Mark Middleton, partner at Grimshaw in London, has been facing the Brexit decision's aftermath like many of his architecture-compatriots—with positive pragmatism. While prominent architecture and design professionals lent their support to the "Remain" campaign, they now have little choice but to... View full entry
After the University of Applied Arts Vienna chose a winner for its campus redesign competition in 2012, the proposal is just now being made a reality—much to the disappointment of another prominent Viennese institution, Coop Himmelb(l)au.The University selected Riepl Kaufmann Bammer... View full entry
The future of London’s proposed garden bridge has been called into further question after the city’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, halted preparatory work on the structure over fears this could involve more public money being spent.
The Garden Bridge Trust says the bridge from South Bank to Temple, featuring 270 trees and thousands of plants, will be a “tiara” for London, being both an iconic landmark and a vital pedestrian bridge.
— The Guardian
Read more about London's Garden Bridge on architnect: London's garden bridge, the saga continues Why are Heatherwick's proposals succeeding in New York but tanking in London? Sadiq Khan investigates troublesome details in Thames garden bridge project Infrastructure or advertisement? Sky to sponsor... View full entry
Brokers say the very top of the market — consisting of eight- and nine-figure homes — is faring the worst as slowing economies overseas and volatile stock markets have spooked buyers. The supply of homes for the rich exploded as builders aimed at the high end after the financial crisis. — NYT
Robert Frank highlights a worrisome pileup in the overinflated; luxury housing, megamansions and penthouse market. View full entry
With the construction industry expected to be the first casualty of Brexit, leading architecture firms in the UK Make, Sheppard Robson and BDP have already started to react to the uncertainties in the construction industry. In February of this year it was reported that housebuilding in the UK... View full entry
The city of Los Angeles has selected HDR to serve as program manager for the next three years for its robust Sidewalk Repair Program. The 30-year, $1.4 billion program aims to repair sidewalks to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and ensure universal access for all Angelenos. The second largest city in the U.S., Los Angeles is home to roughly 11,000 miles of sidewalks, many of which hinder passage because of cracks, buckles and bulging tree roots. — hdrinc.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Why Los Angeles is struggling to fix thousands of miles of sidewalksMichael Maltzan proposes greening L.A.'s 134 freewayAlissa Walker imagines a "utopian" Los Angeles in 2056 View full entry
The couple claims the firm Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous and property owners Daniella and Ari Schwartz accessed their exclusive plans in property records last August through the Lawrence buildings department — without their permission.
“There is no doubt that you have accessed and intentionally copied the plans of the Fortgang residence intending to create a replica of our clients’ home and distinctive exterior,” the Fortgang’s lawyer Steven Stern wrote in a cease-and-desist letter
— nypost.com
Rivka and Seth Fortgang from Long Island had their custom 4,400 square foot house built in 2004, in the neighborhood of Five Towns. After learning Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous were building a very similar looking house a mile away, the Forgangs sued. Rivka Fortgang, an interior and exterior... View full entry
A top businessman has offered to help restore the home of [Thomas Blake Glover] a Scottish pioneer who became one of the most famous merchants in Japan [...]
If anything can be done to restore Glover House we will be prepared to do it and we have made an offer to contribute to the house reopening in his memory [...]
the building would be turned into an “ideas hub”, which could be used to strengthen business links with Japan - with a particular focus on the oil and gas industry.
— The Scotsman
The home of Thomas Blake Glover in Japan gets 2 million (!) visitors a year and is an important heritage site, representative for the scottish-japanese history of industrialisation.The Glover's house in Aberdeen is in a reversed situation. It has fallen into a state of disrepair and is in... View full entry
[...] during a visit some months before the Brexit vote, I armed myself with a detailed map and trolled all over South and Southeast London — a conglomeration of formerly independent villages, boroughs, towns and green spaces that have long since been incorporated into London
[...] the neighborhoods that make up the great London patchwork quilt are ephemeral, especially now, as the immigrant communities of London wonder what the post-Brexit future will bring.
— The New York Times
Read more about the effects of Brexit for architects on archinect:Architects react to shocking EU referendum resultProperty funds suspend trading in biggest seize-up since financial crisisCreative Currency, post-BrexitPost-Brexit pessimism causes precautionary job lossesAfter Brexit, “the... View full entry
The Economist Plaza was designed by Alison and Peter Smithson in the 1960s and still serves as a seminal example of an inviting and approachable urban space in Central London. The project is successful because it bravely addresses the clash between the aesthetic of the Smithsons and the... View full entry
Bowie hated it. Peep Show besmirched it. The London suburb may get a bad rap in popular culture, but now there is the chance to see a different side. [...]
Watson is helping to organise tours of Croydon taking in architectural highlights such as NLA House (now No 1 Croydon), sometimes known as the ‘threepenny bit’; [...]
The National Trust is turning to Croydon after its successful tours of London’s brutalist concrete buildings, places it argues should be cherished as much as Croydon’s towers.
— The Guardian
Property funds worth £18 billion have stopped trading after Brexit sent a chill through the commercial property market. [...]
The fear was that too many property investors would try to take their money out at once, forcing fund managers to sell properties at a loss. [...]
The Bank of England has warned that the share prices of UK real estate investment trusts have fallen sharply following the referendum.
— Independent
Read more about the effects of Brexit on archinect:Creative Currency, post-BrexitPost-Brexit pessimism causes precautionary job lossesAfter Brexit, “the priority for the government at this time will not be big sexy projects”Architects react to shocking EU referendum result View full entry
The phenomenon is propelled largely by the same factors that are making it more difficult for artists themselves to live and work in the city: a concentration of global wealth with its eyes trained on real estate and luxury developers trying to stand out to attract a piece of that wealth. — NYT
Randy Kennedy tours some of the most recent examples of luxury commercial and residential architecture in Manhattan that incorporate "public" artworks. View full entry
Hillary Clinton's latest ad campaign features an architect who claims Donald Trump almost put his firm out of business."Donald Trump hired my small business to design a clubhouse for the Trump National Golf Club," states Andrew Tesoro of Andrew Tesoro Architects. The ad intersperses Tesoro's... View full entry
Police were called to the Hawkeswood Metal recycling plant at 8.45am today after a large concrete wall containing metal collapsed.
Paramedics tried to free the men, including one who had suffered a heart attack, however West Midlands Police pronounced all five victims dead at the scene.
A sixth man was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries.
The victims have yet to be identified.
— globalconstructionreview.com
Police investigation is underway, but next to nothing is known at the moment as to why the wall at a Birmingham recycling centre collapsed. Responding to the tragedy, Brian Rye of the construction union UCATT commented: “Information on how and why this accident occurred is currently very... View full entry