The coronavirus pandemic has forced the Olympics’s first postponement: Tokyo 2020, its name unchanged, will now take place in July 2021 if it takes place at all. Yet all around the Japanese capital is the legacy of another Olympics: the 1964 Summer Games, which crowned Tokyo’s 20-year transformation from a firebombed ruin to an ultramodern megalopolis. — The New York Times
NYT art critic Jason Farago takes a look back at the now iconic architectural and visual design — and its transformative power — of the 1964 Olympic Summer Games in the Japanese capital, 19 years after WWII had ended. "Those first Tokyo Olympics served as a debutante ball for... View full entry
Eric Saarinen, the son of Eero Saarinen, is working on a new documentary highlighting the work of his grandfather, noted Finnish-American architect Eliel Saarinen. The Detroit News reports that the documentary comes after Eric's work on a previous PBS special highlighting the legacy of his... View full entry
The (ALA) has named 13 libraries that were selected to receive a total of $1.3 million to develop their library entrepreneurship centers. Part of Libraries Build Business, an initiative established by Google.org to enable libraries across the country to increase the number of business... View full entry
President Donald Trump is pushing for congressional funding that would allow the General Services Administration (GSA) to undertake a long-delayed renovation and modernization plan for the White House West Wing. Included in a recent legislative framework floated by Republican senators aimed... View full entry
The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts has announced its slate of 2020 Grants to Individuals, a set of 52 awards totaling $320,800 in funding for research endeavors that highlight a multiplicity of architectural, urban, and social perspectives. As in years... View full entry
As institutions continue to respond to the direct effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have sought to implement new strategies for supporting students during this time of social and political unrest. Harvard GSD has announced a new emergency fund for current GSD students and 2020 graduates. The... View full entry
As students face increasingly dire circumstances for the coming fall semester, the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles (AIA|LA) chapter is working to connect local architecture firms with students who need quiet and reliable places to do their work. Cognizant that local schools will... View full entry
According to Duvar English, the Syrian government has announced that it will build a replica of Instanbul's Hagia Sophia after the Turkish government recently converted it into a mosque. Moscow will provide funding for the project "to show the importance of 'peaceful dialogue' between... View full entry
Autodesk has issued a public statement following the publication of an open letter signed by a constellation of BIM-forward architecture firms decrying the lack of development and rising costs of using Autodesk Revit. Earlier this week, firms that include Zaha Hadid Architects, Grimshaw, Rogers... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has issued a statement condemning recently announced changes to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Last week, HUD Secretary Ben... View full entry
Launched July 1st by a group of students and alumni from the Harvard GSD, Design Yard Sale is a month-long fundraising event that "sells and auctions creative works to support [Colloqate Design and The Bail Project], two organizations fighting systemic, and anti-Black racism."... View full entry
The city's complex drainage system protects Hong Kong from once-disastrous flooding caused by seasonal typhoons. But will it be strong enough to withstand the effects of climate crisis? — CNN
CNN's James Griffiths on the challenges of building a vast rain water-draining tunnel network in one of the world's densest cities and how well it is prepared for ever-intensifying climate and security threats. "At present, some rain is collected and reused for irrigation and flushing water, but... View full entry
31-year-old entrepreneur Fanyu Lin has initiated a new philanthropic enterprise called the World Home Foundation, an effort focused on providing homes to undeserved populations that include low income urban citizens, migrants, and refugees. The new endeavor addresses a common... View full entry
The slow and steady death of the shopping mall has been sped up since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now several months into the public health and economic crisis the pandemic has set off, mall owners and operators are developing specific visions for the post-mall future of American... View full entry
Long Beach-based Studio One Eleven has announced plans to convert a former medical office designed by midcentury modern architect Edward Killingsworth into an "essential service center" that will provide services for needy families as well as food for area residents experiencing food... View full entry