Since 2010, Cornell has topped DI's Undergraduate rankings (except for 2014, when Cal Poly San Louis Obispo was first), with Harvard consistently being first in Graduate programs (excluding 2011, when University of Michigan got the top spot). How 2017's top 10 schools compare to one another since... View full entry
With a press release that makes references to Banksy's iconic global stencils, the new digital architectural stencil set from Morpholio enables architects to instantly make customizable stencils of complex designs, from faces to condo layouts to intricately shaded trees. The initial image can... View full entry
This is high-rent blight.
The vacancy problem is immediately visible but lacking in hard data. The intent of this project is to provide some background around commercial vacancies and use a map to give some insight into the extent of the issue, ideally doubling as a tool for community groups and policymakers to identify areas for intervention.
It's an obvious problem without a clear set of causes or solutions, but there are several contributing factors [...]
— vacantnewyork.com
Click here for the interactive VACANT NEW YORK map.Related stories in the Archinect news:New map tool reveals NYC's vacant lots zoned for revitalizationA New Mapping Tool Lets NYC Residents Peek Into Developers' PlansNew York City's tree species mapped View full entry
Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group has agreed to buy Tribune Tower for up to $240 million, marking the end of media ownership for the historic North Michigan Avenue building and the beginning of a new chapter, likely as part of a mixed-use redevelopment. [...]
Tribune Media unveiled conceptual plans last year to redevelop the parcel, adding several buildings to maximize the space with residential, retail and hotel components.
— chicagotribune.com
The Tribune Tower sale previously in the Archinect news: Chicago Tribune Tower inches closer to hotel & residential redevelopment View full entry
This post is brought to you by Yulio. There’s no denying it: Virtual Reality (VR) creates a buzz. It’s exciting and attention-grabbing. It attracts and then holds. And keeps holding. Wherever you go, a pair of goggles instantly draws a crowd.For businesses in the Architecture and Interior... View full entry
With the U.S. presidential election coming up, a few Americans are considering moving to Canada, a move that actually might be lucrative if you're an architect. Responding to the forces of globalization, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is aiming to inject new economic life into his country... View full entry
WHAT are the most dysfunctional parts of the global financial system? China’s banking industry, you might say, with its great wall of bad debts and state-sponsored cronyism. Or the euro zone’s taped-together single currency, which stretches across 19 different countries, each with its own debts and frail financial firms. Both are worrying. But if sheer size is your yardstick, nothing beats America’s housing market. — the Economist
It is the world’s largest asset class, worth $26 trillion, more than America’s stockmarket. The slab of mortgage debt lurking beneath it is the planet’s biggest concentration of financial risk. For more on the state of the US housing market, check out these links:What these... View full entry
Thomas H. Truslow Jr., a general sales manager at Corning Glass Works, proposed a solution of flexible waterproof strips directly to Johnson executives, bypassing Wright.
The architect seethed. “Are you then unfamiliar with the way of work with an architect,” he wrote in a typed letter on Nov. 10, 1948. He added an angry question mark in green ink.
“The scheme is not the Johnson Company’s,” the typing continued. “It is the architect’s.”
— washingtonpost.com
The full, typed letter reads (with handwritten text in bold):My dear Mr. Truslow: You have the cart before the horse. It is necessary to secure the architect's approval before going to the owner. Are you then unfamiliar with the way of work with an architect - ?The scheme is not the Johnson's... View full entry
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was positive in July for the sixth consecutive month, and tenth out of the last twelve months as demand across all project types continued to increase. [...] (AIA) reported the July ABI score was 51.5, down from the mark of 52.6 in the previous month. This score still reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 57.5, down from a reading of 58.6 the previous month. — AIA
“The uncertainty surrounding the presidential election is causing some funding decisions regarding larger construction projects to be delayed or put on hold for the time being,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “It’s likely that these concerns will persist up until... View full entry
project managers at a building site in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang are openly supplying their exhausted work force with powerful methamphetamines called “ice,” North Korean sources say. [...]
Officials in charge of the project are pushing workers hard to finish frame construction on the buildings, which include a 70-story high-rise apartment building and at least 60 other structures, before the weather gets too cold, sources said.
— Radio Free Asia
The construction project in question appears to be Ryomyong Street, a so-called "Pyonghattan" for its giant scope and reportedly the country's tallest apartments. According to a report in Foreign Policy, the spread of methamphetamine (aka "ice") first began in North Korea during the 1990s, when... View full entry
Perhaps the most notable business line to suffer from slow growth is WeLive, which offers young renters fully furnished apartments and a communal atmosphere. The two inaugural locations opened in lower Manhattan and Crystal City, Va., earlier this year in converted office buildings. But the costs of converting those spaces proved high given the extensive remodeling needed... Now the company is aiming to put WeLive locations mainly in newly built developments that can be custom designed. — wsj.com
More news from under the WeWork umbrella:Strange bedfellows: exploring shades of privacy in co-livingThe kibbutz, rebranded for Silicon ValleyChief creative officer Miguel McKelvey on WeLive's "relatively neutral" interior designCan WeWork re-engineer the spatial dynamics of society?WeLive... View full entry
In September 2017 Ben Derbyshire will officially become RIBA President-Elect, taking over from the current President Jane Duncan. Commenting on the announcement on HTA's website he said:“Once again we find ourselves in turbulent times. In winning this election I am conscious of a great sense... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE ArchiOffice. Many architects struggle with staying on top of their finances. After all, they were trained to draw and design, not how to run a business. Here are seven bookkeeping tips to help you better manage your finances with innovative tools. 1. Get... View full entry
Casinos like the Taj Mahal have destroyed Atlantic City’s public space. Gambling’s arrival replaced the outward-looking hotels, shops, and promenades of the mid-century boardwalk with clusters of dark, labyrinthine resorts, set back from the street and enclosed behind monitored security gates. [...]
Atlantic City’s model of a plush, self-contained casino abutting a ruined neighborhood has become a synecdoche for the last forty years of American urban development.
— jacobinmag.com
To dissect the urban effects of Trump's Atlantic City casino, Sam Wetherall traces the city's history as a booming resort town through the early 20th century, and into its current economic crisis:In 2014 alone, casino closures cost Atlantic City more than ten thousand jobs, a staggering figure for... View full entry
“They spend $25,000 per employee per year on perks like free beer and pool tables and massages ... That’s great, but can they spend $1,000 to help the rest of San Francisco survive?”
As it turned out, they could not. Representatives of tech organizations reacted fiercely against the tax, saying that it would suppress growth in the industry that has made the city – parts of it, at least – wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice.
— The Guardian
Widening the gap between San Francisco's wealthy and poor, the budget committee of the city's board of supervisors rejected on Monday the tech tax, which “would have imposed a 1.5% payroll levy on technology companies that generate more than $1m in revenues a year, including Uber, Google... View full entry