Google has started estimating greenhouse-gas emissions for individual cities, part of what it recently described as an ambitious new plan to deploy its hoard of geographic information on the side of climate-concerned local leaders. — The Atlantic
Google has launched a new online tool, the Environmental Insights Explorer, which tracks emissions inventory on a city scale. The program is still in beta mode and currently only provides data for five cities (Pittsburgh, PA; Mountain View, CA; Victoria, BC; Melbourne, AU; Buenos Aires, AR) but... View full entry
The elevator-phobic people of New York City are almost our own subculture [...] I’ve fantasized at times about a kind of utopia: a gleaming glass city free of elevators. But for now I, just like Gabriella and Rachel and Kevin and Nakia, still live in New York, and still constantly have to force myself to enter slim or squat boxes of despair. Why haven’t we left? What strange fate have we dealt ourselves, to live in a place full of hellscapes. — Amos Barshad, Topic
Having a deeply ingrained fear of elevators while living in a vertical landscape like New York City — which has over 60,000 elevators, by the way — isn't easy for some folks, like writer Amos Barshad. He and other fellow New Yorkers he interviews talk about how their phobia began, their search... View full entry
Gordon Matta-Clark’s inventive site-specific cuts into abandoned buildings demonstrated approaches to the concept of home and to the market system of real estate that were anarchistic, creatively destructive, and full of queer promise. — Places Journal
In "Unbuilding Gender," Jack Halberstam extends the ideas of unbuilding and creative destruction that characterize Gordon Matta-Clark's work to develop a queer concept of anarchitecture focused on the trans* body. Halberstam is the 2018 recipient of the Arcus/Places Prize for innovative public... View full entry
At age 90, Beverly Willis will receive the Engineering News-Record's Legacy Award for her decades-long career as an architect and fierce advocate for women in the field. Considered a lifetime achievement award, the prestigious regional award honors individuals for their lifetimes services to the... View full entry
In the 18 months or so since dockless bike-share arrived in the US, the service has spread to at least 88 American cities. (On the provider side, at least 10 companies have jumped into the business; Lime is one of the largest.) Some of those cities now have more than a year of data related to the programs, and they’ve started gleaning insights and catering to the increased number of cyclists on their streets. — MIT Technology Review
Technology Review writer Elizabeth Woyke looks at ways how city planners in Seattle, WA and South Bend, IN use the immense stream of user-generated location data from dockless-bike-sharing programs to improve urban mobility — and how hackers could potentially access and abuse this (supposedly... View full entry
Back in March, Zaha Hadid Architects emerged victorious in the competition to design the new Aljada Central Hub in Sharjah, UAE. Today, the firm announced that phase one of the $6.5 billion development is scheduled to be complete in the first quarter of 2019. Rendering: Cosmoscube.Rendering... View full entry
We get it. It can get a little overwhelming keeping up with the dozens of new architecture competitions launching worldwide on any given week — let alone having to stay on top of the multiple deadlines for each and every one. That's why Bustler is here to help! At the end... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)... View full entry
Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled several new details about the upcoming transformation of [JFK Airport,] most notably the creation of two new terminals that will replace some of the existing terminals, and rise on the northern and southern end of the complex. The cost of this revamp has gone up from the $10 billion estimate that accompanied the first announcement about the redevelopment in early 2017 to the current estimate of $13 billion. — Curbed NY
The Hualien Bay Mall Starbucks consists of 29 shipping containers and has a total floorspace of 320 sq m (3,444 sq ft), spread over two floors. The containers have been reinforced, modified for glazing, and are painted white. The building's interior, which wasn't designed by Kuma, includes a brightly-colored wall mural representing Taiwan's aboriginal Amis people and offers views of a nearby mountain range. — New Atlas
Kuma has worked with the global coffee giant before, having designed the, now iconic, store in Fukuoka, Japan, and will also be the exterior architect of the upcoming Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo. Photo: StarbucksJust last month, Starbucks announced its plans to design, build, and operate... View full entry
Coinciding with Beijing Design Week, the China House Vision exhibition asked ten Chinese and Japanese design studios to envision the future of living. Presenting a diverse range of living environments that address issues such as population crowding, space travel and climate change, firms such as... View full entry
As part of New York's centennial celebration of the Barge Canal — now known as the New York State Canal System, the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation launched the Reimagine the Canals competition last year. The competition sought design ideas that would... View full entry
José Esparza Chong Cuy has been appointed Executive Director and Chief Curator of Storefront for Art and Architecture. The Mexican architect, curator and writer will be taking over for Eva Franch i Gilabert, who was announced as the new director of the Architectural Association in London back in... View full entry
Building codes and standards in many countries require engineers to consider the effects of soil liquefaction in the design of new buildings and infrastructure such as bridges, embankment dams and retaining structures — The Guardian
After the devastating earthquake that hit Indonesia, scientists are relating building collapses to soil liquefaction. When overly saturated soil is heavily loosened by intense seismic activity, particles in the soil lose its bond and contact with each other. Thus resulting in its loss of stiffness... View full entry
Five meters below the surface of the North Sea, near the southernmost tip of Norway, Europe's first underwater restaurant is nearing completion [...] The restaurant was built in about six months on a barge near the coast, then towed into position -- about 600 feet away -- with a heavy-lift vessel. To submerge the structure, containers filled with water were placed inside, before securing it to the sea floor with a total of 18 anchoring points. — CNN
In the southernmost tip of the Norwegian coastline, Snøhetta is in its final stages of completing the world's largest underwater restaurant. Submerged five meters below the North Sea, the restaurant appropriately named Under is preparing for its debut in Spring 2019. This 110ft-long structure... View full entry
