Antonio Pacheco, Managing Editor at Archinect, published a Studio Snapshot of Alloy Development a New York City-based architecture, development, and building management practice with over $1.6 billion in projects under its belt. archanonymous believed "The work is quite good, and it's an inspiring business model" though wurdan freo felt it was "a great idea... although nothing new".
Plus, Eric Lawler talked with Second Home co-founder Rohan Silva. One topic was their collaboration with SelgasCano who have to-date completed "six projects with them: Spitalfields, Holland Park, Lisbon, Los Angeles, a bookshop called Libreria, and a school in Nairobi." The conversation also gets into E.F. Schumacher’s concept of "enoughness". Will Galloway liked what he read
"great interview. It clarifies a lot of the things...that I loved when I first visited their place in spitalfields. The thinking behind the place really comes through, in a way that wework never could achieve."
Accessibility lapses at Hunter's Point library continued to draw ire. So much so that New York City-based legal group Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) filed a class action lawsuit against a collection of public agencies representing the borough of Queens, New York "challenging the inaccessibility".
After seeing the building in person, Chemex reported "I find the commentary/photos to be misleading. the controversial stairway in question has a forth, extra wide level that is accessible via a 1.5 level elevator."
In related news, Donna Sink was in agreement with most other Archinectors, about the new Cornell Fine Arts Library "it's bad. It's a bad design. It's a frivolous concept that becomes a technical and functional nightmare...Also, the exterior is so poorly handled - we've been doing single pane plate glass windows in historic buildings since the '70s and they still and always look like crap".
LACMA fundraising efforts have apparently stalled. thisisnotmyname wasn't surprised "The waste in Govan's scheme is mind-boggling. A vast sum of money will be spent to destroy LACMA's present physical plant and replace it with something that is less by all measures." For their part evansjon51@gmail.com has concluded "it appears to be morphing into a vanity project of great arrogance, eclipsing the case for a saner, environmentally friendly and mission-focused project that promotes collection care, growth and display and the recognition that LACM thrives because of its accessibility to a broad swath of the public."
After seeing the news about an OMA designed 745-unit, dual tower complex on the Greenpoint waterfront in Brooklyn, monosierra opined "OMA NY is a totally different animal from the OMA of yore - even the Prince Ramus version was more intellectual. Now they compete with BIG for stacked block towers."
In economic and financial news, a report from Dodge Data & Analytics, registered an 11% drop in US construction starts for the month of October. Yet, on the bright-side, the ABI score for the month of October rose to 52.0, up from 49.7 in September and 47.2 in August. The modest rebound brings the majority of the ABI's categories into the positive realm, though sluggish conditions persist in the Northeast and Midwestern regions.
In November, the architecture, design community lost both, Shoji Sadao and Ray Kappe. R.I.P. Erik Evens reminisced of time spent with the later
"I got to know him while I was the architect for the restoration of one of his houses here in LA. We had to make some sensitive material changes to the house, for pragmatic reasons, and we dialogued with Ray to develop strategies for that. He was so gracious and collaborative. He seemed almost surprised that our clients loved the house so much that they wanted to bring it back to life. He was a humble, talented man who was a key figure in molding the language of modernism to something that felt like it was fine-tuned to California."
Thick Facades by William Maya and The Corner of the North Sea by Raya Shaban are just two of the latest ten top images (in no particular order) from the board Student Work.
Alison Hoffmann of Hoffmann Architects shared some thoughts on what building owners need to know about the 2019 NYC Climate Mobilization Act and Local Law 92 and Local Law 94.
Back in November, Yusef Nemati posted a rainbow-esque design for a Bus station. While Danya Li, was working on "miniature diorama series" and a "miniature model series".
Looking for a new Project Architect position? Adjaye Associates (in NYC), Moss (in Chicago) and Onion Flats Architecture (in Philadelphia) are all accepting applications.
Inspired by the recent flooding in Venice, natcheng reposted some explorations of coastal structures that could "mitigate the effects of climate change" which originally appeared on Archinect in November 2014, as part of a Speculative Project for Venice.
dpr-barcelona plugged a short story writing grant as part of the Future Architecture 2020 Call for Ideas. All entries must be received by 16.00 pm CET on 6 January 2020. Multiple entries are permitted as an individual or as a collective.
In faculty hiring news, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's School of Architecture announced Francisco Javier Rodríguez-Suárez, FAIA as its next Director. jrcdavis praised the hire as they had "collaborated with Francisco at the UPR School of Architecture where -for a decade- served as our excellent Dean. He has been one of the Island's distinguished academic and creative ambassadors. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has gained a true luminary."
If you are looking for a new job in academia, The College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) at the University of Texas at Arlington seeks applicants for a tenure-track faculty position in Architecture to be hired for Fall of 2020 at the rank of Assistant Professor. The faculty member will provide leadership of CAPPA’s fast-growing design-build program within its School of Architecture and assist in the development of the UTA Community Design Center.
When Associate professor Derek Hoeferlin was named chair of the landscape architecture and urban design programs in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, Aaron Plewke took the opportunity to remind folks of a 2010 interview he published on Archinect with Derek.
What does everyone think about the 4 day work week in architecture?
A number of Archinectors (including bowling_ball, Non Sequitur, senjohnblutarsky and whistler) weren't sure what the big deal was as they’re already doing it, whether 4-10s, 37.5 hr weeks, et al. Generally everyone was for more flexibility but many agreed certain roles, like contract work, construction admin or anything involving direct client interactions, require more on demand availability. Later b3tadine[sutures] drew attention to news that Microsoft found "implementing a four-day workweek led to a 40% boost in productivity".
mightyaa’s favorite example of this approach "is a firm I know does set office hours 9'ish-3, 4 days a week; a required 20 hour minimum to be available to co-workers and clients. They expect 40’ish hours (based on the assignments and tasks given), but leave it up to the individual...Their client is just sort of are informed when it's easiest to reach you."
Cosmos wanted to talk job titles, licensure and is curious whether "the classification as a Principal Architect, Project Architect, Design Architect, etc…(is) too traditional and not avant-garde enough for today's readers." midlander argued "i've worked in offices where most of the interior designers are architects too. in an office of 150 with 100 architects, the title 'architect' doesn't explain much about what you do". Then monosierra quipped "The Design Director leads design but the Architect does the tedious work".
More seriously though "some firms maintain a hard firewall between designers and technical designers. Helps with production to some degree but very bad for one's growth as a designer if stuck in one track."
Finally, Donna Sink wanted to talk personal Burning Desire, inspired by "Ford v Ferrari, the Hollywood blockbuster (?) starring Christian Bale as Ken Miles and Matt Damon as Carol Shelby". However, the thread quickly digressed into "Vapour barrier pillow talk" covering vapor barriers vs vapor retarders and logistics of "BS* + Beer (*building science)" meetups. archanonymous was impressed with the breadth of knowledge on display "This is more than I ever knew about vapor barriers, usually we just hire an envelope consultant and do what they say. Makes me wonder about the decline of the profession. Maybe starchitects just don't have the Burning Desire to keep the walls of their buildings water and mold free."
ICYMI, instigated by Sidewalk Toronto, @biancawylie collected some thoughts on "important questions about cities – and our collective futures".
h/t @elisehunchuck
![+StL- Growing an Urban Mosaic, led by [dhd], OBJECT TERRITORIES, and TLS Landscape Architecture, one of four finalists for St. Louis’ “Chouteau Greenway Competition,”](https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/74/742014f2aaa0b9358b1ba689f8f0bb79.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=80&h=80 "+StL- Growing an Urban Mosaic, led by [dhd], OBJECT TERRITORIES, and TLS Landscape Architecture, one of four finalists for St. Louis’ “Chouteau Greenway Competition,”")
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