Israeli authorities have approved a plan to build a cable car to the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in the Jewish world, by 2021.
It’s the first phase of what proponents envision as a fleet of cable cars crisscrossing the locus of sacred sites known as the Holy Basin.
— The New York Times
NYT architecture critic Michael Kimmelman explains the controversial plan for a cable-car network, envisioned to connect significant Jewish religious sites in Jerusalem while bypassing Palestinian neighborhoods, and how the concept contributes to a "Disneyfication" of the Holy City as much as... View full entry
A Portuguese graffiti artist who goes by Vile has been painting since he was a teenager, a depth of experience that, when combined with his skills in animation and illustration, allows him to "create stunning optical illusions whereby his name appears as a window cut into the side of a wall,"... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2019 With a new school year already here, 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 current term. Check back... View full entry
Workers will soon begin assembly of the 100-foot-tall architectural spire, which will bring the project’s total height to 1,401 feet...the 77-story Midtown East tower will have a three-story indoor and outdoor public observatory situated at 1,020 feet above street level. Construction of the spire could conceivably finish before the end of the week... — New York YIMBY
Due to be the tallest building in Midtown Manhattan, the tower is expected to be completed next year. View full entry
The successful candidate will be tasked with overseeing the museum’s vast collection of indigenous American artifacts, including the Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of more than 116 objects hailing from 50 different Native American cultures, from the 2nd century to the early 20th century. [...] The commitment to hire the new curator also came as part of the Diker gift. — artnet News
In a recent job listing on the American Alliance of Museums website, The Met in NYC appears to be hiring its first full-time Native North American art curator to lead the museum's new Native Arts program, artnet News reported earlier this month. Hiring the new curator is part of the... View full entry
The London School of Architecture (LSA) has unveiled its latest edition of Citizen Magazine, the school's new quarterly publication. The magazine, created "for everybody engaged in the challenge of creating the future city" aims to inspire and promote the work of people "designing innovative... View full entry
Deep beneath the streets of Clapham, London, in a former air raid shelter, Steve Dring and his colleagues are farming. Vertical farming, that is.
The company Dring co-founded, Growing Underground, is cultivating a wide range of vegetables and herbs in vertically-stacked trays in the confined space. It’s part of a growing trend in Europe and the U.S.
— Marketplace
Marketplace visits Growing Underground, a cutting-edge vertical farm inside a converted WWII-era air raid bunker 100 feet beneath London. "If we were growing peas out in the open, we’d have three crops a year," the company's cofounder Steve Dring tells the reporter. "Here, we get 62 crops a year... View full entry
The Columbia University Gradate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation has launched a new interdisciplinary research initiative called the Columbia GSAPP Housing Lab. The lab is to be led by GSAPP dean Amale Andraos. Architect and GSAPP associate professor Hilary Sample has also... View full entry
The president and his administration said last week that they plan on building between 450 and 500 miles of fencing along the nearly 2,000-mile border by the end of 2020, an ambitious undertaking funded by billions of defense dollars that had been earmarked for things like military base schools, target ranges and maintenance facilities. — The Columbian
The construction has commenced in Yuma, Arizona, where the 30-foot-tall fencing will replace existing shorter barriers. "The Trump administration says the wall—along with more surveillance technology, agents and lighting—is key to keeping out people who cross illegally,"... View full entry
Texas Central, the private company developing the Texas Bullet Train, announced it had signed a deal with Salini Impregilo, the Italian construction giant, and its American subsidiary, Lane Construction, to design, construct and install the 240-mile high-speed rail line using Japan’s Shinkansen trains. — The Houston Chronicle
The plan to build a 90-minute bullet train between Dallas and Houston still requires a number of local, state, and federal approvals before it can move forward. Nonetheless, backers of the project are raising funding for the initiative and setting out to complete early design work. Texas... View full entry
Under AB 68, homeowners who apply to build accessory dwelling units, or “granny flats,” can also apply to build a second, “junior” ADU on their property — the functional equivalent of statewide triplex zoning. While the new rules don’t allow the subdivision of properties for sale, they could unleash a “golden age” of ADU construction across the state, leading to a significant increase in housing supply. — California YIMBY
“The passage of AB 68 [...] fundamentally shifts the landscape for building new homes in our state,” Brian Hanlon, co-founder and president of zoning reform advocacy group California YIMBY said via press release, adding, “When the Governor signs these bills into law, almost every residential... View full entry
A month ago, Dr. Richard J. Williams of the University of Edinburgh expressed his views of the over-hyped shipping container design fad in The New York Times. Describing the fatal flaw in logic widely used to promote the use of shipping containers in recent architectural proposals, Williams... View full entry
Sanders railed against Trump’s housing policies and explained his own, which calls for federal investment of $2.5 trillion over the next decade and a national rent control standard. He said he will pay for the policy by establishing a wealth tax on the top tenth of one percent — or, according to his estimate, the wealthiest 175,000 families. — The Washington Post
Major points of the $2.5 trillion plan include: Establishing a national rent control standard that would cap rent increases at no more than 1½ times the rate of inflation or 3 percent, whichever is higher.Promoting legal protections for fair housing and taking steps to eliminate racial... View full entry
Located in McNeel Gallery at Giles Hall, the exhibition introduces and examines the historical, socio-cultural, religious and architectural influence people and events had on the design and construction of early African American church buildings constructed between 1800 and the 1920s. — MSU School of Architecture
According to MSU, the exhibition is part of a broader effort to highlight African American church houses throughout the South. View full entry
Architects are known for their distinct fashion sense. From the clean, minimalistic look to the striking and avant-garde, fashion's relationship with architecture is close and personal. Popular clothing brand COS is paying tribute to its Bauhaus-inspired design principles with a unique... View full entry