LeBron James is adding safe housing to the school he founded in his hometown, so students have a stable place to live while they get their education.
The NBA star announced Monday that a historic apartment building in Akron, Ohio, is being renovated and turned into transitional housing for families in need at his I Promise School.
— CNN
"Initially, our work was focused on helping these kids earn an education. But we've found that it is impossible to help them learn if they are struggling to survive — if they are hungry, if they have no heat in the freezing winter, if they live in fear for their safety," said James... View full entry
The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations that the U.S. is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. The withdrawal will be complete this time next year, after a one-year waiting period has elapsed.
"We will continue to work with our global partners to enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change and prepare for and respond to natural disasters," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Monday.
— NPR.com
Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists told NPR, “The reality is, to really deliver on our climate goals, we do need strong federal action," adding, "The unfortunate reality is U.S. carbon emissions actually rose last year." View full entry
the L.A. City Planning Department (DCP) released its full draft Downtown Community Plan, called DTLA 2040. Once approved, the plan would eliminate parking requirements for all of downtown Los Angeles.
DCP has been working on the new DTLA 2040 plan since 2014. It is the first city community plan update that incorporates the city’s new modular planning code, developed under re:code LA
— Streetsblog
Under the proposed plan, up to 60-percent of Downtown Los Angeles would be eligible for residential uses, up from just 33-percent today. The planning document states: “By the year 2040, Downtown will include 125,000 new residents, in addition to 55,000 new jobs — representing 20% of the... View full entry
[A]lthough culture does play a role, it is park location, design and amenities that most influence use among senior citizens. “Often older adults feel not welcome in parks that are primarily designed for younger populations,” [Professor Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, a professor of urban planning at UCLA] says. “In other words, parks are not psychologically accessible to them.” — BBC
Inspired by the exercise “playgrounds” for senior citizens that are common in China, similar parks are being designed in cities worldwide. The article takes a look at the specific design elements that are needed to make these parks appealing to older adults, as well as why these parks should... View full entry
Sometimes there's that candidate with the perfect application package. It's too good to be true. At least it seems so. There may be some question marks surrounding a few details. Maybe the experience level doesn't match the reported responsibilities on a particular project. Someone two years out... View full entry
Development is in the works for another park-adjacent parcel near the Metro’s Gold Line station in Chinatown. An LLC submitted plans on Thursday to the city to build 243 live/work units on a property on North Main and Sotello streets, a block away from Los Angeles State Historic Park. — Curbed LA
According to Curbed, the site is currently in use as a produce distribution center. View full entry
In 2005, the Port of Seattle predicted Sea-Tac would be at capacity by 2021, with 45 million annual passengers.
Last year, nearly 50 million people flew into or out of Sea-Tac. And the number of planes landing at the airport is expected to increase by nearly 60% between 2014 and 2034. The Port plans to spend roughly $6 billion by 2027 to expand Sea-Tac to meet that rising demand.
— The Seattle Times
For the third time in 25 years, Seattle is embarking on a quest to add a second regional airport serving the region, one of the fastest-growing in the country. View full entry
A huge stream of water visible from miles away gushed from the tiered west pyramid facade of One Liberty Place early Sunday morning, soaking the Center City Philadelphia sidewalk below.
Identified later by city officials as part of an ill-prepared fire system test, the liquid continued pouring out for approximately five minutes before coming to an abrupt stop.
— Billy Penn
According to Billy Penn, the spill was due to testing of the building's fire protection systems, required annually for certification. A spokesperson with the Philadelphia Fire Department explained that "newer buildings are equipped with special drainage systems that pull off most of the... View full entry
With support from the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance’s Innovation Fund, [Vancouer] collaborated closely with the building industry and its partners, and, in 2016, Vancouver’s City Council approved a Zero Emissions Building (ZEB) plan. That plan launched a bold commitment to make near-zero emissions homes and buildings the new normal in Vancouver by 2030. Few cities had yet gone that far. — Fast Company
Writing in Fast Company, Sean Pander, green building manager for the city of Vancouver, lays out the multi-faceted approach the Terminal City has taken to chart a new course with regards to carbon emissions generated by the city’s buildings. The effort, according to Pander, involved... View full entry
Next year, if all goes well, a pair of footbridges intended to be cancer-proof will open in Geelong, a town 75km south-west of Melbourne, Australia. These bridges, which will act as prototypes for more than 150 others planned for the expanding city, will be constructed using a novel approach that combines glass-fibre and carbon-fibre rebars. They will, though, cost about the same as equivalent conventional bridges. — The Economist
The potentially ground-breaking construction approach has been developed by Australian university Deakin and Austeng, an engineering firm. The structural system selectively deploys pricey carbon fiber rebar to strengthen the construction assembly where necessary, while glass fiber rebar members... View full entry
As the United Kingdom continues to make progress in its efforts to decarbonize its buildings, the country’s liberal party has unveiled a trail-blazing “Warm Homes for All” plan that could bring roof insulation, double-glazed windows, renewable technologies, heat pumps, solar thermal systems... View full entry
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's School of Architecture today announced Francisco Javier Rodríguez-Suárez, FAIA as its next Director. Said to be joining the university in January 2020, Rodríguez-Suárez currently serves as the ACSA Distinguished Professor of Architecture at the... View full entry
The London fire brigade’s readiness for the Grenfell Tower fire was “gravely inadequate” and fewer people would have died if it had been better prepared, a long-awaited public inquiry report into the disaster that killed 72 people has concluded ... [despite] “compelling evidence that the external walls of the building failed to comply with requirements” of building regulations governing fire safety. — The Guardian
The Fire Brigades Union published a damning report in September that accuses former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's deregulation — followed, and reportedly amplified, by Tony Blair — of having gutted building and fire safety regulations. At the same time, firefighters are blamed for... View full entry
With the summer season behind us and a new term just started, Archinect takes a moment to showcase the work of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design's IDEAS campus located near Culver City, Calif. The campus is an incubator for exploration of various examples of digital design software, fabrication... View full entry
The Tamayouz Excellence Award recently announced the results of their 2019 Rifat Chadirji Prize, a yearly thematic prize named after celebrated Iraqi architect and academic Dr. Rifat Chadirji. For this year's competition, the prize sought design proposals for a modern Arab art museum in Sharjah... View full entry
