It’s happened again. A public vote to name four trains running between the Swedish cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg has resulted in one of the four being called Trainy McTrainface in an echo of the name chosen by the British public for the new polar research vessel. — The Guardian
Last year, the British public voted to name its new polar research vessel "Boaty McBoatface"—a decision that the British government quickly overturned in favor of the less comical name "RRS Sir David Attenborough." Hopefully, Boaty McBoatface's legacy will live on in Sweden, where the public... View full entry
Out of 44 design studios, eight winners were announced for the fourth edition of the Archmarathon Awards, which happened in Miami's Faena Forum from October 12-14. The competition distinguishes projects by studios based in the U.S., Canada, Central America, and Latin America.Rozana Montiel of... View full entry
Five finalists have recently been announced in the 6th International Student Tall Building Design Competition, hosted annually by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Under the theme Connecting the City: People, Density, & Infrastructure, the contest invited... View full entry
The Pacific Northwest has undergone rapid growth over the past decade as newcomers flock, drawn to its booming tech economy, casual atmosphere, and great views. Home to cities like Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, the region has become a hotbed for development with an emerging... View full entry
Stefano Boeri's Vertical Forest towers are slowly popping up around the world. In Shanghai, the concept is transported to the Red Planet in “Vertical Forest Seeds on Mars”. The project is part of the Shanghai Urban Space and Art Season 2017 exhibition (SUSAS), which Stefano Boeri co-curated... View full entry
Dignitaries at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games will obviously get the best seats--those made of wood--but ordinary common folk will have to make do with plastic. — Asahi Shimbun
Less than 1 percent of Tokyo's Olympic Stadium seats will be wooden. Those will be allocated for the best views of the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as track and field events. The country's timber industry has been advocating since 2016 to install wooden seats for all the spectators as a... View full entry
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the British government put out a call for evidence for the independent review of building regulations and fire safety. Led by Dame Judith Hackitt, the review will make recommendations to ensure there is a sufficiently robust regulatory system for the future... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Resisto Free Live Webinar for Architects and Specifiers on November 2! Watch this short video to meet Jean-François Côté, Director of Standards and Scientific Affairs at Resisto, who will host this live Webinar on Thursday, November 2, which qualifies for one RCI... View full entry
Attention chocolate lovers, Italian designer Carlo Ratti has conceived an edible pavilion made of pralines. Image by Daniele IodiceMade for the high-end chocolate manufacturer Venchi, the building will be presented at Fico Eataly, the world largest food park in Bologna, Italy. The structure is... View full entry
Konrad Frey was a pioneer who designed and built solar houses based on data and scientific insights. Yet Frey and his work are largely unknown. A project by the architectural theoretician Anselm Wagner aims to change that. — Phys org
"The architectural designs of Konrad Frey are characterized by the fact that their form is a consequence of function. Had he worked in Vienna, had his activities started in the urban context, his architecture would have become a topic of research long ago," says art historian and architectural... View full entry
Ten years after a Dundee V&A museum was first considered, the finishing touches are being applied to the exterior of the £80.1m building ahead of its opening next summer. [...]
No amount of artist's impressions and computer-generated fly-throughs could have prepared the city for the true size and scale of the imposing design of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who will inspect the building on Wednesday.
— BBC
Kengo Kuma was in Scotland today to inspect construction progress on the impressive V&A Museum of Design Dundee he designed. Video via V&A Dundee on YouTube He seemed very pleased, stating: "As an architect, seeing a completed building can be stressful, as some times the quality isn’t... View full entry
While Apple opens the doors to their new campus, and Amazon looks for a location for its second, Microsoft has gone in a different direction, building Wi-Fi tree houses so staff can connect with nature. Microsoft's campus is comprised of 120 buildings spread across Redmond, Washington—a suburb... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2017 Ready or not, it's the start of a new school year. Back for Fall 2017 is Archinect's Get Lectured, an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back regularly to... View full entry
After seven months of steady growth in the demand for design services, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) paused in September. [...] ABI score was 49.1, down from a score of 53.7 in the previous month. This score reflects a slight decrease in design services provided by U.S. architecture firms [...]. The new projects inquiry index was 59.0, down from a reading of 62.5 the previous month, while the new design contracts index eased somewhat from 54.2 to 52.9. — AIA
“We’ve seen unexpectedly strong numbers in design activity for most of 2017, so the pause in September should be viewed in that context” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “Project inquiries and new design contracts remain healthy, and the continued strength in most... View full entry
A bitcoin vault doesn’t store actual bitcoin units. Technically, what’s being stored are private, cryptographic keys. It’s odd to think of a virtual currency needing physical storage, but just like your most precious photos, even a cryptocurrency needs some kind of material container. — Quartz
The company Xapo is using a decommissioned military bunker to safeguard its customers bitcoins. In this article from Quartz, Joon lan Wong describes his way into the vault storing millions of dollars worth of bitcoins and the numerous portals and gates he had to cross. View full entry
