“I am honored to be the first Latino president in this organization’s 102-year history,” said Vidaurri. “But I look forward to the day when we no longer have to call out the first, or the second, or the third, but can celebrate the vision of the individual.” — NCARB
Alfred Vidaurri Jr., NCARB, NOMA, FAIA, of Fort Worth, Texas, was inducted as the president of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) at its 2021 Annual Business Meeting. Vidaurri is the first Latino president in the organization’s history; in this role, he will lead... View full entry
Like other professions, such as law and medicine, architects rely on technical publications to do our jobs. Thus, we frequently turn to volumes such as Architectural Graphic Standards, which is authored by The American Institute of Architects (AIA). Promoted by its publisher, Wiley, as “the... View full entry
Two giants of activism have acquired a new target in their ongoing fight for online privacy rights in the digital age. Forensic Architecture is pairing with Edward Snowden to take on an Israeli spyware company called NSO Group that has been behind hacks of journalists, lawyers, and human... View full entry
Charlottesville said in a news release that the equestrian statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as well as a nearby one of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson will be removed Saturday. Designated public viewing areas for the removals will be established in both parks where the statues are located, the news release said. — PBS
The city had been planning to take at least the Lee statue down since 2016, which in part prompted the deadly 2017 white supremacist Unite the Right rally. A number of laws and local ordinances had put the removal in question before a court ruling earlier this year ultimately cleared the way. The... View full entry
According to the Professional Services Management Journal (PSMJ) Resources’ Quarterly Market Survey, proposal activity for AEC firms continued to grow at a rapid pace in quarter two of 2021. The survey’s net plus/minus index (NPMI) was 52% for overall proposal activity, which was the... View full entry
Ten days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed plans to build a new monument in Lower Manhattan honoring New York's essential workers who served on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state is now working out a new plan after protesters detoured construction in Battery Park City. — NBC New York
The state had already broken ground on the project late in June before backing out this week thanks to an incredible amount of public backlash against it. The governor’s plan for the monument was so fast-moving that it had initially been slated to open on Labor Day before this week’s... View full entry
Lumber prices have seen their largest monthly drop on record, after a year of inflated prices driven by COVID-19 disruption. Throughout June alone, lumber prices declined more than 40%, driving an 18% overall decrease throughout 2021. The decline is attributed to a number of factors, including... View full entry
Native Americans have been systematically dispossessed of their ancestral lands for more than a century, thanks to federal land management policies. But a spate of new real estate projects highlights efforts to reclaim that territory, as tribes invest in land development in an effort to diversify their revenue base and support their members. — The Seattle Times
Only a handful of tribes have pursued ventures involving commercial property outside of gambling and many still reside in poverty-stricken reservations in the U.S. and Canada. A group from the Squamish Nation is behind Canada's largest development in Vancouver while others have made... View full entry
The council’s decision comes after months of significant organizing and protesting, including a two-day hunger strike last week, by vendors who felt that they were shut out of negotiations. It also follows months of mediating between the vendors and the Bumb family by councilmember David Cohen, who represents the district where the market is located. — The Mercury News
A large multi-use development project has been proposed for the site, which is adjacent to a BART station, since at least 2007. The site currently hosts a flea market that caters to primarily Spanish-speaking lower-income residents. Recent protests have combined public outcry to draw some... View full entry
Pratt Institute has announced the appointment of its new Assistant Dean Quilian Riano. As an architect, urban designer, researcher, and writer, his work explores architecture's relationship to design justice, anti-racist pedagogy, and urban design strategies that address socio-political issues... View full entry
Architect Robert Rock is facing a Herculean task: Design a bridge that will allow mountain lions to cross safely over a stretch of the 101 Freeway that roars with the traffic of 300,000 vehicles each day. — LA Times
A pedestrian bridge for animals in the region has been proposed for several years. Advocates will now face an uphill climb to raise an additional $27 million for the projected $65 million price tag before August after previously securing $38 million thanks to a #SaveLACougars social media campaign... View full entry
Two statues of queens on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature were pulled down Thursday during a rally aimed at replacing Canada Day celebrations with actions in memory of hundreds of Indigenous children buried in unmarked graves at residential schools across the country. [...]
The grounds were the destination of an Every Child Matters walk in Winnipeg on Canada Day afternoon to protest the fallout of Canada's residential schools system.
— CBC
The demonstrators were part of a Canada Day protest meant to draw attention to issues surrounding the forced removal and integration of 150,000 indigenous school children begun during Victoria's rule of the former UK Dominion. 6,000 of the children are reported to have died, and the recent... View full entry
But in many circles, it has done anything but, prompting an uproar among architects, urban planners and some Mosul residents who say it ignores Iraqi heritage. Perhaps in a nod to the United Arab Emirates, which is footing the bill, the winning design features cream-colored brick and straight angles of the kind found in the Gulf — a contrast to the arches, blue-veined local alabaster and limestone of traditional Mosul buildings. — The New York Times
An 8-member team of Egyptian architects had initially been selected from a lot of 123 for their "Courtyards Dialogue" proposal that will add a cultural center and school to a storied 12th-century mosque complex. The mosque features a leaning minaret that earned its famous nickname of "The... View full entry
The New York City Department of Buildings has shut down 322 construction sites across the city due to hazardous conditions in June 2021. The DOB issued full and partial stop-work orders to the affected sites, citing more than 1,129 violations for safety and non-compliance issues. In... View full entry
Berlin is to hold a referendum on a grassroots proposal that would force major property companies to sell thousands of their apartments to a public-owned body. A public petition for the idea, fueled by anger over surging housing prices, has gathered 183,711 valid signatures, which is more than the... View full entry
