Voters in Mexico have rejected completion of partly built new airport for Mexico City, opposing it by a 70 to 29 percent margin.
Mexico’s President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday he will respect the referendum, effectively ending the $13 billion project which is already about one-third built.
“The decision taken by the citizens is democratic, rational and efficient,” Lopez Obrador said. “The people decided.”
— The Washington Post
It's looking like the end of the runway for the partly built new Mexico City International Airport designed by a conglomerate comprising Foster + Partners, FR-EE (Fernando Romero Enterprise), and NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants). While the public vote clearly disapproved of the $... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)... View full entry
An exhibit traveling around China is facing legal action by the artists the exhibit claims to be showcasing. According to Nikken Asian Review, a Chinese company has been putting on pop-ups since April that have been displaying forged works meant to be by contemporary Japanese artists Yayoi Kusama... View full entry
A privacy expert tasked with protecting personal data within a Google-backed smart city project has resigned as her pro-privacy guidelines would largely be ignored by participants.
“I imagined us creating a Smart City of Privacy, as opposed to a Smart City of Surveillance,” Ann Cavoukian, the former privacy commissioner of Ontario, wrote in a resignation letter to Google sister company Sidewalk Labs.
— Planet Free Will
Smart phones, smart cars, smart cities, but smart for who? View full entry
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority voted unanimously Tuesday to freeze $9.7 million in sales tax funding for the next phase of the Transbay Transit Center, as members called for an evaluation of the beleaguered project and the agency that runs it.
The news came as Transbay officials again pushed back the date to complete testing of steel from two cracked beams that led to shutting down the building in September.
— San Francisco Chronicle
Facade detail. Image via Wikimedia Commons.San Francisco’s brand new Transbay Transit Center (also know as Salesforce Transit Center) can't catch a break: after the long anticipated $2.2 billion transportation hub at Mission and Fremont Streets had to close again when cracks in several steel... View full entry
Idia Designs, an architectural design firm, has revealed some preliminary details on the chosen design of its New Administrative Capital’s landmark, the “Oblisco Capitale Tower,” which is deemed to surpass Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in stature, Invest-Gate reports.
“It is still a concept,” according to the company’s statement. However, some photos and videos were released, showcasing the tower’s features.
Idia notes that state-run El Nasr Housing and Development is the project’s developer.
— Invest-Gate
Not many specifics are known so far about the obelisk-shaped megatall tower concept Oblisco Capitale Tower by Cairo/Dubai-based firm IDIA.Design, but the promotional material hints at a structure taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the world's tallest building. View this post on... View full entry
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
Over the last two years, the Central European University (CEU) has been subjected to verbal and thinly-veiled legislative attacks by Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orbán. [...]
Should the university choose to relocate, it would be forced to abandon not only the country it has operated in since opening in 1991, but also its recently opened premises.
— CNN
CNN Style explains why the celebrated Phase 1 design of the Central European University's deliberately modernist Budapest campus may potentially not be able to save the school's existence in the city. Photo © Tamás BujnovszkyDesigned by Irish firm O'Donnell + Toumey, the part-new... View full entry
But instead of shying away from some of the challenges this type of work poses, the students decided to publish the results of the survey as-is, and highlight its flaws. They decided not to draw any particular conclusions from the data, and instead hope to use the exhibit as a conversation starter. “A large part of the exhibit was trying to get a more nuanced idea of sexism. Not just sexual harassment, but other sorts of derailing that occurs within architecture schools.” — Curbed
A new report looking at New York City's estimated construction for 2018-2020 predicts strong growth across all sectors of development. According to its forecasts, "New York City is in the midst of its second and most robust building boom of the 21st century," the report says. Put out by the New... View full entry
Despite having been under construction for more than 130 years, Gaudí's Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona has lacked the proper paper work. Turns out, the Unesco world heritage site, attracting more than 20 million visitors a year, has never been granted a building permit, the BBC... View full entry
In Tonantzintla the smart cities proposal became a lightning rod for those concerned about a development that seemed to favour outsiders rather than residents...“They are ashamed of their roots,” [local resident Mercedes] Tecuapetla Quechol says. “They saw something they liked in the United States or in Europe, so they want to put it here.” — The Guardian
The Mexican town of Santa Maria Tonantzintla is caught in the all-too-familiar situation of preserving its centuries-old customs as newer smart-city technologies are being introduced. While city officials and planners argued that implementing new technology intends to benefit the community... 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
Join us in celebrating the launch of the newest issue of Project Journal at Archinect Outpost on Friday, October 26th, 6-9 PM. RSVP to reserve your spot! Issue 7 of Project Journal features a brilliant wrap-around cover by David Eskenazi, as well as the work of many great theorists and... 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
