Archinect - News

What could Trump’s economic plans do for the cost of building green?

2024-11-25T16:46:00-05:00

Proposed tariffs by the incoming Trump administration may increase the prices of many items at the store. But for architects and advocates working on more efficient and sustainable buildings, there’s fear that tariffs could impact specific materials and machines that are key to their work. Higher costs from tariffs, some say, may slow down the pick up of these techniques of residential and commercial construction, and make such buildings more expensive and less attractive to build.

Firms could be hard put to keep pace with the cost of procuring materials like mass timber and products such as heat pumps after the proposed blanket tariffs are enacted, explains FastCompany. This would add stress and uncertainty to the already lagging American building industry, which is considered behind Europe as far as efforts to increase efficiency standards are concerned. Domestic manufacturing would have to rise to the challenge or risk falling back into the wrong kind of "American Exceptionalism" that is both environmentally unproductive and at odds with a global consensus on building sustainability.

Atlantic City to auction off the opportunity to blow up Trump Plaza Casino

2020-12-17T15:28:00-05:00

The demolition of the former Trump Plaza casino will become a fundraiser to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City that the mayor hopes will raise in excess of $1 million Opened in 1984, Trump’s former casino was closed in 2014 and has fallen into such a state of disrepair that demolition work began earlier this year. The remainder of the structure will be dynamited on Jan. 29.

Get in line.

Army Corps awards $569 million border wall contract

2020-04-27T12:48:00-04:00

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded BFBC LLC, a subsidiary of Bozeman, Montana-based Barnard Construction, a $569 million contract modification for the construction of approximately 17.2 miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border in California. This adds to the $141.7 million contract awarded to the company in May for work in California and Arizona.

According to Construction Dive, the Army Corps said that the projects are being delivered in response to the Department of Homeland Security's request that the Defense Department assist in securing the southern border to block drug smuggling through the construction of roads, fences and lighting systems. The additional border wall work by BDBC is due to be completed by June 30, 2021.

Trump administration initiates resource extraction plan for former national monuments in Utah

2020-02-07T13:02:00-05:00

The U.S. government implemented final management plans Thursday for two national monuments in Utah that President Trump downsized. The plans ensure lands previously off-limits to energy development will be open to mining and drilling despite pending lawsuits by conservation, tribal and paleontology groups challenging the constitutionality of the president’s action

About two years ago, President Trump cut the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by almost 50 percent and the Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent. The President said the scaled back size was to reverse misuse of the Antiquities Act by previous Democratic presidents that he feels led to oversized monuments that hinder energy development, grazing ad other uses, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The plans come despite pending lawsuits from conservation, tribal, and paleontology groups arguing that the downsizing was unconstitutional.

Trump may reallocate additional $7.2 billion of military funds for border wall

2020-01-21T12:49:00-05:00

President Trump is preparing to divert an additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funding for border wall construction this year, five times what Congress authorized him to spend on the project in the 2020 budget.

According to The Washington Post, the funding would give the government enough money to complete about 885 miles of new fencing by spring 2022, far more than the 509 miles the administration has slated for the U.S. border with Mexico. So far the Trump administration has completed 101 miles of new barriers, which is less than the promised 450 miles due for the end of the year, reports The Washington Post.

Trump administration to help L.A. homelessness efforts. But there's a catch

2020-01-17T11:29:00-05:00

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson told Mayor Eric Garcetti in a letter last Thursday that Trump officials are prepared to offer Los Angeles an array of resources, including emergency healthcare services and federal land. However, Carson also suggested in his letter that the government expects changes from L.A. in how it manages homelessness...he wrote, “the city and county of Los Angeles must partner with our efforts and make necessary policy changes.”

The offer follows recent talks between senior Trump administration officials, Mayor Garcetti and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, reports the Los Angeles Times. It includes potential provision of emergency healthcare services, supplemental emergency shelters and transitional housing, federal land, assistance for law enforcement and "voucher utilization support," writes Times reporters Dakota Smith, Benjamin Oreskes, and Noah Bierman. Moreover, Carson outlined a number of stipulations, including reallocating funding, "empowering and utilizing local law enforcement," and reducing regulations to expedite the construction of affordable housing.

New border wall commences in South Texas despite landowner resistance

2019-10-25T12:36:00-04:00

...construction workers on Wednesday began building the first new border wall in South Texas just south of the town of Donna...it will connect to an existing border wall that was built in 2008 under the 2006 Secure Fence Act. On Sept. 29, CBP in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract to Gibraltar-Caddell Joint Venture for up to $296 million to build 22 miles of noncontiguous border wall starting east of Santa Ana.

The new construction has prompted concern from locals in the area, as the work has begun on private land.

According to Border Report, "many other landowners in the region have so far refused CBP access to survey their lands, and have not sold their properties for wall construction."

Border wall construction begins in Arizona

2019-09-16T13:31:00-04:00

The president and his administration said last week that they plan on building between 450 and 500 miles of fencing along the nearly 2,000-mile border by the end of 2020, an ambitious undertaking funded by billions of defense dollars that had been earmarked for things like military base schools, target ranges and maintenance facilities.

The construction has commenced in Yuma, Arizona, where the 30-foot-tall fencing will replace existing shorter barriers. "The Trump administration says the wall—along with more surveillance technology, agents and lighting—is key to keeping out people who cross illegally," reports The Columbian. The administration has come under fire in recent weeks for redirecting funding previously allocated for other military projects toward the construction of the wall.

Architects continue to speak out against border security construction projects

2019-08-15T18:00:00-04:00

The Architecture Lobby, a national group that organizes and advocates on issues related to the profession, published a call for design professionals to sign a public pledge condemning “all policies that use the built environment as an instrument of torture and oppression” and refusing to work on any project—be it an ICE office, a detention facility, or a wall—related to the Trump administration’s policies on immigration.

After the devastating and inhumane conditions detained individuals at the border have experienced in recent few years, groups of architects and organizers are increasingly speaking up against design projects relating to border control. As Fast Company's Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan points out, "someone designed each of these spaces, of course."

Since May, over 52,000 people have been detained at these border control sites, and close to 1,000 children have been separated from their families, according to the article. Ethical practices between architects and large firms vary, unfortunately. Border security has grown to be a highly lucrative market. However, several members of the design community are taking a stand to boycott any projects involved with the Trump administration's plans for detainment centers.

In July, The American Institute for Architects (AIA) issued a statement discussing the buildings at the border. Since their statement was published, many members of the architectur...

What will become of retired coal-fired power plants? A new "playbook" outlines a plan

2019-07-05T18:35:00-04:00

Nearly 300 coal-fired power plants have been "retired" since 2010, according to the Sierra Club. It's a trend that continues despite President Trump's support for coal. That has left many communities worried that those now-idled places will simply be mothballed.

In an NPR segment, which aired in May, Jeff Brady discusses the Department of Community and Economic Development's plans to reuse and redevelop retired coal plants. Plans of action are listed in a "playbook" that outlines the attributes of listed coal plants and the pros and cons of each site. Through these assessments, it will help the Department realize what types of business would be an appropriate fit to relocate there. With the increased number of coal plants shutting down opportunities for coal cities will change for the better thanks to plans of introducing new businesses to the area by promoting these unused sites.

Examples of the playbook in action are happening now in the small Pennsylvania town of Shamokin Dam. The coal-fired plant in town provided power for over six-decades before it was shut down in 2014. However, with the Department's new plans for redevelopment, the once forgotten site is teeming with activity. In the segment Brady shares, "Environmental groups cheer...

Chicago architects launch parody campaign to build a golden border wall for Trump

2019-01-15T15:59:00-05:00

The architects behind the Flying Pigs on Parade project—which planned to install four golden pig-shaped balloons in front of the infamous Trump Tower Chicago sign—are back with another anti-Trump parody, this time mocking the President's proposed border wall.

New World Projects, the Chicago-based firm known for creating visual commentary on the ridiculous nature of our current political environment, has released renderings and an accompanying GoFundMe campaign for a prototype wall that would surround the Mar-a-Lago resort and golf club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Mocking Trump's penchant for ambitiously gaudy design, the proposal promises a 30-foot tall, gold finished picket fence on one side, that would be electrified on the other by six new coal plants built along the border. The project's website cynically describes, "the bad guys on the other side can look through and imagine the riches and moral integrity of being American."

Image courtesy of New World Projects.

Throughout the hyp...

EPA regulation reform opens the door to new asbestos use in manufacturing, and architects are angry

2018-08-08T14:44:00-04:00

According to Fast Company, the Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to make the use of asbestos in manufacturing much easier. In June, under Scott Pruitt's leadership, the agency proposed the Significant New Use Rule (SNUR)—open for comment until August 10—that would allow for new uses of asbestos-containing products on a case by case basis.

Although banned in more than 55 countries, the United State has left use of the dangerous carcinogen open, choosing instead to heavily restrict and regulate the fibrous mineral. Despite efforts under the 1973 Clean Air Act and the 1989 Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule—the latter of which was overturned in 1991—asbestos, today, is still allowed in hundreds of consumer goods as long as it accounts for less than one percent of the product.

In addition to SNUR, the EPA also announced it will no longer review exposures from abandoned uses of asbestos. During the Obama Administration, under an amendment to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Ac...

Trump's 2019 budget includes another attempt at defunding NEA and other cultural agencies

2018-02-14T14:12:00-05:00

The White House has revealed its budget proposal for 2019 and despite recommending a $716 billion spending increase for defense, Trump wants to slash funding for cultural programs. He has suggested cutting the NEA's budget from $150m down to $29m. Other cultural organizations would also see their budgets broken—Trump's plan would cut funding for the National Endowment of Humanities from $150m down to just $42m, the Institute of Museum and Library Services from $231m to $23m, and public television from $495m to just $15m.

Last year, when the President first took office, he similarly tried to institute significant cuts to these federal programs. Despite his best efforts, Congress—who has the final say on passing the federal budget each year—ultimately ended up retaining funding for the various cultural organizations in bipartisan agreement. Beyond being extremely important to the well-being of the country in general, these agencies also support many architectural initiatives that are ...

Austin in favor of boycotting companies involved in Trump's border wall

2018-02-05T12:35:00-05:00

In a 10-1 vote, the Austin City Council took the first step toward a boycott of any company that designs, builds or finances President Donald Trump’s $25 billion proposed border wall between Texas and Mexico. [...] Four companies already have been tapped to design and build wall prototypes, including Texas-based Sterling Construction Company, Inc.

The Texas state capital is just the latest of several local and state governments having either passed or proposed legislation that would ban companies involved in designing, building, or financing Donald Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico from being considered for other public contracts.

Israel wants to thank Trump for Jerusalem decision by naming Western Wall train station after him

2017-12-27T13:48:00-05:00

The train station is being planned for the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. Katz said he decided to honor Trump in this way following the president's decision early this month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to ultimately move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

Yisrael Katz, Israel's transport minister, has said he plans to name a future train station in Jerusalem "Donald John Trump" Station, after the U.S. President controversially recognized the city as Israeli's capital earlier this month. The station is part of a contentious proposal to extend Jerusalem’s high-speed rail line to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews are permitted to pray. Plans for the project involve the construction of two underground stations and the excavation of more than two miles of tunnel underneath the Old City, a politically and historically sensitive area of Jerusalem.

AIA is encouraged by last minute edits to Congress' tax reform legislation

2017-12-18T20:42:00-05:00

The American Institute of Architects has been one of the many vocal opponents to the House and Senate tax plans, which would gut historic tax credits and harm architecture firms, especially those smaller in size. However, after a concerted effort to lobby Congress, the AIA is newly "encouraged" by some last minute amendments made to the tax reform legislation contained in the House-Senate Conference Agreement announced late Friday night.

In particular, the latest revisions have resolved some of the issues surrounding the Historic Tax Credit. While the House's version would have eliminated it entirely, the Senate's plan would've simply diluted its impact by spreading the credit over five years time. Now in its reconciled form, the tax plan keeps the HTC and improves on the Senate bill's language by adding some flexibility for architects wishing to utilize the 20 percent credit.

The other highly welcomed revision is that the tax plan now allows a 20 percent deduction for businesses or...

Trump Administration terminates Community Resilience Panel that prepared cities for climate shock

2017-12-05T13:31:00-05:00

The Community Resilience Panel for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems was created by the Obama administration in 2015 within the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. Its chairman, Jesse Keenan, told members at a meeting Monday that its charter was being dissolved and that meeting would be its last.

The Trump administration is pulling the plug on the Community Resilience Panel for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems—a group created in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that helped local officials prepare for extreme weather and other natural disasters. The multi-agency organization, comprised of representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, among other federal departments, guided municipal governments and local groups to improve buildings, communications, energy systems and transportation in response to climate threats.

The two-year-old panel was the "federal government's primary external engagement for resilience in the built environment," said the panel's chairman Jesse Keenan. It is yet another federal climate-related body that has been canned by the current administration. Just back in August, the President disbanded a 15-person advisory committee that helped communicate scientific climate change findings to businesses ...

Trump Tower is blocking off the public from promised public spaces on site

2017-11-28T18:53:00-05:00

Otherwise known as POPS or POPOS, pseudo-public space is often offered up by developers in exchange for the city giving them permission to add more floors or density than the current zoning allows for. An incentive pioneered in NYC's 1961 zoning ordinance revision, today, there are more than 500 spaces in the city legally reserved for public use on privately owned and managed real estate. One of these is the President's gilded Trump Tower.

In the late 1970s, the billionaire real estate mogul made a deal with the city to add restrooms, two upper-level public gardens, and an atrium with a 22-foot long stone bench so he could build 20 more floors onto the-then 38-story building. Shortly after the building's completion, the promised bench, in Trump fashion, was removed leading to a 30-year scandal resulting in multiple fines including one for $10,000 issued by the Department of Buildings. Making matters all the more insulting, the bench's place went to a kiosk hawking the man's self-pro...

Reagan Administation's widely popular Historic Tax Credit jeopardized by Trump's tax plan

2017-11-06T16:20:00-05:00

As it’s currently written, the bill would entirely eliminate the federal Historic Tax Credit program (HTC), which provides a 20 percent tax credit for the redevelopment of blighted buildings and renovation of notable architectural landmarks.

The Reagan Administration’s Historic Tax Credit program, which helps fund historic renovation projects, is in jeopardy of being scrapped in the new tax plan unveiled in the House last week. According to Architectural Digest, the conservative idol's program has preserved more than 40,000 total structures and corralled $117 billion in private investment for such redevelopment work since the program began in 1983.

The program incentivizes the reuse of historic structures with a 20 percent income tax credit that is paid out only once a project is finished. A 2015 economic impact report, carried out by the National Park Service and Rutgers University, found that the tax credit generated $1.20 in construction activity and tax revenue for every dollar of credit issued and generated an estimated 86,000 jobs that year.

The reform is being criticized by developers, preservationists, and politicians such as Arkansas Representative Vivian Flowers and New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who fear tha...

Trump administration scraps Obama's Local Hiring Program

2017-08-31T20:26:00-04:00

The program was tested in states like New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania and involved viaduct construction, pavement rehabilitation and highway development projects. The study was extended for five years in January, just before President Trump took office. Advocates of local employment allowances say hiring from the neighborhood helps offset longstanding racial and gender imbalances in the construction industry.

The Trump administration is relinquishing another Obama-era regulatory provision, which was proposed in 2015 aiming to allow cities to set aside work for local residents on federally funded public works projects. No reason has been given for the Department of Transportation termination of the initiative, set to take effect tomorrow,

Trump revoked Obama's executive order on higher standards for flood protection two weeks before Hurricane Harvey

2017-08-28T14:10:00-04:00

Hurricane Harvey has been battering the Gulf Coast for days bringing in record floodwaters devastating much of southeast Texas. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has estimated that 30,000 people are in need of emergency shelter and more than 450,000 will need the help of federal aid for recovery after the devastation. The catastrophic flooding, which officials are calling the worst in the state's history, has already lead to at least five deaths and dozens of injuries.

Two weeks before the storm, President Trump revoked an executive order signed by former president Barack Obama in 2015 that aimed to make infrastructure more resilient to the effects of climate change. The Obama-era regulation meant that roads, building and other infrastructure projects needed to be built to withstand the effects of climate change such as stronger downpours, rising sea levels, and flooding. However, as part of Trump's executive order signed several weeks ago, he rolled back the Federal Flood Ri...

Trump to reverse Obama’s Federal Flood Risk Management Standard aimed at planning for climate change

2017-08-16T13:17:00-04:00

The White House confirmed that the order issued Tuesday would revoke an earlier executive order by former President Barack Obama that required recipients of federal funds to strongly consider risk-management standards when building in flood zones, including measures such as elevating structures from the reach of rising water.

President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that he said would streamline the approval process for building infrastructure such as roads, bridges and offices by eliminating a planning step related to climate change and flood dangers.

Trump's new order will weaken environmental standards that guard against flood risk, saddling the federal government with the burden of paying for flood damage in the future. The executive order also promised “one Federal decision” for major infrastructure projects and setting a two-year goal for completion of permitting processes. Trump said every project would be assigned to a lead agency that would be held “accountable” for it.

“This order will put people throughout the country at risk by allowing developers to ignore potential hazards while muzzling the public’s ability to weigh in on potentially harmful projects near their homes,” Alex Taurel, deputy legislative director of the League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement.

...

Leaked government draft report finds that U.S. is already impacted by climate change

2017-08-09T14:30:00-04:00

A draft government report on climate says the U.S. is already experiencing the consequences of global warming. The findings sharply contrast with statements by President Trump and some members of his Cabinet, who have sought to downplay the changing climate. The document, which was leaked ahead of publication and reported by The New York Times on Tuesday, says Americans are seeing more heat waves and rainfall as a result of climate change.

The draft report confirms previous assessments that global warming, as observed over the past decades, is indeed caused by human activity, and climate change is already showing affects on the United States' weather and economy.

"That statement is directly at odds with statements from Trump and key Cabinet members," NPR reports. "The head of Trump's Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has said there is "tremendous disagreement" on the impact humans have had on the climate. And in June, Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from so-called Paris agreement on climate change, which is the main international effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Click here to read the draft of the climate change report in full.

Trump administration to waive environmental rules and other laws to expedite border wall construction

2017-08-02T18:04:00-04:00

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will waive environmental reviews and other laws to replace a stretch of border wall in San Diego, moving to make good on one of the president’s signature campaign pledges. Critics including the Center for Biological Diversity criticized the move as overreach and a threat to the environment.

"Last week, the House of Representatives approved the administration’s request for $1.6 billion to start building Trump’s border wall," PBS NewsHour reports, "which would include replacing 14 miles (22 kilometers) in San Diego covered by the latest waiver and building 60 miles (96 kilometers) of new barriers in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley."

And the Rio Grande stretch, as we all know, will require some (costly) construction magic.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to start building prototypes for Mexico border wall this summer

2017-06-28T14:55:00-04:00

Congress may not have agreed to President Trump's $2.6 billion budget proposal for his much-touted border wall, but that has not stopped Customs and Border Protection from preparing for the first stage of the project; testing prototypes for the border protection.

According to Ronald Vitiello, Customs and Border Protection’s acting deputy commissioner, $20 million, allocated from other programs, have been used to pay four to eight companies that will be contracted to produce prototypes for the border wall with Mexico. To be completed within 30 days in San Diego those prototypes will then serve as models for the roughly 2,000-mile border. More than 600 companies submitted designs for the wall before a March deadline.
“Think of it,” Trump told a crowd at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “The higher it goes, the more valuable it is. Pretty good imagination, right?”

A solar-paneled US/Mexico border wall?

2017-06-07T12:56:00-04:00

President Donald Trump floated putting solar panels on his planned Mexican border wall in a meeting with legislative leaders Tuesday afternoon, according to White House and Capitol Hill officials. It was unclear why Trump brought up the topic, but he presented the panels as a way to fund the wall, which is expected to cost billions of dollars, according to three people familiar with the conversation.

Of course, this comes on the heels of intense criticism of the President's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

How much would Trump's wall actually cost? This calculator can help you find out

2017-05-18T12:21:00-04:00

For those not already opposed to President Trump’s proposed border wall for ethical reasons, a big hurdle is its (likely) staggering cost. The sheer length of the thing makes it pricey, and the irregular terrain and harsh climate of some of the regions bisected by the US/Mexico border would raise the price tag even higher.

To get a better feel for the realities of the wall, a team at the The Warsaw University of Technology led by Tadeusz Zwolinski and Mateusz Mucha spent six weeks putting together a calculator.

“Each user can set main parameters like length, height or placement of guards,” the explain. “People interested in greater details could click on ‘advanced mode’ and build ‘own wall’ by setting a size of panels, crane operator's wage or cost of reinforced concrete.”

Some might argue that since the calculator assists in the possibility of constructing the wall, it is itself problematic. But others might just find it interesting to play around with. Check it out here.

...

This Arizona-based company claims they've been selected to deliver prototypes for Trump's border wall

2017-05-15T13:27:00-04:00

Some 20 businesses rose to the top of a pool of around 460 companies that submitted initial proposals for the US/Mexico border wall so desired by President Trump and his supporters. But, due to federal procurement rules, the names of these businesses are still under wrap.

Even the exact number of selected bidders hasn’t been released, although all who were selected are expected to be notified this week. They will then submit more detailed proposals. From there, the list will be further whittled down, and companies will submit four to eight prototypes that will be built in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego in July.

The procurement laws haven’t stopped DarkPulse Technologies, an Arizona-based company, from announcing that they’ve been selected to work on prototypes. Their design comprises a ballistic concrete wall capable of withstanding up to 12 hours of tampering. It includes sensors that can alert Border Control of any tunneling.

Due to the extreme opposition to the proposed wa...

What does Trump's 20% tariff hike on Canadian softwoods mean for architecture?

2017-04-29T13:51:00-04:00

What will higher timber prices as a result of Trump's new tarriff mean for architecture? Dr. Warren Mabee, who is the Canada Research Chair in Renewable Energy Development and Implementation at Queen's University, told me over the phone that it will likely halt or significantly alter the design and construction of formerly ubiquitous wood-frame residences. "I think one of the big things you're going to see, particularly in the U.S., is that introducing this type of tariff or countervailing duty, is that it will drive up the price of lumber. What that will mean is that for architects who are specializing particularly in residential construction, where there is a lot of wood and wood frame that goes into it, they may find themselves limited in what they can do. So if you're building something that's on a budget or something that's going to use a lot of wood, you may find yourself in a position where the costs are now going to be substantively higher than prior to the tariff being intr...

A HUD official has been fired for criticizing Trump

2017-02-17T18:13:00-05:00

A top aide to President Trump’s housing secretary nominee, Ben Carson, was fired and led out of the department’s headquarters by security on Wednesday after writings critical of Mr. Trump surfaced in his vetting, according to two people briefed on the matter. Shermichael Singleton, who was one of the few black conservatives in the Trump administration, had been working at the Department of Housing and Urban Development since Jan. 23 as a senior adviser.

“My party in particular has allowed itself to be taken over by someone who claims to be a Republican but doesn’t represent any of our values, principles or traditions,” wrote Shermichael in The Hill in October of last year.

^ Take a listen to a recent Archinect Sessions episode with our guest Emily Hunt Turner as she talks about her experience working at HUD as a lawyer.