Slated to open in 2018, the Memorial to Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama will seek to tell the truth. Six acres of land owned by the Equal Justice Initiative—the legal services nonprofit Stevenson founded in 1989—will memorialize the more than 4,000 victims of what Stevenson calls racial terror lynching in the American South between 1877 and 1950. A nearby museum will tell the history of slavery, lynching, segregation, and mass incarceration as a single narrative. — Citylab
Designed by MASS Design Group—which has previously worked on the Kigali Genocide Memorial—the memorial stems from a comprehensive report on lynchings released in 2015 by the Equal Justice Initiative. The memorial will feature six-foot columns, each representing counties where lynchings took... View full entry
Located in Lakewood, Colorado, the Lamar Station Classroom is a communal outdoor classroom for teaching residents about urban farming, while also providing space for environmental education and youth programs. Designed by Denver-based ColoradoBuildingWorkshop, and Fort... View full entry
After the 18th-century Clandon Park Palladian house in Surrey suffered a devastating fire in 2015, the path to its restoration is just beginning. The National Trust, who owns the historic property, and Malcolm Reading Consultants jointly launched an international competition... View full entry
After fifteen years of development plans tailored to the creative classes, Florida surveys an urban landscape in ruins. The story of London is the story of Austin, the Bay Area, Chicago, New York, Toronto, and Sydney. When the rich, the young, and the (mostly) white rediscovered the city, they created rampant property speculation, soaring home prices, and mass displacement. The “creative class” were just the rich all along, or at least the college-educated children of the rich. — Jacobin Magazine
Richard Frorida's latest book, The New Urban Crisis, represents the culmination of this long mea culpa. Though he stops just short of saying it, he all but admits that he was wrong. He argues that the creative classes have grabbed hold of many of the world’s great cities and choked them to... View full entry
In Archinect's latest book giveaway, our readers had a chance to win “Elastic Architecture: Frederick Kiesler and Design Research in the First Age of Robotic Culture”. Authored by Stephen Phillips, SPARCHS principal and an architecture professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the book delves... View full entry
All 17 members of a White House advisory panel on the arts and humanities resigned en masse Friday in response to President Trump's divisive comments on the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va.
The move follows the mass exodus of major business CEOs who quit two White House panels this week to protest the president's response to last weekend's clashes between far-right groups and counter-protesters.
— LA Times
Last week as multiple CEO's began quitting both the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum in protest of Trump's response to Charlottesville, Trump has decided to not move forward with the Council on Infrastructure. On Friday, the entire Arts Committee resigned over the... View full entry
It’s known as the “urban heat island effect,” and it refers to the pockets of intense heat captured by the concrete, asphalt, dark roofs and the dearth of foliage that define many American cityscapes.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti wants to reduce the city’s average temperature by 3 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 20 years.
— Washington Post
Los Angeles is the first U.S. city to test cool pavement to fight urban heat, coating streets in a special gray paint known as CoolSeal, that can lower the temperature as much as 10 degrees. The officials say that the hope is that cooler streets will lead to cooler neighborhoods, less air... View full entry
Out of 18 competitive teams, Pezo von Ellrichshausen and Swiss artist Felice Varini were chosen to design a temporary public art installation for the Hull UK City of Culture 2017 in Hull, England. Their winning proposal, “A Hall for Hull”... View full entry
The infrastructure council, which was still being formed, would have advised Trump on his plan to spend as much as $1 trillion upgrading roads, bridges and other public works. Its cancellation follows Trump’s announcement Wednesday that he was disbanding two other business advisory panels. — Bloomberg
After multiple CEO's began quitting both the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum in protest of Trump's response to Charlottesville, the 45th President has decided to not move forward with the Council on Infrastructure, still in the process of being formed. The council... View full entry
Melbourne, Australia has been ranked as the most “liveable” city in the world for the seventh consecutive year by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The EIU’s benchmark annual report titled “The Global Liveability Report 2017,” ranks 140 cities in order of best living conditions.
Melbourne’s 97.5 score is down to perfect assessments in health care, education, and infrastructure, as well as hitting over 95 in stability, and culture and environment.
— qz.com
As in previous years, the top 10 list is mostly comprised of major cities in Australia and Canada, while Vienna — once again — barely misses the first spot by 0.1 percentage points overall. Auckland, Helsinki, and Hamburg manage to claim some coveted spots at the top for their respective... 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
Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter was appointed as advisor and architect for the new mixed-use headquarters of fashion company Bestseller in Brande, Denmark. Located in the company's hometown of Brande, the project will accommodate retail spaces for up to 30 shops, areas for offices, education, and public... View full entry
Facades using the product, called Solar Squared, will be able to generate electricity while allowing greater amounts of daylight. The blocks also provide improved thermal insulation, developers say.
Solar Squared’s design consists of an array of optical elements that focus sunlight on small-sized solar cells. These are incorporated within the glass bricks during manufacture and they collect diffuse components of sunlight, making it useful for capturing solar energy in urban areas.
— Global Construction Review
Academics from the Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Science department of England's University of Exter have developed a solar power technology that fits into glass bricks. Its modular design is scalable, allowing for flexible structural integration. We now have the capability to build... View full entry
After a three-year search that included more than 30 potential sites, the American Institute of Architects Houston Chapter selected the 1906 Riesner Building, to be the home of Architecture Center Houston, which is expected to open in mid-September.
Originally, the three-story Riesner Building was a typical commercial building for its time, complete with double French doors facing the street.
— Houston Chronicle
The winning entry for the 'Re-Imagine Architecture Center Houston' competition, designed by Murphy Mears Architects, proposed to devote the first floor of ReACH to flexible office and meeting space, restore the original brick and openings in the West façade, and re-purpose the Boiler Room for... View full entry
Every year, the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter recognizes individuals, firms, practitioners, and advocates that demonstrate the transformative nature of architecture. The Presidential Honoree program, as it is called, distinguishes those whose passion, talent, and... View full entry