Archinect - News

Cleveland Museum of Natural History transformation sets new sustainability standards

2024-12-30T15:31:00-05:00

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History celebrated the grand opening of its multiyear $150 million transformation earlier this month. The expanded campus now spans over 375,000 square feet (after adding 58,000 square feet), including 2 acres of outdoor visitor areas, and features reimagined exhibits.

Designed by DLR Group, the flowing white architecture seeks to reflect the geological history of Northeast Ohio, echoing the glaciers that shaped the Great Lakes.

Image courtesy Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

The building design earned LEED v4 Building Design and Construction, New Construction (BD+C NC) Platinum certification, a U.S. first for museums. Sustainable features include 37% reduced indoor water use, 32% energy savings, native vegetation restoration, bird-friendly design, and over 75% waste diversion.

Image courtesy Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Partnering with ex...

Populous breaks ground on new NBA training facility in Cleveland

2024-10-16T14:27:00-04:00

The initial vertical development included in Cleveland’s massive $3.5 billion Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan has broken ground in northeast Ohio. Designed by Populous, the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center will encompass some 210,000 square feet and support athletic training for the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA franchise. Construction project will culminate in 2027. The plan, which was tendered to Adjaye Associates in 2022, covers 35 acres and will be delivered over a 15-20 year timespan.

Image rendering courtesy Populous

PAU begins Rock & Roll Hall of Fame expansion in Cleveland

2023-09-13T14:00:00-04:00

PAU has shared details of its expansion project of the I.M. Pei-designed Rock & Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland ahead of next month’s anticipated groundbreaking.

The initiative will add a triangular structure to Pei’s iconic original glass pyramid design, featuring a new entrance lobby, education center, offices, and a 6,000-square-foot multipurpose space that’s meant to increase its overall footprint by 33% while activating public space along a currently underutilized section of the city’s Lake Eerie waterfront.

Rendering courtesy of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU)

The total 50,000-square-foot design evokes the museum’s architectural lineage within the new addition, where solid shapes pronounced as asymmetries serve as the visual markers of the building’s various programmatic elements combined under a tilted angular roof and façade composed of steel and granite in further reference to the region’s industrial character.

Rendering courtesy of Practice for Architect...

Adjaye Associates' Cleveland waterfront master plan is now being 'evaluated' as other clients cut ties

2023-07-06T20:36:00-04:00

The fallout from David Adjaye’s sexual misconduct scandal is beginning to be felt by his firm, as now the New York Times and other national outlets are beginning to report on clients who have cut ties with the architect in light of this week’s allegations.

The city of Cleveland’s 35-acre waterfront development to which Adjaye Associates was attached in April of 2022 is the largest project to appear to be in jeopardy following the publication of the Financial Times' piece Saturday. Cleveland.com reported earlier today that Bedrock, the developer behind the plan, is now “evaluating” its “business association” with the firm going forward.

Adjaye’s design, which was finally unveiled in December, would radically alter the city’s once-faltering downtown area with 2,000 residential units, 850,000 square feet of office space, and a brand new Tower City Center anchoring its "central spine."

Add...

U.S. Pavilion for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale analyzes the human relationship with plastic

2023-05-18T18:11:00-04:00

The United States Pavilion for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale has been completed ahead of the event’s May 20th public opening. Organized by the Cleveland-based alternative art organization SPACES, and titled Everlasting Plastics, the exhibition seeks to explore “one of the most ubiquitous materials in our world: plastic.”

Externalities by Ang Li. Photo credit: ReportArch / Andrea Ferro Photography

Investigating how plastic has permeated modern life, the exhibition reframes attitudes and approaches toward addressing the overabundance of plastic waste in waterways, landfills, and streets. Acknowledging the global dependence on the material, the pavilion seeks to make a case for a “profound reconsideration for how we coexist with plastics and its possibilities as an agent for change.”

PROOFING: Resistant and Ready by Xavi L. Aguirre. Photo credit: ReportArch / Andrea Ferro Photography

“In representing the United States at La Biennale, we wanted to draw a connection between an indu...

James Corner Field Operations selected to lead master plan design for Cleveland lakefront

2022-12-09T11:11:00-05:00

Last month, it was announced that the City of Cleveland selected James Corner Field Operations to design a master plan for the city’s downtown lakefront.

The firm was chosen out of 18 design teams that responded to a request for proposals issued in September. It was reported that following this announcement, legislation was introduced to consider a contract that wouldn’t exceed $500,000 for the planning stage.

The lakefront plan aims to create stronger connections between downtown Cleveland and the city’s North Coast Harbor, which hosts attractions, such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and FirstEnergy Stadium, the home of the Cleveland Browns.

The planning process is expected to take around a year. The design team will evaluate the potential for enhanced lakefront connections, public spaces, amenities, and economic development. Additionally, a $5 million traffic feasibility study is being conducted by Cleveland and the Ohio Department of Transportation that is exploring alternat...

Adjaye Associates designs major 35-acre master plan for Cleveland waterfront

2022-12-06T12:03:00-05:00

Adjaye Associates has designed a major master plan along the Cleveland riverfront in collaboration with real estate firm Bedrock. The Cuyahoga Riverfront development spans 35 acres and is described by its designers as a “15-to-20-year vision” that “prioritizes accessibility, equity, sustainability, and resilience with the development of an 18-hour, 15-minute downtown.”

Concept rendering © Adjaye Associates

Under Adjaye’s plans, the waterfront development will host over 3.5 million square feet of space, including 2,000 residential units, 850,000 square feet of office space, 12 acres of public space, and supporting hospitality, retail, and entertainment venues.

“Our redevelopment strategy for the downtown Cleveland Riverfront taps into the lost heritage of the city, establishing a new relationship between the urban core and the shore,” David Adjaye explained. “As I became more deeply immersed, the need to build a more tempered flow of movement through the city became immensely clear.”

...

U.S. Pavilion at 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale will be organized by Cleveland-based nonprofit SPACES around the role of plastic waste in the built environment

2022-11-15T15:17:00-05:00

Influential Cleveland-based nonprofit gallery SPACES has been selected by the State Department to organize the U.S. Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Biennale, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported recently.

Under the curatorial theme of “Everlasting Plastics,” the group has said they will invite area artists Lauren Yeager, Xavi Aguirre, Simon Anton, Ang Li, and Norman Teague to explore the danger of plastic waste to the ecosystem. All pursue art that entails “thinking very seriously about systems of waste, waste production, and their impact on communities” and will be presented within the Biennale’s broader context of The Laboratory of the Future and led by former Spitzer School of Architecture dean Lesley Lokko.

Li and Yeager are particularly noteworthy for their investigations into the use of recycled plastic as a building material and structural system, while Teague uses it as a source in his furniture-making practice. The exhibition will also focus on “communities most affected by pl...

Kent State University seeks to bridge academia and practice by hiring a Director for Design Entrepreneurship and Inclusion

2022-09-15T08:53:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an open opportunity for an Intermediate Designer for the National Medal of Honor Museum at Rafael Viñoly Architects, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore a role for a Director of Design Entrepreneurship and Inclusion at Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC).

The role, situated in Cleveland, OH, asks for an individual with 6+ years of design experience to help conduct research, provide technical design assistance to communities, and support public education and design advocacy programs.

Kent State University student work by Peter Nogay

Why the role interests us

The role at the CUDC offers an insight into moves being made by academic institutions to extend their impact beyond campus design studios. Such efforts are often of benefit to students and the community alike, as we saw back in June when we reported on the University of Buffalo students who were constructing tiny homes to fight homel...

David Adjaye selected to join Cleveland riverfront development team

2022-04-13T14:57:00-04:00

Bedrock, the real estate arm of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s empire, said Tuesday that it added a noted architect to a team it assembled to plan and build on a large portion of land along the Cuyahoga River near downtown.

That individual is world-renowned architect David Adjaye, who will join a team of consultants, city officials, and civic organizations focused on advancing the transformation of Cleveland’s Tower City Center into a marketplace as well as the 20- to 30-year proposal to develop a 130-acre mixed-use neighborhood along the Cuyahoga Riverfront.

Rendering from Cleveland's “Vision for the Valley” plan.

These plans are part of the city’s “Vision for the Valley” proposal, an initiative that serves as a roadmap for development and investment in urban infrastructure along an eight-mile stretch of the river. Adjaye’s work will have a focus on sustainability and resiliency and will include the creation of new streets, digital access, enhanced public spaces and pathways to the riverfront, and transit-oriented development.

Manica and Moody Nolan team up for a renovation of Cleveland Guardians' Progressive Field

2022-03-16T14:30:00-04:00

Several Midwest practices are joining forces for a timely renovation project at Cleveland’s Progressive Field.

Kansas City-based Manica Architecture is now teaming up with Ohio’s own Moody Nolan for the multi-year project with additional help from Cleveland-based studios Van Auken Akins and Robert P. Madison International, who will cover the interior renovations and construction support respectively.

The renovation will include a reworking of the upper deck concourse and seating area behind home plate, the left-field Terrace Club, and the team’s clubhouse and front office areas. The erstwhile Jacobs Field was considered a forebearer for a new breed of well-integrated “destination” baseball stadiums when it opened in 1994.

Interior view of Progressive Field in 2019 while still branded under its former offensive moniker. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Erik Drost. (CC BY 2.0)

“We feel very fortunate to live in a community that is unified in maintaining momentum in Northeast Ohi...

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picks PAU for $100 million expansion

2020-12-23T17:02:00-05:00

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland on Friday released designs for a $100 million renovation and expansion, which would grow the museum’s footprint by a third with a dramatic addition to the original I.M. Pei building. The Rock Hall announced that the architecture firm PAU will lead the project, which will bring 50,000 square feet of programming space and a new band shell overlooking the shores of Lake Erie.

Besides modernizing the Rock Hall's existing I.M. Pei museum building and infrastructure, the expansion project will also add 10,000 square feet for large-scale traveling exhibits, open space for event and education programming, creation of a museum campus with the neighboring science center, a lakefront gathering place for Cleveland residents and museum visitors, and interactive learning classrooms among other features.

Image courtesy of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU).

Commenting on the competition win, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Founder and Creative Director of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), said: "Rock and Roll—like NASA and pizza—brings us together like few other cultural phenomena at this moment when our nation needs to come together. We are beyond ecstatic to have been selected by the Rock Hall to design the expansion of I.M.Pei’s heart of glass, which sits aglow upon Cleveland’s storied industrial waterfront, particularly in light of the architectural lu...

Snarkitecture's Daniel Arsham takes his talents to Cleveland

2020-11-17T16:25:00-05:00

As one of the most respected contemporary artists working today, Arsham straddles the line between art, architecture and performance. His singular aesthetic evokes a playfulness; inspired by everyday experiences or common objects, Arsham blurs the boundaries of perception and expectation. As part of this long-term collaboration, Arsham will become a minority partner in the franchise and be responsible for the Cavaliers visual identity across all aspects of the organization.

Move over Lebron James, Daniel Arsham is the latest Ohioan to return home to join the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise. In a post off his Instagram, Arsham writes about how his ancestors migrated to the Rust Belt city, and through hard work and determination were able to follow the American Dream in the city of Cleveland. He follows in these footsteps becoming the Creative Director of the Cavaliers.

Arsham, who leads the design firm Snarkitecture is known for his art and architecture installations around the world. It is a unique and interesting dynamic having a designer of this caliber on board to work with NBA organization. It will be fascinating to see how this relationship plays out on and off the court, and whether this trend will carry over to other teams and leagues.

Great Lakes Hyperloop System wins House support for Cleveland-Chicago route

2019-07-01T14:03:00-04:00

Technology that would connect the cities of Cleveland and Chicago via a 30-minute commute inched closer to reality this month as a national transportation and housing appropriations bill passed one federal hurdle. Five million dollars in initial funding for the Great Lakes Hyperloop System, an experimental high-speed transportation project, was included in legislation voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives in late June.

Kim Palmer reports for Crain's Cleveland: "The passage of the 2020 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriation bill by the House provides the funds for the U.S. Department of Transportation to create a regulatory framework for development of a hyperloop system."

Prototype of the Hyperloop passenger capsule, unveiled in October 2018. Image: HyperloopTT

"The first route studied on the Great Lakes Hyperloop network will be Cleveland to Chicago in 28 minutes," states Great Lakes Hyperloop on its website. "With over 3 million journeys annually, Hyperloop could save travelers 13 million hours each year. Cleveland boasts the largest economy in Ohio with over $120B in annual GDP. Chicago is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the US bringing in $600B GDP per year."

The U.S. Senate is now next in line to vote on the bill.

Are you a senior level architect looking for a fresh start? Begin the new year with these 9 senior architect job opportunities

2019-01-03T13:43:00-05:00

The new year is upon us! There are plenty of things the architecture community can learn from 2018. With trends rising and falling out of style, to practices learning how to embody an ethical and inclusive model, industry leaders are looking to start the new year on the right foot.

This week's job round-up features 9 firms who are looking for the right candidates to tackle the new year with them. From female-led firms to studios whose work addresses fresh approaches to design, 2019 never looked brighter. Be bold this year and apply!

SO Reneovation Image © Inscape Studio

Inscape Studio seeks a Senior Associate Architect in Washington, DC
A senior associate will manage the associates and interns on projects that they are the lead architect. A senior associate will provide quality control on small scale projects led by an associate. The ideal candidate will have 6-10 years experience in commercial and/or residential architecture, strong design and graphic skills, and an ability to work ...

How mushroom architecture is being used to address Cleveland's housing crisis

2018-07-09T17:53:00-04:00

Inspired by the work of inventor Philip Ross and his company MycoWorks, Maurer argues that one of the keys to addressing Cleveland’s housing crisis lies in an unlikely source: mushrooms. Specifically, in using mycelium – the vegetative part of a fungus – and Cleveland’s other “natural” resource, construction waste, in a process called “biocycling”, which essentially recycles old buildings into new ones using plant materials.

“I like to refer to Cleveland as ‘ground zero’ for biocycling,” says Maurer, who believes the city has the perfect conditions and challenges to serve as a prototype for the process.

Cleveland architect Christopher Maurer of Redhouse Studio argues how mycotecture (architecture that uses mushrooms and fungi) and “biocycling” can be used to help solve his hometown's dire housing challenges, and how these methods will hopefully become a model of sustainable construction in cities everywhere.

A closer look at gentrification in the Rust Belt

2017-12-26T18:50:00-05:00

Gentrification. It is a word that we hear with increasing frequency in contemporary discussions about American cities. But what does that word really mean? And, even more importantly, what does it mean in the context of the region that I live in and love – the Rust Belt? [...] It is important to be clear about the meaning of this increasingly ambiguous term, because what needs to happen in the vast majority of urban neighborhoods in the legacy cities of the Rust Belt is far less ambiguous.

"Many critics of Rust Belt gentrification are holding cities to an unreasonable standard, and placing them in an impossible situation. If much of the city remains poor and run-down, this is proof that the city does not care, and is not trying hard enough. If, on the other hand, parts of the city begin to attract new residents and investment, this is proof that the city does not care, and is not trying hard enough. Heads I win. Tails you lose."

City Observatory published a commentary piece by Jason Segedy, Director of Planning and Urban Development for the City of Akron, Ohio.

Get Lectured: Kent State University, Spring '17

2017-02-27T15:05:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter & Spring 2017

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session for Winter and Spring 2017. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss. Mark those calendars!

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Don't miss these upcoming lecture events at the Kent State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED).

Jan 18-Apr 26
Film Series: Southern California Modernism(s)
Wednesdays, 8 pm at Cene Lecture Hall
Films by Michelangelo Antonioni, Reyner Banham, Joel and Ethan Coen, Charles and Ray Eames, Tom Ford, David Lynch, Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, and Wim Wenders

Feb 27
Cheryl Durst / Executive Vice Presidenn and CEO, International Interior Design Association
“The Future of Desig...

Can Cleveland combat climate change with compact communities?

2016-10-18T12:54:00-04:00

Although Cleveland often serves more as a punchline than a solution (the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969 due to pollution), a climate change conference convened by the United Nations and currently being held in Quito, Ecuador sees new potential in the city. As StreetsBlog reports, if Cleveland can transform its current suburbia into denser neighborhoods, the metropolis could serve as a model for numerous water and climate-challenged cities in how to adapt to the demands of an increasingly populated globe. As a paper entitled "Where to put the next billion people" states:

"Cleveland could play a significant role in the fight against climate change by developing a strategy for more compact communities and with a more open and encouraging immigration policy, the report concludes.

The influx of immigrants should probably be planned better.

Cleveland’s outer suburbs and nearby rural towns hold the key. If the suburbs can figure out strategies to retrofit themselves as dense, walkable com...

Request for Qualifications (RFQ) BoxSpot Architectural Services

2016-03-02T12:37:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Burten, Bell, Carr Development.

Burten, Bell, Carr Development (BBC), a non-profit community development organization is seeking qualifications from architects with experience designing shipping containers for commercial and/or office space use. The consultant must demonstrate previous experience with container based structures at all phases of development including schematic design, design development, and the construction procurement process. It is the goal of BBC to hire a consultant that establishes a set of approved technical specifications and construction drawings for a modular product line of habitable container structures.

Click here to download a copy of the RFQ

Consultant qualifications will be accepted until March 14, 2016.

RFQ BACKGROUND

Key Partners
Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc
BBC is the lead entity in the creation of the Container Retrofitting Business, is a nonprofit neighborhood development organization founded in 1990 that serves th...

Get Lectured: Kent State University CUDC, Spring '16

2016-02-05T13:50:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2016

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

The next featured poster comes from the Kent State University, Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC).

Listed below are upcoming events. Lectures will take place from 12-1 p.m. at the CUDC, unless otherwise noted.

Feb 5
Casey Poe
"Florence Studies"

Feb 11
Felipe Correa
"Urbanism Primer: Approaches to City Design in the 21st Century"

Feb 19
Adil Sharag Eldin
"Sustainability and Mecca’s Grand Mosque Third Expansion Project"

Feb 26
Doug Steidl
"International Travel and Lessons Learned"

March 4
Kelley O’Brien
"Societies with No Form"

March 11
Sai Sinbondit
"In ...

Get Lectured: Kent State University CUDC, Fall '15

2015-10-22T12:57:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2015

Archinect's Get Lectured is ready for another school year. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

The next featured poster comes from the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. The CUDC houses both Kent State's urban design graduate program and the College of Architecture and Environmental Design's public service activities.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Below are upcoming events. Lectures take place from 12-1 p.m. at CUDC, unless noted.

Oct 30
Ellen Sullivan
"Through a Glass Darkly: The Mirror Device in Town Planning Strategy of Patrick Geddes"

Nov 6
Bill Willoughby
"Changing Places: Affect, Activism, & Urban Refitting"

Nov 13
Emad Khazraee
"Mapping the ...

COLDSCAPES 2013 winning-design exhibition currently in Cleveland, Ohio

2013-11-19T15:26:00-05:00

From the COLDSCAPES design competition earlier this year, an exhibition of the winning designs is currently on display hosted by the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative — a timely event as the weather grows colder in the U.S. Last Friday's exhibition opening also celebrated the book launch of "COLDSCAPES: Design Ideas for Winter Cities", the sixth volume in CUDC’s Urban Infill Book Series.

The COLDSCAPES exhibition will be open for one month at Star Plaza in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland Institute of Art to break ground on final phase of an eight-year, $63.5 million expansion and renovation

2013-05-20T17:44:00-04:00

The institution launched its consolidation in 2007 by hiring the star architect Winy Maas of the hot Dutch architecture firm of MVRDV to design the project. The effort then hit numerous snags, including the worst recession since the Depression, and the revelation in 2008 that the Maas expansion design... would be too costly. The Philadelphia architecture firm of Burt, Hill, originally hired to help realize the Maas design, became the lead designer.

Four teams unveil concepts in competition to design $40 million architecture school at KSU

2013-01-18T17:10:00-05:00

From simple and functional to splendidly provocative, four proposals vying to become reality as Kent State University's new College of Architecture and Environmental Design were presented to the public Thursday. The university hosted the four partnerships competing to design the $40 million building by providing a forum so the architects could pitch their ideas for "solving the problem," as one presenter put it.

The four teams and their proposals are:

Bialosky + Partners Architects, with offices in Cleveland and New York, in association with Architecture Research Office of New York, proposed a building with a skin of light brown precast concrete panels rising from a one-story base of tan brick. The building emphasized a sculptural look and featured vertical windows. Architect Stephen Cassell of ARO said the building would qualify for a platinum rating – the highest available – under the LEED system of the U.S. Green Building Council, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, but ran out of time before he could explain the details.

Richard L. Bowen + Associates Inc. of Cleveland in association with Weiss/Manfredi of New York, proposed a glassy structure they called “Design Loft.” The project emphasized flexible interior spaces organized around a skeletal structural system and interior ramps and staircases that knitted the interior to...

Two Projects Share First Place at 2012 Cleveland Design Competition - Transforming the Bridge

2012-11-12T19:34:00-05:00

The Cleveland Design Competition recently announced the winners of its 2012 edition, Transforming the Bridge. The brief called for design ideas that would transform the abandoned lower deck of Cleveland's Detroit-Superior Bridge into a dynamic public space, performance venue, and pedestrian experience high above the Cuyahoga River.

There Goes the Neighborhood

2011-12-19T01:51:36-05:00

Across America, recession-fueled foreclosures and plummeting home values have left countless properties abandoned and vulnerable to looting. As Scott Pelley reports, the problem has gotten so bad in Cleveland, Ohio, that county officials have demolished more than 1,000 homes this year - and plan to demolish 20,000 more - rather than let the blight spread and render nearby homes worthless.

Watch the entire segment from CBS 60 Minutes here.