In 2012, ​filmmaker Leon Gerskovic chronicled the journey of 16 design/buildLAB students as they conceived and realized the Masonic Amphitheatre. The project, a charitable undertaking, consisted of the complete redevelopment of a post-industrial brownfield into a public park and performance space. Reality Check is their inspirational story. — design/buildLAB

Referring to younger staff variously as “kids” or “the children”, Dame Zaha, cloaked in black and with smudges of fuchsia on both her eyes and lips, says she is approachable.

Those who know her (and prefer not to be named) characterise her as volcanic – she blows up but then it’s over. There are no lasting grudges. Her business partner, architect Patrik Schumacher, says the explosions are the byproduct of “uncompromising standards”, suggesting such bust-ups are normal in creative offices. — ft.com

While architects and small firms would undoubtedly benefit from the income tax cuts and deduction, the sales tax on services is problematic for the architectural profession. If the tax plan is approved, architects may find themselves at a distinct disadvantage to out of state firms. — aia.org

The Lagos state commissioner for housing, Adedeji Olatubosun Jeje, provided a different version of events.

“It’s a regeneration of a slum,” he said. “We gave enough notification. The government intends to develop 1,008 housing units. What we removed was just shanties. — NYT

vado retro summed up the design "a box within a box and one box the one inside, the inside box is at an angle. oh and there are trees" but Alex Gomez added "Although the facade is superficial, I feel it will succeed in attracting ‘qualitative and quantitative tourist flows in the area,’

In construction or renovation of buildings you'll be able to identify poorly insulated areas and badly wired electrical outlets before you put the drywall up. You'll find places where water has penetrated the structure where it should not have. Identifying mold and moisture is a much easier task with the Mµ Thermal Imager. — indiegogo.com

Whatever you want, then, go to an architect for it; not to a carpenter, or a mason, or your own still more profound incompetence. Tell him all your practical, material desires, and insist that they shall be respected... Settle your practical desires and state them clearly; and, if you will, pour out your vague aesthetic wishes; try to explain those crude artistic preferences, those misty, formless visions which you are pleased to call “my own ideas.” — Places Journal

The task is to capture the intention behind someone else's design — to distill the philosophy of a building into a single, digestible image that transcends explanation. It's not easy, but when it's done well it looks effortless...

"I'm not interested in art photography," Ezra Stoller once said in an interview. "I'm interested in architecture as it is, to look at and enjoy. But what I do is a job of work, that is what it is." — npr.org

"We want to take recycling to the next level," says Mr Huang. "Not only will this factory do the usual e-waste recycling, extracting gold and copper from your discarded computers and smartphones, but it will be built completely out of recycled materials. — BBC News

It is in empty spaces like [under Hong Kong's overpasses] that a group is campaigning for the government to build youth hostels, arts performance venues, offices for small- to mid-sized businesses and, most intriguingly, temporary housing. The group sees this unused land as an opportunity to alleviate Hong Kong’s problem of young people not being able to afford to rent in the world’s most expensive property market. — smartplanet.com

Ingels has been asked to envision a gateway, one that invites visitors to learn, rest and escape and then leads them north to the rest of the Mall. B.I.G. will be responsible for site and building investigations, programming, campus planning, architectural and engineering design concepts and cost analysis.

The area "suffers from some notable impediments, and the buildings within the landscape are not utilized in a fully functional and efficient way," the Smithsonian says. — bizjournals.com

In an effort to foster the creative debate on urban recovery after Hurricane Sandy, MoMA PS1 and MoMA’s Department of Architecture and Design are calling out for ideas to create a sustainable waterfront.

Artists, architects, designers, and others are welcome to present ideas for alternative housing models, creation of social spaces, urban interventions, new uses of public space, the rebuilding of the boardwalk, protection of the shoreline, and actions to engage local communities. — momaps1.org

The MAS report, “East Midtown: A Bold Vision for the Future,” provides a plan for how to develop a stronger and more vibrant neighborhood in response to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed major zoning changes, announced last summer, to spur the modernization of East Midtown. MAS fears that in the absence of a careful and comprehensive vision, the City’s proposal will fall short. — mas.org

Documentary of the making of the first Angolan National Pavilion at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Shot over the Summer of 2012, it goes to show how one simple (and brilliant) idea may very well change the future sustainability of developing countries. And maybe the rest of the world as well. — vimeo.com

Just a few months ago, we had published the winners of episodes #1 Shop and #2 Work of the international ideas competition series, POST+CAPITALIST CITY. Here are now the three winning proposals of the third installment, #3 Live. The brief invited architects to imagine how a post+capitalist society could affect our daily lives and the way we envision housing. — bustler.net