The caption to the photograph reveals that this isn’t New York at all, of course, but Sweden: a life-size replica of Harlem in a forest in the west of the country, near Gothenburg. The asphalt and snow are real enough, but nearly everything else is fake. The streets are void of people and cars; the store fronts are life-size photographs, printed on canvas and hung on steel frames. Welcome to the Potemkin village: a place of clones, impostors, facsimiles, frauds. Maybe don’t plan to stay. — The New York Times
Why is there a life-size replica of Harlem in Sweden? This bizarre space turns out to be a test track for self-driving cars. Why Harlem? Even Austrian artist Gregor Sailer who photographed the space doesn't know. Sailer traveled around the world to capture 25 of these false architectural... View full entry
Ground has finally broken for a police station in the South Bronx that will provide a new home for NYPD's 40th Precinct. Expected to open in 2021, the precinct will be leaving its current space, a three-story, 1920s Renaissance Revival building, for a shiny, 68-million-dollar new one, designed by... View full entry
Maurice Cox grew up in Brooklyn, a borough whose name has since become a global shorthand for gentrification. An urban designer, architectural educator, and former mayor of the City of Charlottesville, VA, in 2015 Cox became head of the planning department of Detroit, where he hopes to prevent the forces that have reshaped his childhood home from taking over the Motor City. [...] Cox is using design to catalyze growth that’s incremental and closely in line with the city’s strong sense of self. — Urban Omnibus
Urban Omnibus presents an insightful conversation between Maurice Cox, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Detroit, and Marc Norman, founder of the consulting firm “Ideas and Action” and Associate Professor of Practice at UMich's Taubman School of Architecture and Urban... 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
It isn't often that architect Moshe Safdie is sent back to the drawing board. But that's exactly what happened earlier this year when his soaring vision for the National Medal of Honor Museum clashed with a local height ordinance.
[...] planning commission in the Charleston suburb of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, unanimously denied its Safdie-concieved proposal because it would exceed by 75 feet the elevation limit on land zoned for no more than 50 feet.
— CityLab
"Ultimately, it all came down to a lack of communication," writes Jolee Edmondson. "What has transpired in Mount Pleasant underscores the importance of builders engaging in community outreach before submitting a formal plan for public property. Safdie's design was unveiled in 2015, but it was... View full entry
The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris held an architecture photography contest from 3 May to 5 June 2018 for the best images of the their iconic building designed by Frank Gehry. Open to amateurs and professional photographers alike, visitors were invited to post one or several... View full entry
The Treetop Studio presents an orderly facade among an eclectic variety of houses, garages, and back fences in Paddington, Australia. Designed by Darlinghurst-based Aileen Sage Architects for a writer and musician, the compact creative studio is a refined response to the local council's... 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
"During our architecture practice we felt the need to create a working space which could represent our work and way of thinking" says KOGAA Architectural Studio, a Czech firm based out of Brno, the country's second largest city. Photography by Jakub Skokan and Martin Tůma / BoysPlayNiceAs... View full entry
A vibrant splash of color has won the 2019 Dulwich Pavilion architectural competition and will be welcoming visitors to London's venerable Dulwich Picture Gallery next summer. "The Colour Palace" by architects Pricegore and Nigerian-British designer Yinka Ilori was selected from six... View full entry
The only profitable games in modern Olympic history, LA 1984 was a case study in public–private partnerships, corporate sponsorship, and municipal storytelling [...] It’s proof, say LA 2028 organizers, that the city can do it again: re-use the city’s wealth of existing and under-construction stadiums and athletic facilities, house athletes and the media at local universities, and host an Olympics that won’t require new publicly-funded infrastructure... — curbed.com
The Olympics have been promoted to cities as a vehicle for ushering in investment, attention, and urban growth. The reality, however, is often contradicting with failed developments and infrastructure left in the aftermath. As Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 games, large questions remain on... View full entry
“Designing from Instagram for Instagram seems like a snake eating its own tail. Everywhere looks like everywhere else and the eye grows tired of bananas or concrete tiles or mirror rooms.” — The Guardian
The built environment, this article from Bella Mackie suggests, is increasingly being designed as a 'backdrop;' a stage for those masses which might otherwise be disinterested in the fields of aesthetics and art production. This phenomenon can be felt when traveling the world just as apparently... View full entry
[T]hough in practice CVS is context agnostic: A CVS looks like a CVS no matter where it is. It is a structure without character or distinction, and to walk along such a building is an unpleasant experience that degrades pedestrian life, the civic space and all the other properties around it. — Mark Lamster, Dallas News
Architecture critic Mark Lamster of The Dallas Morning News gives his two cents on why CVS Pharmacy, America's largest pharmacy chain, should rethink the “manipulative designs” of their retail stores, describing it as a case of “urban malpractice by chain retailers”. “As a CVS customer... View full entry
Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, has been announced as the Director’s Award recipient of the 2018 National Design Awards. The Director’s Award is chosen by Caroline Baumann, director of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in recognition of outstanding... View full entry
Described as "a pure architectural project" by the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, the Hillside Chapel he recently completed has no electricity, heating or running water. Instead, the modest chapel relies on natural ventilation, and clever use of materials such as insulated bricks and limestone to... View full entry
