Archinect - News

From The Vessel to gallery accessibility, the art world continues to reinforce ableism

2019-08-07T16:14:00-04:00

In 2019, inclusive spaces that are comprised of voices from the neurodiverse and disabled community are still extremely rare. Despite the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 29 years ago, neurodiverse and disabled communities continue to face collective discrimination from failures to accommodate in access, transportation, employment, education, and many other arenas. Unfortunately, the art world is no exception.

Emily Sara, a disabled, interdisciplinary artist and designer, penned an open letter calling on the art world for stronger support of the neurodiverse and disabled communities, whose everyday needs are often overlooked in American society. She names a few examples of how the art world inadvertently reinforces ableism, such as the controversial Vessel, the accessibility of several New York galleries, and the lackluster representation of disabled artists in exhibitions.

“Regarding the art world, navigating and addressing these issues will require taking fundamental steps toward inclusion, from implementing practical solutions to increasing awareness among art institutions and community members,” Emily Sara writes in her letter. “I am therefore calling on galleries, curators, museums, institutions of higher education, artists, and other art institutions: welcoming the neurodiverse and disabled is long overdue.”

Amid the smart city trend, Santa Maria Tonantzintla locals in Mexico fear the loss of their cultural traditions

2018-10-18T18:15:00-04:00

In Tonantzintla the smart cities proposal became a lightning rod for those concerned about a development that seemed to favour outsiders rather than residents...“They are ashamed of their roots,” [local resident Mercedes] Tecuapetla Quechol says. “They saw something they liked in the United States or in Europe, so they want to put it here.”

The Mexican town of Santa Maria Tonantzintla is caught in the all-too-familiar situation of preserving its centuries-old customs as newer smart-city technologies are being introduced. While city officials and planners argued that implementing new technology intends to benefit the community, locals saw this as an attempt to westernize their town and wipe out tradition.

Migrant workers in Qatar allowed to leave without exit visas

2018-09-07T03:29:00-04:00

A law change that will allow the majority of migrant workers to leave Qatar without permission from their employers has been heralded by campaigners as a landmark in the battle against labour abuses in the build-up to the next World Cup. [...] Under the new law, employers will no longer have the power to deny exit permits to most of their workers, though they will retain this right for 5% of their workforce. The reforms are a “step towards fundamental rights for migrant workers.”

Esther Sperber argues that to end abuse in architecture, stop believing in the creative genius myth

2018-08-07T18:23:00-04:00

But gender bias is not the most dangerous consequence of the lone-wolf image: It is the unspoken permission to abuse that should worry us. For the privilege of working alongside this aggressive and uncompromising genius, we are asked to tolerate his erratic, harsh, and selfish behavior. [...] To fight sexual abuse and abusers, we must first let go of this simplistic and fictitious image of the lone wolf.

In this short opinion piece, Studio ST Architects founder Esther Sperber argues that, in light of the ongoing #MeToo movement, rejecting the prevalent “lone wolf”/creative genius myth and emphasizing a collaborative culture instead are important steps to stopping abuse in architecture.

After Seattle's “Amazon Tax” failed, California cities pick up on their own big-business tax initiatives for affordable housing

2018-07-25T15:37:00-04:00

Last week, a coalition of homelessness advocates, non-profits, and tenant groups in San Francisco secured an initiative for November’s ballot that, if passed, would almost double the city’s spending on homeless shelters using an increased gross receipts tax. [...] This news comes just weeks after Seattle—home to companies like Amazon and Starbucks, along with the third-largest homeless population in the country—capitulated on a similar plan.

After the swift defeat of Seattle's “Amazon Tax”, big tech cities in California like San Francisco and Mountain View are working on similar initiatives that charge higher taxes on large companies to raise more money for affordable housing. Despite some skepticism, these initiatives might have a better chance of passing in California.

Blair Kamin discusses architecture's #metoo moment — “The moral and professional [responsibility] is simply to bear witness”

2018-03-26T14:02:00-04:00

In other words— you ask, will there be a revision of canon? Should we revise the canon? I would say, it’s not so much that we’re going to revise the canon, but that there will certainly be a revised narrative of architects who contributed to the canon.

In light of the sexual harassment allegations against Richard Meier, architectural writer Eva Hagberg Fisher interviews Blair Kamin about writing and reporting on architecture's about-time-it-happened #metoo moment.

“So the first responsibility, the moral and professional is simply to bear witness. If you don’t confront, you just let it slide,” Kamin says to Eva Hagberg Fisher. “By not taking up the issue, you signal that it’s not important. So, yeah, the point is to bear witness and to put this issue in the public conversation. I also think it’s worth stressing that you don’t have to be a woman to do that...”

NY Construction Alliance pushes for mandatory drug/alcohol testing on all NYC construction sites

2017-05-11T13:06:00-04:00

The New York Construction Alliance is urging City Council to consider mandatory drug and alcohol testing on all New York City construction sites.

NYCA president Kenneth Thomas recently made the following statement:

“New York Construction Alliance (NYCA) is committed to worksite safety and our members take proactive steps to prevent substance abuse-related incidents. In fact, our members already engage in proactive random drug tests on sites. Industry stakeholders such as the Associated Builders and Contractors and the Building Trades Employers Association have already expressed strong support for addressing the problem of drug and alcohol in the construction industry.

The City Council should consider how mandatory drug and alcohol testing could increase construction safety on New York City worksites. We look forward to discussing this issue with city officials and how a drug and alcohol testing mandate could help make our industry safer for all workers.”

The Associated Builders and Co...

Architects envision Trump's America in the “Complicity and Defiance” charrette — winners announced!

2017-04-28T15:53:00-04:00

The U.S.A. is barely 100 days into the Trump presidency, and a sure hell of a lot has happened in the last few months, huh? No doubt, the design community has reacted strongly to Trump's rambunctious power-mongering, including a revival of the debate on complicity and defiance in architecture.

In response, competition organizer Archistophanes/Reality Cues — who previously created the cheeky “Good Walls Make Good Neighbors, Mr. Trump” competition — launched the Complicity and Defiance in Architecture charrette, wherein entrants had to create “a provocative message of critique and/or defiance” towards any of Trump's authoritarian legislation measures. Here's a peek of the top three winners and a few honorable mentions:

1ST PLACE: Oil Border by Elisabeth Drumpf

2ND PLACE: Absurdity Redlined by SJ Kwon

3RD PLACE: Humane Security Corridor by Zachary Wilson

HONORABLE MENTION: EcoPorn by Yoshihara Hisao

HONORABLE MENTION: Trumpe L’œil by Sara Castillo

HONORABLE MENTION: The Garden of Contemporary Blight by Black Fish

See more of the top entries on Bustler.

The conspicuous ethics of the Dubai Frame, opening date delayed to later this year

2017-03-13T14:49:00-04:00

Raised as a monument to Dubai’s aspirations as a center of international commerce, the Frame is now a physical manifestation of the crude system that erected it.

Considering the already controversial nature of the Dubai Frame, The New York Times recently published a piece on the project in relation to the city's “entrenched system [that notoriously] leaves outsiders vulnerable to mistreatment — from professionals sketching blueprints to construction workers laying foundations [...] a system in which kinship can outweigh contract terms”.

Based on the 2008-09 ThyssenKrupp competition-winning design by architect Fernando Donis, the 150-meter-tall Dubai Frame structure in Za'abeel Park has drawn plenty of opposition over the years, most notably from Donis himself. Donis filed a lawsuit against the Dubai Municipality for stealing the copyright to his design and for breaching the international UNESCO-UIA regulations from the competition. “At the end they took it, built it and will profit from it, without having involved us nor paid us,” Donis previously told Archinect in 2015.

After multiple delays, the opening date of the Dubai Frame was pushed bac...

Examining the politics of starchitect megaprojects in Abu Dhabi

2016-12-16T15:18:00-05:00

Even if Abu Dhabi has almost unique economic and institutional conditions and rests for now as a borderline case of development profiles, it still highlights several common problems in contemporary large-scale development projects and in the use of star architecture in other parts of the world: little care for the context of branded projects, de-politicization of urban development, weak and inconsistent public planning...[and] spectacular architecture [for] global competition and media exposure

An excerpt from the upcoming book “Starchitecture. Scenes, Actors, and Spectacles in Contemporary Cities” by Davide Ponzini and Michele Nastasi examines Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island megaproject, and argues how such projects show the little influence that famous architects can have on city-building initiatives today.

More on Archinect:

Masdar abandons its dream of becoming the first zero-carbon city

Architecture has sacrificed its aspiration to deepen public life

Gulf Labor initiative renews criticism of Abu Dhabi museums over migrant workers' rights

Following Ghost Ship tragedy, city authorities and artists clash over DIY venues

2016-12-15T13:35:00-05:00

“If you don’t understand anything about this world, or what that space was, or who these people were, your first reaction is going to be: ‘Why don’t you just bring this place up to code?’ And it’s a very quaint notion, and it would be good if that’s how the world worked [...]” “There are so many interlocking problems that are fundamental, it’s hard to know where to begin. In almost every case, there are existing code violations to the building before they even move in.”

DIY Space, After Ghost Ship: Safety, community and informal venues after Oakland's tragic fire, ft. S. Surface and David Keenan on Archinect Sessions #91

Hawaii's Thirty Meter Telescope could be moved to the Canary Islands

2016-12-01T12:40:00-05:00

The Thirty Meter Telescope’s International Observatory Board decided late last month that if they cannot move forward with building the telescope in Hawaii, they will instead choose La Palma, one of Spain’s Canary Islands...The nonprofit group that’s building the Thirty Meter Telescope began scoping out other sites for the $1.4 billion telescope this fall—including mountains in Chile, India, China, and Mexico...

Previous news about the TMT:

Hawaii protesters block construction of giant telescope on sacred mountain Mauna Kea

The $1.5B 30m telescope (TMT) will be the biggest ever

Only one student enrolled in a Yale course about women architects, despite grievances against poor representation

2016-11-18T15:09:00-05:00

“This is not a position that has been strongly represented in this school historically,” [said Professor Kathleen James-Chakraborty, who believes] The crux of the issue is whether courses that champion diversity in architecture should be taught as optional, specialized seminars or integrated into the curriculum of the school.

Now with Deborah Berke as dean, the Yale School of Architecture is working to offer more courses focusing on women in architecture such as “Expanding the Canon: Making Room for Other Voices”, an optional seminar that would've been taught by visiting professor Kathleen James-Chakraborty. But only one student enrolled in the class “despite students voicing grievances about a lack of female representation”, the Yale Daily News reports.

James-Chakraborty questions if such diversity courses should become a requirement in the school's already rigid curriculum. Some female students say that YSoA still feels like “a gentleman's club”, and that the “student body is not well-primed to see the ‘radical nature’ of the course.”

More on Archinect:

Deborah Berke shares her vision as incoming dean at the Yale School of Architecture

Yale Dean Deborah Berke advocates pluralism in pedagogy

Struggles persist for women in the architectural workforce

When the pressure is on, dedicated architecture students sho...

A new beginning for Rosa Parks' Detroit home

2016-10-05T18:11:00-04:00

[Rosa Parks' home] on South Deacon Street had become blighted and faced demolition in recent years, but its fortunes have since changed. The home’s facade has been removed and will be refashioned into a replica-style artwork that will be shown in museums across Europe...“She loved the city, but I don't think the city loved her very much back,” [Parks' niece Rhea] McCauley said. “This house should have been preserved here. But we live in a world where every other project takes precedence.”

You would think that the Detroit home of Rosa Parks would have more easily garnered local support for its preservation in the present day. But as Parks' niece Rhea McCauley described, her aunt was still treated with hostility when she moved into the city in 1957, two years after she refused to give up her bus seat. That attitude seems to have carried on as McCauley struggled to find a backer to preserve the home, saying that “Doors have been slammed in [her] face”.

Luckily, McCauley was able to get help from artist Ryan Mendoza, who will transform the house's facade into a replica-style art piece that will tour museums across Europe. Why Europe? Mendoza, who acknowledged that he isn't even from Detroit, says it's “a statement about the lack of interest in preserving the home in the city where it actually existed”.

h/t Quartz

More on Archinect:

Carrying a racist legacy, highways today play a central role in civil rights activism

From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration

That new Texas Confede...

Senator Tim Kaine weighs in on the future of U.S. affordable housing

2016-08-15T18:57:00-04:00

Democratic [VP] candidate Senator Tim Kaine drew a bright line on Friday between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on a subject important to pretty much every voter: housing. While Americans say that housing is as important an issue as other priorities, so far the subject hasn’t come up much during the campaign. That just changed....His editorial outlines the ways that a Clinton administration would work to make housing fairer and more affordable.

A closer look at Sen. Tim Kaine's opinion editorial, wherein he briefly outlines the Clinton administration's plans on fairer housing laws.

More on Archinect:

Shoring up America's infrastructure by repatriating money stashed overseas

How Republicans and Democrats differ when it comes to infrastructure

"Glitz and ego" – the architectural legacy of Donald Trump, the developer

Rio mayor admits Olympics were a “missed opportunity”, but believes the city has been unfairly portrayed

2016-07-14T17:49:00-04:00

“This is a missed opportunity,” Paes acknowledged. “We are not showcasing ourselves. With all these economic and political crises, with all these scandals, it is not the best moment to be in the eyes of the world. This is bad.” But he also believes the problems are exaggerated by the press in a way that unfairly portrays Rio to the outside world...“There has never been so much transformation for poor people [in Rio]...The Olympic Games are a great inspiration to get things done.”

More on Archinect:

The rapid gentrification of Rio's favelas in advance of the Olympics

Rio Olympics "must be postponed, moved, or both" due to Zika threat

11 workers have died so far during Rio Olympic construction, audit finds

With the Rio Olympics opening in less than four months, sports federation concerned over problem with venues

Alejandro Zaera-Polo sues Princeton University for libel

2016-05-26T14:36:00-04:00

Former Princeton architecture dean Alejandro Zaera-Polo filed a lawsuit to the Superior Court of Mercer County earlier this week against Princeton University, claiming that the school is guilty of libel and breach of contract. Zaera-Polo was asked to resign from his position by President Christopher L. Eisgruber in October 2014 due to plagiarism allegations in texts that were used in the Exhibition Elements of Architecture at the 2014 Venice Biennale.

In an official response last March, Zaera-Polo wrote that his purpose of removing the academic citations in the texts was to create a more casual narrative for the general public, and that he “explicitly [states] the non-academic nature of the document, its speculative and polemic intent, and its non-suitability as a source.”

Neither the Superior Court of Mercer County's records department nor Zaera-Polo's attorneys have provided a copy of his complaint, reports say. Princeton University issued this statement regarding Zaera-Polo's pend...

Why cranes keep collapsing, despite "sophisticated equipment"

2016-03-07T14:20:00-05:00

As cranes have grown in height and girth, the controls to operate them have intensified in number and complexity...the crane units in use these days have libraries of intricate manuals, packed with details...some operators may not have time to fully understand or read completely. Same goes for the maintenance team. When something does go wrong with such large machines...the 'mess and carnage' gets magnified.

Crane safety experts give their thoughts on the leading causes of crane collapses, and why safety regulation is more complex than it seems.

Previous news about collapses:

Crane collapses in Manhattan, one dead and two seriously injured

More than 50 dead after crane collapses on Mecca's Grand Mosque

13 lawsuits emerge after deadly balcony collapse in Berkeley

Three killed after partial stadium collapse at 2014 World Cup venue

One CEO's plan to supply water to drought-stricken CA cities, and obviously profit from it

2016-01-20T15:14:00-05:00

Scott Slater has a plan. It is not a popular plan, but he wants to pump 814bn gallons of water from under the Mojave desert to Los Angeles and other drought-stricken communities in southern California, and make more than $2bn doing so...In addition to environmental concerns, others object to a private company being able to make billions from water. Slater says they do not understand the law, which in California states no entity can own water but they can buy, sell and trade the right to use it.

America: The land where nothing is free, indeed.

h/t New Republic

More on Archinect:

Have these heavy rains alleviated the California drought?

Thirst-quenching as Los Angeles heats up: Next Wave @ UCLA

In face of drought, San Diego's desalination efforts won't stop there

Meet the architects behind the winning Dry Futures proposals

Lessons learned: The complex realities when designing communal social housing

2016-01-05T15:18:00-05:00

What went wrong in Winnipeg was not just about architecture, and 5468796 were stuck trying to make the best of a bad situation. The pulling out of government support to make Centre Village an actual co-operative changed the [project's direction]...'It’s time to get the peanut butter off our fingers,' said Ross McGowan, former chief executive and president of CentreVenture...He admits that a failure to understand the needs of the community took a considerable toll on the project.

Despite good intentions to help families in need, perhaps the worst nightmare an architect can face when designing affordable housing is realizing that the project — which would of course already be fully built — doesn't meet the actual demands of the community, and then some. That's basically what happened to the 5468796 architecture-designed Centre Village project in Winnipeg.

More about affordable housing on Archinect:

California to decrease parking requirements for affordable housing

Cutting across the Chicago Architecture Biennial: Tatiana Bilbao's solution to Mexico's housing shortage

Up to 50% of all renting London households are living in poverty

The promising affordable housing of Hunters Point South

Poor Doors of Perception: discriminatory design, collapsing balconies, and virtual realities on Archinect Sessions #36

How L.A. can reboot its "creative economy" so artists can actually live in town

2015-12-11T14:26:00-05:00

But if L.A. is going to remain a creative capital, its civic and cultural leaders are going to need to do more than offer really great talk about how great we are...This can start with the Otis Report on the Creative Economy...If this report is to be more than just a feel-good data dump, it could use some solid recommendations on how L.A. compares to other cities culturally and how we might improve the situation for artists and cultural organizations, both small and large.

More about arts districts on Archinect:

Venice Beach's ongoing grapple with the tech titan invasion

Downtown LA's vision of an architecture and design super cluster

How one urban planner is helping revamp a Miami suburb "without gentrification"

With a little compromise, illegal urban squats like Ljubljana's Metelkova Mesto can do a city good

How Many Artists Does It Take to Make an Arts District?

Is Waze to blame for heavy traffic on L.A. residential side streets?

2015-11-24T15:00:00-05:00

Waze sometimes sends drivers through little-used side streets such as Cody Road [in Sherman Oaks, Calif]...Some people try to beat Waze at its own game by sending misinformation about traffic jams and accidents so it will steer commuters elsewhere. Others log in and leave their devices in their cars, hoping Waze will interpret that as a traffic standstill and suggest alternate routes.

More about Waze on Archinect:

Throwback Throughway: when GPS fails, these gorgeous "mental maps" help you navigate

Waze takes on the ride-sharing market with new carpooling app

Arnold Schwarzenegger voices Waze app

Waze and its new uneasy bedfellows

How connected do architects still feel to the profession? More Dear Architecture letters explore that question

2015-09-23T18:02:00-04:00

While it's just as important to have serious discussions about the future of architecture, so is taking a hard, honest look at its present state. And if the letters from the recently concluded "Dear Architecture" competition indicate anything about how individual architects perceive the field right now, things are looking bleak.

Organized by Blank Space, the competition invited entrants to write an approximately 500-word letter addressed to Architecture, whether as a concept, a social practice, or a community. The 12 Honorable Mention entries, although written as seemingly fictional anecdotes, consistently expressed feelings of disconnection with architecture — topped with a melancholic tone that is just yearning for the better.

Read the 12 Honorable Mentions in their entirety (listed in no particular ranking):

1. Aditya Ghosh

"Dear Architecture,

It’s paper, exactly 9 inches wide and 15 inches high. It’s two dimensional, flat and featureless. A shade of white that is incapable of any ex...

"Dear Architecture" winners write fictional letters addressing real problems in the field

2015-09-16T13:05:00-04:00

We surely have loads to say about the architecture profession, but how would you compose all those thoughts into the good ol' classical form of a letter? The "Dear Architecture" ideas competition asked its participants just that.

Created by Blank Space, the same people who organized the Fairy Tales Architecture Competition, "Dear Architecture" entrants had to pen their own 500-word letter to architecture — whether as a concept, a social practice, or as a community — along with an illustration to supplement their letter's message.

Entrants from over 60 countries responded to the brief. Not too surprisingly, the letters got upfront and personal, if not a little bit heart-breaking.

The jury — which included Fernando Romero, Elena Manferdini, Hani Rashid, Natasha Jen, and Archinect and Bustler's very own Alexander Walter — selected three top-prize winners and 12 Honorable Mentions.

Read the top three letters in their entirety below.

1ST PRIZE ($1,500): Craig L. Wilkins, Ph.D., RA

"Dear Archit...

Will Rio's Olympic venues be ready in time for the 2016 Games?

2015-08-06T10:19:00-04:00

'When these [2007 Pan Am] venues were built the government told Brazilians that these would be Olympic-ready, and there would be a rather smooth and efficient transition to eventually hosting the Olympics,' explained Rio-based reporter Taylor Barnes...'But, these venues have instead had some pretty checkered after-lives.'

Despite a murky past of broken promises in addition to recent water-safety concerns and rampant economic turmoil, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes claims construction of the venues are on schedule and will be delivered on time for the 2016 Olympics -- which will begin one year from now. Public Radio International interviews Rio-based reporter Taylor Barnes, who gives a glimpse into the reality of the situation.

More Olympic news on Archinect:

Boston backs out of 2024 Olympics bid

Toronto ventures into sixth bid to host Olympic Games

Zaha Hadid reportedly not giving up on Tokyo stadium plans

Zaha's Tokyo Olympic Stadium cancelled – Abe calls for a redesign from scratch

As mining threatens Kiruna, the city plans for possible demolition and relocation two miles east

2015-08-03T19:57:00-04:00

In a highly unusual case of urbanism, the whole town centre and its surrounding neighbourhoods are to be demolished...The 3,050 homes that would be affected by the impact of the mining – in addition to shops, offices, schools, the city hall and the hospital – will all be bought by [the LKAB mining company], knocked down and relocated. The process of moving the city will happen in phases, with the majority estimated to be completed by 2040.

Rapid mining activity in Kiruna is already posing a serious threat to the city, to the point that the mining company LKAB plans to relocate the entire municipality two miles eastward to prevent buildings from collapsing into the mine. The Guardian gives an overview on how locals are reacting to the relocation proposal, and how those two miles could completely change everything.

More on Archinect:

Chinese coal mining company destroys nearly every building in protected village dating back to Ming dynasty

Henning Larsen Architects wins Kiruna City Hall competition in Northern Sweden

Louvre-Lens: helping a mining town shed its image

U.S. needs reliable rail systems where 'traveling 106 mph is considered slow', U.S. PIRG asserts amid Amtrak debate

2015-05-15T20:40:00-04:00

In an unfortunate sequence of events, reports earlier this week state that the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to cut Amtrak funding by an estimated $260 million -- one day after a fatal Amtrak passenger-train derailment in Philadelphia on May 12. As investigations on the accident ensue, public debate regarding the nation's transportation needs has reignited.

In one response, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group consumer organization released their latest statement by Transportation Campaign Director John Olivieri. Olivieri stresses in a "if they can do it, so can we" manner that it's about time American policy makers catch up with international competitors and invest on designing a safe high-speed passenger rail system.

Below is Olivieri's statement from the U.S. PIRG website:

"'This is a horrible tragedy, and our condolences go to those whose family and friends have been lost or injured. Events like this must be prevented.'

'Our policy makers should take the long view. We...

Jean Nouvel loses court case over 'sabotaged' Philharmonie de Paris

2015-04-17T17:19:00-04:00

Jean Nouvel, the famed French architect, on Thursday lost a court battle against a £280 million Paris concert hall he designed but whose architecture he claimed had been "martyred" and "sabotaged". Mr Nouvel boycotted the January opening of the Philharmonie de Paris, an ultra-modern building in the French capital's eastern Parc de La Vilette, accusing project managers of cutting corners to save money during its completion.

Previously:

Seattle's massive Bertha tunnel drill is up for repair, but still faces a shaky outlook

2015-04-07T16:25:00-04:00

Megaprojects almost always fall short of their promises—costing too much, delivering underwhelming benefits, or both. Yet...cities still fall for them, seduced by new technologies and the lure of the perfect fix. A mix of factors has given Seattle a particularly acute sense of angst. The project depends on a singular piece of engineering. And Bertha’s building a highway for cars in a city where workers overcrowd buses and commuters wrap themselves in waterproof everything to bike in the rain.

Bedecked with amusingly cutesy illustrations, Bloomberg tells the exasperating tale of the giant tunnel drill dubbed Bertha, which began digging the new State Route 99 tunnel underneath downtown Seattle in summer 2013 to replace the current street-level Alaskan Way Viaduct and ideally clear up the city's waterfront for a park. Named after Seattle's only female mayor Bertha Knight Landes, Bertha is reportedly the world's biggest tunnel drill at five stories tall, built with a 25,000-horsepower motor, 260 steel teeth, and has an $80 million price tag.

Bertha near completion back in 2012 before its shipment to Seattle.

But in December 2013 after digging through about 1,000 feet, Bertha's seals busted from increasing temperatures and grit clogged up its teeth, so, it broke. Debate amongst Seattleites ensued. What the hell will happen to Big Bertha now? The project was originally scheduled to be done this November.

Last week, Washington State's contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners safely haul...

Jean Nouvel files for court order against Philharmonie de Paris dispute

2015-03-04T18:32:00-05:00

Jean Nouvel applied for a court mandate ordering that his name and image be completely removed from all references to the "sabotaged" Philharmonie de Paris at the Parc de La Vilette. Nouvel boycotted the grand opening of the unfinished 2,400-seat concert venue in January. In a column for Le Monde, Nouvel claimed he was used as a scapegoat for cost overruns and delays and he also wrote about how the venue's premature opening didn't "allow [the] architectural and technical requirements to be respected" (English translation here).

According to recent reports, Nouvel's lawyers state that the architect is not seeking compensation but for modifications to remedy 26 parts of the building that did not comply to his original design. This includes the promenade, foyers, parapets, facades, and acoustic elements of the approximately $427.4 million (£280 million) project.

The court hearing is currently scheduled for April 16.

Archinect - News

From The Vessel to gallery accessibility, the art world continues to reinforce ableism

Amid the smart city trend, Santa Maria Tonantzintla​ locals in Mexico​ fear the loss of their cultural traditions

Migrant workers in Qatar allowed to leave without exit visas

Esther Sperber argues that to end abuse in architecture, stop believing in the creative genius myth

After Seattle's “Amazon Tax” failed, California cities pick up on their own big-business tax initiatives for affordable housing

Blair Kamin discusses architecture's #metoo moment — “The moral and professional [responsibility] is simply to bear witness”

NY Construction Alliance pushes for mandatory drug/alcohol testing on all NYC construction sites

Architects envision Trump's America in the “Complicity and Defiance” charrette — winners announced!

The conspicuous ethics of the Dubai Frame, opening date delayed to later this year

Examining the politics of starchitect megaprojects in Abu Dhabi

Following Ghost Ship tragedy, city authorities and artists clash over DIY venues

Hawaii's Thirty Meter Telescope could be moved to the Canary Islands

Only one student enrolled in a Yale course about women architects, despite grievances against poor representation

A new beginning for Rosa Parks' Detroit home

Senator Tim Kaine weighs in on the future of U.S. affordable housing

Rio mayor admits Olympics were a “missed opportunity”, but believes the city has been unfairly portrayed

Alejandro Zaera-Polo sues Princeton University for libel

Why cranes keep collapsing, despite "sophisticated equipment"

One CEO's plan to supply water to drought-stricken CA cities, and obviously profit from it

Lessons learned: The complex realities when designing communal social housing

How L.A. can reboot its "creative economy" so artists can actually live in town

Is Waze to blame for heavy traffic on L.A. residential side streets?

How connected do architects still feel to the profession? More Dear Architecture letters explore that question

"Dear Architecture" winners write fictional letters addressing real problems in the field

Will Rio's Olympic venues be ready in time for the 2016 Games?

As mining threatens Kiruna, the city plans for possible demolition and relocation two miles east

U.S. needs reliable rail systems where 'traveling 106 mph is considered slow', U.S. PIRG asserts amid Amtrak debate

Jean Nouvel loses court case over 'sabotaged' Philharmonie de Paris

Seattle's massive Bertha tunnel drill is up for repair, but still faces a shaky outlook

Jean Nouvel files for court order against Philharmonie de Paris dispute

Amid the smart city trend, Santa Maria Tonantzintla locals in Mexico fear the loss of their cultural traditions