Winston Churchill once observed that we shape the buildings and then the buildings shape us. I have written elsewhere about how architects and planners, albeit unwittingly, are complicit in producing an urban landscape that contributes to an unhealthy mental landscape.
Can we think of different ways to be in the city, of a different architecture that can “cure” loneliness?
— Tanzil Shafique in Fast Company
Tanzil Shafique, a Ph.D. researcher in urban design at the University of Melbourne, conducted a graduate design studio where students came up with potential architectural and urban responses to loneliness. View full entry
Jeanne Gang‘s 12-story office building on the High Line has earned itself the nickname Solar Carve tower for its gem-like glass facade that was “sculpted by the angles of the sun” in order to eliminate shadows. And now, eight months after topping out, the building’s signature glass curtain wall is complete, just in time to welcome tenants early this spring. — 6sqft
FEATURES: April 2018 ↑ Drones for Architects: New Capabilities for the Construction Sector, How to Get Started and How to Navigate the Law Hannah Wood asks: What new roles will drones adopt both in the architectural design process and outcomes? If your firm is intending to mobilize a drone... View full entry
Yep, after many years, and countless requests, we've restocked our classic "Architecture Sucks" t-shirt. All online orders this week will be shipped priority mail, so if you're looking for that last-minute gift for your disgruntled architect friends, here's your chance. Shirts are also in-stock in... View full entry
Architect and educator Hashim Sarkis has been appointed as Director of La Biennale di Venezia's Architecture Sector, tasking him to curate the 7th International Architecture Exhibition in 2020. Sarkis started his firm Hashim Sarkis Studios, with offices in Cambridge and Beirut, in 1998 and has... View full entry
March was full of headlining news that remind us once again that there will be triumphs and tribulations in the effort to making architecture more inclusive, whether that's improving office culture, enabling architectural education to be more accessible, reassessing faulty construction and its... View full entry
While 2018 wasn’t quite the banner year for historic preservation like 2017—NYC got three rare, new interior landmarks last year—several beloved structures finally got the recognition (and protection) they deserve. Those include the Riegelmann Boardwalk along the Coney Island waterfront, and 550 Madison Avenue, Philip Johnson’s 37-story Postmdodern icon. — Curbed NY
Curbed New York has put together a handy map of all historically significant buildings that received landmark protection this year, including a number of structures in the outer boroughs as well as the iconic 550 Madison Avenue (formerly the AT&T Building), which just returned to the spotlight... View full entry
In a year that's become synonymous with relentless news cycles of various flavors, February 2018 seems like an eternity ago. Let's take a look back at some of the biggest architectural stories on Archinect that month. ARCHITECTURE CULTURE ↑ Brand New Reviews Logos of the 10 Most-Followed Firm... View full entry
Officials in Qatar revealed the design for Lusail Stadium, the venue at which the opening and final games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place.
The 80,000-capacity venue will be the largest stadium of the tournament, which will kick off on November 21, 2022, and be the first to take place in the Arab world.
— Al Jazeera
Image courtesy of Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.While most designs of the eight 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums have been subject of public debate for some time (most notably the controversial Zaha Hadid-planned Al Wakrah Stadium), the final appearance of the biggest and central venue... View full entry
After a landmarked home in San Francisco's Twin Peaks neighborhood was illegally razed last year, the city has ordered the property owner to rebuild an exact replica. One of only five remaining homes in the city designed by the famed modernist architect Richard Neutra, the Largent House was... View full entry
FEATURES: January 2018 ↑ Le Corbusier’s first project In January, we introduced From the Ground Up, the then new series that looks at the early works of prominent architects from Andrea Palladio and Claude Nicolas Ledoux to Lina Bo Bardi and Thom Mayne. For the inaugural iteration, we looked... View full entry
“A project of this scale and complexity, which demands a design sensibility informed by both art and technology — along with a deep understanding of architecture education as well as the role of public space — is made for a firm like DS+R,” says Hashim Sarkis, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning. — MIT News
The MIT school of architecture, which has long been dispersed across the campus, will soon have a central base in a large brick warehouse across the street on Massachusetts Avenue. Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the New York-based architecture firm responsible for Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art... View full entry
In a bold move to address its affordable-housing crisis and confront a history of racist housing practices, Minneapolis has decided to eliminate single-family zoning, a classification that has long perpetuated segregation. — NYT
A year after Snøhetta’s first attempt at renovating Olayan America and Chelsfield’s office tower at 550 Madison Avenue ended in controversy and eventual landmarking, the architects are hoping their second attempt will be smoother. — The Real Deal
"The new proposal unveiled Tuesday features three stories of retail at the ground level and a new opening in the rear facade to allow sight lines from Madison Avenue into a new open-air garden that will replace the currently enclosed galleria," reports The Real Deal about Snøhetta's reworked... View full entry
A new report by real estate agency Knight Frank finds that 153 properties in six cities’ “ultra-prime” category sold for a combined total of $6.6 billion in the last year, or an average of $43 million per house.
Hong Kong led the world in sales over $25 million, followed by New York, then London.
— Bloomberg
Market slowdown? What market slowdown? While the real estate sector in the U.S. and certain global regions (looking at you, Brexit-y London) is seeing signs of cooling, including the upper-scale segment, there has been no significant impact on the uppest-scale cream slice of the industry with... View full entry