[Henk] Ovink’s approach called for a systematic rethinking of American traditional disaster response: to simply rebuild whatever was destroyed...In the US, the Rebuild By Design competition represents a dramatic shift in disaster planning, adopting a more comprehensive and collaborative research and design approach to address complex problems and improve resiliency...The competition was widely hailed as a success, but there was room for improvement before its approach could be replicated. — The Guardian
What's next for Rebuild By Design? Following the success of its 2013 competition, Rebuild By Design — now its own organization — is already working to continue helping U.S. cities prepare for climate change and potential natural disasters. In the article, the group looks back at how their... View full entry
Snøhetta's "7th Room" is an addition to the previously existing Treehotel in Northern Sweden. The tree-canopy-level, snow-blanketed room features a pretty cool assortment of sleek furnishings and views, whether you're standing on the ground looking up, or lounging on the fur-lined chairs looking... View full entry
Designed as an easily accessible community center that, according to its architects, would preserve "a logical continuity and preservation of the existing landscape as well as construct synergies with the surrounding buildings," the Maison de Quartier de Chatelaine-Balexert benefits from a... View full entry
The days of having to purchase astonishingly expensive replacement charging plugs accidentally left behind on trips, or for that matter of lugging around charging plugs in general, may be over. At this year's CES in Las Vegas, licensing company Ossia is unveiling a drop ceiling tile that purports... View full entry
Did architects have sustainability figured out in the 1970s, and can the lessons they learned help contemporary architects design for the challenges of climate change? In an attempt to answer this question, Canada is taking a closer look at its previously built sustainable architecture during the... View full entry
The 130 giant wind turbines that sprout from the peaks, slicing the air with a rhythmic sigh, have helped Portugal to a remarkable achievement. For four and a half days in May the country ran entirely on electricity from renewable sources: wind, hydro and solar power.
Despite fears of a blackout, the lights stayed on for a record 107 hours between 6.45am on Saturday 7 May and 5.45pm the following Wednesday.
— The Guardian
Related:Las Vegas's city facilities are now entirely run on renewable energySay goodbye to clunky solar panels, and hello to Tesla's sleek new glass solar roof tilesThe scientists trying to harness the power of waves View full entry
At a time when pundits and political scientists were celebrating the end of history, pointing to an emerging Democratic majority and extolling the virtues of a flat world of globalization, she ominously predicted a coming age of urban crisis, mass amnesia, and populist backlash in her final work, Dark Age Ahead. Eerily prescient as always, rereading the 2005 book today serves as a survivors’ guide to the Age of Trump. — citylab.com
"Jacobs outlines an increasing distrust of politicians and politics, a burgeoning new urban crisis in cities, worsening environmental degradation, entrenched segregation, and an “enlarging gulf between rich and poor along with attrition of the middle class” as signals and symptoms of a coming... View full entry
These are the articles that made big waves in 2016 – not just in traffic, but in defining the discussions architects were having. From professional practice issues to academia to interviews and showcases, we present to you our favorite original editorial of the year:One student's solution to the... View full entry
After a large solar array, Boulder Solar 1, came online on Dec. 12, the city was able to buy enough carbon-free electricity to power its 140 buildings, streetlights and other facilities. [...]
The renewables, plus energy efficiency savings, are estimated to save the city roughly $5 million per year [...]
The Vegas city council, after threatening to leave the grid entirely in 2015, struck a deal with NV Energy that would help the city get to 100% renewable.
— qz.com
Related on Archinect: AECOM halts work on Faraday Future's $1-Billion Nevada factory Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh made a $350 million bet on downtown Las Vegas – five years later, the results are murky Vegas is back...sorta Learning from Las Vegas: a look at the Strip through urban planning lenses View full entry
For those who have been eagerly anticipating a look inside Herzog & de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie before it officially opens this January, your chance has come in the form of a website feature which allows you to navigate through the space at your chosen speed via your preferred web browsing... View full entry
The six planned factories will use British light gauge steel framing to produce panelised components for residential developments that are “at least 75% off-grid” thanks to solar power and energy efficient design, renewables developer Welink said in announcing the joint venture today (19 December). [...]
The UK government greeted the news enthusiastically, as it tries to lure innovative entrants to the UK housing market to help it deliver its objective of 1 million new homes by 2020.
— globalconstructionreview.com
More pre-fab on Archinect:SHoP-designed Brooklyn tower – now world's tallest modular building – opens its doorsJean Nouvel's prefab 'Simple' home can be reconfigured from the inside outTo solve a housing crisis, invest more in modular constructionA Parisian architect's plan to solve housing... View full entry
Nicholas Korody’s piece regarding this year's 'Homeless Studio' (done in partnership with the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission) at USC, started quite a discussion. Contra many commenters b3tadine[sutures] felt the design brief/work was a useful illustration of a "both/and..." approach aka the... View full entry
Daniel Libeskind loves the multi-faceted nature of New York City's inhabitants; the rich, the poor, the successful, and perhaps most amusingly, the failures who think they're successful. Although the architect doesn't really break any new conceptual ground in this short video from the Louisiana... View full entry
The Dutch design offices jvantspijker and Felixx, together with Orri Steinarsson, have won the international urban design competition in Gufunes, Reykjavik. The task was the strategic redevelopment of a vast coastal area of approximately 140 hectares, at the edge of the city. The winning proposal... View full entry
water would bubble again in Isamu Noguchi’s green marble fountain in the Ambassador Lounge, softly masking the tik-a-tik-a-tik-a-tik-a-tik chatter of a Solari di Udine split-flap display board announcing flight departures and arrivals [...]
The architects of the hotel project are Beyer Blinder Belle and Lubrano Ciavarra Architects. Beyer Blinder Belle was responsible for the sumptuous restoration of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.
— nytimes.com
The $265 million TWA Hotel project, slated to open in late 2018, would be connected to Saarinen's Trans World Flight Center and Terminal 5 through tubes that used to guide passengers from TWF to their aircraft. As reported by the Times, the Hotel plan has been hailed by... View full entry
