A company that projects architectural plans at a 1:1 scale is planning to expand its operations to the United States. Lifesize Plans, headquartered in Australia, describes itself as "the world’s first patented projection system allowing clients to walkthrough their building project in life-size... View full entry
A series of salary transparency laws emerging across the U.S. is already having an impact on how companies approach disclosing pay range information, one survey has found. The study, undertaken by insurance advisor company WTW, found that many businesses are choosing to include information on... View full entry
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law a major reform to homebuilding in the state. The Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act, signed on September 28th, will override local zoning codes to allow for more affordable housing units to be built on land previously zoned for commercial... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to the Design Trust for Public Space in New York City, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series back to Los Angeles this week where we meet Fearon Hay Architects. Founded in 1998 by Tim Hay and Jeff Fearon, the practice has since grown to operate studios in... View full entry
The disappearance of such affordable homes is central to the American housing crisis. The nation has a deepening shortage of housing. But, more specifically, there isn’t enough of this housing: small, no-frills homes that would give a family new to the country or a young couple with student debt a foothold to build equity. [...]
At the root is the math problem of putting — or keeping — a low-cost home on increasingly pricey land.
— The New York Times
America has a long history of gradually siphoning away architecture made for predominantly middle-class people (think pre-war buildings in Manhattan or Levittown tract housing on Long Island) and is now simply under-delivering what could otherwise be an equalizing force as a result of prevailing... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to precision craftspeople XTEN, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series back to New York City this week, where we meet the Design Trust for Public Space. Founded in 1995 to champion and unlock the potential of New York City’s public and shared spaces, the... View full entry
The latest Dodge Construction Network figures show a decline in construction starts by 9% after a July spike that was propelled mostly by the nonresidential and nonbuilding sectors. Total starts now stand at an adjusted annual rate of $1.25 trillion. The August dip was caused by a 36%... View full entry
An increase in the overall demand for design services has been recorded for the 19th consecutive month, according to statistics contained in the August Architecture Billings Index (ABI) published this week by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The ABI score is now up to 53.3, representing... View full entry
Some of Northern Europe’s leading architecture firms have signed an open letter lamenting the lack of “serious development” laden in Autodesk’s proprietary design software, an aging suite of tools the authors claim is asking usurious prices despite neglecting years of industry-wide... View full entry
California’s state legislature has passed a bill sponsored by the American Institute of Architects California (AIACA) that will limit public access to copyrighted architectural drawings for the first time. The recently-signed SB 1214 concerns drawings that were submitted to local and state... View full entry
Following last week’s look at an open opportunity for a Director of Design Entrepreneurship and Inclusion at Kent State University, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore a role for a Senior Architect at CHECKSET. The successful candidate will work with... View full entry
Now that the "dust has settled" Niall Patrick Walsh caught up with "three firms in differing parts of the U.S. to hear their reflections on how the profession fared during the pandemic, and where it goes next". Plus, for a broader perspective, he spoke with AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to multidisciplinary practice SITU, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Los Angeles this week, where we find precision aestheticians XTEN Architecture. Founded in 2000, the firm has grown to operate studios in Los Angeles, CA and Sissach... View full entry
The Partnership for New York City has surveyed more than 160 major Manhattan office employers over the past two weeks to get a sense of the number of employees that have returned to office work or are still working remotely. They found that 49% of workers were at their office workplace... View full entry
There’s been a surge of demand from real estate owners for pleasant fragrances to make the air a little fresher and the workplace a little more comforting and energizing [...]
“Here in New York City, for example, real estate companies are interested in scenting the building itself, as opposed to just the individual tenant spaces [...] There are lots of vacant office spaces these days. So what can the real estate companies do to attract tenants?”
— Commerical Observer
So-called "scent profiles" have been documented to improve productivity, avoid a phenomenon known as olfactory fatigue, and achieve a psychological familiarity helpful to marketers when developing brand recognition. This is one of many approaches companies are attempting to use in order... View full entry
