Archinect - News

NEOM's The Line is getting a lot shorter (for now)

2024-04-10T11:43:00-04:00

Bloomberg is reporting on a tip they received recently about NEOM’s The Line centerpiece as it advances on the first phase of construction in Saudi Arabia’s northwest highlands.

Last week, the outlet published details citing an anonymous source who said The Line segment is now expected to extend to only 2.4 kilometers and house 300,000 residents by the end of the decade. The figures cited are a drastic reduction from the 1.5 million-person, 170-kilometer goals that have been included in promotional materials since the launch of the project. The unnamed source spoke out of anonymity citing fears for “discussing non-public information.”

The report also claims unnamed contractors have been dismissed as a result of the missed objectives. Other satellite developments are however progressing on target. NEOM’s budget for 2024 has still yet to be approved after the Saudi Public Investment Fund saw its largest drop since 2020.

Related on Archinect: NEOM goes to Venice to promote its 'zero grav...

Bloomberg Media acquires CityLab as The Atlantic slashes staff

2019-12-13T18:23:00-05:00

Following news earlier this week announcing the sale of urban design innovation vertical CityLab to Bloomberg Media by The Atlantic, news reports today indicate that the publication's entire staff has been laid off.

Nieman Lab reports that the acquisition is the first for Bloomberg Media in over a decade, following its purchase of BusinessWeek in 2009. The sale comes as Bloomberg Media founder and 90% owner Michael Bloomberg undertakes a presidential campaign. Bloomberg has stepped away from day-to-day operations at the company and has vowed to either sell or enter the company into a "blind trust" should he win the presidential election.

Regarding the sale, Bloomberg Media CEO Justin B. Smith tells Adweek, "What’s really exciting about the addition to CityLab to our portfolio is that it can be introduced into that model as a new multi-platform, global sub-brand that is super-serving a niche that we care about a lot, that we think is very valuable."

As part of the transaction, The...

Diller Scofidio + Renfro's highly anticipated Shed announces April opening

2019-01-09T15:26:00-05:00

One of 2019's most anticipated buildings, the Shed, has announced it will launch its opening season on April 5th, 2019. The new art center—designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Rockwell Group in a collaborating role—will offer interdisciplinary programming, hosting exhibitions, lectures, and performances premiering works in the performing arts, visual arts, and popular culture.

“We have built a home where established and emerging artists working in all disciplines can create new work in ways that we cannot even imagine,” said Alex Poots, Artistic Director and CEO of The Shed. Blending genres and disciplines, the first year of programming will see lectures by Boots Riley, the filmmaker behind Sorry to Bother You; a Björk concert directed by John Tiffany of the broadway play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”; and a kung fu musical featuring songs by Sia and Arca.

In addition, the Shed will also undergo a name change. Due to a generous $75 million donation and his role in helpin...

This video game tests your ability to handle the retail madness of an American mall

2018-02-19T15:17:00-05:00

With the rise of online shopping, we have all been watching the dead mall epidemic for many years now. Addressing those left hanging on in today's world, Bloomberg now brings us the The American Mall Game: A 2018 Retail Challenge. Try your odds at managing a failing mall in this retro 90's computer game.

First you must choose a player—I chose Colton, who made his fortune selling his beanie babies collection at the height of its craze and wants to prove to his parents he's an adult. Next you will choose a strategy of either modernizing, creating an alternative mall, or cutting costs.

The American Mall Game: A 2018 Retail Challenge with an irritated shopper.

Your broker, wearing flashy 90's shades, gives you advice on how to save your dying mall. Navigate through stores like "Victoria's Conspiracy" and "Marcy's" while you get rid of rats, trash, and cyberpunk delinquents.

I was too busy clicking on shoppers to read their irritated comments and failed quickly. See how you fare in thi...

What residents have to say about living in WeWork's housing community on Wall Street

2017-11-07T15:56:00-05:00

“It’s a great place to be if you’re just moving to the city, and you want to meet people, or you need a place for a couple months before you find your real apartment.”

Bloomberg writer Ellen Huet books a room in WeWork's communal housing project, WeLive, on Wall Street in New York. Huet talks with both current and former WeLive residents, who share different opinions about living in the building. In regards to WeLive's slow growth, the article also brings up other business options that WeWork is currently exploring, including plans to open a 36-story tower in Seattle by 2020. WeWork also recently appointed Bjarke Ingels to design their new WeGrow private elementary school.

Also, Archinect previously wrote about privacy in co-living. You can read the feature here: Strange bedfellows: exploring shades of privacy in co-living

Foster + Partners' new Bloomberg European HQ achieves 98.5 percent BREEAM score

2017-10-04T19:04:00-04:00

Designed by Foster + Partners, Bloomberg L.P.'s new European headquarters in London has been dubbed as the “world's most sustainable office building”, the architecture firm announced. Housing Bloomberg's 4,000 London employees, the office building was rated as “Outstanding” in the BREEAM sustainability assessment method with a whopping 98.5 percent — the highest design-stage score achieved by a major office development.

Cannon Street Entrance. Photo courtesy of Foster + Partners.

Photo courtesy of Foster + Partners.

Occupying a 3.2-acre site, the nine-story building is designed to use waste products and is equipped with unique, adaptive solutions that respond to the building's external environment and its occupancy patterns throughout any given day. Compared to the average office building, the Bloomberg HQ delivers a 73 percent savings in water consumption, and has 35 percent savings in energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions.

The ‘living wall’ in the Bloomberg “pantry”, a sp...

Morphosis' new Bloomberg Center at Cornell Tech campus now open

2017-09-13T19:58:00-04:00

Morphosis' Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Center in Roosevelt Island, New York has officially opened its doors. Designed as Cornell Tech's “home base”, the academic building was named in honor of Emma and Georgina Bloomberg, in recognition of a $100 million gift from former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.

With Thom Mayne as design director and Morphosis principal Ung-Joo Scott Lee as project principal, the 4-story, 160,000 sq.ft. educational hub provides traditional classrooms and large workspaces as well as clusters of “break-out” spaces, huddle rooms, and social areas for group study sessions. Students can also use the quiet rooms and micro-pods for working privately or as telephone booths.

Interior. Photo: Matthew Carbone for Morphosis.

Ground floor. Photo: Matthew Carbone for Morphosis.

Aiming to be New York's first net-zero university building, the non-fossil fuel Bloomberg Center is equipped with multiple sustainable features, such as a 40,000 sq.ft. solar canopy that supports 1...

São Paulo named Grand Prize Winner in 2016 Mayors Challenge

2016-12-01T18:45:00-05:00

As part of this year’s Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, the Brazilian megacity drafted a proposal for a digital interchange platform designed to connect vendors with restaurants, markets, and other retailers in an effort to make it easier for them to sell their wares. On Wednesday, São Paulo’s proposal was named the winner of the third ever Mayors Challenge, which gives it a $5 million cash prize to implement the idea.

"Four other cities will also receive $1 million each to implement their respective proposals. The winners include two Colombian cities, Medellín and Bogotá, as well as Santiago, Chile, and Guadalajara, Mexico."

Click here to learn more about the winning proposal "São Paulo: Growing Farmers’ Income, Shrinking Urban Sprawl."

Big businesses and baby steps: Weekly News Round-Up for September 22 and 29, 2014

2014-10-06T18:43:00-04:00

Friday, October 3:

Eisenhower Memorial clears key hurdle on Gehry design: In a positive step for the Memorial's Approving Process Odyssey, the National Capital Planning Commission has OK'd the Commission on Fine Arts (the other federal body that must approve the design) to vote on the Memorial.
Where are the women? Measuring progress on gender in architecture: A series of infographics on the representation of women in architectural practice and education, courtesy of ACSA.

Wednesday, October 1:

Guggenheim plans New York expansion… again: Not for more art space (Gehry tried that before) but for offices.
Zaera-Polo steps down as dean of Princeton's School of Architecture: From the press release: "the school's former dean, Professor Stanley T. Allen, will serve as acting dean until a permanent successor is appointed and that Professor Allen will chair the search for the new dean."
Tiny Spanish Island to be First Energy Self-Sufficient Island: The 10,000 population island will use renewable e...

Hong Kong tops Bloomberg's list of "Most Crowded Cities" by 2025

2014-09-25T14:20:00-04:00

Bloomberg published their predictions for the top forty most densely populated cities by 2025, with current #1 Hong Kong keeping the top spot, at nearly twice the projected density of #2, Salvador, Brazil. Hong Kong's population growth is predicted to grow by 32.8%, while Salvador's is nearly triple that rate at a 97.3% increase. Mexico City is #3, at 45.3% increase. The "crowded" metric is population per square mile, assuming that borders don't change (by land erosion or reclamation) by 2025.

Of the Top 40, the two cities with the highest estimated population growth (within the span of the generation leading up to 2025) are both in Saudi Arabia: Riyadh (166.6% increase) and Jiddah (137.4% increase), trailed by Brasilia, Brazil at 118.6%. The only other city with a projected growth of more than 100% is Atlanta, Georgia, at 114.7% population growth to become the 40th most crowded city by 2025.

The cities with the lowest projected population growth are: Seoul-Incheon, South Korea at 1.4...

Barcelona wins Grand Prize in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge for Europe

2014-09-23T21:32:00-04:00

Michael Bloomberg's Bloomberg Philanthropies revealed the winners of its first European edition of the Mayors Challenge. More than 150 top cities from 28 European nations entered the competition, which asked participants to send their most innovative ideas that address Europe's timely pressing issues like unemployment, energy efficiency, obesity, aging, and improving government efficiency.

Barcelona took the Grand Prize for Innovation and €5 million to help implement their proposal, Collaborative Care Networks for Better Aging, a digital and community "trust network" for each of its at-risk elderly residents.

Innovation prizes of €1 million were also given to the following cities:

Athens, Greece: Synathina, a Public Platform for Engaged Citizens
Kirklees, in Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Kirklees Shares
Stockholm, Sweden: Biochar - for a Better City Ecosystem
Warsaw, Poland: Virtual Warsaw - Urban Information System for the Visually Impaired

In addition to prize money, each winning city will receive technical assistance, expert coaching, and a trophy specially designed by renowned artist Olafur Eliasson.

Michael Bloomberg congratulated Barcelona via a surprise phone call from Paris in the video below.

Learn more about the winning ideas on Bustler.

World's largest "quantified community" being developed in NYC's Hudson Yards

2014-04-28T14:17:00-04:00

When all stages are completed, the 65,000 people daily who pass through the Hudson Yards’ office towers, residences, shops, restaurants, hotel, public school, and public open space will contribute to a massive stream of data intended to help answer the big questions about how cities of the future should be managed. [...] “It really started from the question: If we could know anything about the city, what would we want to know and how could we do a better job at measuring the pace of life?”