Archinect - News

As the threat of war mounts, Finland’s high-tech bomb shelter system lies ready and waiting

2022-04-26T18:23:00-04:00

As Finland mulls its possible entry into NATO, residents can feel a sense of safety thanks to the decades-old network of more than 54,000 bomb shelters mandated by the country’s Rescue Act, which requires any currently in-use buildings with a floor area of at least 1,200 square meters (12,900 square feet) to include such facilities.

A total of 85% of the shelters are operated privately, with most serving more practical peacetime roles as sports centers, shopping malls, and in some cases parking garages. The country’s past preparedness for other emergency situations paid considerable dividends at the outset of the pandemic, but Finnish civil defense officials maintain they aren’t looking forward to a system-wide litmus from the Russian military anytime soon.

“It’s sad to see what is happening in Ukraine,” Tomi Rask, a safety instructor at the civil defense cente...

2020 "most admired" architecture schools according to DesignIntelligence

2019-10-03T09:53:00-04:00

We also survey students, and this year two unexpected results stood out from the 4,000-plus responses we received. First was the 5 percent drop in architecture undergraduate students wishing to go on to graduate school. [...] The second standout was the answer to the following question: “If there were no barriers, what firm would you want to work for?” The No. 1 response overall was to be self-employed.

The DesignIntelligence 2020 architecture school rankings are out! The annual design industry survey asks hiring professionals two basic questions:

"What schools do you most admire for a combination of faculty, programs, culture, and student preparation for the profession?”
“From which schools have you hired the greatest number of (undergraduate or graduate) students in the last five years?”

The responses record the degree to which students have the ability to hit the ground running in their new jobs following graduation, among other factors. The survey, according to DesignIntelligence, assesses how recent graduates perform according to 12 skill areas encompassing knowledge of how buildings come together, communication and decision-making abilities, and digital technology skills. Using the accumulated responses, the organization tabulates top 10 rankings for both graduate and undergraduate programs, shown below.

The Top 10 Most Admired Architecture Undergraduate Programs

1. Cornell Un...

2018 top 10 architecture schools according to DesignIntelligence's new survey questions

2018-09-05T13:18:00-04:00

Each year for the past 19 years, DesignIntelligence has conducted the same survey across the design industry regarding architecture-school rankings. The number of valid responses from hiring managers of architecture and design-professional firms typically range between 2,600 and 3,200, year over year. But this year was markedly different: we had more than 4,500 valid responses, which may reflect the urgency of improving architectural education.

DesignIntelligence has been conducting a yearly design industry survey to rank architecture undergraduate and graduate programs for the past 19 years. For this year's ranking DI has changed their primary question of “Which programs are best preparing students for a future in the profession?” to asking two different questions:

"What schools do you most admire for a combination of faculty, programs, culture, and student preparation for the profession?”
“From which schools have you hired the greatest number of (undergraduate or graduate) students in the last five years?”

Through asking these two questions in the design industry DesignIntelligence has ranked the following schools in the top 10 for 2018.

The Top 10 Architecture Undergraduate Programs

1 Cornell University
2 Rice University
3 Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (SLO)
4 Syracuse University
5 Cooper Union
6 Rhode Island School of Design
7 Pratt Institute
8 Virginia Tech
9 Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
10 University of...

Prepare your emergency survival kit with inspiration from some of the Dry Futures competition prize packages

2015-08-27T16:40:00-04:00

Whether you're venturing out into nature doing long-term research for a project or you're preparing for the next natural disaster that may strike your city, it's always a good idea to have a survival kit ready if things go awry and an emergency arises. If you haven't prepared a kit and need some starter suggestions on what to pack, Archinect hand-picked a selection of survival products that were kindly provided by a group of reputable brands for our Dry Futures design competition. The top three prizes in each category will include these custom survival kits.

Naturally, staying as healthy as possible is crucial in any survival situation. Devoted to creating durable everyday products equipped with life-saving capabilities, Life Gear's "Wings of Life" and "Grab and Go" Survival Packs include lightweight water-resistant backpacks to carry their accompanying essentials, including: 3-day supply of food and water for one person, poncho/thermal blanket, tarp, personal hygiene and first-aid...

Task force created to prepare New Yorkers for extreme weather

2013-06-13T15:01:00-04:00

New York City must take urgent steps to protect New Yorkers and its buildings from the next extreme weather event, according to a report released today by the Building Resiliency Task Force at a press conference.

In the devastating aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn charged the task force with giving recommendations to improve the resiliency of city buildings and maximize preparedness for extreme weather conditions like high winds, high temperatures and flooding. Urban Green Council led the 200+ member task force.

Highlights of specific suggestions:

Create stronger buildings—require new and replacement doors and windows to be wind resistant; anchor homes to their foundations; design sidewalks to capture storm water.
Ensure reliable backup power—make it easier for buildings to use backup generators and solar energy; require buildings to keep stairwells and hallways lit during blackouts; add hookups for roll-up generato...