This week we’re joined by one of our favorite regulars, Fred Scharmen. Fred currently teaches architecture and urban design at Morgan State University's School of Architecture and Planning, and is the Principal and Co-Founder of The Working Group on Adaptive Systems. What brings him on... View full entry
President Trump has instructed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to exempt Alaska’s 16.7-million-acre Tongass National Forest from logging restrictions imposed nearly 20 years ago [...]
The move would affect more than half of the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest, opening it to potential logging, energy and mining projects. It would undercut a sweeping Clinton administration policy known as the “roadless rule,” which has survived a decades-long legal assault.
— The Washington Post
The move comes as global awareness over widespread deforestation in the Amazon and other tropical regions around the world intensifies. In Brazil, where land clearance and deforestation have increased rapidly this year under the country's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, smoke from the burning... View full entry
"Academic studies show that promotions are still largely a reward for past performance, and that organizations continue to assume the attributes that have made someone successful so far will continue to make them successful in the future (even if their responsibilities change)," reads a recent... View full entry
A bill allowing these “accessory dwelling units” (ADUs) on historically designated properties won approval Tuesday from the city’s Planning Commission. The nod advanced a policy change that backers hope could help ease the burden of preserving creaky old houses while addressing growing demand for both affordable housing and dwellings suitable for aging in place. — PlanPhilly.com
The push to formalize Accessory Dwelling Units in historic buildings comes as the Philadelphia Planning Commission also moves to lower parking requirements and allow a greater number of uses for historic structures. View full entry
Back in 2008, Lego launched its series of architectural kits with structures such as the Empire State Building, Fallingwater, the Villa Savoye, and countless others. "Architects operate in grids and if you analyze these, in pen and paper over blueprints, then you can derive the best translation... View full entry
Summer is a great time for aspiring students and professionals to enhance their skills and expand their portfolios. With the season quickly coming to a close and students ready to begin a new school year, let's take a look at a few of the architecture workshops and intensives around the... View full entry
Six buildings have recently been recognized with Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards, a program hosted annually by the Structural Engineers Association of New York. The winning projects by structural engineering firms in the New York City area had to impress the judges with their... View full entry
The [stabilization plan] calls for 52 piles to be drilled 250 feet down into bedrock to shore up the building, now leaning 17 inches to the north and west. The 2-foot-thick circular steel piles would be filled with steel reinforced concrete. Twenty-two would be sunk along Mission Street and 30 on Fremont Street. — The San Francisco Chronicle
The reinforcements will join the tower's existing 950-pile foundation in helping to stop the tower's drift. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, a report written by a panel of experts studying solutions to the sinking problem states, "In our professional opinion, once the... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2019 With a new school year upon us yet again, 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... View full entry
The Cuomo administration is tapping two discretionary funds to steer nearly $47 million to an outlet mall on Staten Island, a multi-pronged subsidy that increased after the developers contributed $85,000 to the governor's campaign.
The Empire State Development corporation last month approved $21.9 million in subsidies for Empire Outlets [...] That's on top of a $25 million grant awarded last April by the state's Dormitory Authority.
— Politico
The recently-opened mall, designed by SHoP Architects, is part of a larger collection of waterfront revitalization and densification projects taking shape on Staten Island. View full entry
Six months after breaking ground across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall, construction has gone vertical for The Grand.
Over the past two months, a pair of tower cranes has been raised above the project site, which spans the full city blocked bounded1st Street, 2nd Street, Olive Street, and Grand Avenue.
— Urbanize Los Angeles
It has been exactly two months since the Gehry-designed The Grand development in Downtown Los Angeles completed a massive 15-hour foundation concrete pour for the project’s 39-story residential tower, and now, two tower cranes are driving the construction upwards, reports Urbanize LA. Related... View full entry
The assembly returns this fall at A+D on September 7, 2019 from 7:00-10:30pm. The recurring event is an unveiling of A+D’s new rotation of exhibitions. This approach to hosting simultaneous exhibition openings is an expression of our mission to join together a diverse community in celebration of... View full entry
Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, will be returning to their 35-year-long role as volunteer builders for Habitat for Humanity. President Carter had undergone a hip surgery last spring, reports CNN, and had to take a break from his volunteer activities... View full entry
Voters in Phoenix have soundly rejected a proposal that would have halted the expansion of the city’s light rail system—a proposition that had the backing of dark money linked to the notorious anti-transit Koch brothers. — Streetsblog
The rejected initiative would have terminated "all construction, development, extension, and expansion of” light rail lines in the city in order to redirect funds appropriated for transit expansion to more auto-centric infrastructure. The result represents a set back for the dark... View full entry
Now comes encouraging news of a Detroit program to take abandoned homes which can be saved into a land bank and then auction them off. The program is coupled with forgivable loans for repairs. — CNU
Detrroit is auctioning off vacant homes to "people who commit to fix them up and live in them." The implementation has supported Detroit's growing identity as a financially feasible place to "make a start with a home and a business." View full entry
