Last month, we reported on two stories that demonstrate the range of architectural start-ups emerging to address a lack of housing in the USA and further afield. One example came from established leaders in the industry, with Bjarke Ingels unveiling details of Nabr, his “people-first housing... View full entry
A creative answer to one of the most pervasive issues in American public housing is being sought by one of the largest civic authorities in the country as the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has issued a challenge to design an affordable new all-electric heat pump for the 21st century... View full entry
After 58 years of service, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has now retired every single one of its remaining “Brightliners” (R-32 subway cars). Known for their shiny corrugated stainless-steel paneling, the Brightliners bid New York City farewell earlier this month, before they were taken by rail to be scrapped in Ohio. — Fast Company
A majority of the cars were retired over ten years ago, when more than a 1,000 of the R-32s were dumped in coastal areas in Delaware, New Jersey, and Georgia to establish artificial reefs. The plan was meant to boost recreational fishing, which at the time generated billions in state and federal... View full entry
Sustainability startup ByFusion has developed what they describe as “the first construction-grade building material made entirely of recycled, and often un-recyclable, plastic waste.” Named ByBlock, the interlocking blocks use the same principles as LEGO with protrusions on the top surface... View full entry
An initiative in Brighton aimed at helping protect the bee population could do more harm than good, scientists have warned. The council in Brighton has passed a planning condition that means any new building more than five metres high will have to include swift boxes and special bricks with holes known as bee bricks. They will provide nesting and hibernating space for solitary bees. — The Guardian
The mandate was first proposed in 2019 and then attached to all planning permissions after April 1, 2020. As reported by The Guardian, scientists warn that this move may not result in a notable difference for biodiversity, with some arguing that it could actually harm bees if the holes aren’t... View full entry
The Central Park Conservancy, the Yale School of the Environment, and the New York City-based Natural Areas Conservancy have teamed up to launch a new initiative and climate partnership to study the impacts of climate change on urban parks. Called the Central Park Climate Lab, the program’s... View full entry
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service announced a $50 billion plan to fight wildfires. The goal is, in fact, to reduce wildfires. But one of the side effects may be a huge infusion of ecologically harvested wood into the supply chain for building materials. For architects, this firefighting tool could also be a new source of carbon-sequestering wood for sustainable building projects. — Fast Company
The timber industry is currently under tremendous strain to meet demands as suppliers face labor shortages that have triggered high prices for their clients, who are increasingly looking to build bigger and taller buildings using what is considered to be a more sustainable material. The... View full entry
Las Vegas has become the latest city to embark on constructing a digital twin, following the unveiling of a digital model at the city’s Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month. Developed by Chicago-based Cityzenith and Las Vegas-based Terbine, the model encompasses a 2.7-square-mile portion... View full entry
Buro Happold has been enlisted by the University of Southern California to craft key standards for environmental design and construction performance. The firm was selected through a competitive process to develop new sustainable design guidelines for the university. Buro Happold will lead the... View full entry
Climate activists in the UK are set for another round of high-stakes international climate meetings as London has just been announced as host of the 2023 Ecocity World Summit. The biannual summit has been held since 1990 and is a key platform for leaders to pore over and present effective... View full entry
Berlin’s regional parliament is considering creating a car-free zone in the German capital in response to a concerted push from a local advocacy group. The car ban would apply to the space ringed by the S-Bahn train line, which circles the city center, an area larger than Manhattan. — Yale Environment 360
Berlin’s mayor called the plan “unrealistic” back in May, aligning herself with the rest of the Social Democrats, who were joined by every other major political party in the country in their lack of support for the measure at the time of the September elections. A small group of German... View full entry
One of Taiwan’s largest public utility companies is ready to make a bold statement about its intentions with a new operations storage facility from MVRDV called "Sun Rock" that will play a significant part in the country’s transition to a green energy economy. This is the firm’s second... View full entry
Energiesprong (which translates to “energy jump”), a nonprofit that the Dutch government helped launch a decade ago, is coordinating a system of mass retrofits. “We thought, okay, let’s make home retrofits into a scalable solution,” says Christian Richter, who works in the organization’s market development team in Germany. — Fast Company
The Netherlands has pursued an aggressive agenda which has meant a spate of net-zero residential conversions. Now groups are looking for ways to apply lessons from the program outside the country in the hopes of matching increased demands with advancements that have produced certain types of... View full entry
MVRDV has unveiled its vision for a major masterplan in the Gagarin Valley in Armenia. The 34,000-hectare area is home to 11,000 people spread across several villages, with about one-third of the landscape consisting of patches of land owned by the local community. MVRDV’s masterplan seeks to... View full entry
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) called for an end to the use of natural gas in new buildings in a policy blueprint released Wednesday ahead of her State of the State address. — The Hill
The governor's plan will require that there be zero on-site greenhouse gas emissions from new construction by 2027. It would also require energy benchmarking, a process that requires large buildings of similar sizes or occupancy levels to compare their energy consumption. Hochul’s blueprint... View full entry
