Two of the last features from 2021 included; Niall Patrick Walsh’s reporting on the (hype vs) reality of a 3D Printed House and Katherine Guimapang’s spotlight on the University of Calgary's new-ish Doctor of Design (DDes) program. For the former, Niall looked into a collaboration between Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona and Candelaria Design Associates. While for the later, Katherine talked with program critic Marcelo Stamm, Ph.D., and DDes candidate Barry John.

Regarding the former, midlander opined "i think it's going to take substantial development in construction-specific printers before this becomes generally useful. maybe at that point there will be self-mobile robotic tools which would make 3D printing unnecessary. robot workers would be infinitely useful and genuinely transformative."

News

Five years after the passing of its founder Zaha Hadid Architects announced its transition to an employee-owned firm. samolddoctor griped

"I used to work an employee-owned firm, its all just bogus talk. Everyone gets a vote, but what they do not tell you upfront is that the weightage of the votes depends on the position in the company. So, no, its not :democratic" at all."

Though both randomised and monosierra didn’t see a big deal with that

"I mean, that's a given isn't it…Would you want the interns to do the hiring and firing?" As tduds put it "At the end of the day it's mostly about dividends."

Morphosis completed their Yangtze River International Conference Center in Nanjing Jiangbei New District. stevenedwards quipped "Must be difficult to be avant garde when it comes to standardized convention center & hotel requirements. It has the skin I would expect from Morphosis."

Over at BBC Future, Norman Miller explored the works of those "seeking to mine the Anthropocene". Whether that means; basic adaptive reuse, perhaps more broadly a circular economy, or something as specific as "smart demolition". Maybe even domicology?

Dabbagh Architects’ first mosque features a "prayer hall, where worshippers complete their transformation underneath a perforated dome with backlighted Mihrab." alamdararastu was impressed "The Gargash Mosque is beautiful and delicate. Ms.Sumaya has expressed the traditional motives so brilliantly in  contemporary architectural statements."

Plus, Archinect kicked off the 2021 Year in review!

R.I.P., Chris Wilkinson, Sir Richard Rogers, Oriol Bohigas and Stephen B. Jacobs

Blogs/Firms/Work Updates

Piaristi posted photos of a new social and culture hall for South Bohemia by atelier A8000.

If you didn’t already know, recent reports from the AIA (partnered with the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law), CIOB and IWPR all found DEI failings and opportunities for the AEC industry.

Helpfully, the AIA report also provides Bias Interrupter tools for architecture firms and a handy glossary for the Types of Bias they identified.

Even more helpfully, Everyday Architect started a list of "US-based architecture firms with 50 or more employees" and their support for Unions. It’s compiled using data they submitted to the International Living Future Institute (ILFI)’s Just database. Yet as Everyday explains "it's not about the certification. The certification was a simple way I could gather the data on any firms that are outwardly stating via the certification they would support unions for their employees."

Are you looking for a new job in the new year, if so given the pandemic, how about something remote?

• At Spatio Metrics you can report directly to "the co-founder/CTO.
  You’ll be a core member of a small team, playing a crucial role in
  empowering architects to leverage data to deliver high-impact buildings."
• Urban A&O's ad for "several" Project Designers calls out their glassdoor: score which is 5/5 and the fact that "We are based in NYC, but you can be located anywhere."

Otherwise, if you are looking for something more traditional and onsite there are Project Architect and Project Director jobs available in Austin, Boston and Brooklyn. 

Or for something onsite but less traditional, New Frameworks "a multi-racial, women-, queer- and trans-owned worker cooperative" based in northern Vermont, is hiring an Architectural Designer to add to their team.

School/Blogs

Professor of Architecture Lisa Iwamoto was appointed Chair of UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design (CED), effective December 1st.

While, Ellen M. Bassett began her tenure as dean of Georgia Tech's College of Design on January 1st.

If you are looking for a new gig in high ed;

Tulane has an open Tenure-Track Position in the Bachelor of Arts in Design Program and Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture is accepting applications for a full-time professor in Architecture, with a specialization in the area of building.

Discussion/Threads

ICYMI, this thread was "our designated professional discussion for the month" of December. It even had some suggesting Archinect start handing out certificates or something. The general reaction was the OP should "Listen to your brain. It sounds like it more closely matches code requirements than your gut." To Wood Guy the choice was more fundamental "Modern living is detrimental to most old homes. One approach is to not insulate, and use excessive amounts of fossil fuels to force-dry the walls in winter. Another is to use modern building science products made for the situation."                                                    

Given the initial news "about workers at SHoP attempting to unionize" the 2018 Should the Profession of Architecture Unionize? thread was bumped.

natematt immediately noted a wide divergence in working conditions and wondered outside of "star" firms "how much of a comparative benefit people in corporate firms, for example, would get out of unionizing". In other words "Would this all even be a conversation if firms just paid overtime?" Gregory Walker took the opportunity to elaborate on why he doesn't "think unionization will solve the question of overtime/pay (for most individuals)." The conversation led z1111 to conclude "Firms get away with exploiting employees because they are accepted as sop…A union would crystalize these for what they are and make the firms that do this into the pariahs they so richly deserve to be."

Finally, to close out year with a laugh, proto started a thread "to catalogue some of the professional & trade fails that we see". The first photo was "a diagram of the heat leaving the house" illustrated by snow lines on roof. This led to an extended conversation about Canadian vs US climate zones and the correct ratio or split between "ext and int insulation" aka inboard vs outboard.

Later citizen, one of the few to respond directly to the original request, shared an example with "^fixed windows, paper-thin flashing, and unbacked stucco applied like peanut butter with a spatula."

Additionally

Over at Construction Physics, Brain Potter (who used to work at Katerra) asks rhetorically(?) So you want to use less concrete. Therein he provocatively describes how "In a pure mass-flow sense, human civilization is basically a machine for producing concrete and gravel (and to a lesser extent bricks and asphalt), with everything else as just a byproduct."