The rapid pace of urbanization in developing countries places increasing levels of stress on cities. As thousands of people move into urban areas each year, the availability of affordable housing emerges as a key challenge. In India, 412 million people live in urban areas. Depending on the source... View full entry
Although still just a mock-up in the Lowline Lab, the LED grow lights designed by Lighting Science for use in the real Lowline are a promising iteration.Combining everything that's great about glowing hexagons with three different settings ("soft-white light, one that mimics daylight, and one that... View full entry
For this episode of Archinect Sessions, we're sharing our conversation with Phil Freelon, an architect that has dedicated his life to creating meaningful, thoughtful works of architecture that contribute to American culture and civil rights. Recent notable projects lead by Mr. Freelon include... View full entry
Adding 84,000 square feet of a custom-aluminum-facade-bearing mixed-use structure to a Metro Red Line adjacent corner of North Hollywood, Brooks + Scarpa are continuing their aesthetically pioneering work in low-income housing.The structure, deemed "NOHO on Camarillo," will defy old-school... View full entry
Perkins+Will have released a white paper that recommends avoiding including antimicrobial products in buildings. “Antimicrobial building products marketed as ‘healthy’ or beneficial to human health contain ingredients that may have adverse environmental or human health impacts, and... View full entry
Urban policy experts and progressive activists have expressed intense concern that Carson, in keeping with his strong conservative positions, will seek to cut money for government assistance programs and wear down the social safety net. The Trump administration has recently signaled that many government agencies can expect budget reductions in favor of increasing defense spending. — Washington Post
Realizing the latent dream of every neurosurgeon to one day run the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson has been officially confirmed by the U.S. Senate to start operating on the HUD. Although his plans for the agency are vague, Carson has spoken of being against granting... View full entry
As the Department of Homeland Security prepares to officially launch the RFP for Trump's proposed border wall on March 6, the Architecture Lobby is calling on all architects and engineers across the U.S. to participate in a national day of action to boycott the... View full entry
The notion of spending time at a subway stop or other major transit center for pleasure may strike you as odd, but many cities and transportation companies are investing heavily in building up this part of their infrastructure to create desirable public spaces (it adds a whole new dimension to... View full entry
Although it's not shocking that companies like Gensler have automated on/off sensors in their lighting grid to save energy when no one's in the office, it's slightly less comforting to realize that many companies are now using sensors to monitor when employees are at their desks, if they're... View full entry
Seeking to stem migration to Europe, the EU has remained largely silent about the wall's impact on people seeking asylum — Deutsche Welle
Welcome to the age of walls.Turkey has completed more than half of a planned 511-kilometer wall along its border with Syria. The government says it will improve security, but rights groups warn refugees fleeing war will be stuck on the Syrian side.Turkey has erected 290 kilometers (180 miles) of a... View full entry
The Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection has announced that it will solicit proposals for President Trump’s proposed “border wall” beginning on March 6. According to the announcement, published on FedBizOpps.gov, the solicitation will be for several design-build... View full entry
Nicholas Korody, published HGTV Theory: Tiny House Hunters, Debt Resistors. Wherein he ponders "Are tiny homes the pots of today? Are tiny homeowners the Diogenes of the 21st century? Their lifestyle, a hyperbolic negation of some of the dominant values that define contemporary domesticity, draw... View full entry
While President Trump talks repeatedly about fixing America’s inner cities, it’s a good bet that in the coming years, New York and other large metropolitan areas will need to be more self-reliant in solving pressing problems, especially low-income housing. [...]
Fortunately, there’s an already tested alternative: an annual luxury housing tax, levied on new high-end condos and rentals, which would feed a self-sustaining fund dedicated to develop truly affordable units.
— New York Times Op-Ed by Eric Uhlfelder
Harvard’s GSD has announced the 2017 winners of the Richard Rogers Fellowship, a new residency program to be hosted at the Wimbledon House. The Wimbledon House was designed by acclaimed architect Lord Richard Rogers for his parents in the 60s and generously gifted to Harvard.The landmarked... View full entry
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dipped slightly into negative territory in January, after a very strong showing in December. [...] The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the January ABI score was 49.5, down from a score of 55.6 in the previous month. This score reflects a minor decrease in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 60.0, up from a reading of 57.6 the previous month. — AIA
“This small decrease in activity, taking into consideration strong readings in project inquiries and new design contracts, isn’t exactly a cause for concern,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “The fundamentals of a sound nonresidential design and construction market... View full entry
