The winners of this year’s World Architecture Festival WAFX Awards have been announced, featuring a total of 34 projects from top design firms across the globe whose work addresses a range of important contemporary environmental issues and other social concerns.Designs in eight categories... View full entry
AI developers Stability AI have announced the release of Stable Doodle, a sketch-to-image tool that “converts a simple drawing into a dynamic image, providing limitless imaging possibilities to a range of professionals and hobbyists.” Accessible through Stability AI’s Clipdrop platform... View full entry
Saudi Arabia's megaproject Neom is seeking to raise 10 billion riyals ($2.7bn) in loans, according to a report in Bloomberg published on Monday.
The early stages of the $500bn planned city will be financed by money raised from local lenders, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. Banks are currently in negotiations with Neom, and the loan could be completed in the next few months.
— Middle East Eye
A separate $3 billion loan will be required for Shushah Island, the luxury resort component of the $500 billion megadevelopment whose record-setting centerpiece is promised for 2025. Another $800 million was secured recently towards the development of Sindalah, which is set to be the project’s... View full entry
When asked about why skywells have caught more attention of modern Chinese people, Wang [Zhengfeng] says that the courtyard is also designed to serve as a gathering space for families or communities, and comes with ritual meanings. "Perhaps changes in the way of life could also trigger vernacular nostalgia among people living in concrete and glass forests.”
"It won't be easy to be sustainable by learning from the past without reflecting on our current behaviours."
— BBC
Lightwells are of course, a common passive cooling method in modern Western designs, but in China, their popularity is partly driven by a budding “vernacular nostalgia” for traditional features and concepts. The government’s push towards greener building standards and a 2060 net zero carbon... View full entry
The 2023 edition of the Architecture At Zero celebrates another successful year of innovation and competition as student and professional teams submit their design proposals to help reimagine a teaching and innovation farm lab in Allensworth, CA. What makes this competition brief distinct is... View full entry
Rex Heuermann, an architect who had lived most of his life in Nassau County and worked in Manhattan, was taken into custody in connection with at least some of the killings, said an official with knowledge of the case. — The New York Times
The 59-year-old was the owner of a Midtown Manhattan-based consultancy practice that offered “concept-driven designs at multiple scales from educational facilities, residential works, as well as mix use and office design, public works, and master planning,” according to its website. Heuermann... View full entry
Of the two bills before Congress, one has flowery language about the need to “uplift and beautify,” “inspire the human spirit,” “ennoble the United States” and “command respect from the general public.” The other codifies old guidance that directs federal builders to “reflect the regional architectural traditions,” to emphasize “the work of living American artists” and to not have bureaucrats force an official style on the folks who do the designing. — Politico
The duel between the Democrats’ updated ‘Democracy in Design’ (S.366) and the Republican-backed ‘Beautifying Federal Civic Architecture Act’ (H.R.3627) that was introduced in May recently got the attention of a (paywalled) Wall Street Journal op-ed along its way to spurring action on the... View full entry
Archinect's Lexicon focuses on newly invented or adopted vocabulary within the architectural community. For this installment, we're featuring an artificial intelligence term that has been cited in our recent feature articles with both Matias Del Campo and Genevieve Goffman. A "Generative... View full entry
Shimahara Visual is hosting an online panel discussion on Wednesday, July 19th, 2023, which will examine the impact of generative AI on architectural visualization. Titled Inflection Point, the discussion will feature a range of designers, artists, and commentators, including Archinect... View full entry
Adjaye Associates’ involvement with Vermont’s Shelburne Museum has ended as the institution is now looking to distance itself from the firm two months after its embattled founder was announced to lead the design of an important $12.6 million extension project in May. The move comes amidst a... View full entry
RIBA is continuing with its spate of 2023 awards program announcements today with the selection of six projects that will vie for the prestigious Stephen Lawrence Prize, an annual contest that honors the slain aspiring architect in what is now its 25th year.As was previously reported, this is the... View full entry
Texas-based Lake|Flato has announced its recent attainment of B Corp certification in a move they say is geared at enhancing the firm’s already-strong social and environmental credentials. As the first entity in the state to achieve the certification, Lake|Flato joins a vanguard of some... View full entry
The latest edition of our curated job picks from the Archinect Job board highlights seven firms looking for BIM specialists to strengthen their teams. Looking to learn more about the role of a BIM Specialist? Be sure to check out Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series... View full entry
A groundbreaking ceremony held in late June marks the official start of work on the LAX Midfield Satellite Concourse South project, an expansion of the recently-opened West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal. — Urbanize Los Angeles
The Woods Bagot-designed $400 million MSC South project will add 150,000 square feet, spread across eight gates and two stories, to LAX. It forms part of Los Angeles World Airport’s (LAWA), the airport authority that owns and operates the airport, $14.5 billion capital investment improvement... View full entry
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has kicked off its annual awards programming with the announcement of the shortlisted projects for the 2023 Neave Brown Award for Housing. The four projects in the running for the award’s fourth overall edition are all examples of “how... View full entry
