This week, we are joined by Nicholas Korody, the Editor-in-Chief of Archinect's new print project Ed, and Ethel Baraona Pohl, co-founder of Barcelona-based architecture publisher dpr-barcelona. We discuss the increasingly-niche industry of architectural print publishing, and the evolving value it... View full entry
A social housing project in the Netherlands plans to adopt a Vertical Forest designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti. Now Eindhoven will join the list of Vertical Forest cities Milan, Nanjing, Utrecht, Tirana, Lausanne, and Paris. The client, Sint-Trudo, has instigated the... View full entry
Unlike traditional buildings, amphibious structures are not static; they respond to floods like ships to a rising tide, floating on the water’s surface. [...] Amphibiation may be an unconventional strategy, but it reflects a growing consensus that, at a time of climatic volatility, people can’t simply fight against water; they have to learn to live with it. — The New Yorker
The New Yorker features Elizabeth English, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Waterloo and founder of the Buoyant Foundation Project which seeks to promote the benefits of amphibious architecture for homes in flood-prone areas and communities that will experience the... View full entry
Yet what has drawn the most concern and curiosity with regards to Quayside is a uniquely 21st-century feature: a data-harvesting, wifi-beaming “digital layer” that would underpin each proposed facet of Quayside life. According to Sidewalk Labs, this would provide “a single unified source of information about what is going on”—to an astonishing level of detail—as well as a centralized platform for efficiently managing it all. — City Lab
While tech companies struggle to discover the new way to get a glimpse into our daily habits—attempting to discover how and where we spend our time and money—Alphabet might have just brought the ‘Truman Show’ approach to marketing. With Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet, announcing... View full entry
It's been just over three years since the Smithsonian Institute announced their massive, 2-billion-dollar redevelopment plans. Designed by BIG, the intended overhaul includes a renovation of the Smithsonian castle, expanded visitor services, a new courtyard and mall-facing entrances and walkways... View full entry
Long before foam insulation and concrete tower blocks, humans were finding ingenious ways to address their needs through architecture. Using local materials and inherited construction techniques, societies have ensured that buildings provide protection and comfort. In Tonga, traditional curved roofs offered aerodynamic protection against storms and cyclones. In the Uros islands of Lake Titicaca in the Andes, reeds were used in houses due to the insulating properties of their hollow stems. — cnn.com
A key issue in sustainability lies with imported building materials, leading architects to look for more ways to use local resources. As attention is turned towards existing materials, traditional design solutions must also be taken into account as each culture has its own history of building in a... View full entry
With only one month to go until the 2018 Winter Olympics officially kick off on February 9 in PyeongChang, South Korea, athletic teams from around the world prepare to represent their nations in front of an international audience. Canada isn't limiting itself to sporting competitions alone to... View full entry
The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has approved interior demolition of the lobby at Philip Johnson and John Burgee’s postmodern tower at 550 Madison Avenue. Though the 1984 tower is up for landmark consideration, the designation would only protect the facade, not the interior.
Department of Buildings (DOB) records show demo plans received LPC staff approval on December 15 and permits were issued that same day.
— The Architect's Newspaper
An architecture policy sets an aspirational goal for what we value about the built environment, and helps create a framework for that contribution to culture. The Ordre des architectes du Québec (OAQ) is actively consulting with the government on the establishment of a provincial architecture policy. This is a positive move and shows leadership in the preservation of Canadian culture. It is an example that our federal government should follow. — theglobeandmail.com
Canadian architecture needs the support of a national policy in order to survive the global competition. Canada's architecture must be seen under the umbrella of cultural policies that support local arts, culture, and businesses. As it stands, the country has no architectural policy to speak of... View full entry
The postwar passion for highway construction saw cities around the world carved up in the name of progress. But as communities fought back many schemes were abandoned – their half-built traces showing what might have been — The Guardian
Last week, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its intentions to suspend enforcement of the rule until 2020, the New York Times reports. The notice “tells cities already at work on the detailed plans required by the rule that they no longer need to submit them, and the department says it will stop reviewing plans that have already been filed,” according to the paper. — NextCity
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, under the Obama administration, issued legislation intended to bolster the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, a decades-old law designed to combat segregation across the country. The new, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule... View full entry
2018 will see a number of high-profile museums finish remodeling and expanding as well as new institutions open promising spaces to the art-hungry public. The Art Newspaper rounded up a few exciting ticket items, including the Royal Academy of Arts transformation in London by David... View full entry
The notion that the prototypes could qualify as conceptual art might seem somewhat far-fetched. They were designed to United States Customs and Border Protection specifications, built to withstand a 30-minute assault from sledgehammers to acetylene torches, and to be difficult to scale or tunnel beneath. Aesthetic considerations are largely secondary to brute strength, but, when viewed up close, the walls collectively have the undeniable majesty of minimalist sculpture. — Art Net
Cadillac Ranch, Prada Marfa, The Gates from the Met and The Border Wall. As excessive, fantastical, dismal and maddening as that list may sound, it may be closer to reality than we would think. For artist, Christoph Büchel, the possibility that the expected role of the Border Wall proto-types and... View full entry
Announced on Wednesday, the two-level glass-walled pavilion was unveiled with a promise from Apple that the planned project "increases public space and provides a daily program of activity to inspire and educate the community."
But it's this element of public space that has people a little concerned.
— Mashable
Residents of Melbourne are angered by Apple's plans to locate its new flagship store at Federation Square, a public center commonly used to house gatherings, protests, sports screening, concerts and Council-organized events. The site is also home to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, the... View full entry
A developer looking to erect a hotel tower designed by Frank Gehry on Santa Monica’s iconic Ocean Avenue has reworked its plans and released a new rendering of the project.
Originally proposed five years ago as 22 stories, the hotel has been reduced to 12 stories—or 130 feet—to comply with the city’s new development plan for downtown. It’s just one part of a larger project that would also include a museum, shops, ground-floor open space, and 79 apartments.
— Curbed LA
The newly released rendering shows the Gehry-designed hotel tower as a considerably shortened and reworked version of what was originally proposed in March of 2013 — before the city's new height rules and design guidelines for downtown Santa Monica were implemented. For comparison, check out the... View full entry
