Katerra Inc., a modular construction startup, got an $865 million cash infusion from investors led by SoftBank Group Corp. last year. Now, the company is shutting down a factory in Phoenix and cutting 200 jobs.
The move will shift Katerra’s manufacturing away from Phoenix and into its highly automated and lower-cost factory in Tracy, California.
— Bloomberg
The company's mission is to "shake up the construction industry with a combination of efficient factories, prefab parts and modular construction units," Bloomberg reports. The Phoenix factory will remain open thorugh the end of the year and affected employees will receive a 90-day severance package. View full entry
In a recently released video, Williams donned a pair of jeans, workboats, a hardhat and went to work on Salt Marsh Elementary School in Trelawny Parish, Jamaica. Williams, who has won a total of 39 Tennis Grand Slams – including Doubles titles, has also built grade schools in Uganda, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Williams built the Marsh Elementary through a partnership with the nonprofit Helping Hands Jamaica, while the schools in Africa were in conjunction with Build Africa. — Black Press USA
The work is part of the mission of Williams' Serena Williams Fund and her other charitable efforts, which include the Serena Williams Venture, an organization that seeks to incest in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity, and opportunity, reports Black... View full entry
Ann Arbor-based autonomous Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) provider May Mobility and Toyota are taking steps forward to realize their mission to transform cities through autonomous transport. With demand rising, Toyota has led a new round of funding of $50 million that will aid the TaaS... View full entry
At a previous firm I used to work for, I had a colleague who would periodically send the managing principal emails about certain team members, unbeknownst to them. Essentially, he would call attention to specific team members that he saw were working well with the rest of the team or going the... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has published a comprehensive voter guide for the 2020 United States Presidential election targeted toward members of the architecture community. The guide, according to the AIA website, collects the policy positions and proposals for "all... View full entry
Shanghai Disney Resort today announced that the main construction for the its highly anticipated Zootopia-themed expansion had begun. It will be the first-ever Disney park worldwide to construct a park inspired by the 2016 animated film of the same name. The new expansion will sit adjacent to... View full entry
Efforts to modernize suburban campuses can be as basic as organizing placemaking activities like after-work concerts or food truck Fridays. Usually, though, they require a much deeper investment in elements like upgraded lobbies, outdoor furniture, ball courts, fitness centers, grab-and-go cafes, greenways, bike storage facilities and open-plan offices that let in substantial natural light. — The New York Times
In her NYT piece about the renewed commercial interest in the suburban office park typology, Amanda Abrams takes a closer look at the latest investments and transformations at North Carolina's Research Triangle Park. "After all, with downtowns everywhere becoming increasingly expensive," writes... View full entry
Color plays an important role in architecture. Whether it's to create a mood or embellish on an interior's detail colors helps architects and designers convey many things, some have made entire careers out of color and its uses. Just ask Verner Panton, Josef Albers, or Paul Klee, color and... View full entry
Two pairs of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed chairs will be up for auction on December 13th in New York via Christie's auction house. Each pair are estimated to sell between $200,000 to $300,000. The Ward W. Willits House in Highland Park (1901), by Frank Lloyd Wright Designed as part of Wright's... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core How many times have you sent a client past-due invoices, only to hear nothing back? Small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.S. were owed $825 billion in 2016, according to figures released by invoicing financing company Fundbox. And the value of... View full entry
The Walker Guest House, completed by Rudolph in 1952, will be part of Sotheby's Important Design auction on December 12, with an estimated value ranging from $700,000 to $1 million. The midcentury structure was previously on the market for a reported $6,795,000, an endeavor that... View full entry
For the month of December, Archinect is shining a Spotlight on Austin, Texas. Aside from being the Texas state capital, Austin is a major node in the thriving Texas Triangle mega-region, the urban agglomeration that includes Houston, Dallas-Forth Worth, and San Antonio. ... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core As an architect, you want to spend your time designing, creating, and innovating. But as a firm principal, you need to make sure you have a healthy cash flow to pay for those projects and support your passions. Manage your cash flow well, and you can stay in... View full entry
Under the Faircloth Amendment [signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1999], the supply of public housing is capped at 1999 levels. In order to build a new public housing unit, the federal government is required to either abolish an existing unit or sell it to a private buyer. [...]
Article 34 of the California state constitution requires majority voter approval at the ballot for government-funded construction of any low-income housing project including public housing.
— San Francisco Examiner
Writing in The San Francisco Examiner, data scientist and fair housing advocate Sasha Perigo highlights the federal Faircloth Amendment as perhaps the most significant obstacle standing in the way of a trio of recently proposed public housing expansion programs that could vastly increase public... View full entry
The rise of the start-up, non-traditional approach to becoming a design professional has turned into a movement popular amongst self-starters, inquisitive young adults, and those wishing to make a career pivot. The "unconventional design education" has fostered an attitude intended to motivate... View full entry
