Archinect - News

As Indianapolis' first Black Deputy Director, architect Lourenzo Giple pushes for economic development while 'preserving the integrity of the neighborhood'

2021-08-20T16:52:00-04:00

On August 16th, the Indianapolis Star (IndyStar) announced architect Lourenzo Giple as the city's new Deputy Director of Planning, Preservation, and Design. The newly appointed deputy is determined to making changes the city has been missing for years. Giple shared with Brandon Drenon of IndyStar, "Historically, zoning and planning have not been equitable. I want to do my best to shift some of those inequities."

Giple grew up in Liberia, where his family eventually fled the country because of a civil war. When his family immigrated from Liberia to Indianapolis, he discusses how his experience and upbringing in the city's lower-economic neighborhoods provided him a perspective for how architecture and urban planning could elevate the city into an equitable place.

Aerial view of Indianapolis. Image © Evan Walsh via Flickr

This new role within the Department of Metropolitan Development will cover long-term projects for city development, strategies for new architectural design, and tran...

John LaPlante, engineer who helped fix Chicago’s “Z-Curve,” dies from COVID-19

2020-03-23T18:36:00-04:00

John LaPlante, a longtime city employee who served as the first commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, died Saturday at 80 after testing positive for the novel coronavirus less than two weeks earlier. The son of a Cook County judge and the head librarian for the Chicago Public Schools, Mr. LaPlante was a “municipally minded” Roseland native who cared deeply about his city and its government, according to his daughter Leslie.

LaPlante worked for the City of Chicago for over 30 years, starting as an intern in the 1960s for what was then the city’s department of public works. He served as chief traffic engineer in the 1980s and as the city’s Transportation Commissioner in 1992.

John LaPlante. Image courtesy of T.Y. Lin International.

While working as the chief engineer, LaPlante helped to rework the infamous “Z curve” that plagued Lake Shore Drive for decades. Throughout his long career as a public servant, LaPlante worked to support and institute “Complete Streets” and other pedestrianization improvements in the built environment.

After retiring from the public sector, LaPlante worked for transportation engineers T.Y. Lin International for many years, retiring in 2015.

Los Angeles housing department head steps down after 10 years

2020-03-13T17:05:00-04:00

The General Manager of the Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department (HCIDLA), Rushmore Cervantes, has announced plans to step down from his position at the end of the month.

Cervantes has led the department for over a decade and has presided over a turbulent era in the city that has seen the number of people experiencing homelessness grow uncontrollably despite historic successes in increasing the city's affordable housing supply. HCIDLA, according to a City of Los Angeles website, is tasked with the "creation of viable urban communities by promoting livable and prosperous communities through the development and preservation of decent, safe, affordable housing, neighborhood investment, and social services" In addition, the department works to inspect the city's 760,000 multifamily housing units to maintain building code compliance, administers the city's Rent Stabilization Ordinance, and oversees its first-time homeowner ship and home repair programs, among other eff...

New York Times' latest Op-Doc takes a dive into the sewage systems of Mexico City

2019-01-07T16:17:00-05:00

The New York Times' latest Op-Doc—part of their series of short, interactive, and virtual reality documentaries—profiles Julio César Cú Cámara, whose job it is to dive into the sewers and water treatment plants of Mexico City. For the past 36 years, Cámara has been a sewage diver, maintaining the sewage system's pipes and pumps, clearing them of blockages and reducing the risk of floods. Directed by Mexican filmmaker Esteban Arrangoiz, the film shows, as Arrangoiz writes, "how through his work, a human being is capable of finding beauty, pleasure and the essence of his humanity inside the detritus." Check out the film below.