A new report released today by the industry group Lumber Supply Research Group (LSRG) reveals a dramatically increased scarcity of lumber in the digital realm as demand for the sought-after material has skyrocketed within the last quarter, leading to significant price hikes and delays in... View full entry
The activist community can rejoice today on the news that groundbreaking London-based collective Forensic Architecture (FA) has been given an Institutional Peabody Award for its continued public service and contributions to electronic media. The group was cited for their work documenting the use... View full entry
With more than 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees fleeing the country and another 6.5 million internally displaced, architects in Ukraine have been hard-pressed to put their skills to work by creating the necessary shelters and accommodations required for those uprooted by the... View full entry
At a time when permanent supportive housing takes years to build and the average cost per unit has climbed to nearly $600,000, the cost of these tiny homes came to about $68,000 each, or roughly $35,000 per bed, according to De León’s office.
In his speeches, De León likes to ask, “in what parallel universe” is it better to leave people on the street than move them into various forms of temporary housing while awaiting more permanent housing?
— LA Times
LA Times columnist Steve Lopez visited the second-newest in a string of tiny home developments opened in November in a space that had previously been sparsely used as a parking lot for the Eagle Rock Recreation Center and co-owned and operated by the city, county, and utilities giant SoCal Edison... View full entry
Petitioners in the UK are bidding to have an early-career architectural worker elected as the next RIBA president as a change of direction for the 188-year-old organization which they charge as “losing touch with architects, students, and the next generation of talent.” In an open letter... View full entry
“Think about it. First it was food,” she says, referring to the decades-long push for local, sustainable and ethical eating, as well as reliable sourcing and labeling. “Then came clothing. I’m proposing that shelter will be next.”
“Our velocity for good has been established day by day.”
— 1stdibs
Writer Ted Loos visited the SANAA-designed Connecticut retreat virtually for a profile of founder Sharon Prince, a former fashion retail executive who founded the 80-acre venue in 2009 around the five core principles of nature, the arts, justice, community, and faith. Prince spoke about her... View full entry
An L.A. developer has a new approach to the so-called tenancy-in-common, or TIC, model, in which residents share ownership of the property. Instead of converting old, rent-controlled buildings into TIC properties, the developer is replacing single-family homes with new townhomes.
Some real estate experts said the model could help the region’s gaping affordable-housing problem, particularly after a new state law opened more areas to similar development.
— The Los Angeles Times
S.B. 9 allows for up to four units to be built on plots formerly reserved for single-family developments exclusively. Since the bill was enacted, many investors have begun to demolish single-family units in order to construct the newer TIC model of townhouses, which was supposedly pioneered by a... View full entry
Change has come to the UK’s leading architectural association as The Architects’ Journal is reporting that RIBA’s current Director of Inclusion & Diversity Marsha Ramroop is departing from the organization after just 13 months on the job. The institution is going through an administrative... View full entry
Mayor Eric Adams said the city will crack down on buildings with a high number of fire safety violations, two months after a blaze killed 17 tenants of a Bronx high-rise with a history of complaints. As part of a new executive order signed on Sunday, the city will increase information sharing between the FDNY and the city’s housing inspectors “to identify safety violations earlier and increase fire safety compliance.” — Gothamist
As part of what’s called Executive Order 12, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will launch a broad campaign to educate New Yorlers on fire safety. The order will also require the FDNY to conduct more frequent inspections of... View full entry
According to a new Dodge Construction Network report, total construction starts rose 9% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.013 trillion. Nonresidential building starts carried the activity, jumping 32% due to the start of three large manufacturing facilities. However... View full entry
A planning report for the scheme acknowledges criticism of the Sphere for its scale and massing, its impact on Stratford Station, and the impact of advertising on nearby residents. But it says the Sphere would ‘establish a strong sense of place at a scale that is not considered to be excessive, taking account of the established scale of surrounding buildings. — Architects' Journal UK
More than 1,000 objections were lodged against the project, which will come before the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) for a final approval vote on Tuesday. Their voices echo the derision Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright and others have parroted against the giant LED display’s... View full entry
Diébédo Francis Kéré has been awarded the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize, widely considered one of the industry's highest honors. "Francis Kéré has found brilliant, inspiring and game-changing ways to answer these questions over the last decades," said the jury citation for the award... View full entry
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine presses on into its fourth week, volunteers and cultural workers, a number of whom are also at arms, are rushing to erect makeshift barriers and other forms of protection against what could be a demoralizing strike against heritage sites across the embattled... View full entry
Libraries are playing vital roles in supporting Ukraine's war effort from giving families shelters during Russian bombing raids to making camouflage nets for the military and countering disinformation. — NPR
As reported by NPR, libraries across Ukraine are brimming with activity, full of librarians, readers, refugees, and volunteers. In addition to serving as bomb shelters, they’re hosting the production of camouflage nets for the military, along with home care courses. Libraries are also bringing... View full entry
The once-thriving construction industry in Ukraine has ground to a near halt as the nation shifts into battling an invasion by Russia. Before the incursion, which began Feb. 24, construction sites across the country were booming in many different sectors, according to Morgan Williams, president of the 200-member U.S.-Ukraine Business Council in Washington, D.C. — Construction Dive
Russia’s invasion has stymied Ukraine’s construction industry, which was surging under the country’s “Big Construction” program. The initiative was spearheaded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and aimed to rebuild and renovate infrastructure across the country. Construction... View full entry
