For one of the last features of 2022, Daniel Vella explained why It’s Time To Consider the Refugee Camp as a City. Orhan Ayyüce "couldn't agree more with the main idea" and noted that in fact "Turkey is building extra story addable, planned, cmu based cities in Idlib to accommodate refugees who... View full entry
A team of researchers from MIT and Harvard University, working with laboratories in Italy and Switzerland, has made progress in understanding how concrete used by the ancient Romans has lasted for millennia. The discovery, outlined in a new paper published in the journal Science Advances, centers... View full entry
The architect wanted to create social housing in Los Angeles. Dogged by the FBI, his hope for more egalitarian architecture never came to be. — The Nation
Does it surprise you that an architect dedicating his life's work for better housing for the working classes would be declared, with the pressure of the real estate industry and communism scare, a public enemy and had the FBI trying really hard to discriminate against him for years?That architect... View full entry
A modular, wooden cabin from Dutch designer Caspar Schols has won the World Hotel Building of the Year 2022 Award at the recent World Architecture Festival (WAF). Named ANNA Stay, the project is recognized for its sustainable design that allows its guests to reconnect with themselves and... View full entry
Construction is underway on the $180 million Gateway Building at the University of British Columbia, designed by Perkins&Will and Schmidt Hammer Lassen. Intended as a “principal point of entry” to the UBC campus, the design of the six-story, 267,000-square-foot mass timber building seeks to... View full entry
A study published then in the journal Materials Today shed light on the world’s first 3D-printed lab-grown wood. By the means of this research, the scientist at MIT demonstrated that deforestation is no longer needed to produce timber. — Interesting Engineering
The researchers developed customizable wood using the cells of a flowering plant named Zinnia elegans, known commonly as zinnia. They first treated the cells with a liquid medium and then a gel solution composed of hormones and nutrients. The researchers adjusted the concentration of the hormones... View full entry
New legislation aimed at enacting a countrywide mandate for the use of passive house design standards in all new housing developments is gaining traction in Scotland after Labour MSP Alex Rowley’s bill was endorsed by the national government earlier this month. The new Domestic Building... View full entry
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced a new grant program that aims to spur climate action across the city through nonprofit organizations and small businesses. Designed in partnership with the Department of Planning and Development’s Chicago Recovery Plan Initiative, the Climate... View full entry
Ingka Centres, a subsidiary of the Ingka Group (IKEA parent company), has announced its reinvention of the food court concept with Saluhall, a sustainable dining center inspired by Nordic food principles. Saluhall is named after the Scandinavian-style “Market Hall.” It will serve... View full entry
2022 was another productive year in laboratories across the United States and beyond, as colleges, manufacturers, and startups strove to challenge the orthodoxy of construction materials. While teams of students and researchers at institutions from Virginia Tech to ETH Zurich sought to push the... View full entry
Researchers at Penn State are undertaking a study into whether fungal materials can replace traditional acoustic insulation funded by the 2022 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative. The team behind the effort, funded in 2021 by both an AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant and a SOM Foundation... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to Los Angeles-based Walker Workshop, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in California this week, where we find San Francisco-based Mork-Ulnes Architects. Founded in 2005 by Casper Mork-Ulnes, the nimble 10-person practice operates in both San Francisco... View full entry
Did you know that the London planetree is the most common species of tree in New York City? The fun fact is one of many which can be gleaned from a new interactive map launched by the City of New York, allowing users to explore the city’s tree population. The NYC Tree Map replaces NYC Park’s... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects has welcomed a move by the Biden Administration to introduce the first-ever Federal Building Performance Standard. Under the plans, buildings owned by the Federal government will cut energy use and electrify equipment across 30% of their building space by... View full entry
The 2022 MPavilion has officially opened in Melbourne, Australia. Designed by Thailand-based practice all(zone), the scheme is defined by an “ingenious canopy” comprising three fabric, tensile layers. The outermost layer of the pavilion’s canopy is built from fishing nets, creating what the... View full entry