This post is brought to you by Parade, the only online platform dedicated to tracking new product releases for the A&D industry So the story goes, when Elon Musk’s SpaceX was faced with a $120,000 price tag for a rocket booster actuator, the famed visionary advised his engineer thusly... View full entry
Buro Happold and the Battery Park City Authority have published a 10-year sustainability plan that aims to achieve carbon neutrality for the 36-acre district situated on the southern tip of Manhattan by 2050. The district, which sits just beside the World Trade Center site, contains over... View full entry
Studio Ma has completed work on The Hollyhock, a collection of 11 townhouses located in Arizona that strive to offer ecologically-minded design amid the region's suburban context. The project offers a collection of single and dual-story units arranged around a series of xeriscaped... View full entry
The inaugural Material Lab Prize is an initiative that aims to foster the study of materials and material reuse. A $1k grant is given to the student that best exemplifies innovative ways to reuse and redesign waste. According to Pratt, "the prize seeks to celebrate and exhibit student work... View full entry
Imagine plugging in to your brick house. Red bricks — some of the world’s cheapest and most familiar building materials — can be converted into energy storage units that can be charged to hold electricity, like a battery, according to new research from Washington University in St... View full entry
The city's complex drainage system protects Hong Kong from once-disastrous flooding caused by seasonal typhoons. But will it be strong enough to withstand the effects of climate crisis? — CNN
CNN's James Griffiths on the challenges of building a vast rain water-draining tunnel network in one of the world's densest cities and how well it is prepared for ever-intensifying climate and security threats. "At present, some rain is collected and reused for irrigation and flushing water, but... View full entry
31-year-old entrepreneur Fanyu Lin has initiated a new philanthropic enterprise called the World Home Foundation, an effort focused on providing homes to undeserved populations that include low income urban citizens, migrants, and refugees. The new endeavor addresses a common... View full entry
Florida's new Public Financing of Construction law requires contractors on publicly funded coastal projects to study how those projects could be impacted by sea level rise before starting work. — Construction Dive
Construction Dive reports that project studies will need to estimate the increased storm risk during a 50 year lifespan for these structures as well as the likelihood of substantial flooding that could take place on a project site over the next 50 years. The new law also requires that designers... View full entry
[...] tall buildings are still sold on the basis that they are good for the environment. Mostly the argument is about density – if you pile a lot of homes or workplaces high on one spot, it is said, then you can use land and public transport more efficiently. There’s some truth in this, but you can also achieve high levels of density without going above 10 or 12 storeys. — The Guardian
The Observer's Rowan Moore dissects a list of the usual arguments in favor of ever taller buildings around the world and concludes that not much of it passes the reality test of urgent climate crisis, resource scarcity, wealth distribution, city planning, global pandemic, and ultimately, good... View full entry
Climate-conscious architects in the United Kingdom are speaking out against British architect Norman Foster as efforts to have architects disengage from air transport projects intensify. Last week, Archinect reported news of a high profile airport commission taken on by Foster + Partners for a... View full entry
As Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden moves to set out a concrete policy regime to counter that of President Donald Trump, the Biden campaign's "Unity Task Force" coordinated with supporters of former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has announced a slew of progressive policy aims... View full entry
Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger has announced the creation of the new Columbia Climate School, the first new school at the university in 25 years. The school will focus on research initiatives targeted toward generating scholarship and pedagogical momentum around the issue of... View full entry
Facebook is due to commence construction on its 12th data center in the United States with a new $800 million, 907,000-square-foot facility located in DeKalb, Illinois. The data center will be powered by 100% renewable energy and will use 80% less water than the average data center, the... View full entry
This week's featured virtual event happenings, from Archinect's Virtual Event Guide, address urban design, sustainable infrastructure, Stefano Boeri and Sou Fujimoto, equity in higher ed, designing careers, and much more. Are you hosting a virtual lecture? Presentation? Tour? Interview?... View full entry
The NYU Tandon School of Engineering, T.Y. Lin International, and Sam Schwartz Engineering have unveiled a proposal for a new bridge connecting Queens and Manhattan. The so-called "Queens Ribbon" proposal is part of a larger set of pedestrian and bicycle bridges proposed by the design... View full entry
