Archinect - News

Airbnb lets you inside the Colosseum for a special gladiator theme experience

2024-11-13T18:01:00-05:00

Airbnb has announced a new partnership with Paramount Pictures for a unique experience as part of the promotional campaign for Ridley Scott’s new Gladiator II sequel. Its setting is the famed Colosseum in Rome. Lucky guests will be guided via concierge into the structure’s hypogeum for a special one-night-only tour before selecting battle armor and readying for combat in the moonlit arena. Fans of the ancient tradition shouldn't miss the opportunity to register here by December 9. Please note: this is not an overnight stay. Ancient Roman posca sports drinks are also not included.

Image: Christopher Anderson/Airbnb

Image: Daniele Castellaro/Airbnb

MVRDV adds a protective design to Aldo van Eyck's Tripolis complex in Amsterdam

2024-11-05T15:41:00-05:00

MVRDV has completed the restoration of Aldo Van Eyck’s Tripolis Park office complex in Amsterdam.

The project, which founder Winy Maas says was deeply personal to him as a fan of the eccentric late Structuralist master, re-establishes two buildings within the monumental original design to cater to Uber and other high-end tenants while greening the site and constructing a new 12-story 'landscraper' to protect against vehicular noise pollution.

Image: © Ossip van Duivenbode

The complex links to one of Van Eyck’s most beloved designs, the Amsterdam Orphanage from 1960. MVRDV felt it was their responsibility to protect both its future and the architectural character of the Tripolis buildings’ facades—an act which required careful research done in unison with surviving Van Eyck family members and his available archives.

Image: © Ossip van Duivenbode

The work they performed thereafter included adding an all-wood cladding material outside, while designing a more usable office environment i...

Harvard GSD completes first stage renovation of Gund Hall

2024-10-30T09:26:00-04:00

The Bruner/Cott Architects-led renovations to Gund Hall at the Harvard Graduate School of Design has concluded its first phase after work began to rehabilitate the building’s envelope at the end of the spring 2024 semester.

Both building efficiency and occupants' comfort have been improved with better insulation and an increased quality of light in most spaces as greater accessibility was made possible on the outside with the addition of new handrails and guardrails. The GSD's faculty building committee chair David N. Fixler said it was "important that the GSD project a spirit of innovation but also of legacy, of stewardship, of respect for the historic quality of [the building]."

Fixler had also previously called the project an important teaching tool for students interested in the preservation of other important mid-twentieth-century structures.

Embattled Price Tower owner sues Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy

2024-10-23T12:21:00-04:00

The embattled owner of Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark Price Tower in Bartlesville Oklahoma has filed suit against The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in order to void liens which have been placed on the property, the New York Times is reporting. The nonprofit had previously taken action against the Copper Tree Group, which is managed by investor Cynthia Blanchard, in order to prevent sales of original furniture from the building that were under the protection of a preservation easement dating to 2011.

Blanchard's attorneys are repeating their original claims that the orders no longer pertain post-sale. The company is now seeking $75,000 in damages in addition to an injunction against the Conservancy for "interfering" with the sale of the building or furniture. In yet another complication, the Times reports its previously scheduled October 7th auction has been pushed back to November 18th in response to a separate lawsuit from a Tulsa-based developer who claims to have signed ...

Eileen Gray’s modernist 1934 Tempe à Pailla home is for sale in the French Riviera

2024-10-16T10:47:00-04:00

The second-ever built Eileen Gray home design from 1934 has hit the local real estate market in France’s Côte d'Azur region for €3.5 million ($3.87 million USD).

The home is not far away from Gray’s earlier historic E-1027 villa in Roquebrune-Cap-Martim and boasts 8 bedrooms with 5 baths. The property has been restored several times after being looted by Nazis during World War II, according to The Spaces. Gray died in 1976 after designing more than 40 buildings. Only two of which – Tempe à Pailla and E-1027 – were ever constructed.

Image: Courtesy of Engel & Völkers

Julia Morgan’s first home design lists for $1.9 million in Berkeley

2024-10-02T18:08:00-04:00

Julia Morgan’s first residential design completed after opening her own practice has hit the real estate market in the Bay Area after listing for the first time in 50 years. The 116-year-old home owned by architect Claude Stoller until his death last year in Berkeley is just steps from UC Berkeley’s campus and includes four bedrooms and 3.5 baths in a 2,555-square-foot envelope.

The listing is for $1.9 million. According to SFGate.com, which first reported the news last week, "The property is also a mix of Morgan’s original vision and contemporary amenities: The 4,182-square-foot lot hosts the home as well as an outbuilding — itself a diminutive replica of the main house — currently used as a studio, and a redwood board and batten garage with a 220-volt power outlet. Established maple and redwood trees as well as a vine-covered pergola put the finishing touches on this historic landscape."

Image: Peter Lyons/Claudia Mills Real Estate Team

Morgan, who designed the famed Hearst Castle ...

Frank Lloyd Wright's first private commission on the market for $1.98 million in Illinois

2024-09-17T17:30:00-04:00

Frank Lloyd Wright’s first independent commission in River Forest, Illinois has hit the local real estate market for just under $2 million. The historic 1894 Winslow House was the young architect’s first after leaving Adler & Sullivan’s Chicago office, reports Blair Kamin.

Christie’s International listed the 5,000-square-foot/five-bedroom property, which was restored recently for $1.3 million. Wright credits the nascent underpinnings of the Prairie Style to its development in several sources including his biography per Crain’s. The National Register of Historic Places added the landmark to its database in 1970.

Wright’s early Warren Hickox House in nearby Kankakee, Illinois also hit the market in March after being held in private hands for 48 years.

UNESCO assessing impact of skyscrapers on Tower of London

2024-08-07T19:29:00-04:00

The Tower of London’s status as a world heritage site may be at risk due to the influx of new skyscrapers in central London. UNESCO has requested that the UK government submit a State of Conservation Report that addresses the historic site’s preservation and the threat of increased high-rise buildings in the area. As reported by the BBC, a UNESCO spokesperson said the request was due to concerns about “cumulative impacts” from nearby high-rise developments and insufficient protection of the Tower’s “outstanding universal value”.

Previously on Archinect: The City of London skyline is expected to add these eleven towers by 2030

Concerns were initially raised by the English historic preservation body, Historic England, regarding City Plan 2040, the City of London Corporation’s (CLC) draft policies for new office, residential buildings, and overall development. Historic England believes these policies are likely to “severely harm” the likes of the Tower of London. On the other hand, depu...

Chicago preservationists just saved two landmark early skyscrapers from the GSA wrecking ball

2024-08-05T20:13:00-04:00

The Chicago Tribune is reporting on the successful effort by Windy City preservationists to save the landmarked vacant Century and Consumers buildings, the “last vestiges of the Chicago School of Architecture” after two years of fighting. Their owners, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), have decided in favor of an adaptive reuse scheme that will save them from the wrecking ball, albeit with a list of 15 restrictions pertaining to any future redevelopment. These include limitations on residential development.

"We’re hoping the remaining $45 million of this demolition earmark could be invested in the terra cotta and the exterior cladding and roof structures, along with the windows," Preservation Chicago’s executive director Ward Miller told the outlet. "I think at a minimum, the GSA and federal government could help with restoring some of these features of the exterior that have languished for so long, almost 20 years, under their ownership."

The buildings were completed...

Paris Olympic medalists are taking home a piece of the Eiffel Tower, too

2024-07-27T14:00:00-04:00

The 5,084 official medals to be conferred at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games all include pieces of iron removed from the Eiffel Tower during previous renovation work. The pieces are made by Chaumet. Each is about 85 millimeters or about 3.35 inches in diameter and includes an 18-gram chunk of iron positioned at its center.

The official Olympics website says: "On each medal, original iron from the Eiffel Tower was cut into a hexagon, the geometric shape that evokes France to the point of becoming its nickname. This symbol recalls the mobilisation of an entire country, beyond its capital, to offer historic Olympic and Paralympic Games. Without its usual ‘Eiffel Tower brown’ paint, the puddled iron has been left in its original colour. Placed in the centre and embossed with the emblem of the Paris 2024 Games, this piece of heritage fits elegantly among the gold, silver and bronze to give the medals a two-tone effect."

Touring Notre Dame Cathedral with its army of restorers

2024-07-24T15:32:00-04:00

I personally grew fond of the general. Touring the different workshops, he always mentioned the “battle for France” that they absolutely had to win, but also spoke of his deep gratitude. That afternoon in June last year in Saumur, he told the compagnons: “Your pride in your work is beautiful to see. How lucky France is to have you helping to return this absolute masterpiece of a spire to the sky of Paris.”

A restoration of this order should take 10 to 15 years (that’s according to experts speaking immediately after the April 15, 2019, blaze). Instead, an army of over 2,000 workers and skilled tradespeople has diligently chipped away under the direction of General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who died unexpectedly last August. Their incredible pace has required a truly global effort.

The world gets its first glimpse at the restored national treasure when it officially reopens on the morning of December 8th with the now "happy" architect Philippe Villeneuve and President Emmanuel Macron in attendance.

Can the Chrysler Building still endure against imposing contemporary neighbors?

2024-07-18T20:05:00-04:00

Is the Chrysler Building’s reputation enough for it to endure as an icon, or is it at risk of fading away from the skyline, as newer, taller and glitzier glass buildings surround it?

William Van Alen’s iconic masterpiece of the Art Deco style (which topped out just six days before the stock market crash of 1929) is now facing financial uncertainties after its pre-pandemic sale for just $150 million to an Austrian developer and New York-based CRE firm. The recent bankruptcy of the former company, Signa, has prompted questions about its future.

The Times reports more than half (650,000 square feet) of its rentable spaces are now vacant. The building's plight resembles slightly that of the Flatiron Building, which was finally sold to a local residential developer late last year.

List of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places for 2024 shows expanded 'collective idea of American history'

2024-05-01T18:31:00-04:00

The newly released list of the country’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2024 has been announced to include LA’s Little Tokyo district and the Walden Pond Reservation area in Massachusetts. The pair was joined by nine other sites in eight states, Morocco, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The full list of America's Most Endangered Historic Places, compiled by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, includes:

Cindy Walker House, Mexia, Texas
Eatonville, Florida
Estate Whim Museum, Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, Athens, New York
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California
Minute Man National Historical Park, Walden, and nearby landmarks, Massachusetts
New Salem Baptist Church, Tams, West Virginia
Roosevelt High School, Gary, Indiana
Sitka Tlingit Clan Houses, Sitka, Alaska
Tangier American Legation, Tangier, Morocco
Wilderness Battlefield Area, Orange County, Virginia

The Grand Palais debuts its pre-Olympics makeover in Paris

2024-04-24T11:48:00-04:00

As the start of this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics draws closer in Paris, the first images of the Chatillon Architectes-led restoration of the Grand Palais have been made public.

The initial phase of the four-year project that will be completed in 2025 involved expanding its capacity by 60%, creating a new pedestrian linkage to the Seine and Square Jean Perrin, restoring the balconies of the structure’s nave, and removing ad hoc additions that had slowly accrued since its opening 124 years ago.

Image credit: Laurent Kronental for Chatillon Architectes

New public gardens were created around the building, fostering an enhanced connection between it and other historic areas in the 8th arrondissement: the Champs-Élysées, Boulevard Churchill, and Petit Palais. They include more than 250 plant species, fed by rainwater that has been collected from the roofs — the largest made of glass in Europe — of the Grand Palais. The project's total costs will equal about $500 million USD, and the...

Tribune Tower voted Chicago’s best building in 2024

2024-04-11T12:53:00-04:00

Chicago’s Tribune Tower has been voted the best building in the city by readers of Urbanize Chicago. Thousands of votes were cast in the Urbanize Chicago People’s Choice Best Building 2024, with the Tribune Tower seeing off competition from the second-place Wrigley Building.

Designed by Howells and Hood and completed in 1925, the iconic Gothic Revival building was the result of an international design competition held by the Chicago Tribune newspaper. The winning design drew inspiration from the medieval Gothic cathedrals of Europe, reinterpreting their features for a modern skyscraper.

The tower rises to a height of 462 feet, culminating in a series of flying buttresses that crown its top. The building's façade is adorned with sculptural details and stone carvings that evoke the craftsmanship of Gothic architecture.

Related on Archinect: 16 designers to display new "Tribune Tower" models at the 2nd Chicago Architecture Biennial. Image: Wikipedia

A notable feature of the tower is it...

Mecanoo revives Scotland’s past into a new source of community pride

2024-04-08T17:26:00-04:00

Mecanoo has shared the news of its completed transformation of the Perth Museum in central Scotland.

The three-year construction yields 37,700 square feet worth of new public space inside of the Edwardian-style former City Hall that serviced the community from 1914 on. A specially carved Vennels-inspired intervention connects the two separate halls, framed by two new portals made from Black Isle timber and finished with a bronze casing.

Image credit: Greg Holmes Photography

Visitors will be welcomed into the brightly-lit new Main Hall archives space by a dramatic oak box container for the mythical returned Scottish Stone of Destiny. The adjacent Lesser Hall is thereafter recreated as a new communal space with larger windows and replete with a café and events venue.

Image credit: Greg Holmes Photography

This creates new panoramic views of the St. Johns Kirk church outside. Artifacts taken from the Jacobite period are on display within, including the silver broadsword used by Bonnie Pr...

Frank Lloyd Wright's early Prairie-style design lists for $779,000 in Illinois

2024-03-29T14:41:00-04:00

The home credited as one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s first Prairie School designs, the 1900 Warren Hickox House, has hit the market recently in Kankakee, Illinois, for a listing price of $779,000.

Realtor.com was early to report news of the home’s listing, which represents the first time the home has been available for purchase in 48 years. Sited adjacent to the R. Harley Bradley House from the same year, the 3,277-square-foot design features four bedrooms and 2.5 baths and is completed by a Japanese-inspired roofline the then 33-year-old Wright was drawn to even before his first visit to the country in 1905.

First floor plan. Image: Freiluft/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust describes: “Despite the relatively small scale of the residence, Wright created a sense of both interior and exterior expansiveness through his use of a modified cruciform plan and his manipulation of architectural space, form, and details.”

Second floor plan. Image: Freiluft/Wikimedia Co...

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa architecture students use AI and 3D modeling to preserve Lahaina heritage structures lost in August wildfires

2024-03-29T12:51:00-04:00

A new course being taught to undergraduate students this semester at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture is helping preservationists on Maui document lost heritage structures using the same AI-augmented 3D modeling technology that was previously incorporated into the rebuilding of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Co-taught by Dean William Chapman, Associate Professor Hyoung-June Park, and visiting Assistant Professor Kyung Hoon Hyun of South Korea’s Hanyang University, ARCH 490: Rebuilding Lahaina in Mixed Reality offers students the chance to aid in the recovery efforts by creating digital versions of lost buildings such as the Baldwin House, Wo Hing Society Hall, and Old Lahaina Courthouse.

"We want students to expand their creativity to think of more than simply rebuilding what was destroyed, but also what they can do with this new 3D model that they created," Hyun explained to Hawaii Public Radio recently. "They can add values or communal experiences within ...

Sagrada Família to be completed in 2026, officials say

2024-03-25T16:48:00-04:00

The completed construction of the Sagrada Família is now expected for 2026, multiple international outlets are reporting. The announcement made recently by the group responsible for managing its construction ends years of speculation as to the exact opening date for Antoni Gaudí’s monumental affirmation of religious life in his native Spain that began 142 years ago this month in Barcelona.

The new completion date coincides with the centennial anniversary of the architect's death at the age of 73 from injuries he sustained in a tram accident on his way home from the site.

Work will culminate first with the Chapel of the Assumption in 2025 and be followed by a crowning tower of Jesus Christ the next year. This comes after the temple's four canonical towers were debuted in December. A source also told The Guardian that its controversial grand staircase, an element some dispute was not Gaudí’s intention, could be added by 2034.

Related on Archinect: Gaudí's Sagrada Família acquires prop...

Egypt suspends plan to restore granite cladding on one of the pyramids of Giza following backlash

2024-02-17T08:00:00-05:00

Egypt has scuttled a controversial plan to reinstall ancient granite cladding on the pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza, a committee formed by the country’s tourism minister said in a statement. [...] The pyramids are the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that still remain.

The initiative was announced in January by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, calling it “the project of the century.”

The project, led by a team of Egyptian and Japanese experts, would have commenced after at least a year of planning but has since drawn international outcry, with many critics believing that there should be as little intervention on the structure as possible and that this restoration attempt could have the effect of disrupting its natural state. The pushback has led Egypt’s antiquities authority to review the project.

The plan called for the reuse of fallen granite blocks that have remained around the pyramid’s base. However, according to Zahi Hawass, a former minister of antiquities who headed the Menkaure pyramid review committee, it would be impossible to determine where each granite block had originally been located.

UNESCO survey verifies 341 damaged cultural sites across Ukraine

2024-02-15T17:35:00-05:00

UNESCO has verified nearly 30 dozen damaged cultural sites across Ukraine in a new survey meant to shed light on the extent to which the cost of war has left an impact on the nation’s spiritual landscape and intellectual heritage over the past two full years.

Kharkiv and Donetsk led the list of regions with the most damaged sites, totaling 56 and 87, respectively. The list counts a total of 341 sites, another 39 of which are in the Kyiv capital region. UNESCO officials compiled their tally from a number of on-the-ground sources. This is apparently meant to be a preliminary damage assessment that will hereafter be updated on a regular basis once the process for reporting is established.

The new survey counted 126 religious sites, 150 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 31 museums, 19 monuments, 14 libraries, and one archive. Among the most significant damaged sites are the National Palace of Arts in Kyiv and many buildings in the endangered historic city center of Ode...

Looking at the potential for adaptive reuse in the St. Louis market with HOK’s Eli Hoisington

2024-02-08T12:38:00-05:00

Over the past two decades, St. Louis has gained recognition for its growing bioscience sector. In its 2030 STL Job Plan, Greater St. Louis Inc. identified bioscience (and related fields of agtech and life sciences) as critical to the continued success of our region. To continue to fuel research and innovation in this sector, St. Louis needs talent, capital and partner institutions. It also needs the right labs and buildings.

More and more universities and colleges are pursuing adaptive reuse projects of the kind Hoisington and his team at HOK’s local office completed recently for Washington University in St. Louis in the West End Cortex Innovation Community. As he described, the method is also an increasingly preferred solution for the biotech and life sciences industries. St. Louis has joined Dallas in competing with established hubs like Boston-Cambridge and Pittsburgh for a larger share of the market for both.

Looking to the future, studies have suggested the global markets for adaptive reuse and biotechnology to reach $47 billion and $1.3 trillion, respectively, USD by the end of this decade.

HOK has published a primer on adaptive reuse and laboratory design.

Paul Revere Williams-designed Blind Children's Center is getting remodeled for a new century of service in Los Angeles

2024-02-06T15:02:00-05:00

A renovation of the historic Paul Revere Williams-designed Blind Children’s Center (BCC) is underway in Los Angeles. The 80-year-old structure that preceded Williams’s seminal St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and other hospital designs in Southern California by twenty years is now being remodeled and modernized to match the expanded needs of the BCC community for a new century.

Williams had been living in his now landmarked first residence in Jefferson Park at the time of his commissioning for the project. His design gave the nonprofit its first permanent home during a period of rampant discrimination, thus serving as a built testament to inclusivity.

The facility in July 2022. Image courtesy of the Blind Children's Center (BCC)

Now, with support from the Ahmanson, W. M. Keck and Rose Hills Foundations, the BCC’s b...

SOM begins $550 million Gray 30th Street Station redevelopment in Philadelphia

2024-01-29T13:57:00-05:00

The groundbreaking on SOM’s $550 million William H. Gray III 30th Street Station redevelopment was held in Philadelphia this month in advance of the next 50-year leg of the historic building’s journey in service to commuters who first began making use of it in 1933.

Gilbane will be directing the design-build for the project, which will last at the station through the end of 2027. By that time, its passenger capacity will have doubled to 25 million per year. The project covers approximately 500,000 square feet overall and is part of a larger $10 billion District Plan that will add retail amenities and other improvements to the Market Street Plaza outside.

Image courtesy Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

According to Amtrak, the scope of the redevelopment includes:

modernizing and expanding station food & beverage and retail offerings
improving station operations and enhancing the customer experience
upgrading The Porch landscaping and commun...

Notre Dame’s plans for contemporary stained-glass windows spark cries of ‘vandalism’ in Paris

2023-12-26T14:53:00-05:00

Plans for the contemporary replacement of some of the stained glass windows inside Notre Dame Cathedral’s damaged interior have sparked a considerable outcry from the public a year before the Parisian landmark is set to begin reopening in the wake of the destructive 2019 fire.

Calls for a new competition to design windows for six of Notre Dame’s seven south aisle side chapels has led to a petition signed by 120,000 people urging the French government to reconsider on grounds that they would distort the originality of architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc’s 19th-century expansion, according to a report from The Guardian.

The new window designs would replace what emerged from the catastrophe undamaged and are therefore considered important relics of the blaze by heritage experts and other conservation specialists. Nevertheless, the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, requested the French state’s approval of new windows, a solicitation President Emmanuel Macron then threw his office’s suppo...

Notre Dame Cathedral completes spire reconstruction ahead of 2024 reopening

2023-12-11T17:30:00-05:00

France had previously reversed plans for the restoration’s completion before the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games prior to the death of project overseer General Jean-Louis Georgelin in August. The replacement of the original 19th-century spire was heavily debated before officials decided on a historically accurate timber and lead reconstruction, which was done without the adorning sculptural relics and a copper rooster figurine. Both outstanding elements are expected to be added later, along with contemporary stained glass windows.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris (@rebatirnotredamedeparis)

Now, with interior clean-ups and ceiling vault reconstructions also completed, an army of 500 will turn to exterior renovations and the installation of a new fire protection system and roof coverings.

As reported by the NYT, the collapse of Notre Dame's spire during the tragic fire deeply affected both Parisians on-site and a glob...

Bologna unveils plan to reinforce 12th-century leaning tower

2023-12-08T18:30:00-05:00

Work to prevent the collapse of a leaning medieval tower in the heart of the northern Italian city of Bologna will cost €20m ($21.5m) and take 10 years at least, its mayor has said. Last weekend, the city unveiled a €4.3m (£3.7m) project to shore up the Garisenda tower – one of the city’s two towers that look out over central Bologna, providing inspiration over the centuries to painters and poets and a lookout spot during conflicts.

The Garisenda Tower, like the Tower of Pisa, has leaned for centuries as the ground on which it was built gave way soon after its construction. It slants at four degrees compared to 3.9 degrees the Tower of Pisa leans at. Last month, the area around the Garisenda Tower was cordoned off due to increasing concerns about its potential to collapse. Bologna’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, claims that the time to restore the structure will match the 10 years it took to reinforce the Tower of Pisa.

Built in the 12th century, the Garisenda Tower, which stands at approximately 157 feet, sits alongside the taller, and also leaning, Asinelli Tower. As reported by The Guardian, Italy’s civil protection agency has issued a “yellow” alert for the area around the two towers indicating the space is under watch. However, they aren’t believed to pose any immediate risks to people’s safety. The mayor has also urged the government to work to make the towers UNESCO World Heritage sites. Work to reinforce the to...

Over 100 Gaza heritage sites damaged or destroyed by Israeli strikes, report says

2023-12-05T13:30:00-05:00

The Spanish NGO Heritage for Peace has published a report on the impact of recent Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s cultural heritage. The report, released on November 7th, claims that over 100 cultural heritage landmarks have been damaged or destroyed as of publishing. Reports of subsequent damage since November 7th are not yet available.

The Heritage for Peace report lists 104 pieces of built heritage impacted by the latest war, of which 4 have been completely destroyed, 11 have been partially destroyed by direct shelling, and 89 have been partially destroyed by indirect shelling. The list of sites spans mosques, churches, archaeological sites, historical houses, shrines, cemeteries, and museums.

Among the sites completely destroyed by direct shelling is the Omari Mosque, described by NPR as “one of the most important and ancient mosques in historical Palestine.” Meanwhile, the Church of Saint Porphyrius was partially destroyed, described by NPR as “the third oldest church in the entir...

Flatiron Building developers announce residential conversion plans

2023-10-26T20:08:00-04:00

The building’s future as housing began to take shape this week when the Brodsky Organization, a residential developer, bought a stake in the 22-story, triangular-shaped tower on Fifth Avenue. Brodsky will lead the conversion, carving out units — either for sale as condominiums or as rentals — from the notoriously awkward space. The exact layout and the number of new residences have not been determined.

The project will take about three years to complete once plans finally clear the lengthy approval process. Developers told the New York Times they are considering multiple schemes but have yet to determine the total number of residential units the conversion will create.

The saga began with a botched auction sale in March and has implications as the Flatiron, which was one of New York’s first skyscrapers, is now the most historically significant structure included in the city’s push to create 40,000 housing units out of its existing office stock by the end of the decade.

Renovations complete on Einstein Tower, observatory built to represent Einstein's theory of relativity

2023-09-29T18:03:00-04:00

A solar observatory built to substantiate Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity has been reopened near the German capital after a renovation project to preserve it for future generations. [...] “The Einstein Tower might no longer be at the forefront of research, but it’s not a mere museum piece [...] Following its renovation it’s probably now in a better condition than it was when it was inaugurated almost 100 years ago”

Located on Telegraph Hill in Potsdam, 16 miles southwest of Berlin, Einsteinturm (Einstein Tower) underwent a year of renovations to address its many cracks and extensive dampness, and to preserve its domed zinc roof. The restoration cost approximately $1.2 million.

The structure was built between 1920 and 1922 by German-British architect Erich Mendelsohn in collaboration with astronomer Erwin Finlay-Freundlich. The approximately 66-foot tower was designed to represent and verify Einstein’s theory of relativity. It is considered a landmark in expressionist architecture, with its lack of right angles, organic form, and curved wooden staircase. Originally planned in concrete, a lack of materials after the First World War meant it was built using stucco-covered brick.

The tower is still in operation today as a working solar observatory, run by the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics (AIP). In addition, the working telescopes are the original ones installed nearly a century ago.

...