Antonio Pacheco wrote about the Austin Central Library, completed in 2017 and designed via a joint partnership between Lake | Flato and Shepley Bulfinch.

monosierra also provided some on-the-ground reporting "Was just here this week. I think it does its job as a public library well - generous lighting, sensible circulation, soaring atrium, good acoustics, and a variety of spaces for reading, meeting, etc...but it seems the use of relatively off-the-shelf material products lent the Austin library a cheaper vibe than its bespoke cousins - despite its excellent design."

Plus, Sean Joyner connected with Principal and Co-founder of Boston-based Saam Architecture to learn more about the firms radically flexible, remote-work forward, approach to staffing.

News

Reacting to the release of Gov. Cuomo’s Empire Station Complex plan. Chemex had a complaint/suggestion "more tracks doesn’t solve the problem of more needed tunnels, neither does moving MSG...If bureaucrats were smarter, they would put it all together — a plan to fix Penn, Port Authority Bus Station, a Gateway (Bridge?) without having to fight or wait for MSG."

Did you miss the kerfuffle over a potential 700-foot wall that could’ve turned Hudson Yards into a "real" gated community? Responding to the ensuing discussion Will Galloway reflected "I have to hand it to whoever is in charge of POPS in Tokyo. We have a lot of generic towers going up with genuinely good urban spaces lately that are improving life in the city noticeably, if only in small parcels...The norm used to be as described above, shitty unwelcome spaces made to suit the desire of the developers. Then something shifted...If Tokyo can do it, surely NY is capable".

BIG released a masterplan for the 'Toyota Woven City', transforming a 175-acre former factory site in the city of Susono into a new smart city. Referencing one of the interior images Donna Sink quipped "You guys? I'm...I'm starting to think that 20 years ago we were all jerks and Per was right."

Both Miles Jaffe and Non Sequitur think site visits are one of the best ways to get better at detailing, especially with regards to "sequence of work, construction techniques, problematic conditions, contractor's experience and methodology, etc." For his part Alexander Morley "cannot recommend enough getting a copy of the 5th Edition of the Ramsey-Sleeper Architectural Graphic Standards  (1956 with the Eero Saarinen foreword)...This was the last edition before they began to eliminate the beautiful hand drawings and swapped them for sleepy text and wordy tables out of concerns of liability."

AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score rose to 52.5 in December 2019. During December, both the new project inquiries and design contracts scores were positive, posting scores of 58.7 and 53.4 respectively.

R.I.P., Adolfo Natalini, co-founder of Superstudio, at age 78.

LUCA School of Arts in Brussels, Belgium by POLO Architects, Greisch, Coppée and Villa in Nueva Andalucía, Marbella, Spain by Alejandro Giménez Architects are just two of the latest top images (in no particular order) from the Archinect Pinterest board Stairs.

Blogs/Firms/Updates/Work

Jemma, perhaps getting ahead of themselves, started talking about a Spring trend: (for) warm colours in-other-words "2020 marks the definitive end to all-grey colour schemes...Royal blue and copper, emerald and gold, mustard seed and mango wood...fuchsias, teals and dark turquoises taking centre stage."

In early January, Elena Echarri Myers was actively working on Thesis Research at Syracuse University while Daniel Avilan shared Thesis Research from time at Bartlett School of Architecture.

VMDO Architects announced their Discovery Elementary School is the first school and third project ever to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Zero Energy certification.

School/Blogs

Landscape Architect and educator Dorothée Imbert is the new Director of the Knowlton School of Architecture. Nectors were unanimous in their reaction to the "Wonderful news".

Archinect highlighted a few of the most interesting exhibitions currently (or soon-to-be) on view at four university campuses across the country, including curatorial efforts by firms such as NEMESTUDIO and Architecture Office.

Suzanne Morse Moomaw, associate professor of urban and environmental planning at the University of Virginia's School of Architecture, is the new director of the University of Virginia Press. Marc Miller felt it was "Interesting news and move by Suzanne Morse Moomaw. I hope that the School can leverage this as they look forward to their next 100."

The Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design will host the 2020 annual Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) conference.

Discussion/Threads

ahmedj. essentially asked "What does one have to do to actually be someone who spends most of their day designing?" so Non Sequitur kicked things off with a reality-check "they reach that position by being awesome at the other 95% of the profession." tintt emphasized artistic and creative expression, being "able to draw and express an idea quickly and accurately" while robhaw had a different concern all together "My background and interest in architecture is more technical and I am wondering what type of firm would be the best environment to experience projects consistently throughout all phases, without getting pigeonholed."

At the same time Everyday Architect, atelier nobody and others carried on a side-conversation around whether "detailing != design?" and how "the brilliant concept (edit: can be) marred by half-assed detailing" with photos of lackluster detailing at OMA’s Seattle Library project.

TedMosby’s been pondering the limits of disciplinarity, licensure and specialization, both generally, and as applied specifically to foundation work. As he explained "I know some knowledge is always required of the architect, I just don't want to drive myself crazy to the point I am training to be a structural engineer too." Chad Miller began by noting the answer could depend on both country or even state specific regulations. Zbig answered "In most projects, the architect needs to be able to read the structural engineer's plans that show the foundation and make sure that they are coordinated with the architectural and MEP scope." taz agreed "plus an awareness of the frost line and water table.  Insulation and the thermal line should also tie in..."

mightyaa summed up "Normally, the architect, structural and geotech talk about the foundation types and risks. Then the geotechnical report is written with all the design criteria" ie. "enough that you can reasonably spot problems with the foundation design, the geotechnical test, and what to expect" which matched up with joseffischer’s experience.

Finally, BulgarBlogger published a rant about the illusion of collaborative, innovative "Workplace environments..An interior environment can create the Illusion that an organization operates in a certain way, but it cannot CHANGE the way it ACTUALLY operates." Further, "there is something so much more creative about a messy, less formal environment, than a super manicured and organized (clean-cut) office."

bowling_ball argued the marketing value, "Your office makes a big first impression" alone was worth it. JonathanLivingston just hates "the open office trend. Give me door...an open window...and I can achieve peak creativity." randomised couldn’t "get why you're so upset to be honest. It is not phony per se, I think at least some of those companies really believe they are nurturing and stimulating creativity by having their spaces designed like that and putting a ping-pong table in their newly built industrial looking loft." spiketwig offered one possible reason to care

"cause the real purpose of these types of spaces is window dressing to disguise that the real reason for the office renovation is to save money. Surely if we make enough hip, cool looking spaces people can save to their Pintrest boards, our employees won't notice that we shrunk their workstations and took away their offices." aka "a way for owners to reduce capital costs and nothing else."

Additionally

Make sure not to miss the special Carbon issue of ARCHITECT, edited in partnership with the nonprofit Architecture 2030 and its founder and CEO, Edward Mazria, FAIA. Therein Mazria makes the case

"Quickly reducing the embodied carbon in building materials and construction over the next 10 years is critical. For all of the buildings built between now and 2030, embodied carbon will be responsible for 72% of their CO₂ emissions and operational carbon 28%. It’s not an impossible task"