Archinect - News

New York releases city’s first study on environmental justice

2024-04-09T11:41:00-04:00

The New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice has released the city’s first report into environmental justice issues.

Titled 'EJNYC: A Study of Environmental Justice Issues in New York City,' the study analyzes environmental hazards ranging from toxin exposure and summer heat vulnerability to flood risks and transit access.

Image courtesy: Buro Happold

Developed by a team led by Buro Happold and urban design nonprofit Hester Street, the report feeds into a wider project known as the Environmental Justice NYC (EJNYC) initiative, which will develop a city-wide environmental justice strategy. The report is also accompanied by a mapping tool that allows users to visualize environmental issues in their neighborhood.

Image courtesy: Buro Happold

The report found that disadvantaged areas in the city are subject to more stationary sources of pollution, including power plants, waste processing facilities, and waste generators, and contain more observed health dispariti...

Further action on decarbonization in the construction sector is needed, urges UN/Yale study

2023-09-15T17:21:00-04:00

A new report driven by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Yale University's newly-formed Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture (Yale CEA) has recommended drastic reductions in the industry’s use of certain construction materials as it faces the environmental headwinds of sector-wide change.

While heeding a "back-to-the-future revolution" in methods and products/technologies used for building, the authors say the worldwide growth of urbanization has necessitated an overabundance of new buildings constructed using an unacceptable amount of concrete and other harmful materials. The findings of the report suggest the efficacy of reusing existing buildings at a larger scale while at the same time concentrating more resources toward the production of adequate alternatives in addition to adopting a "circular economy" and policies that help to curb the industry's 37% share of global emissions.

Where the report recommends a three-pronged solution toward reducing embodied concrete e...

The state of Frederick Law Olmsted's most at-risk landscapes is examined in new TCLF Landslide 2022 report

2022-10-26T10:00:00-04:00

A new report and exhibition inspecting the state of some of the most at-risk designs by Fredrick Law Olmsted and his successor firms have been released by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) in honor of the storied landscape architect’s 200th birthday.

This year’s Landslide report has identified twelve Olmsted projects in nine states and Canada that are under threat of a range of challenges including climate change, maintenance delays, and the overall lack of funding.

Washington Park in Milwaukee, WI. Image: Eddee Daniel, courtesy of The Cultural Landscape Foundation

“Landslide 2022 shows us that while the appreciation and value for Olmsted-designed landscapes in general continues to increase, some landscapes have been less fortunate. Our intent with this report is to foster greater awareness and curiosity about this exceptional legacy, and to encourage a stronger shared responsibility for its future,” said Charles A. Birnbaum, the TCLF’s president and CEO, in a preview.

Olmsted...

Autonomous vehicles in urgent need of regulation, says urban research group

2022-10-11T11:50:00-04:00

The Urban Institute has warned that the proliferation of autonomous vehicles in the United States needs to be met by regulations at the federal, state, and local level to ensure equity and environmental sustainability. The non-profit group, which describes its role as inspiring “effective decisions that advance fairness and enhance the well-being of people and places,” set out their position in a 78-page report published this week.

“The mobility system in the United States is unsafe, inequitable, and environmentally destructive,” the report says. “Autonomous vehicles (AVs) — self-driving cars that can travel along publicly accessible streets some or all of the time without human involvement — could help mitigate these problems, if they are implemented in a thoughtful, well-regulated manner.”

Archinect Feature: Smog City: The Fight Against Urban Air Pollution

According to the group, fully autonomous vehicles would “in theory” offer a positive step for the future of transportation, poi...

IPCC report says architects need to drastically change their ways to curb emissions

2022-04-08T17:32:00-04:00

Here’s a sobering fact: The building sector is dragging down global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. [...] The good news is that, according to the report, up to 61% of building emissions could be cut by 2050, and we have all the solutions at our disposal today, from passive cooling technologies and denser multifamily homes to retrofits. All we need to do is implement them—or better yet, introduce regulations and policies to will them into implementation.

The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that emissions from buildings doubled between 1990 and 2019 despite the widespread adaptation of environmentally-friendly construction methods and materials like recycled concrete. Increases in population and the total floor area per person (especially in the global north) accounted for nearly three-quarters of the emissions jump.

An overall lack of regulations on new developments in those countries is the primary cause according to lead author Yasmina Saheb, who also took the (increasingly popular) stance regarding the greater need for adaptive reuse projects where applicable.

“Each time you have a heating or cooling system that consumes energy, this means the building was wrongly designed,” she told FastCompany about flaws laden in the creature comforts typical to Western design. “A good building is a building that doesn’t need an active heating and cooling system.”

Read the full Climate Change 2022:...

New survey reveals the usage of 3D printers among American college students

2022-02-02T13:54:00-05:00

A new study published by Primary Research Group has been released examining American college students and their use of 3D printers.

The survey looks closely at how many and which students are using 3D printers at their colleges, along with how much they are using them. The report also collected students’ opinions on the value of 3D printers and how aware they are of their availability in their academic settings. The report aims to assist college and university officials to estimate the current and future level of demand for 3D printing and the source of demand. Data was collected through a representative sample of 1,076 students attending four-year colleges in the United States.

Key findings of the survey are:

46% of students majoring in engineering, mathematics, and computer science had ever used a 3D printer, the highest of any major or range of academic fields in the sample.
Older students aged 26 to 35 were much more likely than others to find a 3D printer valuable or very valu...

Amid labor shortages in construction, new reports expose failures in diversity and inclusion

2021-12-10T13:31:00-05:00

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has invited construction companies around the world to support a new charter committed to improving diversity within the global construction sector. The move comes amid multiple reports finding that female, BIPOC, and young employees are significantly underrepresented in construction occupations.

The CIOB’s charter contains five actions for signatories to implement, including highlighting the benefits of diversity and inclusion at a senior leadership level, creating targets to address under-representation and pay disparities, and publishing reports on an annual basis detailing the company’s diversity metrics and plans for the future.

The decision to create the charter was driven by findings from a CIOB report, which noted that women make up just 12.3% of the US construction workforce, with BIPOC individuals comprising between 5% and 7% of the workforce, ...

New AIA report investigates bias in the architecture profession

2021-12-08T17:29:00-05:00

The American Institute of Architects has partnered with the University of California Hastings College of the Law to release a new report that details the impacts of bias in architecture.

The study covers the experiences, perceptions, and opinions of women, people of color, and other historically underrepresented demographic groups in the field. It examines how bias plays out in architecture, how it impacts workplace processes, and how it affects outcome measures. As stated in the institute's announcement: “AIA’s goal in conducting the study is to build awareness in firms of bias to help architects recognize and address issues that may be occurring in firms.”

The report also offers strategies and resources that can help firms address bias in the workplace. These tools, as detailed by the AIA, are the same ones that businesses use to solve any major problem: evidence, goals, and metrics. Specifically, the AIA calls on the implementation of “Bias Interrupters,” which are adjustments ...

After years of improvement, air pollution in the U.S. is getting worse again

2019-10-24T14:09:00-04:00

Air pollution worsened in the United States in 2017 and 2018, new data shows, a reversal after years of sustained improvement with significant implications for public health. In 2018 alone, eroding air quality was linked to nearly 10,000 additional deaths in the U.S. relative to the 2016 benchmark, the year in which small-particle pollution reached a two-decade low, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.

The Washington Post reports that "concentrations of the pollutant have risen about 5.5 percent since 2016," and points out several contributing factors that the Carnegie Mellon study identified: increased natural gas use and vehicle traffic, risen severity and frequency of wildfires, and the rollback of regulatory enforcement of the Clean Air Act in recent years.

"The health implications of this increase in [annual average fine particulate matter] PM2.5 between 2016 and 2018 are significant," explains the research paper. "The increase was associated with 9,700 additional premature deaths in 2018. At conventional valuations, these deaths represent damages of $89 billion."

MVRDV makes 5 proposals for resiliency in San Francisco Bay Area

2018-09-13T19:00:00-04:00

At San Francisco's Global Climate Action Summit yesterday, MVRDV presented a report offering 5 recommendations to Bay Area officials on the region’s plans for a resilient future. Their report, titled Too Much + Too Little, was created as part of the NL Resilience Collective. Below are the firm's 5 proposals for the city:

1. Update long-term plans to include water management and climate adaptation
2. Install a Bay Area Resiliency Commissioner
3. Understand your system
4. Develop a set of design principles for local communities across the bay
5. Start both big and small

Read the full descriptions for each recommendation here.

New report assesses worrying impact of vacant properties in U.S. cities, and what local communities can do about it

2018-07-30T15:50:00-04:00

Neighborhoods with high vacancy rates rarely recover, according to the study. Vacancy is “first and foremost a symptom of other problems — concentrated poverty, economic decline, and market failure,” the study notes. That means the solutions must go beyond just tearing abandoned buildings down. The study urges local governments to use tools like “spot blight” eminent domain, vacant property receivership, and land-banking to speed up the transition from owner to owner.

CityLab editor-at-large Richard Florida summarizes a new report by Alan Mallach of the Center for Community Progress about the increase of vacant properties and hypervacancy in cities across the U.S. in recent decades — another worrying aspect of the American housing crisis. The report assesses how vacant properties are affecting certain cities, and it also outlines mitigation strategies for local governments and community groups.

New report presents staggering amount of parking in US cities

2018-07-16T15:13:00-04:00

Groundbreaking research presents credible estimates of the total parking supply in several American cities, and it's not pretty. Parking spaces are everywhere, but for some reason the perception persists that there’s “not enough parking.” And so cities require parking in new buildings and lavishly subsidize parking garages, without ever measuring how much parking exists or how much it’s used.

A new report from Eric Scharnhorst at the Research Institute for Housing America, an arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association, estimates the total parking supply in five US cities. Looking at satellite imagery and tax record data, Scharnhorst tallied on-street parking, surface parking, and garage parking in New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Des Moines, and Jackson, Wyoming. The results show staggeringly high amounts of land use dedicated to parking with low use percentages.

RIBA releases Brexit report indicating UK architects' growing concerns of the industry's future

2018-03-21T16:04:00-04:00

With one year left until Brexit, 2018 is a critical year for the UK architecture industry. Today, the RIBA released the latest results of their Global by Design report, a comprehensive survey of UK architects on Brexit. Although UK architects can adapt to next year's changes, RIBA describes, they also expressed growing concerns for the uncertain future of their industry in addition to the lack of clarity on the UK's future relationship with the EU.

RIBA surveyed their members between December 2017-January 2018. For starters, 71 percent of architects believe Brexit will have a negative impact on the built environment, compared to 60 percent in the 2017 survey.

The 2018 report also reveals that 68 percent of architects had projects put on hold, and more than 2 in 5 architects (43 percent) had projects cancelled since the EU referendum (in 2017, 61 percent had delays and 36 percent had cancellations). To add to that, 60 percent of EU architects considered leaving the UK since the refer...

How the Speed of Elevators Impacts our Urban Environment

2017-09-07T14:46:00-04:00

The first commercial passenger elevator was installed by Otis Elevator Company in 1857 and climbed at a glacial pace of 40 feet a minute, though it felt staggering at the time. Since then, we have come a long way both in terms of elevator speeds and in terms of the heights these elevators are needed to traverse in order to meet the needs of super-tall structures around the world. Today, an Otis elevator in Dubai soars at a speed of 22 mph, which is still less than half the speed of those topping new rankings for the fastest elevators in the world.

Looking into the ways these improvements in elevator speeds have effected our urban environment, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has released new research in a study titled Vertical Transport: Ascent & Acceleration. The study defines the fastest and longest elevator runs and shows a strong correlation between the increase in elevator speeds and the increase in skyscraper heights. As elevator technology advances and allows b...

Leaked government draft report finds that U.S. is already impacted by climate change

2017-08-09T14:30:00-04:00

A draft government report on climate says the U.S. is already experiencing the consequences of global warming. The findings sharply contrast with statements by President Trump and some members of his Cabinet, who have sought to downplay the changing climate. The document, which was leaked ahead of publication and reported by The New York Times on Tuesday, says Americans are seeing more heat waves and rainfall as a result of climate change.

The draft report confirms previous assessments that global warming, as observed over the past decades, is indeed caused by human activity, and climate change is already showing affects on the United States' weather and economy.

"That statement is directly at odds with statements from Trump and key Cabinet members," NPR reports. "The head of Trump's Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has said there is "tremendous disagreement" on the impact humans have had on the climate. And in June, Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from so-called Paris agreement on climate change, which is the main international effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Click here to read the draft of the climate change report in full.

Biting independent review on Garden Bridge is a reality check for the project's authorities

2017-04-07T20:23:00-04:00

Today, the Greater London Authority released a biting investigative report on the Garden Bridge conducted by senior Member of Parliament Margaret Hodge. Last October, Mayor Sadiq Khan formally appointed Hodge to lead the independent review, as part of Khan's promise to investigate the decisions surrounding the mismanaged project when he first came into office. Based on Hodge's findings, prospects on the controversial project are still looking grim; it would be better to ditch the project than risk wasting more public money.

Rendering courtesy of Arup/Heatherwick Studio.

“This review does not seek to assess whether building a Garden Bridge over the River Thames is a good idea; that is a matter for the Mayor, and I made clear at the start of this review process that I had no view,” Hodge writes in the introduction. The report focuses on examining value for money for public funds. Hodge notes the likelihood of increasing project costs, which she states could rise to over £200 million w...

Mapping how LA's expanding Metro network fuels gentrification (or not)

2016-09-09T14:01:00-04:00

Researchers from the Urban Displacement project, a joint UCLA and UC Berkeley effort, recently released a gentrification map of Los Angeles. They examined the city from 1990 to 2000 and up to 2015, focusing on neighborhoods near transit stops. The goal was to see if these areas saw higher rents and more displacement than other areas. The answer? Yes — with some exceptions.

Some of the UCLA researchers' key findings for Los Angeles Country (via the project's website, urbandisplacement.org):

Our analysis found that areas around transit stations are changing and that many of the changes are in direction of neighborhood upscaling and gentrification.
Examining the changes from 2000 to 2013, we find that relative to non-transit areas, transit neighborhoods are more associated with higher increases in whites, college educated, higher income households and greater increases in the cost of rent. Conversely, transit neighborhoods are associated with greater losses in disadvantaged populations including individuals with less than a high school diploma and lower income households.
The impacts of changes vary across locations but the biggest impacts seem to be around the Downtown areas where transit-oriented development interacts with other interventions aiming to revitalize the urban form.

Click here for the interactive LA map. — Looking for the SF Bay Area map inste...

Latest NCARB report shows faster path to licensure

2016-08-29T13:30:00-04:00

According to the recently released 2016 edition of “NCARB by the Numbers”, looking at "key insights into architectural education, the path to licensure, and diversity in the profession", the time it takes to get an architecture license has continued to gradually decrease, as the average age of licensure also keeps steadily dropping.

The report states that in 2015, on average it took 13.3 years to become an architect, a timeline defined by: “from the time a student enrolls in school to the moment they receive a license.” That timeframe has gradually been decreasing each year since 2008, when it took approximately 15.5 years. So naturally, it follows that architects are also getting licensed at a younger age, on average.

Other key points from the report include the all-time (recorded) high of over 41,500 “professionals working toward licensure” in 2015. The percentage of ARE completions by women also reached its highest since 2006, increasing by over 10% to 37%.

For more information and ...

Hudson Yards could generate nearly $19B for New York City, study claims

2016-05-04T17:53:00-04:00

A study commissioned by the developer indicated that total economic output of the companies projected to occupy Hudson Yards will contribute $18.9 billion to the city's gross domestic product. [...] Many projections in the report are also contingent on a host of economic indicators in the city, including demand for Class A office space. Out of the 10.4 million square feet Related will have to lease up, so far it has locked in commitments from tenants for 4 million square feet.

The Hudson Yards project previously in the Archinect news:

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

2016-04-26T13:46:00-04:00

Eleven people died while working on Olympic facilities or Games-related projects between January 2013 and March 2016, according to a report released Monday by Rio de Janeiro's Regional Labor and Employment Office. The report, released by Elaine Castilho, the auditor for the Rio Olympic Games works, also notes that no workers died in the preparations for the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Use the AIA's visualized home design survey results to keep track of emerging trends

2016-01-04T15:28:00-05:00

The AIA recently revamped their AIA Home Design Trends Survey into a visual-friendly format for the 2015 findings, so this could be a handy reference tool for any home designers who want to stay on top of emerging trends that may come to the forefront in 2016. The new visual lets users quickly access charts and figures for each quarter in 2015, which focuses on a different area of home trends including "Neighborhood and Community Design", "Home and Property Design", "Home Features", and "Kitchen and Bath". The survey results also include the same business conditions questions for tracking purposes.

Check out the survey, archives, and more here.

It's official: trees are good for your health

2015-07-10T13:02:00-04:00

In a new paper published Thursday, a team of researchers present a compelling case for why urban neighborhoods filled with trees are better for your physical health. [...] they found that “having 10 more trees in a city block, on average, improves health perception in ways comparable to an increase in annual personal income of $10,000 and moving to a neighborhood with $10,000 higher median income or being 7 years younger.”

"We focused on a large urban population center (Toronto, Canada) and related the two domains by combining high-resolution satellite imagery and individual tree data from Toronto with questionnaire-based self-reports of general health perception, cardio-metabolic conditions and mental illnesses from the Ontario Health Study," reads the abstract of the newly published report led by Omid Kardan. The study goes on to say: "Results from multiple regressions and multivariate canonical correlation analyses suggest that people who live in neighborhoods with a higher density of trees on their streets report significantly higher health perception and significantly less cardio-metabolic conditions (controlling for socio-economic and demographic factors)."

To read the full report, click here.

NCARB releases "By the Numbers" report for 2015 – and in general, things don't seem so terrible

2015-07-09T13:40:00-04:00

Every year, NCARB releases a report looking at architects' path to licensure. Paying particular attention to trends in how diverse the architecture population is becoming, how regulation of architects is changing, and any developments in licensing credentials, the report offers a benchmark for understanding where the profession may be moving. The 2015 edition of NCARB by the Numbers, reflecting on stats accrued in the previous year, is now available to download for free.

Some highlights from the report:

There are more architects: The number of licensed architects, reported by the 54 U.S. licensing boards, increased by 2% from 2013-2014
Architects are getting licensed earlier: In 2014, the average age that an architect became licensed fell to 33.3 – it's lowest since 2001
Minority presence is getting stronger: 41% of aspiring architects belonged to racial and ethnic minorities in 2014, up from 22% in 2007
More women are completing IDP: The number of female architects who completed IDP in ...

EPA study finds no evidence that fracking has lead to polluted drinking water

2015-06-08T19:31:00-04:00

The EPA's draft assessment was conducted at the request of Congress. "It is the most complete compilation of scientific data to date," says Burke, "including over 950 sources of information, published papers, numerous technical reports, information from stakeholders and peer-reviewed EPA scientific reports." [...] The EPA study does identify some potential vulnerabilities to drinking water.

At this stage, the study is the "most complete compilation of scientific data to date," says Tom Burke, deputy assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Research and Development. But as a "draft assessment", the study still needs to be reviewed by the Science Advisory Board, and be made open for public comment, before its findings are finalized.

Predictably, environmental groups are not pleased with the EPA's findings, as it corroborates what the American Petroleum Institute has insisted from the beginning: that fracking has always followed preexisting safety regulations. According to NPR, Food & Water Watch, which wants to ban fracking, said the report "has the industry's oil fingerprints all over it." While the EPA study finds no evidence of fracking having led to demonstrable cases of polluted drinking water, it does acknowledge that fracking can adversely affect drinking water – read the full report here.

Hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking, has led to economic booms in areas ...

NCARB gives preview of data report to be released in July, says profession is "healthy and growing"

2015-05-14T13:22:00-04:00

A record-high number of candidates actively working toward an architect license provides more evidence of a thriving talent pool for the architect profession, according to new 2014 data released today by [NCARB]. More than 37,000 aspiring architects were testing and/or reporting experience hours last year, a substantial part of the path to architectural licensure required by the 54 U.S. state and jurisdiction licensing boards.

NCARB CEO Michael Armstrong gave a first glimpse of key findings in the "NCARB by the Numbers" report today at the AIA Convention in Atlanta. Read the full press release here.

Previously:

Read the Urban Land Institute's full report on the micro unit housing trend

2015-01-30T15:49:00-05:00

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) recently published a report titled "The Macro View of Micro Units", which shares the latest findings in the revived trend of micro dwellings in the United States. The report arose from a ULI Foundation research grant that the Multifamily Housing Councils received in 2013 to evaluate the market performance and acceptance of small living spaces.

↑ The 23-unit SMARTSPACE SoMa micro apartments at 38 Harriet St. in San Francisco.

Bill Whitlow, a partner of Terra Search Partners, led the ULI Research Committee that wrote the 46-page report. The Committee worked with ULI Multifamily Council members as well as other developers, operators, and design professionals familiar with micro unit developments in conducting interviews. The findings were presented at the ULI's annual fall meeting in New York.

The report focuses especially on high-density and pricey metropolitan cities like New York, Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. The prefab SMARTSPACE ...

2014 was the tallest year by far for skyscrapers, CTBUH finds

2015-01-12T17:04:00-05:00

2014 was the year of the tall building. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) published its 2014 Tall Building Data Research Report, a statistic-laden round-up that could make your head spin and wonder how much taller a skyscraper can possibly get. Last year, a total of 97 buildings with a height of 200 meters or greater were completed, making it the highest number that the CTBUH has ever recorded.

Not surprisingly, the report states that 74 of the 97 tall buildings are located in Asia, with China completing the most buildings for the seventh year in a row with 58. The Philippines took second place with five completions, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar with four completions each. Indonesia, Canada, the United States, and Japan shared fourth place for three completions each.

To slap on some more statistical highlights, 2014 also saw the completion of 11 Supertall buildings (300 meters height or more), which now accounts for 54% of the world's currently...

America's most expensive rental markets in 2014

2015-01-07T13:21:00-05:00

Rents continue to outpace incomes. In fact, Zillow just released data showing U.S. renters spent a combined $441 billion on housing in 2014. Perhaps surprisingly, the New York-Northern New Jersey metro didn’t top the list. San Jose was the highest, with renters paying on average $1,807 per month. Meanwhile, the 20th most expensive metro for renters was Minneapolis-St. Paul, where the average monthly payment in 2014 was $927.

A closer look at Downtown Atlanta's latest parking report

2014-08-06T13:25:00-04:00

Central Atlanta Progress, a nonprofit corporation of Atlanta business leaders, has released the documents from a recent assessment of Downtown Atlanta parking. They include reports on the existing parking situation and recommendations for “improving the customer parking experience in Downtown Atlanta.” [...] The first sting was felt when I read this nugget from the report: A person’s first and last impression of a city begins and ends with parking. Ouch! I beg to differ.

Green Lane Project brings protected bike lanes to six U.S. cities

2014-03-12T15:07:00-04:00

Cycling advocacy group People for Bikes has selected six U.S. cities to receive funding and consultation for new protected bike lanes, as part of its Green Lane Project. The annual Project collaborates with cities over two years to expedite the installation of protected bike lanes, one of the ways People for Bikes aims to establish bike-friendly, lower-stress streets. This past January, the group published a report documenting how protected bike lanes help local businesses, drawn partially from cities selected by their Green Lane program.

This year's cities are Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Denver, CO, Indianapolis, IN, Pittsburgh, PA and Seattle, WA. During its first two programs (2012 and 2013), the Green Lane Project was responsible for nearly half of the entire nation's increase in protected bike lanes, growing from 80 to 142. Previous cities that benefited from the program include Austin, TX, San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR, and Washington, DC -- now serving as mentors for future cit...