Niall Patrick Walsh had A Conversation With Ma Yansong. Critics raised questions over current/past pay practices. However, folks jumped in to defend MAD Architects

"Can confirm he's been paying interns since at least 2009" and "I had multiple classmates work at this office for co-op semesters and were definitely paid. Ironically, the classmates who went to work for very famous starchitects in the country next door were not paid at all."

Plus, work from Cal Poly Pomona's Department of Architecture (CPP ARC) First Year Spring Studio was featured in the second of the Archinect Studio Pin-Ups series.

News

Henning Larsen will design a new church in Copenhagen, the Danish capital’s first in over 30 years. ‘Nectors thought it both "spectacular" and "beautiful" with some also "curious how the architects will detail the spaces between the volumes in order to shed water / snow."

Recently re-elected Governor Kathy Hochul announced the addition of six new strategic partners to the $50 million Empire Building Challenge. jayegg is of the opinion that "The Empire Building Challenge is one of the most remarkable decarbonization programs in the US".

J. MAYER H. shared photos of their new ZIPPER - RKM 740 Tower in Düsseldorf. midlander looked for the good "tacky seems to be the trend. this is at least a complex tackiness, kind of op-art. elegant massing and fascinating effects at different scales."

Construction commenced on the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Jinghe New City Culture & Art Center in China. The news got monosierra thinking "one of the successful designs Zaha ever created was her practice. It has managed to remain faithful to her style and able to execute on a technical level higher than many of its peers, even after she passed."

Foster + Partners revealed images of a recently-completed commercial tower, 425 Park Avenue. reallynotmyname summed it up "The project is nothing more than a demonstration of Foster's ability to design for a billionaire clientele.  It updates the Park Avenue glass box…425 Park is a hyper-luxury building".

HT Residence in Manhattan Beach, CA by Laney LA and Casa 15 in Braga, Portugal by AM-ARQSTUDIO are just two of the latest top images (in no particular order) from the Archinect Pinterest board Interiors.

Blogs/Firms/Work Updates

Back in October, Jacob Holman was working on a "UNSW Canberra City Campus - Masterplan".

ICYMI Spowers hyped their upgrade of a "traditional suburban TAFE library…into a thriving and dynamic student hub through a powerful refurbishment".

Looking for a new gig? 

• LA based Works Progress Architecture "is seeking candidates for the positions of Architect 1 and Architect 2 with 4-8 years of professional and design related industry experience."

• While Strada, has multiple openings for Licensed Architects at their studios in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Chapel Hill.   

Or how about something in the public sector instead?

• Los Angeles County Parks "is seeking an experienced architect to join a diverse team whose mission is to serve as stewards of parklands, build healthy and resilient communities, and advance social equity and cohesion."

Schools

Professor Margarita Jover of the Tulane School of Architecture was awarded a grant, of over $250,000 from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program, to pilot a new interdisciplinary design studio investigating challenges along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg is the new dean of The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture.

The University of Oregon’s Department of Architecture is accepting applications (application review begins November 28, 2022) for a full-time, Tenure Track Assistant Professor position in Architecture with a focus on Architecture and Health. Specifically, focused on "relationships between the design of the built environment and the health and wellness of human and non-human species” and “the social and environmental determinants of health at all scales".

Discussion/Threads

urban_choice "would like to stay away from the ego and money driven rat race and just design small scale, high quality buildings and neighborhoods" so was looking for suggestions on "master programs and companies that focus on this type of design, particularly in Southern Europe?"

Contra a number of commentators, sameolddoctor didn’t think the OP was on a fool's errand "In Southern Europe you should find many of these types of firms." homme_du_jura added "For good educational videos on how to run an architectural practice where you create good design that is modest but enough to provide a comfortable lifestyle,check this youtube channel out:  (1) 30X40 Design Workshop - YouTube".

DickCheney started a Contentious Thread. RJ87 answered right out of the gate "my biggest pet peeve is making the same amount of money regardless of the quantity, difficulty or frustration of a project…Currently there's no benefit to me for doing 15 projects or 6, so naturally I want 6 easy ones." Non Sequitur’s "Biggest pet peeve is wankers who still believe that architecture must equal art" while a number of folks chimed in with some version of "clients" or the expectations of modern ones. Perhaps not surprisingly Revit came up, though surprisingly it also had its defenders "It has it's place. It has it's issues. …Some projects designs I find work better with Revit from the get go."

Finally, Chad Miller had questions "Who here has had experience with CLT?" JonathanLivingston has "looked at it a couple of times but it doesn't seem to pencil out from a cost standpoint unless you are comparing it to a fully concrete building, maybe tilt up…Proto is right though its a sub for concrete or steel…Once you get over 6 stories though, you are back in competition with concrete or steel, maybe".

In that vein bowling_ball noted CLT projects have actually been "an incredibly easy sell in our market lately, especially because everyone's still scared of steel prices" plus in a few days they’re "adopting a newer National code which allows it up to 6 storeys (instead of 4 currently) which will also help with the financial part". For those wanting to bone-up betonbrut, who just completed a "60,000SF single story K12 school in Washington using glulam columns and beams and a 3 ply CLT roof" recommended Solid Wood: Case Studies in Mass Timber Architecture, Technology and Design by Joseph Mayo.

Additionally

With the close of the state of California’s legislative session, Mark Hogan of OpenScope Studio reviewed some bills and how their passing could impact housing opportunities in the state of California.