Archinect - News

New York state of mind: Weekly News Round-Up for November 10, 2014

2014-11-17T14:53:00-05:00

Thursday, November 13:

Smithsonian hires BIG architecture group for $2 billion South Mall renovation plan: While approval is still pending, the large-scale renovation will include "two underground levels of visitor amenities" and could take up to twenty years to complete.

Lucas museum faces lawsuit from Friends of the Parks: The nonprofit advocacy group claims that cordoning off the Chicago waterfront for Lucas' museum violates the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing "equal protection and due process" for deciding what to do with land belonging to the state of Illinois.

Wednesday, November 12:

Two window washers trapped on scaffolding at 1 WTC: The two men were shortly rescued by firemen, after uneven ascending cables left them dangling at a 65-degree angle 827ft in the air.

The Courtyard House Plug-In: A House Within The House: People's Architecture Office created a modular interior set to install in Beijing's historic buildings, as a renovation alternative to demolition.

The Race to Save...

In honor of Veterans Day, respecting and celebrating our veterans through architecture

2014-11-11T18:33:00-05:00

In honor of Veterans Day 2014, Archinect put together a collection of memorials and architectural projects devoted to U.S. veterans.

Architecture for Recovery: IDEO and Michael Graves Design a Home for Disabled Military Veterans: The Wounded Warrior homes aim to personalize and make accessible veterans' living spaces, to help adapt back to life at home.

D.C. Breaks Ground on Housing for Homeless Vets: Nearly half of the complex's mixed-income and affordable units will be reserved for homeless vets, with onsite facilities for case managers and social workers to engage with tenants.

Designing for Seniors and Soldiers, Toward a "Silver" Architecture: Michael Graves' designs for the Wounded Warrior homes align with geriatrician Louise Aronson's desire to create a new architectural style for the elderly.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Turns 25: Maya Lin's design is now in its 32nd year.

Veterans Day also gives us a chance to reflect on how we historicize war and those involved, begging the que...

Designing for Seniors and Soldiers, Toward a "Silver" Architecture

2014-11-11T14:25:00-05:00

In a recent opinion piece in The New York Times, geriatrician Louise Aronson advocated for a new type of building, one designed with an aging population in mind, which, she suggests, might be dubbed “silver” architecture. [...] It being Veterans Day, this article got me thinking about architect Michael Graves, who recently designed a pair of houses for returning soldiers that follow through on many of Aronson’s suggested parameters for silver design.