... given allegations of inappropriate and unacceptable behavior by two AIANY 2018 Design Award Recipients—Richard Meier and Peter Marino—the AIANY Board of Directors has made the decision to rescind the honors that were announced in January 2018 and were to be celebrated at the Honors and Awards Luncheon next month.
AIANY executive director Benjamin Prosky issued a statement on their decision to revoke Design Awards from Richard Meier and Peter Marino. Prosky states, “Our decision does not speak to the design quality of the projects or the contributions from the respective firms’ design teams, rather we... View full entry
Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects has won the competition to design an 11,500-square-meter area in Riga's Central District. The project, which will redevelop the city's historic Kimmel Quarter, is aimed at transforming an old brewery site by converting it into a mixed-use development featuring an... View full entry
Phoenix and its surrounding area is known as the Valley of the Sun, and downtown Phoenix – which in 2017 overtook Philadelphia as America’s fifth-largest city – is easily walkable, with restaurants, bars and an evening buzz. But it is a modern shrine to towering concrete, and gives way to endless sprawl that stretches up to 35 miles away to places like Anthem. The area is still growing – and is dangerously overstretched, experts warn. — The Guardian
With cities in the Desert West, like Las Vegas and Phoenix, rapidly growing in size and population, water is becoming an evermore hot commodity; all while the source of that water, primarily the Colorado River, is becoming increasingly unreliable due to climate change. "And yet despite the federal... View full entry
Panorama Glass Lodge is a luxury vacation cabin in Hvalfjörðu, Iceland. Situated directly by the sea, visitors will experience stunning views of the Aurora Borealis from above and reflected off the water below. The structure features an all glass bedroom allowing travelers to experience... View full entry
This post is brought to you by AA EmTech AA Emergent Technologies & Design (EmTech) Graduate Programme investigates new synergies of architecture and ecology through the critical intersection of computational design and fabrication. Emergent Technologies and Design Programme (inaugurated in... View full entry
Harvard University's Graduate School of Design has appointed Mark Lee as Chair of the Department of Architecture, effective July 1, 2018. Lee has taught at the school since 2013 and was recently named Professor in Practice of Architecture, also going into effect July 1, 2018. He will be... View full entry
[...] the value of the average Japanese house depreciates to zero in 22 years. (It is calculated separately from the land, which is more likely to hold its value.) Most are knocked down and rebuilt. Sales of new homes far outstrip those of used ones, which usually change hands in the expectation that they will be demolished and replaced. In America and Europe second-hand houses accounted for 90% of sales and new-builds for 10% in 2017. In Japan the proportions are the other way around. — The Economist
The Economist article describes Japan’s throwaway housing culture as a phenomenon that is not only a burden on the national economy and the environment but also does not see renovation and refurbishment of existing structures as an appreciation in value. There are exceptions of course: one rare... View full entry
Canada is home to some incredibly talented architects. This week we take a look at some recent opportunities posted to Archinect Jobs in the Great White North. RobitailleCurtis has an opening for a Landscape Architect/ Designer in their Montreal office. Laurentian Ski Chalet by... View full entry
A couple of years ago, Lithuanian design studio Gyva Grafika was tasked with redecorating the bathroom of a local restaurant in the city of Kaunas, about 62 miles west of Vilnius. They came up with a uniquely nostalgic idea: bathroom tiles that make the stalls take on the appearance of the panel buildings that came to represent the whole of the Eastern Bloc (and spread to other Communist countries, like Cuba). — Hyperallergic
A sample tile design by Gyva GrafikaWithout having to replace the pre-existing tiles, the firm created stickers that, placed on top of the tiles, would create the appearance of a Soviet-era public housing block. The design intervention was done for Galeria Urbana bar—a hipster hot-spot in the... View full entry
Today, listings from one coast to another tout Bitcoin as a way to make a property transaction. A new collection of haute residences in Hollywood with Los Angeles skyline views go for $1.21 million or its Bitcoin equivalent; in Washington, D.C., two-bedroom condos are on the market for between 36 and 84 Bitcoins. In Austin, the seller of one ranch is offering a “signficant discount” if the buyer pays with Bitcoin. — Curbed
Great longform piece by Andrew Zaleski for Curbed on how Bitcoin, blockchain technology, and other cryptocurrencies have changed—or not changed—the real estate industry. "While there are laws in Arizona and Vermont that allow blockchain technology to play key parts in property sales and... View full entry
With one year left until Brexit, 2018 is a critical year for the UK architecture industry. Today, the RIBA released the latest results of their Global by Design report, a comprehensive survey of UK architects on Brexit. Although UK architects can adapt to next year's changes, RIBA describes, they... View full entry
Her own history is as global at the biennial itself: born in Lagos, Nigeria, raised in London, with a deep resume that incorporates curatorial and educational experiences at museums and galleries all over the United States and Great Britain. She’s hit the ground running on the CAB, planning for the third CAB that promises an international influence with love for the city and citizens who host this three-month event. — Chicago magazine
Anjulie Rao interviews the new CAB artistic director, Yesomi Umolu, for Chicago magazine: "A biennial can’t help but be contemporary and respond to the contemporary conditions. I know that as a biennial that’s what it is set up to do: to have a hold of the historical and yet have strong... View full entry
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has named Chevalier Morales Architectes as the recipient of the 2018 Emerging Architectural Practice Award. The annual award, which has previously honored D'Arcy Jones Architecture, La SHED, and KANVA, recognizes the principals of emerging... View full entry
Adrian Parr has been appointed dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Arlington. Parr is the holder of the UNESCO Chair on Water Access and Sustainability at the University of Cincinnati, where she is a Professor in the Department of Political Science in the College of Arts and Science with a joint appointment in the School of Architecture and Interior Design. — University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington not only invited Adrian Parr to transition jobs from Cincinnati to Arlington but also hired her husband, Michael Zaretsky, architect and director of the MetroLAB design/build initiative at the University of Cincinnati, and associate dean of faculty affairs... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is reporting an increase in architecture firm billings for February from its Architecture Billings Index (ABI), with several key segments showing an encouraging outlook for 2018. [...]
While the pace of growth in design activity slowed a bit in February for an ABI score of 52.0 (any score over 50 indicates billings growth), it still reflects a healthy business environment.
— AIA
"We remain optimistic about the trends we’re seeing at architecture firms this year with the ABI continuing to show growth in February," said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. "We saw several major bright spots reflected in February’s data, as billings remained particularly... View full entry
