Zaha Hadid Architects' 67-hectare “Unicorn Island” masterplan in Chengdu is slowly beginning to take shape with the near-completion of its first building, a start-up exhibition and conference center. The masterplan's catchy name “Unicorn Island” might make it sound like some sort of... View full entry
The University of Oregon (UO) College of Design in Eugene, Oregon is currently searching for a new dean. According to a job listing hosted by the Association for Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the 1,800-student college is home to 1,300 undergraduates and 500 graduate students and... View full entry
Following last week's announcement of the Regional & Urban Design Award recipients, the AIA revealed the 2020 winners of the Interior Architecture Awards, which celebrates excellence in innovative interior spaces. Submissions were judged based on sense of place and purpose, ecology and... View full entry
It is unlawful for governments to return people to countries where their lives might be threatened by the climate crisis, a landmark ruling by the United Nations human rights committee has found.
The judgment – which is the first of its kind – represents a legal “tipping point” and a moment that “opens the doorway” to future protection claims for people whose lives and wellbeing have been threatened due to global heating, experts say.
— The Guardian
The Guardian reports that the United Nations human rights committee has issued a landmark ruling that could establish a precedent for granting asylum rights to people displaced by climate change. The non legally-binding ruling is poised to inform how the global community handles up what could... View full entry
China’s largest property developer by sales Country Garden is planning to start mass production of construction robots next year to cut costs and raise efficiency, it said on Friday.
The group, which started investing in robotics research and development in 2018, said it aims to have at least one robot at each of its sites across the nation.
— Reuters
According to Reuters, Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd. has signaled its intention to invest more than $2 billion in robotics each year for the next five years to boost automation in the company's construction, agriculture, restaurant, and property management businesses. To showcase its... View full entry
There is cross-laminated timber (CLT), which looks like inch-thick strips of heartwood arranged like a Jenga set to produce a block that is pretty much the definition of the word solid. Or glu-lam, used to make structural beams that are like extremely strong plywood, and LVL—laminated veneer lumber—which makes excellent heavy beams and had formed the skeleton of the apartment building. — National Geographic
Saul Elbein dives into the growing industry of mass timber and talks with architects, both abroad and in the U.S., that are already using the new materials to design buildings of today. Elbein also chats with those imaging cities of the future, full of "standardized, customizable, mid-rise... View full entry
“The bottom line is this: The way people get around, the way people live is going to change,” [Texas Governor Greg] Abbott said, according to the Rivard Report. “As a result, this generation of roads that [Texas Transportation Commission Chairman] Bruce Bugg is in charge of building is probably the last major buildout of roads we’ll have in the state of Texas, even considering the fact that Texas is the fastest-growing state in America.” — D Magazine
Might Texas finally end its long-running love affair with highway infrastructure? According to the state's Governor, Greg Abbot, it's a possibility. In a recent speech, Abbot, who is a Republican, expressed doubt that the state's current transportation regime can last much longer as the... View full entry
Architects Gabellini Sheppard Associates and developers Tishman Speyer have unveiled a series of substantial changes for the outdoor public realm areas associated with the Rockefeller Center complex in New York City. The proposal, presented to the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission... View full entry
Grain elevators were once an icon of Canada’s west: often painted a bright boxcar red, they stood in towns across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. [...]
In the 1930s there were nearly 6,000 towers; now fewer than a thousand remain. The destruction, in many ways, mirrors the broader decline of rural communities in western Canada.
— The Guardian
For The Guardian, journalist Leyland Cecco on the struggle of small agricultural communities in Canada's prairie provinces to preserve their aging, wooden grain elevators as cultural heritage monuments. Restored Alberta Wheat Pool elevators at the Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre in... View full entry
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Today marks the 34th year the federal holiday has been observed, in celebration of the great civil rights leader. Dr. King fought against racial inequality through nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience, seeking progress in the U.S. on matters of civil... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2020 It's a new year and a new school term, so that means it's time for Archinect's latest edition of Get Lectured, an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the... View full entry
The key binding ingredient in concrete is cement, which has a massive carbon footprint. [...] So Sant and his team set to work on a greener approach that starts with a compound called portlandite instead of traditional Portland cement.
The production of portlandite also releases CO2. But its unique chemistry allows it to absorb CO2 later in the process, when the concrete cures and hardens into precast blocks and other shapes.
— The Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times takes a look at the University of California, Los Angeles-based Carbon Upcycling team's efforts to bring CO2Concrete, a carbon-sequestering cement product, to the market. The team is vying for the Carbon XPRIZE, a $7.5 million prize competition aimed at monetizing carbon... View full entry
One Thousand Museum, first-and-only residential tower designed by the late Zaha Hadid in the Western Hemisphere, makes its debut in Miami's Museum Park this week. The residential tower stands prominently alongside neighboring condo towers and other notable Miami structures like the... View full entry
The Center for Architecture in New York City is currently presenting a collection of "superior public building projects" via a wide-ranging exhibition created in collaboration with the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) that seeks to celebrate some of the city's most... 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
