One of the UK’s most famous architects has withdrawn from an environmental coalition in a dispute about the destructive role of aviation in the escalating climate crisis. [...]
The decision follows a row over Foster and Partners’ work on airports around the world – seen by critics as incompatible with tackling the climate and ecological emergency.
— The Guardian
Airport designs have been key projects in Foster + Partners' portfolio for years, with prominent recent commissions and competition entries in Saudi Arabia, Marseille, Chicago, Mexico City, and Beijing. Following Foster's decision to withdraw from his initial commitment, Architects Declare issued... View full entry
Commercial interiors product manufacturers are struggling to understand the best way to reach their customers with the product information they need to make recommendations and execute on solutions that support the health, safety and welfare of employees returning to the office. Design practices... View full entry
Shohei Shigematsu of OMA announces the firm's upcoming project, the ReefLine, in collaboration with cultural placemaker Ximena Caminos. Leading the project's masterplan and structural design will be Shigematsu and his team, while Caminos will lead as its artistic director. Known for its... View full entry
Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) researcher Junyong Zhu in co-collaboration with colleagues from the University of Maryland and University of Colorado, have developed a transparent wood material that may be the window of tomorrow. Researchers found that transparent wood has the potential to outperform glass currently used in construction. — USDA Forest Service
The abstract of the researchers' paper A Clear, Strong, and Thermally Insulated Transparent Wood for Energy Efficient Windows points out that besides its energy-efficient qualities, transparent wood is a "sustainable material, with low carbon emissions and scaling capabilities due to its... View full entry
Slowly, slowly, LA's new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is inching towards its anticipated completion. The LACMA-adjacent, Renzo Piano-designed 300,000 square-foot museum campus on Wilshire Boulevard was forced to push back several official opening dates — most recently, the December... View full entry
Previously on Archinect, we reported the announcement of three architecture schools pledging climate action. Since then, two more schools of architecture have joined. On October 30th, US Architects Declare confirmed that Woodbury School of Architecture and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee... View full entry
Mitsui Fudosan and Takenaka Corporation are planning to build a 17-story wood-frame office tower in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district. With a proposed height of 70 meters, this would be the tallest wooden building in Japan. — Japan Property Central
Related: A much taller, 70-story wood-framed skyscraper was proposed by Sumitomo Forestry and Nikken Sekkei in 2018 to be built in Tokyo's Marunouchi business district by the year 2041. View full entry
Kunkel thinks a hybrid between Indigenous and Western architecture styles could lead to more sustainable designs, ones that incorporate modern technology to achieve the same qualities found in the place-based architecture perfected by Indigenous people over thousands of years. — High Country News
Spaces of Opportunity: Phase 1 (under construction)Jessica Kutz on how Phoenix and other communities across America, are already having to adapt to extreme heat plus other impacts of climate change. At the same time these communities are already developing solutions; from "smarter" cities... View full entry
It's safe to say that nobody knows what the future of architectural education will be. These days it's hard to know what next month will bring us. Few people would argue, however, that academia is ripe for change, as are many facets of modern life that have not evolved at the pace the world has... View full entry
We're already approaching the half-way mark of October, and there is still so much to discover during Archtober 2020, New York City's month-long celebration of architecture and design. For the tenth year in a row, Archinect & Bustler are proud to partner with Archtober and present you our weekly... View full entry
Never miss a lecture series with our on-going coverage of academic lectures. This Fall, institutions are offering a fantastic line-up of guest lecturers, panel discussions, and virtual events open to the public. Archinect's Get Lectured series highlight's upcoming lecture series and each... View full entry
In the summer of 2020, U.S.-based practices took action and signed on to join the international pledge for climate action. With the U.S. Architects Declare movement growing since May and over 284 signatures added to the list, three architecture institutions have signed on to the movement... View full entry
Since 2011, the SEED Awards highlight public interest design projects that address critical community issues at a social, economic, and environmental scale. This year's award winners represent projects that reflect justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within the realms of design... View full entry
[...] the European Union sees a chance to create a new common aesthetic born out of a need to renovate and construct more energy-efficient buildings.
The proposal for energy retrofits is part of the climate actions at the core of the EU’s 1.8 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) coronavirus recovery plan and could result in a sweeping architectural makeover, one that leaders have compared to a new Bauhaus movement for the continent.
— Bloomberg
For Bloomberg CityLab, Kriston Capps and Laura Millan Lombrana contemplate how the European Union's bold $2.1 trillion coronavirus recovery plan, and its embedded measures to make buildings more energy-efficient, could shape architecture and urban design on much of the continent. A new Bauhaus... View full entry
Interior designers and architects are often left out of the embodied carbon conversation, but the impact and opportunity with interior materials is huge–especially when you account for cyclical renovations over the building’s life. There are many ways to reduce the carbon footprint of a... View full entry
