Archinect - News

Buffalo’s Great Northern Grain Elevator and the fight to preserve local architectural history

2022-01-25T18:13:00-05:00

The building’s current owner — Archer Daniels Midland Milling Co., part of the farm and food products giant — has been pushing to demolish the Great Northern, setting off a furious fight between preservationists and the company.

The 125-year-old building has been credited with inspiring a host of modernist architects like Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. The building’s facade was gashed open by a windstorm that has left its empty interior partially exposed since December 12th. At least three previous owners have attempted to demolish the beloved historic building that was for a long time operated by the Pillsbury company, which sold the building to its current owners in the early 1990s.

Archer Daniels Midland Milling Co. has been seeking an emergency petition to raze the building that was granted a stay by an appellate judge in state supreme court earlier this month. The judge has called for mediation sessions this week between the company and conservationists who want to save the damaged structure that they say will leave a massive void on the city’s visual imagination.

“These were the kind of cathedrals of the modern age,” Gregory Delaney, an assistant professor of architecture at the University at Buff...

Mixed-use redevelopment of former Dogpatch Power Station in San Francisco breaks ground, featuring Foster + Partners-designed buildings

2021-06-03T17:03:00-04:00

The Potrero Power Station Mixed-Use Project, an urban waterfront development in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood, has officially broken ground.

Sitting in a historic industrial site, this project sees the revitalization of the decommissioned Potrero Power Generating Station, which was first established in the late 1800s. This development will open a large part of the city’s Central Waterfront for the first time in 150 years. A new 29-acre mixed-use neighborhood, reportedly with sustainable features, will be formed, fit for 2,600 residents and featuring 1.6 million square feet of workspace, 100 thousand square feet of storefronts, and seven acres of green space. Restaurants, hotels, cafés, and childcare facilities, among others, will also be included.

The development is reportedly delivering over $860 million in community benefits, which includes hundreds of units of affordable housing, historical preservation, public infrastructure, and the extension of the Dogpatch streetsca...

Luxury retreat, spa with a view, meeting room in the sky — this former coal crane has it all

2017-12-07T18:55:00-05:00

Ever wanted to spend a night in an industrial relic while not missing out on luxurious amenities? Then THE KRANE, a converted coal crane in Copenhagen's Nordhavn, is just your kind of thing.

The multi-tiered structure sports a reception area on the ground floor (a designated concierge car meets guests at the airport), a meeting room with incredible views of the water called the GLASS BOX on the first floor, a cantilevered spa and a terrace on the second floor, and a private retreat for two on top called the KRANE ROOM with a small lounge and terrace.

The project was conceived and designed by owner Klaus Kastbjerg (a driving force behind a number of Copenhagen waterfront revitalization projects, like the impressive THE SILO transformation with COBE) and architect/builder Mads Møller from Arcgency.

Scroll on for many more stunning photographs by Rasmus Hjortshøj and a project description we've received from the designers.

Lunch pails 50 stories over Manhattan

2016-12-22T16:25:00-05:00

"The gallery captures the exuberance with which the U.S. trumpeted its industrial progress."

Metcalfe (with Art Guild Museums + Environments and Drexel University's Center for Cultural Partnerships) designed the exhibits for the 13,000 square foot National Museum of Industrial History that are housed in its 100 year-old former Bethlehem Steel facility.

The first Smithsonian Museum Affiliate, it tells the story of the American industrial powerhouse of steel, silk, and propane from the 19th through the 20th centuries. Centered on the Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley, the museum's story is international in scope.