Archinect - News

Meta announces investment in low-carbon concrete production plants

2024-10-29T17:47:00-04:00

Last month, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) announced its plans to invest in the California-based concrete manufacturer CarbonBuilt on a new line of low-carbon products called Reversa.

The product is said to offer carbon footprint reductions of up to 70% compared to the current industrial baseline. Data centers will ultimately become the recipients of the product innovations. This comes as the technology giant is in the midst of a year in which it anticipates spending $37 billion on the booming building typology.

Meta's Head of Clean Technology Innovation John DeAngelis said: “Meta is prioritizing a multifaceted approach to accelerating decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors like concrete. Our collaboration with CarbonBuilt will help them to deliver a step change reduction in emissions with a clear near-term path to scale. Accelerating the deployment of these types of solutions is critical for driving deep decarbonization and we hope this collaboration can help pave the path fo...

Take a look inside BIG’s brand new concrete HQ office in Copenhagen

2024-10-28T14:04:00-04:00

Images of BIG’s newly opened waterfront headquarters in Copenhagen have been made public after the relocation was completed earlier this spring.

The office known for its familial atmosphere and daily team meals worked on the project collaboratively through its proprietary integrated LEAPP approach (short for internal Landscape, Engineering, Architecture, Planning, and Product Design).

Image copyright Laurian Ghinitoiu

BIG founder Bjarke Ingels shared: "The idea behind LEAPP is an architecture practice as a renaissance, interdisciplinary body of people and knowledge. [...] Every single aspect of LEAPP has been involved in our HQ, including the planning, the product design, the very complex stacking of the concrete elements."

Image copyright Laurian Ghinitoiu

Inside the Piranesian-inspired minimal concrete structure that's located at the tip of a pier in Nordhavn, a sole rotated totem pole-like column made from six types of stone supports a stacked pastiche of open and solid architectu...

NEOM's The Line is getting its own $186M concrete factory

2024-10-14T10:00:00-04:00

Multiple outlets in the Gulf region report on a new $186 million series of ready-mix concrete plants that will augment construction efforts for NEOM and The Line. According to Gulf News, the facility is capable of producing more than 700,000 cubic feet per day.

The $500 billion linear city effort had taken a hit recently after officials admitted their intentions to drastically limit its first phase to just 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles). The Line's superstructure and sub-grade support system will receive most of the output from the plants. A separate source reported that work on its foundation pilings has already begun, with "nearly 1,000 out of over 30,000 piles placed so far."

Engineers develop bone-inspired concrete for stronger structures

2024-09-19T13:33:00-04:00

Inspired by the natural architecture of human bone, engineers at Princeton University have developed a new cement-based material that significantly enhances the toughness of traditional concrete. This innovative material resists cracking and sudden failure, making it a promising solution for more durable and long-lasting architectural structures.

The research, led by Professor Reza Moini and Ph.D. candidate Shashank Gupta from Princeton's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was published in Advanced Materials. The study introduces a unique design that incorporates cylindrical and elliptical tubes within the cement paste. Mimicking the structure of bone, specifically the tubular osteons found in human cortical bone, this design allows the concrete to trap and delay crack propagation. This “stepwise cracking” mechanism absorbs more energy, reducing the likelihood of sudden collapse.

Architecture of cortical bone. a) Schematic cross-section of human femur bone illustr...

This Swiss minimalist home was designed as a 'blank canvas' to reflect its Lake Geneva surroundings

2024-09-13T11:42:00-04:00

Geneva, Switzerland-based firm Leopold Banchini Architects has designed a sleek, minimalist home intended to reflect its alpine and waterside surroundings.

Image: Rory Gardiner

Located beside Lake Geneva, looking out at the Alps, Villa M was likened, by the architects, to the work of Swiss painter Ferdinant Hodler. His paintings often depicted mountains reflected in Swiss lakes.

Image: Rory Gardiner

As a reaction to its landscape, the home was built to stay as simple and humble as possible. Its long, plain façade is described as a blank canvas, which reflects into a water basin of the same length. Here, a singular long window opens onto a floating terrace that is of a similar size.

Image: Rory Gardiner

The building’s long rectangular plan, constrained by building regulations, is spread across three levels. A wooden spiral staircase connects the floors.

Image: Rory Gardiner

The ground floor living spaces mainly open out to the surroundings, whil...

Princeton researchers develop concrete 3D printing method inspired by ancient fish scales

2024-09-05T08:00:00-04:00

Researchers at Princeton University’s Engineering School have developed a method for 3D printing concrete with improved crack resistance. Taking inspiration from fish scales, the team led by assistant professor Reza Moini claims their design increases resistance to cracking by as much as 63% compared to conventional cast concrete.

Princeton’s method drew inspiration from the double-helical structures that form the scales of an ancient fish lineage named coelacanths. The resulting design sees concrete arranged into individual strands, with robotic 3D printing used to weakly connect each strand to its neighbor.

“The researchers used different design schemes to combine many stacks of strands into larger functional shapes, such as beams,” Princeton explains. “The design schemes rely on slightly changing the orientation of each stack to create a double-helical arrangement (two orthogonal layers twisted across the height) in the beams that is key to improving the material’s resistance to ...

German researchers discover carbon sequestering concrete additive made from cyanobacteria

2024-07-29T19:37:00-04:00

Researchers from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute have discovered a new bioconcrete solution made using cyanobacteria (formerly known as blue-green algae) that sequesters carbon through a process of photosynthesis. Their work for the “BioCarboBeton” project examined the potential of stromatolites to be used as an additive in traditional concrete mixtures, finding success after mimicking their natural binding processes by using a new technological method.

The project, which aims to scale up production for commercial uses, also found potential applications in insulation material, brick, formwork filling, and even mortar.

Take a look also at similar SOM and Drexel University-led material research for concrete and concrete alternatives that we published in the past year.

Coffee, concrete & bulldogs: Look inside this cavernous new café space from TOUCH

2024-07-25T15:51:00-04:00

Thailand is home to an increasing number of coffee drinkers, and there’s lots of interesting architecture to keep up with the rising demand. Today, we’ll highlight a new coffee shop in the country's third-largest city, Nakhon Ratchasima, called French Kitsch III. The concept blends material inspiration and creative spatial configuration together with form.

Photo: Metipat Prommomate

Bangkok-based TOUCH Architect designed the structure with a total floor area of 2,900 square feet using concrete as its main building material, leaving behind an instantly “strong, memorable” image upon its opening last year. The team had imagined a wedding of kitsch and their client's love for French bulldogs in the form of architecture. What it produced, in the end, enhances the brand identity while creating a retail experience that's easy and sure to lure customers back for another sip.

Photo: Metipat Prommomate

The team of four architectural designers explains their work: “By us...

Architects may soon get easier access to low-carbon construction materials, following $160M EPA grant initiative

2024-07-19T16:04:00-04:00

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a new round of grants worth nearly $160 million to support the clean manufacturing of domestically produced construction materials.

The funds are being distributed to 38 entities, including the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas at Austin, and nine other institutions of higher learning. Holcim’s U.S. operation, the American Wood Council, the Hemp Building Institute, and the International Living Future Institute are also included on the list of grantees, among others. The grants range up to $10 million in total.

The grants are meant to support the Biden Administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, whose task force issued first recommendations for low-carbon construction materials in September 2022. They will be used by each entity in order to develop Environmental Product Declarations (or EPDs), a data-driven consumer label that helps architects make decisions o...

Princeton University researchers develop tougher cement inspired by shells

2024-06-13T14:48:00-04:00

Engineers at Princeton University have developed a new cement composite, inspired by the material found within certain shells, that is 17 times more crack-resistant than standard cement and 19 times more able to stretch and deform without breaking.

The research team was led by Reza Moini, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. In a recently published article in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the team reported that creating alternating layers of tabulated cement paste and thin polymer can significantly increase the material’s durability.

Often looking towards biology for inspiration in their work on building materials, the researchers were drawn to a natural material called nacre, also known as mother of pearl. The material is produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer, and it is also the material that pearls are made of. According to the researchers, nacre consists of a hard mineral called aragonite, which are glued together by a soft bio...

Álvaro Siza completes sculptural extension to Porto monastery

2024-05-09T17:24:00-04:00

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Álvaro Siza has completed an extension to the Monastery of Leça do Balio outside Porto, Portugal.

The recently renovated monastery will now serve as the headquarters for the Livraria Lello Foundation, offering a space for “exhibitions that will champion literacy and critical thinking.”

Photo: Alexandre Delmar

Located near Siza’s hometown of Matosinhos, the scheme draws on the architect’s early childhood dreams of being a sculptor. Among the contributions by Siza to the extension is a stand-alone sculpture ‘Viandante’ which acts as a “poetic tribute to the pilgrim’s journey, offering a serene space for visitors to reflect and forge deeper connections.”

Photo: Alexandre Delmar

The extension, due to open on June 22, follows weeks after Siza's self-named Serralves Museum expansion in Porto opened to the public. The 45,000-square-foot expansion is the fifth building designed by Siza for the Serralves Foundation after the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Ar...

Brooklyn group opposes new Tony Hawk-backed skatepark: 'Pouring concrete is Stone Age'

2024-04-08T11:58:00-04:00

The city has construction plans for Mount Prospect Park, once the site of a lookout station for George Washington’s army. About 40,000 square feet of the 7.79-acre park are to be turned into one of the largest skateboarding spots on the East Coast. Some nearby residents are fighting the plan. [...] They say the poured-concrete skateboarding facility would take up precious green space in a city that does not have enough of it.

A total of four skatepark designs are scheduled to be built in the Bronx and Brooklyn, courtesy of The Skatepark Project (or TSP). Costs for a new park at the contested Brooklyn location are about $100,000.

The Mount Prospect Park location calls for 40,000 square feet worth of concrete to be poured, leading to local protests recently. Hayley Gorenberg of the group Friends of Mount Prospect Park told the Times, “Paving green space isn’t acceptable to the community, and it’s not the way for New York City to look forward to a more resilient future. It’s backwards thinking.”

Tony Hawk is also involved in Peterson Rich Office and OSD’s new adaptive reuse design for the Shepherd Gallery and Art Center in Detroit.

Swedish companies unveil low-carbon wall system 60% lighter than traditional concrete

2024-03-15T12:45:00-04:00

A group of materials companies in Sweden has collaborated on a hybrid wall element with a lower carbon footprint than conventional concrete wall elements.

The joint venture, comprising concrete element manufacturer Heidelberg Materials Preca and engineered timber manufacturer Metsä Wood, is now rolling out the element for live construction projects.

Image credit: Heidelberg Materials Preca / Metsä Wood

The wall consists of a facade element in a sandwich construction with an outer layer made of 'climate-improved' concrete, intermediate insulation, and a load-bearing inner panel made of strong, material-efficient laminated veneer lumber. According to the group, the wall module has approximately 30–50% less of a climate impact than an equivalent traditional concrete wall while also being 60% lighter.

Image credit: Heidelberg Materials Preca / Metsä Wood

To test the wall, the team constructed a home using the elements. The structure was equipped with moisture sensors to monitor the wall ...

Construction starts at SOM-designed 400 Lake Shore Drive replacement in Chicago

2024-03-05T14:24:00-05:00

The much-publicized void left behind in the wake of Santiago Calatrava’s failed Chicago Spire proposal is finally being attended to, as now the Chicago Sun-Times and other outlets are reporting on developer Related Midwest’s start of construction for the SOM-designed replacement at 400 Lake Shore Drive.

The 76-foot hole was partially filled by the 12-hour concrete pour required for the mat foundation for the two-tower scheme that will yield 1,100 apartments and the new DuSable Park at the three-acre site by Q3 2027.

Video showing the 12-hour mat foundation pour, which included 250 concrete trucks delivering 9 million pounds of concrete. Video courtesy Related Midwest

This update comes after caisson permits for the project were granted in December. David Childs is responsible for the design, which references Chicago's vernacular masonry and terra cotta architecture in two faceted 765- and 857-foot forms. Urbanize Chicago reports there to be a total of nine million tons of concrete...

America's first 3D printed fire-resistant ADU concept is under construction in Southern California

2024-02-29T11:57:00-05:00

A new 3D printed ADU prototype made of concrete and other fire-resistant materials is under construction as part of a demonstration taking place this month in Walnut, California.

The first-of-its-kind project was born of a collaboration between the fire departments of both Walnut and Los Angeles. A local couple volunteered to give the host the design for general contractor Builtech Construction Group in the interests of applying lessons valuable for disaster prevention at a time when an influx of peri-urbanization has left the state more susceptible to fire-damaged structures than ever before.

Image courtesy RIC Technology

The unit is both non-combustible and fire-resistant and is being constructed using contractor RIC Technology’s robotic 3D printer.

Construction takes only 20 days from the start of the printing process to finish after the foundation has been laid. It yields a total of 1,200 square feet of space with 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The design works by eliminating any...

Production begins on the world’s tallest 3D printed structure

2024-02-16T11:40:00-05:00

Production has begun on a 3D printed tower in Switzerland, which is expected to be the tallest structure of its kind in the world. Named the ‘Tor Alva’ or ‘White Tower,’ the project is currently being fabricated at ETH Zurich, where the first eight columns of the tower’s lower floor commenced 3D printing in February.

Image credit: Hansmeyer/Dillenburger

The columns’ fabrication sees a robot extrude the concrete in 8mm-high layered print paths. In a departure from traditional concrete construction, the 3D printing process means formwork is no longer required, freeing new avenues for the team to experiment with shapes, surface details, and cavities. The tower will also be the first instance of printed concrete being used in a fully structural manner, with steel reinforcement inserted during the robotic production process.

Image credit: R. Masallam

The tower will be constructed in the remote Swiss Alps village of Mulegns, where it will host music and theater performances. At 98 feet (nea...

Take an inside look at the form-making process for LACMA's new David Geffen Galleries

2024-02-06T12:15:00-05:00

LACMA’s Unframed blog recently profiled the work of contractor Clark Construction to build the concrete structure for the Peter Zumthor-designed $750 million new David Geffen Galleries extension. The concrete will be left untreated to match its architect’s long-established aesthetic and elevate the "hand of the craftsman."

Work will now commence on the installation of the 347,500-square-foot gallery’s interior walls, plus its exterior facade glazing, MEP systems, and roof-level horizontal decks.

"The building has no columns!," Chris Bell, the project executive for Clark Construction, shared with Unframed. "Instead, there are seven 30-foot-tall park-level pavilions that support the entire exhibition space. That's three football fields long with supporting cantilevers that hold people, glass, artwork — cantilevers that are 60 feet long. Being able to achieve and balance the structural and architectural requirements, it's a feat unto itself."

The update comes after LACMA celebrated t...

Art performance at Tadao Ando's concrete MPavilion features grayscale gelato

2024-01-26T17:26:00-05:00

An exciting and tasty art performance has taken shape at the Tadao Ando-designed MPavilion in Melbourne, Australia.

It comes in the form of grayscale gelato, created by Brazilian artist João Loureiro in collaboration with local creamery Piccolina Gelateria. The treat is available in six different flavors, each a different shade of gray ranging from light gray to nearly black. No flavors are labeled, stimulating a unique and surprising sensory experience with pavilion visitors during the Australian summer months.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Piccolina Gelateria (@piccolinagelateria)

The gelato colors mirror the pavilion’s aesthetic, which comprises enclosed concrete perimeter walls and an aluminum-clad, single-column main structure and roof.

Related: Tadao Ando's MPavilion opens in Melbourne. Image: Beatrice Eckermann

As stated by MPavilion, "...this work questions our sense of comfort and forces us to rethink associations that have been rooted in u...

Holcim and Zaha Hadid Architects team debuts second 3D printed concrete bridge concept

2024-01-14T08:00:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has released details of a second collaborative effort with Holcim on a 3D printed bridge concept that was first debuted as part of the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale.

The new ten-ton Phoenix design offers an evolution of the innovations seen in the previous Striatus bridge, the original blocks of which the team was able to recycle in the second iteration.

Image: Vincent Delesvaux

For the project, Holcim was able to deliver Phoenix with a 25% overall reduction in CO2 footprint compared to its earlier counterpart, thanks to the use of an updated ECOCycle circular technology and a special proprietary concrete ink that was also developed by the company. The construction was completed recently in Lyon, France, on the grounds of Holcim’s Innovation Hub. Its proponents are now citing it as a milestone for the design industry’s quest to develop low-carbon structural solutions at different scales.

Image: Holcim

Shajay Bhooshan, head of Zaha Hadid Architects' Computati...

Zooco creates ‘Brutalism over the sea’ with Spanish restaurant inside renovated 1970s concrete structure

2024-01-11T13:55:00-05:00

Madrid-based studio Zooco has completed an extensive renovation and extension of a 1970s concrete structure in Santander, Spain. The Cantabrian Maritime Museum restaurant has been constructed inside an architectural complex that also includes an Oceanographic Center designed by Vicente Roig Forner and Ángel Hernández Morales, built between 1975 and 1978.

Image credit: David Zarzoso

The original concrete structure sees two square forms connected by a canopy. The interior spans three floors with a central courtyard covered by a vault of paraboloid membranes, while a 2003 renovation and extension saw the addition of a pyramid-form aluminum structure to the western facade and roof.

Image credit: David Zarzoso

For their 2023 overhaul of the scheme, Zooco inserted a new space on the second floor to house a restaurant and terrace. To facilitate the restaurant, a new volume was constructed to resolve issues with the roof and facade, while ...

Former Lakers favorite Rick Fox now has carbon-neutral concrete company aimed at building change

2024-01-05T18:36:00-05:00

His pitch is pretty straightforward. In a world where companies—including construction companies and their clients—are trying to gloss their climate credentials, and where countries have made commitments to hit carbon reduction targets, why wouldn’t you shift wholesale to carbon-neutral concrete? The answer, Fox says, is simply inertia. “Why would they change what’s working for them? They’ve been burning rocks for 200 years.”

The company Fox co-founded with an architect named Sam Marshall, Partanna, has been active since 2018 in using its product, which was developed with the help of materials science researchers using a mixture of brine taken from desalination plants and slag. Arizona State University's Dwarak Ravikumar says an outside review of the data that pertains to its environmental footprints and scalability is needed, according to another recent profile in The Verge.

Still, Fox's ambits are admirable for someone of his position and fame. He says Partanna has a plan to construct one thousand homes in the country. Their product can also be used in coral reef development. "The business plans to build and operate facilities around the world, initially in key territories where it has long-term offtake agreements with customers, including The Bahamas, the Middle East, and the United States," their website reads.

Additional details about the year-old operation can be found here.

...

Minimalist concrete apartments fill a narrow site in Tokyo, designed by Ryuichi Sasaki Architecture

2024-01-05T12:30:00-05:00

Tokyo-based Ryuichi Sasaki Architecture has completed a residential scheme in the western part of the Japanese capital defined by an exposed concrete structure on a constrained site. According to the designers, the three-unit scheme “emphasizes maximal utilization of natural energy and pursues comfortable livability.”

Image credit: BAUHAUS NEO

Designed in collaboration with Kiz Architects and Hidetaka Gonai/Escenario, and completed in the winter of 2022, the project measures only 15 feet wide and 46 feet deep. Responding to the site’s narrow constraints, the scheme sees a single staircase linking four levels, “utilizing the space efficiently to ensure ample living areas.”

Image credit: BAUHAUS NEO

Image credit: Sherpa

The staircase is visually integrated into the living spaces, serving as both functional steps and display storage. In addition, the top floor incorporates a workspace counter atop the staircase to facilitate remote working for residents. Elsewhere...

Drexel team uses bacteria to create self-healing concrete

2023-12-29T11:40:00-05:00

A team from Drexel University has published their research into a self-healing system for concrete. The team, operating in the University’s College of Engineering, embedded bacteria in their concrete system that, when activated by water, can repair cracks in the concrete.

Named ‘BioFiber,’ the Drexel system sees a polymer fiber encased in a bacteria-laden hydrogel and a protective, damage-responsive shell. A grid of BioFibers embedded in a concrete structure can improve the system’s durability, prevent cracks from growing, and enable self-healing, according to the research published in the journal Construction and Building Materials.

The team was inspired by the ability of human skin tissue to self-heal, and the ability of vascular systems to help organisms heal their own wounds. The team identified a strain of Lysinibacillus sphaericus bacteria as a bio-healing agent for the fiber, which is found in soil and can produce a stone-like material capable of healing exposed cracks in con...

As the UK’s Raac problems grow, concerned educators complain of a stalled government response

2023-12-27T18:00:00-05:00

The number of schools with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), which the Health and Safety Executive has said is now 'life expired' and could collapse 'with little or no warning,' has been steadily rising since the government announced the sudden closure of more than 100 schools at the end of August, just days before the start of the new academic year.

There are now over 230 schools and colleges listed on the government’s register of buildings under consideration for Raac replacement and repair. The challenge is twofold at present, with contractors' inability to hasten repairs before 2026 being made worse by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's cuts to the rebuilding program just weeks after it was initiated.

No one knows exactly what will happen to the endangered schools in the interim. An anonymous headteacher shared with The Guardian, “The best result would be rebuilding as we have so many problems, but actually we just need some certainty. Parents like shiny new buildings, and Raac definitely isn’t helping our reputation.”

The country's National Audit Office estimates the cost of repairs to be £2.2 billion (or about $2.81 billion USD) annually at present.

Omer Arbel balances nature and form in this award-winning Canadian Pacific Northwest house

2023-12-01T18:42:00-05:00

Vancouver-based Omer Arbel Office (OAO) has completed work on their award-winning project 75.9, a new construction of a private home located adjacent to a hayfield in rural British Columbia.

The design scheme won in the 'Future Project House' category at the 2019 World Architecture Festival.

Image courtesy Omer Arbel Office (OAO)

The complex was completed this year at an undisclosed cost and features a monumental column resembling a lily pad, produced via a proprietary concrete pouring method. A demonstration column had to be constructed on the site in order to get the clients' final approval. The result is an aesthetically pleasing four-volume arrangement recovered by the landscape that blends process and material into a singular modern and bucolic harmony.

Image courtesy Omer Arbel Office (OAO)

“For 15 years, we’ve developed a method of working with materials at the scale of an object,” Arbel says of his...

UK museums report new Raac concrete investigations as safety concerns spread

2023-11-09T14:01:00-05:00

The issue of unsafe concrete panels in the aging structures in the UK is affecting museums and cultural institutions who now report conducting their own building safety investigations after a spate of school closures linked to the issue first stirred controversy in August.

A report compiled by The Art Newspaper details efforts on the part of the Southbank Centre, Royal Academy of Arts, and others to document and deinstall reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (or Raac) panels that have been proven to be susceptible to water damage and structural failures.

No use of the materials had been discovered in the Barbican Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, or newly renovated National Galleries Scotland, all four institutions independently confirmed.

Twentieth Century Society Director Catherine Croft told the publication: “There is an urgent need to understand where Raac was used, to examine whether or not it is now failing in each case, and then work out how best to repa...

New York to introduce ‘first-in-the-nation’ mandate for concrete emissions

2023-09-26T12:21:00-04:00

New York State has announced the adoption of a ‘Buy Clean Concrete’ mandate for state agencies, described by Governor Hochul’s office as a “first-in-the-nation” commitment to environmental sustainability. The plan contains mandatory rules for establishing emissions limits on concrete used in state-funded public building and transportation projects.

Starting from January 1, 2025, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) must be submitted for all concrete mixes used in qualifying state construction projects and must demonstrate that they achieve an environmental impact below the limits set by the state. The state hopes such EPDs will “provide transparency and a more robust accounting of a concrete mix’s greenhouse gas emissions and enable state agencies and other stakeholders to make more informed choices in reducing emissions.”

The measure will apply to state agency contracts exceeding $1 million that involve the use of more than 50 cubic yards of concrete. Exceptions are provided f...

Hike in fuel costs drives first increase in construction input prices in six months

2023-09-18T08:00:00-04:00

Construction input prices ticked up 1.5% in August, the first increase in six months, due to a surge in energy costs, according to a new Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data released Thursday.

These readings come as a shock as the flattening of costs suggested that inflation was cooling. According to a separate analysis from the Associated General Contractors of America, a major increase in diesel fuel costs in August drove the overall increase in materials prices. The producer price index jumped 34.6% last month, which is the largest one-month hike since 1990. In addition, other construction materials such as concrete and switchgear also experienced price increases.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) chief economist Anirban Basu expects future readings to demonstrate excess inflation as labor costs continue to rise, aggressive spending continues, oil-producing nations limit output, and global supply chains reorganize.

Switzerland releases postal stamp honoring concrete architecture

2023-09-01T11:13:00-04:00

Switzerland's postal service Swiss Post has released a new concrete-inspired stamp. The ‘Art in Architecture’ stamp is the third edition of a series launched by the postal service in 2020, which seeks to “reflect Swiss Post’s commitment to art.”

The stamp follows the previous two editions in incorporating their subject’s material in the stamp itself. Made using cement pigments, the latest stamp holds an ultra-matte finish to give the depicted concrete wall a “tactile dimension.”

Image credit: Swiss Post

“This is a material that plays an important role in the history of architecture,” Swiss Post explains. “Concrete helped art, previously seen by most people as decorative, to attain its independence as an art form. As a stamp design, the symbolic concrete wall represents an artistic pillar that characterizes Swiss Post buildings throughout Switzerland.”

The wider project derives from an initiative that began in Switzerland after the Second World War which said that one percent of publi...

Tadao Ando opens ‘Space of Light’ pavilion in South Korea

2023-08-28T17:21:00-04:00

Tadao Ando has shared photos of his studio's new Space of Light meditative pavilion at the Museum SAN in Wonju, South Korea.

The second of two pavilions designed for the ten-year-old rural arts institution opened earlier this month. It is the third structure on the Ando-designed campus in Gangwon Province and coincides with the museum's exhibition of his youthful early designs — a tourist draw that's recently been extended for another three months owing to the self-taught Pritzker winner's tremendous popularity.

Image courtesy Museum SAN

The object of this design, Ando says, is to emulsify nature into the user’s experience, incorporating light into the otherwise murky auspices of the concrete-walled pavilion’s interior space uninterrupted in a way that recalls the philosophies embodied in his breakout 1989 Church of Light in Osaka, which features a nearly identical narrow cross opening in its façade.

Image courtesy Museum SAN

Offering a demarcation from its domed 2019 predecessor, wh...

Archinect - News

Meta announces investment in low-carbon concrete production plants

Take a look inside BIG’s brand new concrete HQ office in Copenhagen

NEOM's The Line is getting its own $186M concrete factory

Engineers develop bone-inspired concrete for stronger structures

This Swiss minimalist home was designed as a 'blank canvas' to reflect its Lake Geneva surroundings

Princeton researchers develop concrete 3D printing method inspired by ancient fish scales

German researchers discover carbon sequestering concrete additive made from cyanobacteria

Coffee, concrete & bulldogs: Look inside this cavernous new café space from TOUCH

Architects may soon get easier access to low-carbon​ construction materials, following $160M EPA grant initiative

Princeton University researchers develop tougher cement inspired by shells

Álvaro Siza completes sculptural extension to Porto monastery

Brooklyn group opposes new Tony Hawk-backed skatepark: 'Pouring concrete is Stone Age'

Swedish companies unveil low-carbon wall system 60% lighter than traditional concrete

Construction starts at SOM-designed 400 Lake Shore Drive replacement in Chicago

America's first 3D printed fire-resistant ADU concept is under construction in Southern California

Production begins on the world’s tallest 3D printed structure

Take an inside look at the form-making process for LACMA's new David Geffen Galleries

Art performance at Tadao Ando's concrete MPavilion features grayscale gelato

Holcim and Zaha Hadid Architects team debuts second 3D printed concrete bridge concept

Zooco creates ‘Brutalism over the sea’ with Spanish restaurant inside renovated 1970s concrete structure

Former Lakers favorite Rick Fox now has carbon-neutral concrete company aimed at building change

Minimalist concrete apartments fill a narrow site in Tokyo, designed by Ryuichi Sasaki Architecture

Drexel team uses bacteria to create self-healing concrete

As the UK’s Raac problems grow, concerned educators complain of a stalled government response

Omer Arbel balances nature and form in this award-winning Canadian Pacific Northwest house

UK museums report new Raac concrete investigations as safety concerns spread

New York to introduce ‘first-in-the-nation’ mandate for concrete emissions

Hike in fuel costs drives first increase in construction input prices in six months

Switzerland releases postal stamp honoring concrete architecture

Tadao Ando opens ‘Space of Light’ pavilion in South Korea

Architects may soon get easier access to low-carbon construction materials, following $160M EPA grant initiative