A new school in rural Cambodia, designed and built pro-bono by Weston Williamson + Partners officially opens on June 1, International Children’s Day. WW+P worked with Engenuiti, Integration and Building Trust International to design a building which was flexible and adaptable to meet current... View full entry
Just a few hours ago, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the non-binding Paris Agreement intended to mitigate climate change. The President of the American Institute of Architects Thomas Vonier, FAIA has issued a statement in response, reaffirming its... View full entry
Repurposing and renovation are some of the hottest new trends in architecture, but architects in Hamburg may have elevated the stakes by their proposal to place a 19-meter high "green mountain" atop a World War II bunker in Hamburg, Germany. The new mountain would offer residents lots to grow... View full entry
To most people, mushrooms are a food source. To mycologist (mushroom scientist) Philip Ross, fungi are much, much more. In fact, Ross is most passionate about mushrooms’ ability to be used for building materials and it is this is what he primarily focuses his attention on. Recently, the mycologists figured out how to make bricks from growing fungi that are super-strong and water-, mold- and fire resistant. — Truth Theory
Referred to as "mycotecture," the mushroom bricks originally were embraced by the art world, but increasingly are being considered for other structural uses. Stronger and cooler-looking than concrete, the above fungi-brick structure is held together using chopsticks. View full entry
How can you transform a not particularly sustainable 1940s building into a leading example of pioneering environmental design? First, get the Harvard GSD Center for Green Building and Cities team focused on green building techniques, and secondly, hire Snøhetta. The result? This press release... View full entry
It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster and ensure humanity’s food supply forever. But the Global Seed Vault, buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel. — The Guardian
Containing almost one million packets of seeds, the Global Seed Vault is intended to serve as something of a biological back-up in the era of mass, man-made environmental destruction. It's buried under permafrost, which was thought to ensure that the structure would remain impregnable for... View full entry
"The Conservative Party’s manifesto outlines its vision to further empower communities. Whoever forms the next government should ensure that plans to build high quality housing and infrastructure are linked with industrial and devolution strategies to encourage more jobs and a better quality of life for people across the country." — RIBA President Jane Duncan
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the publication of the Conservatives manifesto, published earlier today."The RIBA welcomes the Conservatives’ acknowledgment that the UK’s architects are the finest in the world. This is recognition of the vital role that good... View full entry
"I am pleased to see that the Liberal Democrats have recognized the key role of the built environment sector in tackling issues such as energy demand, climate change and urban flooding through their plans for infrastructure and housing.
“Proposals for new housebuilding should be balanced with ambitions to deliver high quality, well designed and sustainable homes across the country.”
— RIBA President Jane Duncan
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the publication of the Liberal Democrats manifesto, published earlier today. On Brexit:“I warmly welcome the commitment from the Liberal Democrats to protect the rights of existing EU citizens in the UK, and UK citizens in the... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Alucobond®The Marine Gateway mixed-use development officially opened this spring in south Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, as the first major transit-oriented development integrated into Vancouver’s Canada Line rapid transit rail system. It’s also served by... View full entry
While the gapahuk (which in Norwegian means "a simple wooden structure with two or three walls and a roof") is not new, Snohetta's conceptualization of it as a multi-terrain, potentially solar-panelled off-the-grid insta-cabin is. The gapahuk has a purposefully tight layout to make it easy to... View full entry
Even in this relentlessly vertical city, famous for walkways that feel like aerial labyrinths, you can’t levitate forever. Where the mountain rises up faster than the towers, you bump into a hillside and come back to earth. In Hong Kong, the ground is everywhere. — Places Journal
The terrain that weaves between streets, through public spaces, and beneath buildings in Hong Kong reminds observers of the tenuous relation between the city and its geology. Karl Kullmann photographs these zones of contact between the multilevel metropolis and the mountain, reflecting on the... View full entry
The competition's 2017 “The Living City” theme revolves around promoting public awareness of sustainable urbanization. Participants had to propose a sustainably designed pavilion for the Chart Art Fair's gastronomy partners and SPACE10 that considers upcycling and reusing materials, multifunctionality, and innovative fabrication methods. Most recently, five teams were announced as the finalists. — Bustler
Here's a glimpse of the proposals:“Algae Dome” by Aleksander Wadas, Rafal Wroblewski, and Anna Stempniewicz“Paper Pavilion” by Kazumasa Takada, Yuriko Yagi and Yohei Tomioka“Stick Box” by Miki Morita, Suguru Kobayashi and Keita Shishijima“Sunday Temple” by Mia Frykholm and Astrid... View full entry
From winning the Pritzker to curating the Venice Biennale, the Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena had a pretty good 2016. Apparently, he’s still on a roll: Aravena has just been awarded the 2017 Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Design. Awarded each year to people or organizations for... View full entry
From a Circadian Daylight Metric and Design Assist Tool to Trashwalls, the AIA has announced the five projects it has selected for its 10th annual Upjohn Research Initiative grants, and they're all fairly promising. Speaking broadly, the projects each propose investigating a particular aspect of... View full entry
Like a miniature perfectionist city, the new Apple campus in Cupertino is made up of several different buildings: there's the familiar Norman Foster-designed "spaceship," as well as a massive parking garage that features gleaming solar panels atop the roof.This drone video reveals that very little... View full entry
