China is emerging as a global leader in cultural construction amidst a hectic year that saw a marked decline in new museum building according to AEA Consulting’s just released 2020 Cultural Infrastructure Index. Overall construction is down 30% in the sector compared to last year’s report... View full entry
UNESCO has once again officially expressed its “deepest regrets” and is now asking for an updated report on the conservation of the Hagia Sophia site in Istanbul, Turkey, adding another chapter to the embattled country’s ongoing feud with the UN’s cultural apparatus. The body... View full entry
The Times is reporting that Thomas Heatherwick has met with members of the British government as recently as March in what could be discussions surrounding a future memorial to COVID-19 victims in the UK. Heatherwick has done a number of high-profile commissions in London, the city of his birth... View full entry
Subway systems around the world are struggling to adapt to an era of extreme weather brought on by climate change. Their designs, many based on the expectations of another era, are being overwhelmed, and investment in upgrades could be squeezed by a drop in ridership brought on by the pandemic. — The New York Times
New York is still repairing damages to its subway system caused nearly a decade ago by Hurricane Sandy as the installation of certain protective also lags behind schedule. Coastal cities like New York and Boston are facing nine-digit pricetags as they prepare their populations for climate change... View full entry
Archinect Sessions Next Up: Exhibit Columbus continues this week as we introduce the winners of The J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize. This series was introduced last week with Mimi Zeiger and Iker Gil, the curators of Exhibit Columbus. If you're not yet familiar with this year's Exhibit Columbus... View full entry
More than a decade before William Friedman designed the collapsed Surfside condominium, Florida’s board of architecture suspended him for six months for designing structures that toppled during Hurricane Betsy. Sign pylons that were “an integral part of the structure” of a Miami commercial building failed during the 1965 storm, according to documents from the Florida State Board of Architecture, obtained by The Real Deal. — The Real Deal
In its order suspending Friedman, the Florida Board of Architecture wrote that the pylons were “insufficient and grossly inadequate” and were not in accordance “to accepted standards of architectural practice.” In 1966, the board found Friedman guilty of “gross incompetency, in that he... View full entry
Late last month, however, the Pacific Northwest saw the temperature skyrocket and break multiple records. The thermometer soared to 115 in Portland and 108 in Seattle. The heatwave caused up to 100 deaths in Oregon [...]. The usual regional temperature in June is in the high 80s.
For outdoor construction work, the heat posed an unusual challenge in the region.
— Construction Drive
The potential for disruptions due to extreme weather comes as the industry was beginning to pull away from materials shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Oregon has joined several other states in adopting protective labor laws. An updated OSHA protection rule is expected soon... View full entry
Unesco’s decision will no doubt be shrugged off as the prissy overreaction of an unelected body and, given what has been allowed in Edinburgh, the world heritage designation seems largely ineffectual anyway. But the act of striking Liverpool off the list helps to shine a powerful international spotlight on a city that has been happy to embrace mediocre development for far too long. It is a useful reminder that the world is watching. — The Guardian
Liverpool has failed to retain its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site following a meeting by the agency Wednesday in China. The decision comes as no surprise to those who have for decades now been trying to prevent encroaching development near the city’s Victorian-era docks. UNESCO pointed... View full entry
The long-awaited opening of Berlin’s Humboldt Forum took place yesterday afternoon, ending a years-long wait that saw a torrent of missives, protests, and other public backlash against the €680 million ($800 million) project hosted by the city’s Museum Island. © Stiftung Humboldt Forum... View full entry
At the Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Q2 Construction Economic Update and Forecast webinar, ABC chief economist Anirban Basu affirmed that the construction industry is on the path to normalcy. Enthusiastically, he claimed that high raw material prices will eventually go down, going... View full entry
Today, in partnership with Exhibit Columbus, we're introducing Next Up: Exhibit Columbus, our 5-part series of conversations with the curators of Exhibit Columbus and the recipients of The J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize. The designers awarded the Miller Prize were each selected for their... View full entry
Two Los Angeles-area school projects by Berliner Architects have been recognized by the Westside Urban Forum’s annual Design Awards. The Culver City-based studio was honored for its designs of an after-school community center and a new charter school campus in the city’s Crenshaw... View full entry
The world’s fist 3D-printed steel footbridge has been installed in Amsterdam. Created by Dutch company MX3D, the bridge measures 40 feet (12 meters) in length and contains 4.5 tons of stainless steel forming a curved, flowing structure. The bridge, formed of four main pieces, is intended to be... View full entry
This post is brought to you by AF New York What does an all-white room signify to you? For me, it’s a fraught mix of sanitarium/hospital, a sort of blank slate for digital reality a la The Matrix, and a vaguely heavenly connotation—like something from a film in which Morgan Freeman... View full entry
“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
