Archinect - News

Win a copy of "Young Architects 16: Overlay" from the Architectural League Prize

2015-07-17T09:41:00-04:00

Since 1981, The Architectural League of New York has showcased the latest emerging design talent in the annual Architectural League Prize. Every year, the Architectural League selects three previous winners for the League Prize committee, who are tasked to develop the competition theme that engages certain aspects of architectural form and practice that are most relevant to their fellow young practitioners.

The 2014 edition took an intrinsic approach with the theme "Overlay", which had entrants contemplate how the interactive, incremental processes inform and direct their work. Participants examined their own creative processes and presented how their developed techniques are activated over time with additional layers of meaning as they further explore architectural concepts.

Earlier this month, the Architectural League published the winning entries from this competition in Young Architects 16: Overlay. The book highlights six American firms: Young & Ayata (Brooklyn), The LADG (Los An...

AIA moves one step forward in approval of Equity in Architecture resolution

2015-06-04T17:38:00-04:00

A total of 4,117 AIA delegates largely voted in favor for the widely talked about Resolution 15-1, titled "Equity in Architecture", during the Election at the 2015 AIA National Convention in Atlanta last month. Sponsored by AIA San Francisco and the AIA California Council as a response to architecture's long tradition of gender and racial disparity, the resolution calls for the Institute to take definitive measures to strengthen the presence of underrepresented demographics especially in membership, firm leadership and ownership in the profession. The Resolution was drafted by Rosa Sheng, AIASF Assistant Treasurer and Equity by Design Committee Chair; Julia Donoho, co-founder of the Julia Morgan Foundation; and AIA National Vice President Frank Pitts.

In its intent, the resolution asks for the AIA to develop an ongoing program that will assess data, track progress, set a plan of action, and report on results. "[T]here needs to be a reflective look at valuing our human capital within ...

2015 Architectural League Prize "Authenticity" winners to lecture and exhibit next month

2015-05-14T16:00:00-04:00

The Architectural League of New York announced a new set of winners for the 2015 Architectural League Prize, considered to be one of North America's most prestigious awards for young practitioners. North America-based Architects and designers out of school 10 years or less are invited every year to submit the best of their portfolios pertaining to the competition's theme.

The 2014-15 Young Architects + Designers Committee — which comprises of previous League Prize winners Carrie Norman, John Rhett Russo, and Jenny Sabin — selected "Authenticity" as this year's competition theme. The theme sought submissions that explore how design, technology, and practice challenge authenticity within architecture, and how authenticity can be treated more as a pursuit that can continuously develop and influence a young designer's practice -- as opposed to a form of validation or as an essential quality.

Here are the 2015 winners and some of their works:

↓ Thom Moran, Ann Arbor, MI

↓ Erin Besler, Besler...

NCARB awards $50K to Parsons and Clemson University for development of new integrative curricula

2014-11-07T19:57:00-05:00

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards have announced that the architecture programs of Parsons The New School for Design and Clemson University are the 2014 recipients of the NCARB Award. NCARB will award the schools a total of over US$50,000 to support the development of each school's proposed program, which explore new paradigms of integrating architectural practice and education.

The award is timelier than ever, in relation to NCARB's major announcements to expedite the architectural licensure and examination process in the U.S.

Program: Clemson University, School of Architecture - Clemson, SC
Proposal: “Graduate Program in Architecture + Health”
The project's mission is to advance healthcare facility design through the collaboration of architects, academia and members of the health care industry.

Program: Parsons The New School for Design, School of Constructed Environments - New York, NY
Proposal: “Student-Practitioner Partnerships in Building Performance Evaluation"
Although there is stronger emphasis on sustainability, instruction on performance measurement is lacking. Clemson's proposal addresses a new and critical opportunity for architecture students to improve the environmental performance of buildings through measurement.

Head over to Bustler for further details.

Win a copy of "Writing Architecture", a practical guide to sharpening your architecture writing skills

2014-10-10T13:01:00-04:00

As we know, having the ability to communicate ideas behind an architectural design is crucial in the architectural profession. But perhaps what's more important is knowing how to write about architecture in a way that is accessible and appealing to non-architectural folks as well, considering that the built environment plays a significant part in shaping people's everyday experiences.

In relation to this, Yale University lecturer and practitioner Carter Wiseman discusses the process, techniques, and the value of architecture writing in his book, "Writing Architecture: A Practical Guide to Clear Communication About the Built Environment" recently published by Trinity University Press.

If you're eager to get your hands on a copy, now is your chance. Archinect is giving away five copies of the book to our readers!

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: In the comment section below, tell us your biggest struggle in writing about architecture. Giveaway ends on October 17, 2014. Five winners will be selecte...

Architect Fights for His Home

2014-05-07T18:37:00-04:00

Lewis Mumford wrote that, in a city, “time becomes visible.” Not, it would appear, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where a city board has just decided that a rather discreet and understated modern house might need to be torn down because it damages the ambience of a historic district, which is to say it destroys the illusion that the neighborhood is a place in which time has stopped.

A battle of bureaucracy and "historic preservation" is playing out in a Raleigh, NC neighborhood. Louis Cherry, FAIA, is building his own home in the Oakwood neighborhood of Raleigh. After having received approval for his design by relevant city agencies, including the Raleigh Historic Development Commission who oversees the Oakwood Historic District, construction proceeded in the vacant lot Cherry purchased. Gail Wiesner, his neighbor, has since led a charge to halt its construction filing an appeal with the local Board of Adjustment, who oversee procedure of local public agencies. Voting 3-2, the board found that the RHDC's decision had “no rational basis” and the Building Permit was rescinded.

Killing Architects wins New Generations film competition on the future of architectural practice

2014-01-14T15:19:00-05:00

In the ongoing discussion of the future of the architectural profession, New Generations has announced the Rotterdam-based firm Killing Architects as the winner of their first competition. All architects and creatives under 40 were invited to submit short films that show innovative forms of architectural practice and their own interpretation of the shifting role of the architect -- in both a construction industry and societal context.

Check out Killing Architects' winning response

The Architecture Meltdown: End of An Era, or Start of a New One?

2012-02-09T20:22:00-05:00

I first visited Los Angeles in 1987 and the joint was then jumping for architects, as it was in many cities caught up in the building boom of that time. Then I moved from London to LA in 1991 and found all my new architect friends out of work, in the economic slump of the early 90s. The New York Times was running articles[...] that sounded remarkably similar to the Salon piece in their “it will never be the same again” declarations about the profession.

The Architecture Meltdown

2012-02-05T10:57:00-05:00

One of the coolest creative-class careers has cratered with the economy. Where does architecture go from here?

The most honest - and painful - report of what's happening in our profession that I've yet read. Including lots of quotes from Guy Horton, too!

Building as Business

2012-02-01T13:08:00-05:00

Peter Gluck & Partners’s innovative approach to project delivery, “Architect Led Design Build”, is simple: the New York City-based firm acts as both the architect and the contractor. The client gets two separate contracts with different legal entities but the same people. A typical project goes from schematic design, directly to subcontractors who estimate cost and contribute useful information on alterations or alternatives.

Building culture means cutting the compromises

2011-05-09T14:05:14-04:00

“We wanted … for the work to speak for itself,” says Mr. Kuwabara, who won the 2006 RAIC Gold Medal, awarded for a significant and lasting contribution to Canadian architecture. For the group, every project matter, he says. “A lot of architects do some kind of work just to keep the cash flowing,” says Mr. Kuwabara. “They’re always waiting for the next big project where they’re going to do exactly what they want. [But] it never happens.”