The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) concluded the year in positive terrain, with the December reading capping off three straight months of growth in design billings. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the December ABI score was 52.9, down from a score of 55.0 in the previous month. [...] The new projects inquiry index was 61.9, up from a reading of 61.1 the previous month, while the new design contracts index decreased slightly from 53.2 to 52.7. — AIA
“Overall, 2017 turned out to be a strong year for architecture firms. All but two months saw ABI scores in positive territory,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “Additionally, the overall strength of the fourth quarter lays a good foundation for healthy growth in... View full entry
For all the big Foster + Partners fans out there or anyone wanting to learn more about the renowned British practice's body of work over the last 50 years, the UQAM Centre de Design in Montreal will be hosting a free exhibition called “Fostering Society: Foster + Partners” starting next... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2018 Archinect's Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back regularly to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss... View full entry
A new project titled CASA ED & JO features a clean and curved design by NOARQ. The renovated house is located in Famalicão, Portugal with tucked away patios inside a triangular urban plot. CASA ED&JO by NOARQ located in Famalicão, Portugal. Image: João Morgado. The lot is highly... View full entry
Amazon recently released their "shortlist" of 20 cities, whose proposals to host the company's second North American Headquarters have successfully moved forward in the bidding war. Amazon will now spend the next few months diving deeper into each individual offer, no doubt utilizing the spirit of... View full entry
Ms. Yee, who oversees pastry for all the restaurants in the Resurgens Hospitality Group, used to be an architect, and she designs desserts the way she once did building interiors: meticulously sketching every element, testing many prototypes. And these days she has plenty of company: Many of the country’s top pastry chefs have practiced or studied architecture. — New York Times
As we have shown in Archinect's ongoing series Working Out of the Box, architects have a background and skillset that can be applied in many ways outside of traditional architecture practice. For example, these prominent pastry chefs all started off as architects and switched to designing cakes... View full entry
Dutch social renters wanting to move to a new apartment can now use an app to swap houses with other renters. One precondition, both renters need to ‘like’ each other’s apartment to get a match. [...]
Young renters with small apartments may swap with older residents who live in bigger apartments. In this way, the issue of scheefwonen (skew living — when people live in apartments that do not match their needs and desires) within the Dutch rental sector could be solved.
— Pop-Up City
"After two apartments are matched, the users are introduced to each other, after which they have to find out if their rental agreements are compatible enough for the renters to swap house." View full entry
Nestled within the housing blocks of Arroyo del Moro in Cordoba, Spain is the new Palace of Justice courthouse. Competition winner Mecanoo and Ayesa began designing the project in 2006, and the building came to fruition from 2014-2017.The 48,000m2 building will help strengthen the neighborhood's... View full entry
“We always want people to think ‘What’s that?’ and be drawn inside our buildings,” says Rohan Silva, the 37-year-old co-founder of Second Home, provider of “unique workspaces and cultural venues for entrepreneurs and innovators”. The company opened its first space in Spitalfields, east London, in 2014 and now boasts users ranging from tiny tech startups to the likes of Volkswagen and auditing giant KPMG. — The Guardian
A winter wonderland, a tropic landscape, a colorful explosion of swirling surfaces and walls of color enveloping even the smallest of spaces— one could say that I was describing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's film sets and yet, this could become the description of the modern day office... View full entry
[...] the ever increasing mallification of our environment threatens to undermine the public common ground on which our societies were founded: public places should address an abstract, inclusive notion of the public, instead of a defined, limited, and exclusive (in the literal sense of the word) audience. Conversely, we should not confuse or conflate trite stores (even if they place trees inside and call themselves town squares) to be an ersatz public domain. — Failed Architecture
Janno Martens' essay for Failed Architecture explores the many deaths and resurrections of the shopping mall and highlights three phenomena of mallification — the creeping privatization of public spaces and replacement of the organically grown city with an imagineered 'experience' of what only... View full entry
The council housing designed 50 years ago for a progressive London borough remains a potent symbol of the achievements of postwar social democracy. — Places Journal
Prompted by Mark Swenarton's recent book, Cook's Camden, Douglas Murphy looks at the radically experimental public housing estates built by the London borough from 1966 to 1975, and the reevaluation of these extraordinary projects currently underway in our own era of unaffordable cities and... View full entry
Candidates seeking licensure will have until June 30, 2018 to test in ARE 4.0, after which ARE 5.0 will be the only accepted exam. The NCARB first announced the retirement of ARE 4.0 in 2014 providing testers with enough time to make the transition. Many have already switched to the latest version... View full entry
In that spirit I set a challenge for myself: Could I come up not just with one but with 25 buildings that might have deserved the award this year? It took me a few days — and I was helped by some terrific suggestions from architects, critics and historians on Twitter and elsewhere online — but in the end finding 25 wasn't that difficult. — LA Times
LA Times journalist Christopher Hawthorne has penned, or passionately typed, an inquiry into the fact that this year's 25-Year-Award was awarded to—no one. In the article, Hawthorne walks us through the importance and aim of such an award and how to him, there are more than a few projects that... View full entry
The annual AZ Awards is open for submissions. Now in its eighth installment, the AZ Awards is a unique opportunity for practitioners in the design and architecture community and their clients to receive the international exposure and acknowledgement that their exceptional work deserves.Since its... View full entry
A rainy week is a fantastic reason to visit exhibitions and attend talks. This week has some great speakers on offer, including international designers discussing the experimental approaches, and how design encounters and battles the concept of risk. Check back regularly to keep... View full entry
