Archinect - News

Congress moves closer to passing law funding recreation spaces in underserved communities

2024-04-11T11:46:00-04:00

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Outdoors for All Act, which seeks to address the lack of adequate recreation space in underserved communities. The bill, which is yet to pass the U.S. Senate, would establish a dedicated source of funding for the existing Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program.

Overseen by the National Park Service, this program funds the delivery of new parks, the renovation of existing recreation facilities, and the development of infrastructure to support outdoor education and public land volunteering. The program gives priority to projects in underserved communities.

Related on Archinect: ASLA New York honors state's best landscape architecture at 2024 Design Awards. Image credit: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

“Research confirms what our bodies and nature already understand — more time in outdoor spaces increases well-being,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects, which has advocated for the bill...

The Mellon Foundation's Monuments Project expands with $500 million commitment

2023-11-28T14:27:00-05:00

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s influential Monuments Project is about to expand its reach thanks to a newly-announced commitment of $500 million to the now three-year-old initiative that has to date provided 80 projects worth a total of $170 million nationwide.

The amount effectively doubles the available resources from the original $250 million pool that was established at the outset. Reformers targeting America’s “commemorative landscape” have to date provided superlative examples of how to best repair the nation’s psychic wounds, including the forthcoming Memorial to the 1871 Chinese Massacre in Los Angeles and the recent Beyond Granite exhibition for the National Mall in Washington.

The money represents the Mellon Foundation’s largest-ever financial commitment and will be put towards further recognition of the contributions different marginalized groups have made to the United States from the Colonial era on.

Related on Archinect: The Mellon Foundation's Monuments Project aw...

California’s High Speed Rail costs balloon again to $128 billion

2023-03-20T19:41:00-04:00

The price tag for the rail system has risen to $128 billion, according to a California High Speed Rail Authority project update report — a nearly 22% uptick from the previous figure of $105 billion from last year and a far cry from the $33 billion cost voters approved in 2008. The latest increases are due to “inflation/escalation, enhanced scope definition and greater contingency for risk,” per the report.

The cost imbalance has reportedly pushed back the Merced-to-Bakersefield segment’s targeted start of service from 2030 by up to three years, according to the CEO of the Rail Authority Brian P. Kelly.

Plans now are for at least the 119-mile segment that’s currently under construction in the Central Valley to be completed while the project waits on the tens of billions worth of outstanding federal grant funding that are still pending approval by the government.

The headache mirrors the troubles the HS2 line is having in England. In his report to the state, Kelly lamented the hamstrung funding, saying: “Megaprojects that last for decades need long-term, stable funding. Every country around the world that has built high-speed rail has dedicated billions of dollars over several decades to see it through. We don’t have one penny of state support for this project identified after 2030.”

Graham Foundation announces $338,000 in grants to organizations furthering architecture and design ideas

2022-09-13T13:42:00-04:00

The Graham Foundation has announced its annual list of organizational grants featuring a total of 36 recipients from around the world whose work furthers institutional goals to support the development and exchange of ideas about architecture and design.

This year's class included projects from a variety of organizations located in Buenos Aires, Colombo, London, New York, St. Louis, Toronto, Chicago, and elsewhere. Podcasts from the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation and the Society of Architectural Historians’ Race and Architectural History Affiliate Group were awarded alongside public presentations, exhibitions, and publications like Lucy Sante’s engrossing Nineteen Reservoirs and the forthcoming Cornelia Hahn Oberlander on Pedagogical Playgrounds from Concordia University Press.

New organizations such as Lesley Lokko’s African Futures Institute (the publishers of FOLIO), The Lower East Side’s a83 gallery, and the Buenos Aires-based Disponible were also included in a total all...

Prefab construction startup Vantem plans 15 U.S. factories

2022-07-18T15:50:00-04:00

The company, which just raised a Series A round of investment from the Bill Gates-founded firm Breakthrough Energy Ventures, builds homes using panels with a proprietary design that sandwiches an insulating layer between two structural boards.

Vantem announced it would use the recent funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Quadrant Management, and TEM Capital to build 15 factories for prefabricated modular housing units across the U.S. by 2029. According to the company, its proprietary panel system has already been deployed in over three million square feet of residential space globally, including Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and the Caribbean.

"Affordable housing is a global need that must be addressed," said Vantem CEO Chris Anderson, adding, "but if we build with traditional methods, we will solve one problem only to worsen another."

One year after ambitious construction startup Katerra went belly up, the market for modular, prefabricated construction is getting increasingly crowded with several players seeking to establish early dominance and disrupt the conventional model, including Vancouver-based ...

California high-speed rail project secures critical $4.2B for Central Valley line

2022-07-06T13:41:00-04:00

After wrangling over the future of California’s high-speed rail, state lawmakers plan to release a critical batch of money to finish a bullet train in the Central Valley while also establishing an inspector general to audit the beleaguered project and authorizing billions of dollars in new money for rail plans across the state.

Following a sizable $97.5 billion state budget surplus, California lawmakers last week agreed to allocate $4.2 billion in bond funds needed to finish the ambitious high-speed rail project's 171-mile Central Valley portion which is expected to connect Bakersfield with Merced by 2030, according to current estimates.

Startup raises $155 million to become ‘rising star’ in prefabricated construction

2022-06-28T09:00:00-04:00

One year after the failure of the ambitious construction startup Katerra, another construction technology company is seeking to pick up the mantle as a leader in sustainable, modular, prefabricated construction.

Based in Vancouver, Nexii Building Solutions has been described by The New York Times as “a rising star in the expanding green building industry,” combining a patented modular system with a reliance on 3D modeling software and third-party verification of its sustainability metrics.

Nexii's panels are fabricated in the company's two Canadian manufacturing plants. Image: Nexii/Twitter

Founded by entrepreneur Stephen Sidwell in late 2018, Nexii became the fastest company in Canadian history to reach a valuation of more than $1 billion, doing so in 31 months. Having recently completed its seventh round of funding, the startup has raised more than 200 million Canadian dollars, or 155 million U.S. dollars.

As described in a recent feature in the Times, Nexii’s patented building s...

All aboard for the next phase of Union Station reconstruction in LA

2022-06-02T09:00:00-04:00

The L.A. Metro system’s planned revitalization of Los Angeles Union Station is another step closer to reality following a vote last week that cleared the way for the $2.3 billion megaproject’s further advancement downtown.

Local outlets are reporting that the recent Board of Directors meeting resulted in an approval of a funding agreement between the Metro and California High-Speed Rail Authority which is expected to cover the first phase of development called Link Union Station. The initial project is itself the expanded version of an earlier scheme that would clear a bottleneck at one end of the tracks in addition to providing a new viaduct and railway span over the adjoining 101 Freeway.

Previously on Archinect: L.A.'s Union Station overhaul receives $400 million from California High Speed Rail

A total of $423.3 million will be allocated in the first phase, with another $297.8 million provided for preliminary work. Including the most recent influx of monies from the Rail Authority,...

Graham Foundation announces 2021 Organization Grant recipients

2021-08-26T13:24:00-04:00

The Graham Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2021 grants to organizations. $471,500 was awarded to organizations around the world that are “producing projects that encourage new conversations and explorations across architecture and design,” as stated by the foundation.

45 projects, including exhibitions, publications, digital initiatives, and public presentations led by organizations based in cities such as Atlanta, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Chicago were recognized. The diverse array of projects includes exhibitions by the likes of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), along with public programming from Harvard GSD’s African American Student Union. Editorial projects and student-led publications like one’s from the Urban Design Forum and the Architectural League of New York and Rice University’s student-led publication, PLAT, were also included.

“Together, these organizations support the work of emine...

Graham Foundation awards $585,000 in grants for individuals exploring innovative design

2021-05-27T11:45:00-04:00

The Graham Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2021 Grants to Individuals, awarding $585,000 to people exploring innovative design ideas that expand our contemporary understanding of architecture. The 71 grants were awarded to individuals around the world, selected from nearly 700 proposals. The funded projects include research, exhibitions, publications, films, digital initiatives, and other formats that promote rigorous, critical discourse in architecture.

The recipients of the 2021 funds are based in cities such as Ahmedabad, Milan, Mexico City, Durban, South Africa, and San Juan. Topics of exploration include the living legacy of under-recognized Black architect Charles E. Fleming, a book calling for action on climate change, architectural histories of heritage sites across Africa, and an exhibition that transports and transforms the last pit floor from the Chicago Board of Trade to Oscar Niemeyer’s Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion for the 2021 São Paulo Biennial.

“This...

The Beyer Blinder Belle Foundation provides a $30k grant to support Howard University architecture students

2021-05-04T19:15:00-04:00

The Beyer Blinder Belle Foundation is a non-profit organization that has provided fellowships, grants, and other funding opportunities to support young architects entering the profession, graduate research, and "socially-conscious design and planning that directly benefits communities." Launched in 2017, the Foundation is tied to the New York-based architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle. In April, the Foundation announced its first annual scholarship program dedicated to Howard University's Department of Architecture students.

The Foundation awarded a $30,000 grant to Howard University in order to support the academic pursuits and professional development of its architecture students. According to the Foundation, the funding provided is intended to "increase professional mobility, the program also includes a paid summer internship at Beyer Blinder Belle for one scholarship recipient."

(L-R) 2021 Scholarship recipients Dean Bailey, Khadija Callender, and Jemima Pierre. Image courtesy ...

RIBA launches annual scholarship opportunity for architecture students totaling £30K

2021-05-03T14:15:00-04:00

To increase scholarship opportunities for students pursuing degrees in architecture, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announces their annual Wren Insurance Association Scholarships.

This funding scheme, launched in 2013, has provided financial support to students in the final year of their Part 2 course. RIBA President Alan Jones expresses thanks to the Wren Insurance Association for their continued support. "Scholarships and bursaries are an important part of our ongoing commitment to support students and reward and retain talent in the profession, and we look forward to seeing the applications received."

Since 2013, the scholarship has been awarded to 40 students. Each scholarship recipient receives £6,000 and a mentorship opportunity during the second year of their Part 2 course by an architect from a Wren-insured practice.

2020 Scholars, pictured clockwise from top left: Amber Godfrey, Richard Aina, Cora McLean, Hunter Doyle, Ayanna Blair-Ford. Image courtesy ...

What happens if we view President Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan through a social lens?

2021-04-02T00:49:00-04:00

On March 31st, President Biden unveiled his $2 trillion economic plan to "reimagine and rebuild a new economy." The American Jobs Plan aims to "invest in America in a way we have not invested since we built the interstate highways and won the Space Race."

During Wednesday's speech, Biden expressed the need to fix and repair the nation's crumbling roads, bridges, and water systems. While infrastructure covers a wide range, the plan also maps out an emphasis to "build a world-class transportation infrastructure." However, as news outlets quickly report and react to Biden's economic agenda, The Boston Globe's Ian Duncan brings a much-needed perspective that cuts through the repetitive news coverage.

Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel from Pexels

At the forefront, Duncan's coverage brings attention to neighborhoods and roadways with racially historical pasts. He highlights Amy Stelly, an architectural designer and New Orleans resident who raised awareness of the Claiborne Expressway and t...

Construction start-up Katerra receives major bailout from SoftBank

2021-01-05T20:50:00-05:00

Since our initial coverage of the Silicon Valley-based construction start-up, Katerra has experienced several ups and downs over the past few years. While the company has grown significantly since it was founded in 2015, financial issues continued to rise.

Katerra's CEO Pall Kibsgaard shared with the Wall Street Journal, "I think we underestimated the complexity of executing self-perform projects at a large scale, including manufacturing and material sourcing and managing our own labor."

In 2019 Katerra faced flopped overseas expansions as well as layoffs and cutbacks for the company. However, their relationship with Japanese investment firm SoftBank continues as the company invests $200 million to bail out the start-up as they enter 2021. SoftBank is one of the earliest and largest investors in troubled co-working company WeWork.

Katerra's goal to revolutionize the construction industry, specifically with mass timber and modular construction, continues to make headway. Kibsgaard...

Graham Foundation Announces 2020 Organization Grant Recipients

2020-12-14T18:42:00-05:00

This year the Graham Foundation has announced 36 international organizations as recipients of this year's grants. According to the foundation, selected projects were chosen thanks to their ability to "respond to today's challenges, foster new connections across disciplines, and expand the field of architecture."

The annual Graham Foundation grant announcements provide individuals and organizations the opportunity to pursue and investigate an array of architectural topics. This year's grant recipients include editorial projects from publications and student-led journals like UCLA's Architecture and Urban Design student publication, POOL, and RICE University's student-led publication, PLAT, amongst others. Exhibitions, public programs, and media projects like the Architecture Lobby's JustDesign initiative, which Archinect has partnered on, were also selected as grant recipients.

Image: Rodrigo Ortize Monasterio, "Magnolia 38, San angel, Districo Federal, Estancia," 1976-79. Courtesy ...

Pratt School of Architecture launches Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault Scholarship to support student diversity

2020-08-04T16:45:00-04:00

Pratt Institute School of Architecture announced in late July the launch of the Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault Scholarship, an initiative started by Pratt Board of Trustee member Kathryn Chenault and her husband Kenneth to "support diversity in the School of Architecture."

The school has selected three incoming undergraduate students to receive funding from the initiative, which has been launched with an initial $1 million endowment.

The three students are:

Fatoumata Diallo from Columbus, OH
Ariana Dillon from Pembroke Pines, FL
Rylee Ferguson from Coppell, TX

Pratt School of Architecture Dean Harriet Harris shares in a statement, "A Pratt education empowers students to use their creativity and talent to make positive change in the world with a curriculum focused on key real-world issues from climate change to growing inequality and a goal of graduating a new generation of socially-engaged, inclusive architects and designers.”

With talk of diversifying student and faculty representat...

Graham Foundation awards $320,800 to individuals "working worldwide on urgent issues"

2020-07-30T18:52:00-04:00

The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts has announced its slate of 2020 Grants to Individuals, a set of 52 awards totaling $320,800 in funding for research endeavors that highlight a multiplicity of architectural, urban, and social perspectives.

As in years passed, the 2020 cohort of grantees offers a spread of fascinating architectural topics currently being investigated by the selected architects, scholars, writers, artists, designers, curators, and filmmakers who are "working worldwide on urgent issues that further the contemporary understanding of the built environment," as the Graham Foundation tells it.

Photographer unknown, Ethel Madison Bailey Furman (1893–1976) with fellow architects at the Hampton Institute’s “Negro Contractors’ Conference,” Richmond, VA, 1928. Courtesy the Ethel Bailey Furman, Papers and architectural drawings, 1928-2003, Accession 41145. Personal Papers Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va

Among the selected topics are a virt...

Harvard GSD uses Student Emergency Fund grants to support students impacted by COVID-19

2020-07-30T17:36:00-04:00

As institutions continue to respond to the direct effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have sought to implement new strategies for supporting students during this time of social and political unrest. Harvard GSD has announced a new emergency fund for current GSD students and 2020 graduates. The Harvard GSD Student Emergency Fund (SEF) will provide grant funding for those who have lost employment or internship opportunities due to the pandemic.

"The GSD raised almost $700k to support 227 summer research grants spearheaded by current and recent GSD students," shares a member of the GSD's communications team. Funded projects are said to focus on topics and work addressing the pandemic and racial equality issues. "The individual grants allow recipients to explore new avenues for academic and professional enrichment as they continue to consider the role of design research and practice in a rapidly evolving world."

An article published on the GSD blog explains that SEF grants went to i...

Princeton SOA "Manual of Urban Distance" awarded COVID-19 research funding

2020-04-20T11:34:00-04:00

Princeton University School of Architecture Professors Paul Lewis and Guy Nordenson have been awarded a research grant by the Princeton University Funding Program for Rapid Novel and Actionable COVID-19 Research Projects fund to help propel the duo's work on "Manual of Urban Distance: Strategies for Reconfiguring the City," a guide that investigates "the challenges of physical distancing in urban settings and [explores] strategies that minimize the effects of potential resurgences of COVID-19 and other future pandemics."

According to the Princeton School of Architecture website, "Lewis and Nordenson's proposal focuses on the fact that distancing has been especially crucial in the dense urban environments of cities as the rate of infection in the world’s cities greatly outpaces that of suburban or rural areas. The density of the city, which has historically been considered its greatest asset, economically, socially and environmentally, is now precisely at odds with the realities of a...

MIT Media Lab leadership under scrutiny for financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein

2019-09-05T19:00:00-04:00

MIT Media Lab director Joichi Ito has faced pressure to resign after revealing that he took research funding from financier and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. But today Nicholas Negroponte, who cofounded the Media Lab in 1985 and was its director for 20 years, said he had recommended that Ito take Epstein’s money. “If you wind back the clock,” he added, “I would still say, ‘Take it.’” And he repeated, more emphatically, “‘Take it.’”

Both Joichi Ito, MIT Media Lab director, and Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the MIT Media Lab, have come under scrutiny in recent days as news that a portion of the lab's funding was donated by convicted sex trafficking billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, MIT Technology Review reports.

Epstein, who reportedly donated at least $525,000 to the MIT Media Lab, died by suicide in August while awaiting trail for a series of new sex trafficking-related charges.

Funding flows to construction technology start-ups

2019-07-24T09:36:00-04:00

Funding in US-based construction tech startups totals just $196.5 million across 44 deals halfway through 2019. Still, $192.6 million across 44 deals is still significantly lower than the $1.274 billion raised by US-based construction startups in the first half of 2018.

The bustling world of construction technology start-ups is off to a slow start in 2019, as mid-year funding statistics point to a marked drop in investment for these insurgent companies over 2018's blockbuster year, Crunchbase reports.

Whether or not 2018's record investment, including Katerra's $865 million haul, was a one-time fluke remains to be seen. Either way, that's not stopping funders from supporting companies like Rhumbix, a San Francisco-based field data-capturing platform that helps builders go paperless on the job site, which recently received a $14.3 million in new investment.

Trevor Zimmerman, managing partner at investment firm Blackthorn Ventures, told Crunchbase, “Today, foreman and laborers have supercomputers in the form of smartphones in their pockets,” adding, “That’s enabling companies like Rhumbix to bring efficiency gains to construction that other sectors, like manufacturing, were able to access over a decade ago with desktop computers.”

New York City-base...

Lifting poor neighborhoods out of poverty with alternative investment models

2017-12-06T14:08:00-05:00

How do you raise the standard of living in the poorest neighborhoods in the country? That’s what community developers, typically nonprofits that build and finance affordable housing, have tried to do over the last few decades. And yet [...] many of these communities remain stuck in poverty. [...] This problem has stumped community developers for decades. But two local nonprofits think they’ve hit on something: They’ve created a private equity fund.

Peter Fu donates $12 million to McGill School of Architecture

2017-09-27T14:43:00-04:00

Shanghai’s spectacular skyline is studded with buildings shaped by architect Peter Guo-hua Fu. Now the McGill alumnus is setting his sights on a new project: taking McGill’s long history of world-class architecture education to the next level.

Peter Fu, architect and president of K. F. Stone Design says ‘McGill gave me a chance to change my life. Now that I have the chance, I really want to pay it back’. To honor the gift, McGill School of Architecture will be renamed the Peter Guo Hua Fu School of Architecture .

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...

Colorado governor proposes building affordable housing from marijuana tax revenue, mainly to address issues from marijuana legalization

2016-12-19T15:27:00-05:00

A proposal by Gov. John Hickenlooper to direct marijuana revenue toward building affordable housing and curbing homelessness offers a glimpse into the potential the new revenue can have on public services and projects...To the chagrin of pro-marijuana activists, Hickenlooper believes there is a correlation between homelessness, a need for affordable housing and substance abuse, including impacts from marijuana legalization.

Gov. Hickenlooper requested $18.3 million ($16.3 million from marijuana taxes and $2.0 million from the General Fund) toward affordable housing as part of his FY 2017-18 State budget this past November. The Gazette reports that Hickenlooper and his administration “are hesitant to acknowledge that cannabis dollars can have a positive impact on expanding state programs” and that they are currently “adamant that the dollars should be spent only on issues related to marijuana.”

Why is Trump seeking private equity for public infrastructure?

2016-11-21T12:51:00-05:00

The indefatigable Paul Krugman takes a closer look at Trump's proposed infrastructure funding plans in his column for The New York Times, wondering why the President-elect would seek private equity for public projects. Is this a profiteering scheme that sneakily privatizes ownership of traditionally publicly accessible resources (like water, for example)?

As Krugman notes about Trump's plan: "Crucially, it’s not a plan to borrow $1 trillion and spend it on much-needed projects — which would be the straightforward, obvious thing to do. It is, instead, supposed to involve having private investors do the work both of raising money and building the projects — with the aid of a huge tax credit that gives them back 82% of the equity they put in. To compensate for the small sliver of additional equity and the interest on their borrowing, the private investors then have to somehow make profits on the assets they end up owning."

For more on how architects are reacting to the Presidential elect...

If London Garden Bridge is cancelled, NAO report says taxpayers could lose £20m

2016-10-12T19:58:00-04:00

Ministers have repeatedly given more public money to London’s planned garden bridge, despite official advice against doing so, and risk losing more than £20m if the controversial project is cancelled, according to a report from the National Audit Office...The Garden Bridge Trust has yet to secure the necessary sub-lease on the area of the South Bank where the bridge will land, the report notes, while the main contractor [is] on standby and construction has been delayed for at least 18 months.

For previous news on this ongoing struggle:

London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks extra funds for garden bridge

Allies and Morrison propose an alternative to the garden bridge

London's garden bridge, the saga continues

Sadiq Khan investigates troublesome details in Thames garden bridge project

Finnish government pulls funding for the Guggenheim Helsinki

2016-09-08T13:16:00-04:00

The Guggenheim Foundation's Helsinki museum, the design of which was chosen after a hotly anticipated competition last year, is now missing a major financial backer, namely, the government of Finland. Prior to its withdrawal, Finland was going to pick up construction costs and a portion of the operating fees in exchange for top-tier artworks and exhibitions from the Guggenheim.

However, this pull-out isn't entirely unexpected. Before the winning design by Moreau Kusunoki Architectes was even chosen, there were rumblings of dissent: many in Finland felt that the Guggenheim was becoming a bland franchise, to the point that an alternative competition, "The Next Helsinki," was launched to solicit other designs. As Sampo Terho, parliamentary head of the Finns Party, said, “This is the end of the matter, we have ruled out state funding (for Guggenheim) once and for all, for this government.”

Listen to our interview with Moreau Kusunoki Architectes about their winning design for the Guggen...

Why are Heatherwick's proposals succeeding in New York but tanking in London?

2016-05-26T18:25:00-04:00

“The Garden Bridge is a land grab,” says Michael Ball of Thames Central Open Spaces. “That is, a major piece of public space and amenity – the South Bank, the River Thames, and the views across central London – would be sequestered for private interests, albeit cloaked in some appearance of charity and beneficence. When I saw Pier 55 I realised it was an even more blatant example of the same idea.”

In this piece design critic par excellence Alexandra Lange analyzes two similar Thomas Heatherwick designed-projects, London's Garden Bridge and New York's Pier 55, in the hopes of discovering why one seems to be resonating with the public while the other has inspired satiric contests to replace it. Murky funding issues, misleading renderings, Absolutely Fabulous tie-ins: it's all here.

For more on the saga of the Garden Bridge:

CA seeks to allocate $10 million in state funds to new earthquake early warning system

2016-05-16T18:34:00-04:00

In a major reversal, Gov. Jerry Brown is seeking state funds for a fledgling earthquake early warning system for California, which would allow for a limited rollout of alerts by 2018...Though the governor’s proposed funding is a big step for the system, it does not come with ongoing funds to operate it. An earthquake early warning system for California alone will cost about $23 million to build and $12 million annually to operate[.]