Due to an Amazon-fueled apartment construction boom over the last decade, Seattle has been an epicenter of [a] new school of structural simulacra. But Seattle is not alone. Nearly every city, from Charlotte to Minneapolis, has seen a proliferation of homogenous apartments as construction has increased again in the wake of the financial recession. — Curbed LA
Developer Modern, Plonkitecture, Contemporary Contempt, Blandmarks... These are just a few of the names offered for the ubiquitous apartment building design that has swept the nation in the last few decades. They differ marginally across the United States, for they all equally strive for the... View full entry
It’s not necessarily that conservatives rip out their lawns for economic reasons and liberals do so for environmental ones. Fresno is located in one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world, so living here brings a consciousness of water issues, as well as a pride in the region’s miles of fields. “My Job Depends on Ag” is a common bumper sticker about town. — City Lab
The EPA estimates that a third of the water used by American households goes to watering lawns and gardens, and Californians have long made up a significant portion of that statistic. State-wide aridity lends California a unique thirst for water, especially after several droughts within the last... View full entry
Some work continued on Thursday at a partly-built $13 billion Mexico City airport that the new president is scrapping, even after the government announced construction had been halted. [...]
The head of the government-run agency responsible for the project, Gerardo Ferrando, said the only construction still underway was to preserve what had already been built, such as drainage works, slabs of foundation and a partly-built tower.
— Reuters
NAICM aerial visualization. Rendering: Dbox.It's unclear what should happen now with the partly built new Mexico City International Airport which, some argue, was about one-third complete. "Construction work is officially suspended on that airport, and negotiations on the early termination of the... View full entry
Made official yesterday at the beginning of the new year, the US has now withdrawn from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Along with Israel, the two countries first announced that they would be leaving the organization in October of 2017, citing anti-Israel... View full entry
2019 promises to become another big year in the international museum world with plenty of high-profile cultural centers reaching completion and (re)opening their doors to the public. In its first post of the new year, The Spaces has rounded up eleven anticipated new museums and expansions... View full entry
Researchers found the sedimentary basin under [Seattle] can amplify the type of ground motion that’s hardest on high-rises by a factor of two to five — much more than previous estimates.
In response, Seattle and Bellevue are boosting seismic standards for new buildings 240 feet or taller [...] But the prospect of stronger shaking also raises concerns about older high-rises
— Seattle Times
Few are the architectural models that can be eaten with onion dip. But then again, few are the architects who create experimental models quite like Sou Fujimoto. [...]
Collectively, the experimental models — part of a series dubbed “Architecture is Everywhere” — represent a dextrous ability with materials.
— Los Angeles Times
Carolina Miranda reviews the ongoing Sou Fujimoto exhibition Futures of the Future at Japan House Los Angeles. Initially scheduled to close in mid-December, the popular show has been extended through Sunday, January 6. "Futures of the Future" exhibition, photo (c) JAPAN HOUSE Los AngelesCan't... View full entry
The 1960s, a time when possibilities and technologies in many areas — artistic, political, scientific — seemed broader than ever, remain a seductive decade. Fifty years on from the first moon landing we need to remember that the most striking image from space (and the one that had the most real impact) were not those of the dusty, dead surface of the moon but those of our own planet, glimpsed as something delicate, whole and beautiful. — Financial Times
The future used to look brighter. This may be the feeling gained when looking back at some of the most radical visions from familiar names in architecture. Archigram, Superstudio, Archizoom and Cedric Price each took their shot at a future based on post-war rhetoric, and we continue to marvel at... View full entry
December may be the end of 2018, but that did not slow down the news and updates from the architecture world. December brought some architectural street cred from Congress, some thoughts on death and updates on post-modernism's mid-life crisis. The US Capitol Building↑ Architecture will be... View full entry
Astonishingly, the feel of the original emerged largely intact. [Darren] Walker, an aficionado of mid-century design with an eye for detail, spent serious money to salvage whatever was salvageable. Hanging brass lighting fixtures, door handles, granite-topped credenzas (some with embedded hot plates), Platner tables and chairs, black walnut bookshelves, bronze trim — 1,500 items in all — were given back their mid-century gleam. The Ford Foundation Building has become a museum of itself. — New York Magazine
After many years of detailed renovation, the Ford Foundation has been successfully renovated and is ready to house 2,000 occupants. According to New York Magazine, "[the Ford Foundation] has withdrawn into a fraction of its previous space, halving the size of the president’s once imperial, now... View full entry
The core issue centers around the idea that creatives will be replaced by super-intelligent robots to design buildings, create art, or design vehicles.
Yet even as AI evolves across other design-related industries, AI could prove to do more good than bad, tackling the mundane so that you can augment your creative process.
— Interesting Engineering
Artificial Intelligence has already changed the nature of industries like manufacturing and cybersecurity. However, where does architecture fit into this mix? A harrowing concern is super intelligent robots may replace the creative practice and take over the design process that architects and... View full entry
The Tel Aviv coastline is crowded with a mishmash of skyscrapers, Ottoman-inspired villas, and four-story cubes painted a sunlight-reflecting shade of white. But in a place where stylistic jumble is the standard, one strain stands out as the defining architectural aesthetic and a beloved household name: Bauhaus. — Artsy
Design fans may know to pin Tel Aviv as an architectural destination for its unlikely connection to the Bauhaus movement, which originated in Dessau, Germany, but few know why the style traveled over 2,000 miles during the 1930's. Krieger House | Courtesy the rothschild 71 hotel, Tel-AvivWhen... View full entry
Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas is suing its neighbor Resorts World, which is currently under construction, for copying its design. The 17-page lawsuit includes a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against the soon-to-be casino and resort. According to Wynn, the similarity in designs... View full entry
Heading into their fourth and fifth decades, deep into midlife architectural crises, needing face-lifts, they’re now vulnerable and back again in the public eye, eliciting concern and attracting a second look — and sympathy — even from people who never liked them. But will these loved-hated structures be saved, and should they? — The New York Times
Joseph Giovannini writes about the historic vulnerability buildings entering their fourth or fifth decade encounter and how the public distaste may, potentially, turn into a sudden nostalgia for certain veterans of a not-so-distant architectural era. Citing recent controversial efforts to... View full entry
In a big win for architects, the US House of Representatives passed the Senate version of H.R.2353, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act on Tuesday. Architects across the country led the charge to pass this bill, highlighting its promise in discussions with their representatives. — AIA
The academic grouping known as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has long been regarded as the antithesis to the creative fields of art, music, and architecture. But the bill recently passed by the US House of Representatives allows states to use federal money to modernize... View full entry