing heavy levels of activity as owners and contractors are hoping to complete their projects quickly.” She continues, “I’m al...

Plans for the "Made in NY" Campus in Brooklyn are unveiled

2019-11-25T20:00:00-05:00

A project team lead by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), nARCHITECTS, Perkins Eastman, and W Architecture and Landscape Architecture has unveiled renderings for a new economic hub slated for the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Overall view of the project site showing the two adaptively reused structures that anchor the development. Image courtesy of NYCEDC.

The so-called Made in NY (MiNY) campus is on tap to bring 200,000 square feet of renovated garment industry workspaces to the Bush Terminal district located on South Brooklyn's East River waterfront. The facilities will allow New York's thriving garment industry to retain a foothold in the city close to housing that is affordable to garment workers. Industrial facilities will include spaces for garment manufacturing and film and media production, as well as 5.6 acres of landscaped and public spaces.

The project is set to feature a kid-friendly splash pad among many other community amenities. Imag...

Labor Department: Manufacturing and construction job growth sags in 2019

2019-08-05T13:31:00-04:00

In particular, the new numbers confirm that there is a major slowdown underway in the creation of jobs making things: manufacturing, mining and construction. Those “goods-producing” sectors, as Labor Department classifications call them, added an average of 58,000 jobs a month in 2018. That is now down to 23,000 a month thus far in 2019 — and a mere 15,000 in July.

The New York Times reports that as most economic figures remain steady, a look at some of the "fine print" of recent economic data might be cause for concern, particularly within the manufacturing and construction sectors, which are seeing lagging job growth.

According to The New York Times, recent United States Labor Department figures indicate that a softening housing market and sagging investment in new construction have reduced the number of new construction jobs by 75-percent over the last year. Slowing growth has also hit the manufacturing sector, which is producing half as many jobs in 2019 as in 2018.

Trump threatens to tax all Chinese-produced goods

2019-08-02T12:58:00-04:00

According to The Wall Street Journal, President Donald Trump is moving to escalate America's trade war with China by imposing new tariffs on all Chinese-made products imported into the country.

Currently, the administration's tariff-loving trade policy has been limited mostly to industrial goods—one of several reasons why construction costs have escalated drastically over the last few years. According to The Wall Street Journal, President Trump said, “If they don’t want to trade with us anymore, that would be fine with me."

Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs at the United States Chamber of Commerce told The Wall Street Journal, “Tariffs are not the answer, escalation is not the answer. We have to be careful about actions undertaken by either government that would stir the pot and not create the best atmosphere for getting these complicated talks back on track.”

As the American Institute of Architects (AIA) indicated recently in an economic forecast for the coming 18 mon...

Are there more pros than cons to modular construction?

2019-07-23T09:43:00-04:00

“Timing in the apartment world is everything [...] The time of year we release a building and when we start putting tenants in it is critical for a project’s success.”

Behind every successful construction project lies a team of people working to complete a project deadline. However, with automation and building manufacturing on the rise, many question how these methods of construction will change the way buildings are designed and built in the future. Will these new methods become commonplace?

A recent article in Multi Family Executive talks about modular development and the advantages of modular construction. Using the multifamily development group Beverly Crossing as an example, writer Joe Bousquin showcases the company's positive experience with this building method with their 126-unit Canvas project in Beverly, Massachusetts.

"Modular buildings are constructed off site under controlled plant conditions, then shipped to the site for assembly, reducing the construction schedule." Courtesy of MFE. Image © Prefab Logic

Is modular construction the key to project turnover, and is it the answer? Curtis Fletcher, president and CEO of Prefab Logic, shar...

Architects in the UK reconsider their relationship with manufacturers and mass standardization

2019-07-12T13:49:00-04:00

It is now almost 80 years since the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act enabled the construction of the post-war prefab, but controversies and concerns about building a home in a factory have run deep ever since. While practically every other item we buy rolls off a production line, housebuilding’s transition to the factory remains, for many reasons, problematic.

With the rise of automation and advances in building manufacturing, architects have considered if machines can replace the profession. However, makes the job so rewarding is thinking of new and creative ways to execute ideas. This level of creativity and design distinction is something architects argue towards replacement by automation alone. However, in the UK, architects are learning to reassess their relationships with manufacturers and understand the silver lining in mass standardization. In 1944 the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act was passed by the British Parliament as a response to providing families with homes after World War II. Several decades later, the housing market is forcing architects to acquire new perspectives when it comes to manufacturing and how new relationships could foster better results.

According to Josephine Smit of the RIBA Journal, "with a skills shortage, a push from government and impetus from the build to rent sector, manufacturers and offsite s...

Snøhetta completes Swarovski's luminous crystal manufacturing facility in Austria

2019-01-30T20:49:00-05:00

Snøhetta's new Swarovski Manufaktur in Wattens, Austria brings creative design, rapid prototyping, and technical production under one porous roof.

To enter the Manufaktur, visitors first walk through a bridge from Campus 311, a new office location in an old factory building that has an interior with a dark color palette. Visitors then walk into the brighter interior of the Manufaktur, which features white walls and light birch wood panels that cover the floor and a sculptural platform on the second floor.

In designing the building, Snøhetta drew inspiration from the ephemeral elements of a crystal, like incorporating natural daylight. “Crystals only come to life with light, so for us it is the intense presence of that daylight that is the most important aesthetic aspect of this building,” said Patrick Lüth, Managing Director of Snøhetta’s Studio in Innsbruck.

The self-supporting, white steel ceiling consists of a r...

California-based construction start-up Katerra valued at more than $4bn with help from Japan's SoftBank

2019-01-16T14:38:00-05:00

In just four years, the Silicon Valley start-up Katerra has grown from a sizable construction firm to one of the industry's biggest disrupters. Now, with support from one of the tech industry's biggest investors, the California-based construction company has announced plans for another investment round that will have it valued at more than $4 billion.

SoftBank, the billion dollar venture capital firm helping to bankroll companies such as Uber, WeWork and the indoor farming start-up Plenty, is expected to lead the $700 million round of financing for Katerra. This comes less than a year after the Japanese holdings company invested a prior $865 million into the company.

In Katerra, SoftBank is backing a revolutionary approach that promises to redefine the $12 trillion construction industry. The company's aim is to make the building construction process cheaper and more efficient and while Katerra is not unique in this quest, it is remarkable for its end-to-end design-build process whi...

Morphosis announces opening of new flagship location for Kolon Group in Seoul

2018-08-28T16:12:00-04:00

Morphosis recently announced the opening of a new flagship research and design facility for The Kolon Group, a leading manufacturing company based in South Korea. The 820,000-square-foot facility is located in Magok, an emerging tech hub in Seoul.

Kolon Group facility by Morphosis, located in Seoul. Image: Jasmine Park, courtesy of Morphosis.

The design for the new facility features flexible laboratory facilities, administrative offices, and active social spaces to encourage interaction and exchange across the company departments.

Kolon Group facility by Morphosis, located in Seoul. Image: Jasmine Park, courtesy of Morphosis.

The façade consists of interconnected sunshades made from fiber reinforced polymer using one of The Kolon Group's own high-tech fabrics, Aramid, to increase the material’...

A factory-making factory: Assemble revives manufacturing (sort of)

2017-04-13T17:39:00-04:00

By creating a machine that extrudes shaped clay, Assemble have created a factory that places an emphasis on the physical creation of one's environment (as well as the spontaneous ideas that can develop from working with materials and processes).

It's a throwback to the late 19th/early 20th century days when factories weren't necessarily about dehumanizing automation but rather more about the complexity of manufacturing using all sorts of tools and last-minute problem-solving techniques. This video by Vice gives a thorough tour of the concept, process, and blue-and-white-clad result of Assemble's "A Factory As It Might Be"...

How this new gigafactory may popularize residential solar power technology

2016-03-04T21:24:00-05:00

When production begins, SolarCity, already the leading installer of residential solar panels in the [U.S.] will become a vertically integrated manufacturer and provider...At a time when conventional silicon-based solar panels from China have never been cheaper, investing in a new type of solar technology is a risky undertaking. However, the potential benefits are huge. The new factory...could transform both SolarCity’s business...and the economics of residential solar power.

The MIT Technology Review profiles the upcoming Buffalo-based SolarCity factory and their ambitious plans that could potentially make solar power technology more widely available to consumers.

More news about alternative energy:

Cloud-harvesting skyscraper: renderings of proposed new sustainable Tokyo development

Michigan State University researchers develop completely transparent solar panels

Could 'quantum dots' be the key to turning windows into photovoltaics?

Turning Japan's golfing greens into solar farms

Digital manufacturing revolution still held back by outdated equipment

2016-01-28T17:25:00-05:00

Most small manufacturers — a big chunk of the nation’s supply chain — are running older, pre-Internet equipment. “One of the issues we have to address,” said Harris, “is this legacy equipment.” The digital thread can be hard to trace in an entrepreneur like Ellegiers’ plan to ship an app for making a desk, instead of a finished product. “Most shops are definitely not ready for this,” Ellegiers said.

While many American manufacturing workshops may still be stuck with legacy equipment, you can learn more about fabricators at the very forefront of the industry—employing cutting-edge technology in creative ways—in Archinect's new Matters of Scale feature series.

Solar energy that doesn't block the view

2014-08-25T14:47:00-04:00

A team of researchers at Michigan State University has developed a new type of solar concentrator that when placed over a window creates solar energy while allowing people to actually see through the window. It is called a transparent luminescent solar concentrator and can be used on buildings, cell phones and any other device that has a clear surface.

Tesla Announces Plans to Build $5 Billion Battery 'Gigafactory'

2014-02-27T15:05:00-05:00

The Palo Alto, Calif., company outlined plans for a factory that would employ up to 6,500 people and cover as many as 1,000 acres, including solar and wind farms to supply its power needs. It is evaluating sites in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, Tesla said in a regulatory filing. The proposed 10 million-square-foot facility would make the powerful and pricey lithium-ion batteries that power its Model S and future vehicles.

On its Tesla Blog, the company claims that "by the end of the first year of volume production of our mass market vehicle, we expect the Gigafactory will have driven down the per kWh cost of our battery pack by more than 30 percent."

Is the electric car not so dead after all?

See some slides from the 'Gigafactory' presentation below or click here for the full document.

“The Future Is Here: A New Industrial Revolution” Coming to London’s Design Museum

2013-07-01T18:53:00-04:00

This summer, the Design Museum in London will be offering a glimpse into the future of fabrication and manufacturing with The Future Is Here: A New Industrial Revolution, a major new exhibition about the sweeping changes in manufacturing that are transforming our world.