Architecture firm billings growth slowed in September but remained positive for the twelfth consecutive month, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).
AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for September was 51.1 compared to 54.2 in August. However, continued strength in new projects coming into architecture firms points to billings growth in the coming months.
— AIA
“Similar to the strong conditions we’ve seen nationally, architecture firms located in the Midwest and Southern regions of the country continued to report very strong billings in September,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “However, billings were soft at firms located... View full entry
ENOTA architects turns a classic health center into a relaxing modern spa fit for adults and kids. The main focus of the renovation was to create a space that would satisfy the current needs of the visitors. Its construction was gradual, tackling pieces of the structure instead of renovating all... View full entry
American construction workers’ average wage has risen above $30 per hour for the first time, and the numbers employed have hit nearly 7.3 million, a level not seen since before the financial crisis, official statistics show. [...]
“However, the pool of unemployed workers with construction experience has nearly evaporated, pushing up contractors’ costs and adding to project completion times.”
— Global Construction Review
While positive economic indicators have had the U.S. construction sector thriving for a prolonged period now, AEC employers are increasingly feeling the pinch when it comes to finding qualified workers. "The tightening labour market poses a problem for companies looking to expand their... View full entry
The A+D Museum has announced Gallery X, a branch of the A+D dedicated to curating public spaces and bringing the making and implementation of art to a wider more diverse audience. Gallery X aims to reach beyond the walls of the institution and produce local engagement through facilitate... View full entry
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
Hundreds of protesters had gathered in the evening hours of October 9 when the, usually, off-white iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House were used as a video projection canvas to promote a major upcoming horse race in New South Wales. The crowd booed and tried to interrupt the projection with a... View full entry
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
The architecture world is known for many movements that have enabled architects to create iconic works. From bauhaus to brutalist, midcentury modern to contemporary, countless movements have impacted the architectural timeline. But in today's climate of inclusivity and representation is there one... View full entry
“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
In the bustling city of Shenzen, the growing metropolis that bridges Hong Kong to China's mainland, an exciting sky garden project will bring the city's transportation infrastructure to the sky. The team at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners are creating a mile long elevated pathway. The main... View full entry
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
Highly-dense cities are common through out countries like China and Japan. Popular apparel and houseware brand, Muji, are taking creative steps in tackling long commutes and dense city living most employees face. Partnering with Japanese architect, Go Hasegawa, Muji's apartment prototype aims to... View full entry
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
Bloomberg's Climate & Environment Reporter, Christopher Flavelle, lays out a range of climate change projections—from the general consensus to the more pessimistic—and how an array of 'deep adaptation' measures could help to mitigate the damage. "Rather than simply asking people to water... View full entry
R.I.P. Robert Venturi. Initially Anthony Morey offered up a collection of videos (of just some of) Venturi’s public conversations and lectures. Architect Robert Venturi in Las Vegas in 1966. Photograph- Denise Scott Brown VSBALater Frank Gehry eulogized "He was a staggering figure in my life. We... View full entry
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
Companies like Ori and Bumblebee Spaces are testing out robotic furniture in major cities where living space is limited. The Ori system, currently testing robotically-furnished apartments in Manhattan, operates through voice command or your smartphone app moving the modular unit along a floor... View full entry
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
Image: IntsiteAI-powered autonomous construction technology is poised to see enormous growth in the coming years, promising to significantly increase efficiency, cut costs & realization time, and reduce human errors as well as workplace-related injuries. "According to McKinsey, about... View full entry
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
In the ongoing controversy about the Obama Presidential Center's proposed site on Jackson Park, design journalist Zach Mortice writes about how critics of the library might have more opportunities to argue their case for a community benefits agreement (CBA) and transparency on the project... View full entry
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
With this recent investment in eco-friendly prefabricated home factory Plant Prefab, Amazon uses its mighty financial leverage and dominance in the market for voice-controlled connected devices to make the brand just as synonymous with smart homes as it already is with online retail. Plant... View full entry