After a horse race ad was projected onto the structure’s iconic roof earlier this week, protestors took to the streets in objection to the commodification of their beloved building. — CityLab

Architectural education is plagued by the mentality that suffering is a necessary part of its practice. [...] The acceptance of suffering easily slips into normalizing sexual misconduct and its suppression as simply part of the practice. Cultlike worship of the star architect only exacerbates this condition, and there are plenty [...] willing to sacrifice their time and integrity because they have been conditioned to believe that this mode of production is normal. — The New York Times

“Given the diversity of the buildings emerging within the Qianhai area, our preference was for a simple, bold, and confident insertion into the existing master plan,” says Spence. “The formality derives from the existing road grid and building plots, combined with our desire to maximize the area of raised green park linking the city to the bay. It creates a new horizon against which people can orientate.” — Fast Company

The [pavilion] will now be displayed in ‘selected locations’ as part of the Therme Art Program, which was set up to fulfill artistic and architectural ’visions that cannot be realised in galleries or museum spaces: no matter how complex their production, installation and long-term maintenance may be’. Serpentine Galleries chief executive Yana Peel and artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist said in a joint statement that they were ‘delighted’ by the purchase. — The Architects' Journal

Created for the annual exhibition House Vision, the prototype is a thought experiment in the way people live in super-dense cities. [...] It’s a common problem in big cities all over the world, and Hasegawa’s design is meant to balance space-saving with privacy, transforming a 1.5-story space (which are common across the city) into a usable space for four. — Fast Company

In the language of climate change, “adaptation” refers to ways to blunt the immediate effects of extreme weather, such as building seawalls, conserving drinking water, updating building codes, and helping more people get disaster insurance. [...]

But some researchers are going further, calling for what some call the “deep adaptation agenda.” — Bloomberg

As Americans cram into ever-tighter urban living arrangements, a question has emerged: Isn’t there some better way to furnish a tiny apartment? Yes. The answer, of course, is robots.

Inside a model studio apartment at the Eugene, an 844-unit building on Manhattan’s West Side, sits a blocky, Swiss Army-knife-like unit that looks a little like two-sided armoire with lots of compartments. It’s called Ori. Ori runs on a track and can be activated by voice command... — The New York Times

With industrial robotics forecast to be worth $71.72 billion by 2023, it’s no wonder entrepreneurs are turning their attention to increasingly lucrative sectors, like warehouse automation, order fulfillment, and manufacturing.

Tel Aviv-based Intsite is one of the latest examples. The startup today announced a $1.35 million pre-seed round led by Terra Venture Partners and the Israel Innovation Authority to fund what it claims is the world’s first autonomous crane technology. — Venture Beat

Nearly everyone in Chicago is in favor of establishing the Obama library on the South Side. But now, “There’ll be more room for dissent, and more people in Chicago generally willing to speak their mind without fearing the Emanuel administration,” said Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks, which has opposed the seizure of parkland. [...] Emanuel’s departure also gives hope to critics pushing for a more open process. — CityLab

Amazon has made clear that it wants to own the smart home space. Now the company's going a step further, taking a stake in a start-up that's building actual homes.

On Tuesday, Amazon said its Alexa Fund invested in Plant Prefab, a Southern California company that says it uses sustainable construction processes and materials to build prefabricated custom single- and multifamily houses. The start-up is aiming to use automation to build homes faster and bring down costs. — CNBC

Two historic New York City theaters are getting ready to shine brightly under the Times Square spotlight once again. This week, developers behind the Times Square Theater and the Palace Theater, unveiled ambitious renovation and expansion plans for their establishments. — ny.curbed.com

Actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation has sued the architect of scores of homes the nonprofit sold to Lower 9th Ward residents who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.

Make it Right itself was recently sued over the homes’ shoddy construction.

The new lawsuit against local architect John C. Williams was filed Tuesday in Orleans Parish Civil District Court. — theadvocate.com

Researchers say India could alleviate its growing shortage of sand, which is needed for concrete, by partially replacing it with waste plastic.

Research carried out by the University of Bath in the UK, and India’s Goa Engineering College, has found that concrete made with an admixture of ground-up plastic bottles is almost as strong as traditional concrete mixtures. — globalconstructionreview.com