Archinect

Inventronics Tonglu Production Factory (Phase1) by GLA Design by GLA Design

2024-11-20T22:33:00-05:00

Multilayer Expression of Brick Painting Experiment

Another Interpretation of Contemporary Industrial Projects: Inventronics Tonglu Production Factory (Phase1)

01 Binary Sites and the Strategy of Appearing and Disappearing

The Inventronics Tonglu LED driver production base is located among the beautiful landscapes of the Fuchun Mountains depicted in Huang Gongwang’s Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains. The land is adjacent to the No. 320 national highway linearly and is approximately 4 kilometers away from the main urban area of Tonglu. The site was originally a suburban village and farmland. Still, in recent years, with the urbanization process, the interior and exterior of the site have presented two different looks – the neat and uniformed industrial park in development beyond the red line and the quite rustic and primitive fish ponds, tea mountains and other farming civilizations within the site form a sharp contrast.

The Phase I cluster of the project has been completed and put...

‘Staggering’ discrimination and sexual misconduct levels in the UK architecture profession, ARB study finds

2024-11-20T19:01:00-05:00

The UK’s Architects Registration Board (ARB) has published research finding widespread discrimination and sexual misconduct within the UK architecture profession. The study, resulting from a survey of almost 900 individuals, reveals that architecture professionals experience higher rates of discrimination and sexual misconduct compared to other sectors such as academia and healthcare.

According to the research, over a third of all professionals working in architecture have experienced insults, stereotypes, or jokes relating to protected characteristics. One in four female professionals has experienced unwelcome sexual advances, while a third of professionals would not feel confident raising concerns if they experienced or observed misconduct.

On the specific topic of misconduct in the profession, 41% of respondents have experienced bullying while 33% have experienced discrimination. 10% have experienced sexual misconduct. In addition, 38% have experienced insults, stereotypes, or ...

RIBA's House of Architecture plans become clearer with updated Benedetti proposal

2024-11-20T18:05:00-05:00

Plans for the upcoming restoration of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 66 Portland Place headquarters in London have become clearer with the release of an updated proposal detailing the scope of work on the new House of Architecture project.

Benedetti Architects will be leading the project, which was won in 2022 after a short competition. The estimated £58.8 million (about $74.3 million USD) effort will enable full accessibility throughout all 28 levels of the 90-year-old Art Deco building while removing extant fossil fuel-dependent systems to support a push toward net zero. The original George Grey Wornum design has been protected under a historic Grade II* listing since 1970.

Image courtesy Benedetti Architects/RIBA

RIBA says: "[The] House of Architecture brings together three critical areas of our work that need investment, and will deliver on improvements that are fundamental to RIBA’s ongoing mission."

The project adds a new café while reinstating the building’s ...

Harvard GSD online survey seeks architecture graduate visa holders to create snapshot of professional practice

2024-11-20T15:10:00-05:00

This semester, a group of students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design is taking a survey of U.S. architecture graduate visa holders in the workplace for a research project that's part of their coursework for assistant professor Jacob Reidel's "Frameworks of Practice" seminar.

They are inviting participants to answer a series of anonymous questions related to their experience as workplace visa holders. The aim, they say, is to produce a snapshot of how immigration status affects both entry-level career choices for architecture graduates and long-term career planning.

The students share: "The original idea came from conversations with peers about how, in the field of architecture, visa status makes workers feel like they are in a precarious position and our preliminary qualitative interviews have supported this. We hope that this research can draw attention to the situation and offer both workers and employers new statistics to work towards compassionate decision-making in offic...

AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index remains flat in October, ending 20-month streak of declines

2024-11-20T12:31:00-05:00

The new AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) for the month of October has recorded a flat (50.3) reading, ending its 20-month streak of consecutive declines. This score indicates a balance between the number of firms experiencing a decrease in billings and those seeing an increase, according to the AIA. Inquiries into new projects in October also picked up to their highest level in six months.

"Billings finally stabilized this month, and firms are feeling more optimistic about revenue projections for 2025," said the AIA's Chief Economist, Kermit Baker. "Overall, 41 percent of responding firm leaders expect to see net revenue growth from 2024 to 2025, with 32 percent projecting growth in the 5 percent to 9 percent range."

October ABI Highlights

Regional averages: Northeast (45.6); South (52.1); Midwest (46.9); West (47.6)
Sector index breakdown: institutional (50.5); multifamily residential (45.6); commercial/industrial (47.0); mixed practice (48.0)
Project inquiries index: 54...

LBlack House by M2 Senos

2024-11-20T12:16:00-05:00

A short distance from Porto's metro line, we find a periphery where the past and present intertwine. In this region, ancient centers coexist with recent housing developments, whose designs, often anonymous, prioritize the construction of single-family homes. Still a waiting territory, surprisingly, agricultural fields persist, resisting the urban transformations that slowly shape the surrounding landscape. The exercise was pre-defined: a regular plot with an L-shaped layout, protected by two floors to the north, creating a sunny courtyard. It would be necessary to give it materiality and robustness, resolve the significant differences in levels with the neighboring plots, and fundamentally establish a harmonious relationship with the street, countering the idea that only large walls, which hide everything, guarantee privacy. Thus, while the entire house opens up to the courtyard with large openings directly connected to the outside, imperceptible from the street, it exposes itself t...

TODD and Snøhetta reveal plan for Belfast Stories rejuvenation after winning major competition

2024-11-20T11:00:00-05:00

A new design scheme from Snøhetta and led by the local firm TODD Architects in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been revealed after the firm won an international competition to transform a 5,000-square-meter (54,000 sq. ft.) site near the city’s historic center in November 2023.

Belfast Stories is the lead project featured in the £850 million ($1.07 billion USD) Belfast Region City Deal from 2018. Snøhetta will be working locally to deliver a new landmark destination that's born out of a beloved Art Deco former Bank of Ireland building from 1931.

Have an expertise in building codes? This role is for you

2024-11-20T10:45:00-05:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Visualization Designer at Rafael Viñoly Architects, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Compliance Director at AKAM.

The role, based in New York City, calls for an individual who will “keep their finger on the pulse of regulatory changes” pertaining to properties managed by the company. Among the core functions overseen in the role are “inspections, attestations, violations, permits, renewals and all other time-sensitive matters pertaining to a growing residential real estate portfolio.”

Related on Archinect: New York City could soon mandate air conditioning in all residential buildings. Image: Spencer Means/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

Why the role interests us

The open role at AKAM offers us the opportunity to explore some of the significant developments pertaining to permits and building codes that our editorial has reported on in recent months. Last month, ...

WHY Architecture reveals Yoshimoto Pavilion for Expo 2025

2024-11-20T10:37:00-05:00

WHY Architecture has shared the first images of its design for the Yoshimoto Pavilion as part of the upcoming Expo 2025 Osaka, which takes place from April 13th to October 13th next year. The spherical waraii myraii (or 'a smiling future') design will host a cultural exchange based around a concept of "expanding new possibilities of laughter for a true 'Future Society For Our Lives.'" We recently featured the firm's current need for an experienced Project Architect in Culver City, CA in a roundup of domestic employment opportunities. WHY is also recently behind the Louvre's planned expansion of its Byzantine and Eastern Christian Art galleries for 2027.

New skateable furniture adds personal benefits a sense of 'pure gnar' to any office

2024-11-19T19:52:00-05:00

Believing "anytime is the right time to take a Skate Break," the Ontario-based designers known as the Zenga Bros. have produced what could be the ultimate furniture addition to any shred happy office space looking to add an eccentric touch.

Their new product line is aptly named 'Skate Brake' and fabricated by Christian and Benny Huizenga to incorporate different (and difficult) skating configurations that provoke a sense of "pure gnar."

Photo by Gordon Nicholas

The series consists of three different ramps (a desk, two modernist style lounge chairs, and a six-foot-tall lamp), a boardroom table, barrier bench, and a 11’x5’x8’ "Ramper Camper" micro house/electric truck complete with a wood stove and grindable bookshelf ledge.

Image courtesy Gordon Nicholas

"Skate Break is a project extracted straight from the dream realm by the Zenga Bros. and brought to reality through their craftsmanship. I’ve never had so much fun skating furniture," friend and former Olympic skateboarding competitor...

'Schindler Space Architect' documentary premieres in Los Angeles

2024-11-19T16:20:00-05:00

Here's a heads-up for L.A.-based fans of Rudolph Schindler. Do not miss tonight’s premiere screening of Valentina Ganeva’s new documentary Schindler Space Architect at 7:30 p.m. in Beverly Hills.

Ganeva recently spoke to KCRW about some of its insights, including the overlooked feminist design considerations present in the Schindler House on North Kings Road. Narrated by Meryl Streep and Udo Kier, the film features commentary from Steven Holl, Ray Kappe, Thom Mayne, and Frank Gehry, among others. Ganeva says their critique of Schindler's "spirit of innovation" is still important for today's architects to imbibe. The ticketed screening takes place at the Writers Guild Theatre on 135 S. Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills and will be followed shortly afterward by a Q&A.

Meet NYIT School of Architecture & Design's New Faculty Members

2024-11-19T15:00:00-05:00

The School of Architecture and Design at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), with campuses in New York City and Old Westbury, Long Island, delivers a technology-driven, design-focused education across its Architecture, Interior Design, and Digital Art & Design programs.

As part of Archinect's School Partners initiative, the spotlight turns to eighteen distinguished faculty members and their objectives for advancing academic and professional excellence in the 2024/25 academic year.

Populous' new Riyadh soccer stadium symbolizes a germinating seed emerging from the earth

2024-11-19T14:19:00-05:00

A new stadium design from Populous for what will become one of the world’s largest sporting venues, the future King Salman Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been unveiled ahead of the country’s turn as host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Fans will have to wait until 2029 to see the full vision for the stadium and master plan realized. When it does come to fruition, the stadium design, which is to be located in one of the city’s northern precincts, will be approximately square feet and have a capacity for 92,000 people. An adjacent area with separate athletics facilities will join alongside it in the master plan, pollinating the spaces next to King Abdulaziz Park as though germinating seeds meant to represent the growth of sports within the country.

Image courtesy of Populous

Amenities inside the stadium include a Royal Box, hospitality skyboxes and lounges, 300 'VVIP' seats, and 2,200 VIP seats, plus an array of internal screens, indoor gardens, and a rooftop walking path that offers...

Cutler Anderson, NAC, CTK, and Pratt Institute are Archinect Jobs' latest featured employers

2024-11-19T13:21:00-05:00

Look below for Archinect's latest curated selection of architecture and design firms currently hiring on Archinect Jobs. This week's featured employer highlight includes openings in New York City/Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Bainbridge Island, Washington.

For even more opportunities, visit the Archinect job board and explore our active community of job seekers, firms, and schools.

Bainbridge Island, Washington-based firm Cutler Anderson Architects is looking to add an Intermediate Architect / Designer with a minimum of four to five years of post-graduate experience to its office. Qualified candidates must be proficient with ArchiCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and hand drawing. One should also possess a strong technical knowledge of conceptual design, building planning and detailing, construction documentation, and construction administration.

Newberg Residence by Cutler Anderson Architects. Photo: Jeremy Bittermann

In Los Angeles, NAC Architecture is hiring for a Health...

LA’s cramped rezoning plan still short of housing goals says UCLA study

2024-11-19T11:09:00-05:00

Under state laws designed to remedy a housing shortage, the city has to set aside land for the construction of 250,000 more homes than allowed through existing zoning rules. Measures under consideration by a City Council committee are likely to satisfy the state requirements, the UCLA analysis found. But when analyzing the likelihood of what developers would actually build, researchers found the number of new homes would be far lower.

The L.A. City Council is expected to vote later this afternoon to approve the rezoning measure. The report's co-author Shane Phillips of the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies says the city would be better served if its generous slate of incentives was expanded to cover the remaining 72% of neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family houses. Others have labeled this plan as exclusionary for that reason. Planners face a state mandate to find space for at least 250,000 new housing units by mid-February.

AR House Awards shortlist showcases 15 homes that stand out by breaking the mold

2024-11-19T11:07:00-05:00

The Architectural Review has unveiled its shortlist of 15 residential projects from around the world for the 2024 AR House Awards. Launched in 2010, the competition recognizes originality and excellence in the design of homes.

This year’s judging panel includes Stella Daoutim, co-founder of Architecture Research Athens, who was commended in the 2021 AR House Awards for Weekend House on Salamis Island; Bangkok Project Studio founder Boonserm Premthada, whose home and office was shortlisted in the 2023 AR House Awards; and Mike Tonkin, co-founder of Tonkin Liu.

“The judges were interested in houses that broke the mold, with emphasis placed on rigorous plans that could offer surprise. Architectural quality was appreciated for distinguishing itself from ‘ordinary surroundings’, with extensions and renovations rewarded for retaining the legibility of existing structures. Most importantly, the judges asked ‘Would I like to wake up in this house?’”

The winner and commended projects will be...

Three firms selected to overhaul galleries at the Toledo Museum of Art for 2027

2024-11-19T10:05:00-05:00

Michael Maltzan Architecture, Studio Zewde, and Once–Future Office have been named as the team behind a major upcoming reinstallation of the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) in Ohio. The work will enable a chronological journey through its newly reinterpreted collection brought forth by a curatorial team that has quadrupled in size since 2020. The design team has been active in the past year gauging community feedback and conducting outreach surveys as per the announcement.

Plans will be unveiled in 2025, followed by the start of construction later in the year towards a 2027 completion. The six-building, 40-acre campus includes Frank Gehry’s Center for the Visual Arts (CVA) and SANAA’s Glass Pavilion from 2006. Michael Maltzan says: "By integrating diverse media and technology and prioritizing inclusivity, we aim to create a transformative visitor experience that can serve as a model for cultural institutions worldwide."

Image rendering courtesy Toledo Museum of Art

Image rendering courtes...

Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio wins Times Square’s 17th Love & Design Competition with oyster cage installation

2024-11-19T09:07:00-05:00

Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio has been announced as the winner of the 17th annual Love & Design Competition by Times Square Arts. Their installation, Love Ever After, will be unveiled in February 2025 in collaboration with The World Around and the Billion Oyster Project. The public art piece “aims to bring love, sustainability, and environmental awareness to New York City for the season of love.”

Valley Community, Guangzhou Ji Yun Yao Resort by line+

2024-11-18T19:00:00-05:00

"Our goal is not to ‘save’ the countryside but to reimagine it in a form that resonates with contemporary life. By doing so, we restore its core identity as a home place of sanctuary and spiritual solace." —Meng Fanhao

Guided by the philosophy of "Retreat to Nature, Return to Community," line+ Co-Founder and Principal Architect Meng Fanhao led the team in creating Ji Yun Yao Resort. Rooted in a thorough analysis of the terraced landscape and a nuanced understanding of Hakka cultural heritage, this project reconstructs a spiritual retreat, offering a secluded sanctuary far removed from urban life. It provides visitors with an immersive experience that fosters a deep reconnection with nature and an intrinsic sense of homecoming. In this setting, the countryside evolves beyond a nostalgic memory, embodying instead a seamless continuation and revival of contemporary living.

01
Urban-Rural Flow:
The Revival of Rural Idealism

The countryside, as the bedrock of Chinese cultural and ethical ...

Cascades Academy of Central Oregon by Hennebery Eddy Architects

2024-11-18T18:59:00-05:00

Hennebery Eddy worked with Cascades Academy of Central Oregon on programming, master planning, fundraising, and design for their new K-12 campus. Completed in two phases, the 52,000-square-foot, three-building campus is a compelling physical space that inspires learning—one in which the outside and inside learning environments are seamlessly connected. Simple, rational building forms are oriented to gather natural light. The dramatic natural features of the property provide beautiful outdoor classrooms ideal for experiential learning programs. The site’s rock-lined canyon is treated with reverence, with the school set back from its edge so as to not dominate it.

Site specific energy reduction strategies included: relying on the site to reduce building energy use, a horizontal geo-exchange heat pump system provides 50% of heating and all cooling needs and orienting the roof to accommodate photovoltaic panels.

The campus was designed with a focus on the site's natural environment. ...

A closer look at The Backcountry Hut Company's System 02 prefab cabins, a BLT Design Award winner

2024-11-18T17:59:00-05:00

Today, we’re taking a closer look at this year's BLT Design Awards winner in the Construction Product Design of the Year category, System 02, from the Vancouver-based team at The Backcountry Hut Company and Leckie Studio Architecture + Design.

Pioneering UC Berkeley professor Sim Van der Ryn dies aged 89

2024-11-18T16:06:00-05:00

Dutch architect Sim Van der Ryn, a pioneer of green architecture and a longtime professor at the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design, has died at age 89 according to the San Francisco Chronicle. He will be remembered for his experimental teaching methods and approach to designing buildings as ecological systems, both of which later became widely accepted as either field looked to embrace sustainability as its new baseline standard.

Van der Ryn's memorial page on the CED's website also credits his work with Murray Silverstein as leading the way for post-occupancy user studies. Dean Renee Y. Chow added her own context to his legacy at the school, saying: "Sim was one of the people who laid the foundation for CED’s ongoing commitment to resilience and environmental equity. He was focused on how to build in environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, socially just ways long before 'sustainability' was even a term in the architectural lexicon. His influence, on Berkeley and beyo...

Bjarke Ingels talks Bhutan smart city development with CBS' '60 Minutes'

2024-11-18T14:09:00-05:00

"If we succeed, we can show that you can create a city that does not displace nature, that is anchored and rooted in the local heritage and culture, and that still allows for prosperity and growth to happen."

The ever-popular Ingels sat down with Lesley Stahl to go over his team's vision for the project they first unveiled with Arup almost a year ago. The 386-square-mile master plan's design features many public buildings and other important infrastructure that double as bridges, unfolding in the shape of a Mandala flower, which hosts 11 neighborhood-scale developments rendered with increased density as they cascade in ribbons down to a low-lying southern terminus.

Bhutan, a nation of under 800,000 people, is struggling to retain skilled young professionals. A public bond campaign worth $100 million USD has just been launched for the project. According to the South China Morning Post and other outlets, the new 'Gelephu Mindfulness City' will be developed in phases over 21 years.

Check out some of the best new designs named as 2024 FRAME Awards winners

2024-11-18T12:12:00-05:00

The winning spaces and designs from the 2024 FRAME Awards were presented in Hong Kong recently. The awards are an international competition and celebrating outstanding achievements in the field of interior design and product design as organized each year by the Netherlands-based design publication FRAME.

Jury members for the competition came from a broad spectrum of different design areas, including retail design, architecture, hospitality, and commercial interiors. Here are some highlights of the 2024 winners.

Single-Brand Store of the Year (cover image)

The Tamburins Seongsu Flagship Store by Eonsld and The System Lab (Seoul, South Korea)

Description: "Tamburins is reshaping the concept of offline stores to create a distinctive brand experience, solidifying its presence not just through products but also in the realm of space. Tamburins views its stores as places for customers to fully immerse themselves in the brand, rather than just spaces for making purchases. Their spaces intuiti...

Diller Scofidio + Renfro argues for the importance of impermanent architecture in new exhibition

2024-11-18T10:14:00-05:00

On view now at the MAXXI, the National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome, Diller Scofidio + Renfro is presenting an examination of motion and change as fundamental elements shaping design through their new exhibition titled Restless Architecture.

Reconfigurations, repositioning, the "relentless" turnover of politics and economic conditions, and more compelling factors, tied together with themes of mobility, adaptability, operability, and ecodynamism, will tell the story of how architecture has become more malleable and resistant to rigid forms in the postwar and contemporary eras.

Inside the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s new $75 million expansion

2024-11-18T07:20:00-05:00

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) has opened its $75 million NHM Commons expansion to the public. Designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners, with landscape architecture by Studio-MLA and exhibition spaces by Studio Joseph, the NHM Commons comprises approximately 75,000 square feet of renovated and newly constructed space.

Image credit: Benny Chan

The centerpiece of the design is a transparent glass façade, creating a visual connection between the museum and Exposition Park. Inside, the Commons Theater and various multipurpose spaces have been built to accommodate an expanded slate of community-centered programming. The new spaces facilitate engagement with science, culture, and nature, including areas for those visiting without a ticket.

Image credit: Benny Chan

Outside, Studio-MLA has developed a community plaza in collaboration with Native American advisors, featuring sustainable planting, Tongva-inspired mortar i...

Four contemporary LA homes by RIOS: Your Next Employer?

2024-11-18T06:39:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to AUX Architecture, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in Los Angeles this week to explore the work of RIOS.

Founded in 1985, the firm employs approximately 280 team members across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia Pacific. Last month, Archinect reported on the firm’s proposal for One Beverly Hills, designed in collaboration with Kerry Hill Architects and Foster + Partners, while several of the firm’s projects were recently honored at the 2024 LA Architectural Awards.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for several positions to join their Los Angeles team. For candidates interested in applying for a position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four contemporary Los Angeles homes by RIOS that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Shifting Boxes. Image courtesy of RIOS

Shifting Boxes, West Hollywood, CA

Shifting Boxes is formed of seemingly irregular stacked volumes whose po...

Major League Baseball says damaged Tropicana Field won’t be playable until 2026

2024-11-17T08:00:00-05:00

A new roof would be the largest expense, according to the report, accounting for about $23.6 million, but the report states that “the primary structure is serviceable and capable of supporting a replacement tension membrane fabric roof.” Based on the preliminary timeline in the report, it would take a little less than 13 months from the start of construction until “final completion,” with the repairs wrapping up just before a projected Opening Day in late March of 2026.

The cost of repairs has been stated at $55.7 million. The Rays will play their home games in Tampa at George M. Steinbrenner Field (the Yankees’ Spring Training home since 1996) while repair work continues. The vexing financial fiasco is further complicated as the franchise is set to expand into new digs anyway by the start of the 2028 baseball season. Winds in excess of 125 mph removed 18 of the stadium's 24 fiberglass roof panels during Hurricane Milton back in October.

Mission Rock Building B by WORKac

2024-11-16T19:27:00-05:00

WORKac’s Building B reimages the future of the workplace by fostering a seamless connection between interior and exterior spaces. Across its eight stories, a series of cascading, carved-out gardens serve as vibrant workspaces and outdoor meeting rooms, inviting occupants to work surrounded by lush greenery. The transparency of the gardens allows natural light to filter through to the depth of the office spaces. As the gardens and terraces increase in elevation, the landscaping responds, changing from leafy vegetation to hardy wind-resistant succulents.

Mission Rock Building B’s LEED Gold Certified design prioritizes occupant well-being. Extensive solar analysis ensures ample natural light penetration throughout the workspace, further enhanced by energy-efficient windows. Additionally, the building houses a water recycling system with its own pump station, treating wastewater for irrigation and other non-drinking uses.

The project is part of a larger, collaborative effort to revitali...

Plugin House by NaP Studio

2024-11-16T19:18:00-05:00

Plugin house

Plugin house on the road to Sari-Kaiser is located above a village called Khalkhel in a garden of the forest in iran. The former owner of the land was a gardener and the site was also used as livestock farming. After the sale of the land, the new owner changed the building to a temporary residence, but due to poor initial structure it was no longer used. The building was built on pillars of 9x9 cans with single Foundation on the ground.

The design and renovation of this house was accompanied by many questions regarding the site's position and the supervision of the Natural Resources Organization to prevent the addition of existing structures and infrastructure as well as the employer's request and need for an increase in the area of habitation. The first and most serious question for us was: How can laws and regulations, while responding to the employer's need to increase living space, also solve and redefine the structural problem in an architectural way?

We were loo...