Archinect - News

‘Mutant’ London apartment block to be demolished for deviating too far from permitted development

2023-10-17T11:54:00-04:00

The planning authority in London’s Royal Borough of Greenwich has ordered the demolition of a new residential development along the River Thames. In a statement, the authority concluded that the 23-story building, named Mast Quay Phase II, was “so substantially different to the scheme that was originally permitted” that the development’s ultimate construction was unlawful.

In its decision, the authority cited 26 main deviations from the scheme originally granted planning permission, including “visible design changes to the external appearance of the towers,” arguing that the towers looked “more solid and bulky because of the removal of the stepped back top floor and the glazed curtain wall facade” to one of the blocks.

The approved Mast Quay Phase II (left) versus the scheme subsequently constructed (right). Image credit: Royal Borough of Greenwich

The authority also cited visible changes to the materials and windows, a larger than approved footprint, “lower quality residential acco...

Settlement reached in the strange case of California's famous Flintstone House

2021-06-28T17:44:00-04:00

A settlement has been reached in the strange case of a homeowner who fought her California town to keep a famous Flintstones motif installed. The curious legal dispute has kept the Bay Area suburb in the headlines for the past two and a half years.

Florence Fang will receive $125,000 from the town of Hillsborough after it apparently chose to settle her countersuit brought against their original public nuisance claim challenging her legal right to display giant mushrooms and other ephemera on her 2,700 square foot home that has been deemed “a highly visible eyesore.”

The Flintstone House in 2007. Photo: Wikimedia User Sergei.

The so-called Flintstone House sits atop a hillside overlooking Interstate 280 and was built using spray-on concrete as well as aeronautical balloons for a Silicon Valley family by the architect William Nicholson in 1976.

The home had been “revitalized” with new signage and giant metal dinosaur sculptures when Fang purchased it in 2017 for a highly under-market ...

Owner who tore down landmarked Neutra house ordered to rebuild

2018-12-17T14:06:00-05:00

After a landmarked home in San Francisco's Twin Peaks neighborhood was illegally razed last year, the city has ordered the property owner to rebuild an exact replica.

One of only five remaining homes in the city designed by the famed modernist architect Richard Neutra, the Largent House was bought last year for $1.7 million by Ross Johnston through his 49 Hopkins LLC. Johnston had received permission from the city to remodel, but decided to tear down the house instead and retroactively apply for a demolition permit.

Photo courtesy MLS San Francisco

The City Planning Commission's unprecedented vote on Thursday to order a replica was unanimous. They have also asked the owner to include a sidewalk plaque telling the saga of the tear down and required rebuild as a cautionary tale for others.

The homeowner had wanted to replace the 1,300 square foot home built in 1935 with a much larger house that would've been nearly 4,000 square feet—highlighting the growing trend of replacing (relati...

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia fined $41 million for lack of building permit

2018-10-19T13:22:00-04:00

Despite having been under construction for more than 130 years, Gaudí's Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona has lacked the proper paper work. Turns out, the Unesco world heritage site, attracting more than 20 million visitors a year, has never been granted a building permit, the BBC News reports.

After two years of negotiations, an agreement to remedy the situation was finally reached on Thursday. The church's trustees conceded to paying $41 million in fees over a 10-year period, so that the city can fund public transportation, increase accessibility, and make other improvements to the surrounding area.

Ada Colau, Barcelona's far-left mayor, argued that the basilica's board has been working without a permit; has failed to pay proper taxes and fees on construction; and has not submitted the required paperwork for tearing down neighboring residential buildings. According to the Times, the church, on the other hand, contends they were granted a permit in 1885 by Sant Martí de Prove...

University of Waterloo School of Architecture's former GM on trial for fraud

2016-03-30T12:50:00-04:00

A University of Waterloo employee secretly arranged for his mother to be paid $148,000 from the school’s coffers, his fraud trial heard Tuesday. Jeffrey Lederer is charged with fraud, theft and uttering forged documents. He was employed by Waterloo until 2011, when he was asked to leave his position as general manager of the university’s architectural school.

Although he's no Bernie Madoff, just how does the former General Manager's illegal fund finagling rank in the annals of architectural rip-offs?

Here's a tour of recent questionable architectural appropriations:

Top 13 floors of India's tallest skyscraper were built illegally, High Court says

2016-01-28T13:37:00-05:00

In a fresh setback for India's tallest skyscraper, Palais Royale at Worli, the Bombay high court on Wednesday held that the 13 upper floors of the 56-storey building as well as a 15-storey public parking tower next to it were "completely illegal". [...] The builder also sought to claim that the tower with 900 parking spaces was in public interest. The HC disagreed, saying "but for the incentive FSI (that the developer could claim) they would not have constructed it for social service".

H/T CTBUH.

Blatant Racism displayed by owner of Berkeley-based Sachi Landscape

2014-10-03T14:06:00-04:00

Are you joking? Go ask a Latino based org. I am not interested in assisting anyone from a Latino based org. Its racist to even ask and frankly my business has [been] ruined by fucking illegal immigrants. Are we clear! Don’t ever email this address again. If there weren’t so many damn illegal immigrants in this state, i would have work for myself. Now piss off!

'Landscaper Refuses to Help Berkeley Students Because of ‘F*cking Illegal Immigrants’. This quote is not from the Onion, but written as a response to Vanessa Hernández Juárez, a member of UCal Berkeley’s Chican@/Latin@ Architecture Student Association who e mailed Sachi Landscape asking for a studio visit from UC Berkeley Landscape Architecture students.

I like how one of my favorite cartoonists Lalo Alcaraz responded to Sachi.

“Are you the racist landscaping company? I’m looking for one, thanks.”

Sorry.

Before I became a freedom-loving cartoonist and writer, I used to be an architect in training.

I got my Master’s Degree in Architecture from UC Berkeley, and as I said, I was a member of CASA. Our purpose was to give each other support as Latino students at a big, daunting and prestigious university, and to form relationships with professionals in our intended profession. Field trips to firms often led to internships, experience and future employment.

To be an architect, or a landscape...

Prada Marfa saved

2014-09-16T17:46:00-04:00

The conceptual storefront Prada Marfa, 2005, by Elmgreen & Dragset, has a new lease on life. The Texas Department of Transportation reached an agreement last week with the foundation Ballroom Marfa to preserve the sculpture after nearly one year of negotiations. The government threatened to shut down the work because it could be considered an illegal roadside advertisement under state law. [...] the foundation plans to lease the land underneath Prada Marfa and register it as an art museum.

Previously: Prada Marfa declared an illegal outdoor advertisement, faces possible removal

Looser Rules on Illegal Housing Sought

2013-10-15T12:11:00-04:00

New York City’s Department of Buildings issues more than 4,400 violations a year for illegally converted basements, cellars and attics that cannot be occupied because of health and safety hazards, like poor ventilation or a lack of multiple exits. But with the scarcity of affordable housing in the city and with many New Yorkers already living in makeshift apartments, some housing advocates are calling for a new approach.

Prada Marfa declared an illegal outdoor advertisement, faces possible removal

2013-09-17T15:32:00-04:00

Nearly eight years after opening, Prada Marfa has been classified by the Texas Department of Transportation as an “illegal outdoor advertising sign” because it displays the Prada logo on land where that is prohibited. This could lead to forced removal of the installation, although the department has not yet decided what action it will take.

UPDATE: Prada Marfa saved

Zhang Lin Builds His Dream Mountain Home... On Top Of A Beijing Apartment Building

2013-08-14T14:23:00-04:00

For the past six years, professor Zhang Lin has been moving rocks and rubble to construct his dream mountain home in the Renji Mountain area of Beijing, China. The catch? It's actually on the roof of a 26-story apartment building. And according to the South China Morning Post, the structure is completely illegal, as he never received the necessary planning permission for this extreme dwelling.