OMA has designed a new masterplan for Columbia Circle in Shanghai. A historically-rich area, Columbia Circle includes preserved colonial-era monuments as well as former industrial buildings. Located on a 4.7 hectare compound, the new master plan is the first urban renewal project in the city... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter & Spring 2017Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session for Winter and Spring 2017. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back... View full entry
...even as Uber talks up its determination to treat drivers more humanely, it is engaged in an extraordinary behind-the-scenes experiment in behavioral science to manipulate them in the service of its corporate growth — an effort whose dimensions became evident in interviews with several dozen current and former Uber officials, drivers and social scientists, as well as a review of behavioral research. — the New York Times
"Because its drivers are independent contractors, they lack most of the protections associated with employment. By mastering their workers’ mental circuitry, Uber and the like may be taking the economy back toward a pre-New Deal era when businesses had enormous power over workers and few checks... View full entry
U.S. News released a “Best Job” rankings from a variety of different industries and architecture came in seventh – in the “engineering” category. Out of eight. Following cartographer. And not even listed on the general 100 “Best Jobs” list. The rankings are produced by looking at a... View full entry
There is Makoto Yamaguchi’s Polygon House, a quasi-Brutalist geode of distressed steel and glass that perches on a hill in a forest like an abandoned space pod; the concrete, glass and larch wood Omizubata N House by Iida Archiship Studio, as well as TNA’s Passage, Ring and Stage House(s) — T Magazine
Hanya Yanagihara visited the mountain town of Karuizawa, which has a collection of houses designed by prominent Japanese architects. View full entry
It's been almost a year since schmidt hammer lassen and Architectus' team won the competition to redevelop the State Library Victoria in Melbourne, Australia's oldest and busiest public institution...‘Our concept provides a strong 'design line' that will act as a framework to guide present and future works,’ Morgen Schmidt says. — Bustler
Courtesy of schmidt hammer lassen.Read more about the project on Bustler. View full entry
Transportation officials in Georgia are scrambling to cope with a crisis, after a huge fire caused a bridge on Interstate 85 to collapse in Atlanta on Thursday night. Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency, and with the heavily used road closed in both directions, drivers are being told to find other options — from detours to mass transit.
Friday morning, officials said they don't yet know what caused the fire or how long repairs will take.
— NPR
Atlanta's Interstate 85 was first built in 1953 and reconstructed in 1985 to accommodate increased traffic. The closure affects a crucial 3-mile portion, which carries up to 400,000 vehicles a day. U.S. DOT Secretary Elaine Chow directed Federal Highway Administration officials to grant $... 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... View full entry
Located on the former site of a Unilever palm oil plantation in the Congolese forest, the Lusanga International Research Centre on Art and Economic Inequality, or LIRCAEI, is a new white cube museum space dedicated to “the transformation of former plantation spaces into areas for artistic... View full entry
The AIA has announced that a “conversation” with former First Lady Michelle Obama will be held on the first day of the 2017 AIA Conference on Architecture in Orlando. The press release notes the four primary initiatives that Obama engaged with during her time as the First Lady of the United... View full entry
Critic Curt Gambetta brings forward an age old uncomfortable question on corporate public spaces whose main purpose is often curtailed by exemplary architecture that is hard to reject. His piece titled, "No free gifts," carefully borrowed from the anthropologist Mary Douglas, asks the... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter & Spring 2017Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session for Winter and Spring 2017. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back... View full entry
As many recent surveys have noted, the design world has been slow to incorporate people from historically under-represented communities into its ranks, particularly in leadership positions. While a variety of causes lead to this, and greater efforts are required to address it, we are committed to using our resources to contribute to and catalyze that change in design. — Center for Urban Pedagogy
At a time when inclusion is as crucial as ever in the architecture community and beyond, the non-profit Center for Urban Pedagogy in Brooklyn is encouraging designers from historically under-represented communities in the design profession to apply to their inaugural Change in Design Fellowship... View full entry
Have you ever realized that Hong Kong skyscrapers have holes in them? They're called dragon gates, and according to the Chinese principle feng shui these holes allow dragons to fly from the mountains to the water each day. It's believed that blocking the dragon's path could bring misfortune. Buildings with bad feng shui, such as the Bank of China Tower, have been blamed for surrounding companies going out of business. — Business Insider
Double-paned, waterproofed windows for insulation? Check. Reinforced steel beams for stability during an earthquake? Check. Hole in the center of the building so dragons can fly through? View full entry
Jared Kushner’s family's new skyscraper has caused quite a stir. The design of the 666 Fifth Avenue building in New York has been widely mocked for its apparently "phallic" shape on social media [...]
Although the project has reportedly raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest given the close working relationship between Mr Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, and Mr Trump, it was the skyscraper's design which grabbed the most attention.
— The Independent
Other people have noted that the building looks like a raised middle finger. Meanwhile, some have focused on the address—666 Fifth Avenue. According to Peter Grant of the Wall Street Journal, the Kushner family is trying to change the name to 660 Fifth.I like this response... View full entry
