More details on Ford's adaptive reuse of Michigan Central Station reveal that Snøhetta has been commissioned as the lead designer as part of Ford's $1 billion capital improvements project. Tasked with re-envisioning the company's Headquarters and Research Campus in Dearborn, Michigan, the firm... View full entry
The NCARB has recently released new data outlining the current state of diversity within the architecture field. The results show that while diversity among licensure candidates is improving, the rate at which non-white individuals are discontinuing their pursuit of licensure remains high... View full entry
Architecture firm billings grew in May, marking the eighth consecutive month of solid growth, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Overall, the AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for May was 52.8 [...]. The ABI also indicated that business conditions remain strong at firms located in the South and West, while growth in billings was modest at firms in the Northeast and Midwest.
— AIA
“Architecture firms continue to have plenty of work as they enter the busiest part of the design and construction season,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “This is especially true for firms serving the institutional building sector, which reported their strongest growth... View full entry
The UK’s largest practice, Foster + Partners, says it would consider moving its headquarters from London if Brexit meant it could no longer attract the world’s best architects [...]
Less than a quarter of the architects based at Foster + Partners’ huge Battersea head office are UK nationals – with around a half from EU countries. In total, the firm employs 1,061 staff in the UK including 353 architects.
— architectsjournal.co.uk
In an interview with The Architects' Journal, Foster + Partners managing partner Matthew Streets didn't rule out leaving London if attracting and employing "the globe’s brightest stars to maintain its position as world leaders" in a United Kingdom outside of the European Union became... View full entry
The American Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has criticised the Trump Administration over the introduction of 25% tariffs on $50bn of Chinese imports.
Chinese goods affected include types of construction and agricultural equipment. [...]
Since Trump’s trade announcement on Friday, China has said it will impose a similar 25% tariff, also worth $50bn.
— globalconstructionreview.com
"We’re extremely disappointed with the Trump administration’s decision to move forward with these harmful tariffs," said Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) President Dennis Slater in a statement last Friday. "This move jeopardizes many of the 1.3 million good-paying manufacturing... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Reliance Foundry Long before they began making the news as protection against vehicle attack, security bollards were an important part of the urban landscape. These useful little posts stand guard in front of storefronts, utility meters, playgrounds, and sidewalks... View full entry
Flames ripped through the celebrated Mackintosh building after it caught fire at about 23:20 on Friday. The blaze spread to nearby buildings, including the Campus nightclub and O2 ABC music venue, which suffered "extensive damage". The renovated Mackintosh library had been due to reopen next year. — BBC News
In the wake of the Singapore summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, South Korean builders are planning for a flood of infrastructure projects in the northern half of the peninsula.
The Construction Association of Korea plans to hold a forum for construction companies, research institutes and public entities on 25 June to discuss possible projects and funding arrangements.
— Global Construction Review
While Koreans on both sides of the Military Demarcation Line appear increasingly hopeful in the wake of recent friendly diplomatic exchanges, it's the deep-pocketed South Korean industrial conglomerates that have started to map out the north's opportunities for development. Shares in Hyundai... View full entry
The Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and the Swedish furniture retailer Ikea are teaming up to produce a range of accessible and affordable tools that function without mains electricity and use renewable energy.
Eliasson’s Little Sun project, co-founded with Frederik Ottesen, created a solar-powered torch for the 1 billion people worldwide who live off the power grid. It is now sold cheaply in more than 600 African outlets. [...] The products developed will be available in Ikea stores.
— The Art Newspaper
Olafur Eliasson is a busy man these days: after recently completing his first building, he's now announced a major design collaboration between his Little Sun initiative with IKEA to create a line of sustainable and affordable off-the-grid tools. Little Sun Original in Burundi. Photo: Aminata... View full entry
Every year, NCARB requests the number of architects and reciprocal licenses from each of its jurisdictions—which include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The 2017 Survey of Architectural Registration Boards indicates architects in the United States rose to 113,554, a 3 percent increase since 2016. Compared to the population, there is one architect for every 2,900 people in the United States. — ncarb.org
The NCARB has also tracked the increase in US architects by 10% since 2008 and reports the second highest number of out-of-state licenses recorded at 125,348—revealing mobility in the profession across state borders. NCARB CEO Michael J. Armstrong stated, “This year’s data not only... View full entry
The Bartlett has been named as the architecture school of choice by AJ100 practices for the 15th successive year.
University College London’s architecture faculty came out top when the UK’s largest practices were asked their favourite school as part of the AJ’s annual poll.
This comes despite the Bartlett slipping to fourth in the Guardian’s league table, behind Sheffield, Cambridge and Bath.
— architectsjournal.co.uk
Over a fifth of AJ100 practices chose UCL's Bartlett with Bath close behind and no other establishment receiving more than 5% of the votes. The Bartlett was also ranked as the 2nd best architecture school by the higher education network QS. The AJ100 top five architecture schools: 1. The... View full entry
Tallinn, known for its digital government and successful tech startups, is often referred to as Europe’s innovation capital. Now celebrating five years of free public transport for all citizens, the government is planning to make Estonia the first free public transport nation. — Pop-Up City
Pop-Up City's Regina Schröter interviews the Head of the Tallinn European Union Office, Allan Alaküla, about Estonia's plans to expand the successful fare-free public transport model from the capital to the entire country on July 1: "Before introducing free public transport, the city center was... View full entry
Alvar Aalto's Paimio Sanatorium in Finland is now for sale. Currently owned by the Hospital District of Southwest Finland, the district has announced its plans to sell the building by fall of 2018. The bidding period will end on August 23. Paimio Sanatorium by Alvar Aalto, 1933, located in... View full entry
To some boosters, your city is only one world-class visitor attraction away from economic prosperity. That pitch has been used to sell and endless series of public subsidies for baseball parks, football stadiums, basketball and hockey arenas, convention centers (and their appurtenant “headquarters hotels”) and starchitect-designed museum buildings. To that long list, we might add aquariums. — City Observatory
Joe Cortright CityCommentary piece on the promise and perils of city aquariums. View full entry
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture & Urban Planning faculty have elected Lingqian Hu as the new Department of Urban Planning chair. Hu received her Bachelor of Planning degree from Nanjing University in China and a Master of Planning and doctorate in Policy... View full entry
