Workers are taking down Chernobyl's "sarcophagus," once meant to keep the reactor's radioactive materials locked inside, before it falls on its own accord.
The dismantling will begin after the New Shelter Containment (NSC) is in full working operation. Currently, the NSC controls part of the confinement. Earlier this year, the European Union handed off control of the NSC to Ukraine.
— Popular Mechanics
The steel and concrete containment structure, hastily erected following the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl power plant in 1986, is being replaced by internationally funded and coordinated effort. The new shelter, a €1.5 billion complex considered to be the largest work of movable... View full entry
Perhaps, as a real-estate developer, President Trump might appreciate the richness of America’s heritage of classical public buildings. It’s not inconceivable that he would support reform of the Guiding Principles. Otherwise, U.S. senators and representatives should do all they can to ensure that classical principles guide future federal architecture projects. In doing so, they will be contributing to a renewal of American civilization. — City Journal
During the administration of President John F. Kennedy, sociologist, politician, and diplomat Daniel Patrick Moynihan drafted the "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture," a set of architectural guidelines that inform the design of building projects undertaken by the Public Building Service... View full entry
The home consists of three pavilions connected by a central passageway. The public areas are in two pavilions: one side is the living room, and the other, the dining room and kitchen, all adjacent to patios accessed through glass doors, which can be opened when entertaining. With clerestory windows, these rooms are bathed with light, creating a treehouse feel. — Nola.com
Nola.com's Sue Strachan takes a look at the Frances and Nathaniel C. Curtis house in New Orleans. Originally built in 1963, the home became the first Modernist-era home in New Orleans to earn a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by maverick Modernist architects... View full entry
At their best, not only do architectural drawings convey architectural intention, but also something about the meaning of the project and the thinking behind it [...] Not all drawings can be judged in the same way, of course. — Make Architects
Reflecting on the upcoming drawing competition, The Architecture Drawing Prize, Paul Finch of Make Architects shares his thoughts on the importance of the architectural drawing. Finch writes, "How does one assess the merits of a variety of drawing types? They are related but separate, some an... View full entry
U.S. investors are beginning to smell an opportunity in the waste-to-energy market, where livestock dung and food garbage is traded. Interest is being fueled by new state laws and by demand from companies such as UPS Inc.
After a lull in investor interest stretching back a decade, attention to “anaerobic digestion” waste-to-energy is surging in the United States, developers in the sector have said.
— The Los Angeles Times
There’s a visually striking addition to the ever-troubled Tenderloin — a nine-story structure clad in colorful brick that holds 113 apartments for low-income residents, plus a pair of community-oriented retail spaces.
Too bad it took 11 years to summon the newcomer into existence.
— The San Francisco Chronicle
John King, The San Francisco Chronicle's urban design critic, takes a look at the David Baker Architects-designed 222 Taylor project, the fruits of a long-running effort to build affordable housing in San Francisco. While lamenting the long and drawn-out design and approval process the... View full entry
Americans have, for generations, prepared themselves for society’s collapse. They built fallout shelters during the Cold War and basement supply caches ahead of Y2K. But in recent years, personalized disaster prep has grown into a multimillion-dollar business, fueled by a seemingly endless stream of new and revamped threats, from climate change to terrorism, cyberattacks and civil unrest. — The New York Times
It emerged...that the property developer Argent was using the cameras “in the interests of public safety” in King’s Cross, mostly north of the railway station across an area including the Google headquarters and the Central Saint Martins art school, but the precise uses of the technology remained unclear. — The Guardian
Residents in the King's Cross district in London have mixed feelings concerning the use of facial recognition CCTV in the area. “For law enforcement purposes, there is some justification, but personally I don’t think a private developer has the right to have that in a public place,” one... View full entry
In an industry dependent on working with others, it is inevitable that we will come in contact with people we don't like. It might be a contractor, a consultant, or even one of our colleagues in the office. Whatever the case, working with someone we don't like can make work difficult. How do we... View full entry
Giving the 96-year-old building a modern twist necessitated much more than a quick polish. The $315 million renovations required architects, building engineers, and sound engineers to revamp the modernity of the stadium while creating a brand-new, seven-story premium tower without losing a single piece of the venue’s historic stone façade. — Popular Mechanics
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a city gem. Standing next to the University of Southern California campus, the Coliseum is home to the USC football team as well as the temporary home to the Los Angeles Rams. Having hosted several historic and iconic sports events, including the 1932 and... View full entry
RIBAJ's annual drawing competition brings a wide array of images produced from students and practitioners from around the world. This year, these mesmerizing drawings have been on display at the RIBAJ Eye Line Exhibition. Participants were tasked to produced detailed drawings using a mixture... View full entry
Minecraft has come a long way since its introduction a decade ago. It remains one of the top paid mobile games in Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store, while Minecraft: Education Edition has become a popular way to teach kids things like computer coding, engineering, architecture, urban planning and math. — CNET
The popular sandbox video game, Minecraft, known for enabling players to craft worlds, structures, objects, and pretty much anything one can imagine within its framework, has been due for "a major update since 2017." The "Super Duper Graphics Pack was expected to bring more lighting... View full entry
As we progress in our careers in architecture, we can sometimes come to a crossroads where we feel like we're pretending. Maybe it's that first time on a construction site by yourself, and the fear of looking foolish or not knowing what to say begins to creep up. Perhaps, you've just completed... View full entry
Bleutech Park Properties, a real-estate investment trust (REIT), and KME Architects have unveiled plans for a new "Digital Infrastructure City" in Las Vegas. The digitally-focused, smart city-style development is set to feature "automated multi-functional designs," "supertrees," and... View full entry
Due to many factors, now more than ever, LA architects have a responsibility to offer solutions and creative resources to solve this crisis immediately — as if our currently 59,000+ unsheltered Angelenos were displaced by an earthquake or a wildfire. — AIA|LA
