Young Architects Competitions recently announced the winning projects for Post-Quake Visions. The international ideas competition aimed to encourage research and new ideas for the reconstruction of the Italian City of Crevalcore, which was struck by a May 2012 earthquake that destroyed hundreds of ancient buildings.

Out of 356 teams from over 54 countries, the jury selected 3 prize winners, 4 "gold" honorable mentions, and 8 honorable mentions. — bustler.net

As America's East Coast continues to recover from Hurricane Sandy, MODU's recently completed "Weather (Un)control" exhibition of the Marfa Dialogues/NY highlights an overlooked issue of the storm's aftermath that still remains: the invisible contaminants in indoor air. — bustler.net

"ADPSP is asking the AIA to change their Code of Ethics to prohibit the design of spaces intended for executions and prolonged solitary confinement, as in 'supermax' prisons. This comes from the AIA's current code, which calls on members to 'uphold human rights in all their professional endeavors'—but includes no enforceable rules to provide discipline" - Raphael Sperry — Metropolis Magazine

The shakeup means there will be no Lubetkin Prize or RIBA International awards given next year.

Named after the Georgian émigré and Modernist Berthold Lubetkin, the 8-year old accolade had been open only to RIBA chartered architects and international fellows with its shortlist drawn from each year’s set of RIBA International Award winners.

The new International Prize will have a wider remit and is expected to be open to all architects, although the exact criteria has yet to be announced. — architectsjournal.co.uk

IS ARCH revealed the winning projects of the third edition IS ARCH Awards on Dec. 9. Out of 159 submissions from students and young architects, the competition resulted in three winners, 10 Honorable Mentions, and 30 Finalists. — bustler.net

Space Oddity was conceived by rub-a-dub in 2012, while studying under the DRL at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, a post-professional MArch program. They state that while their proposal "is obviously not a viable option for actual space travel...Lately there has being a lot of noise about space design...We believe a lot of these projects are only solving technical issues".

Fred Scharmen was intrigued "Very nice work. Thanks for posting this".

"For years, urban designers and architects have claimed happiness as their goal," Montgomery says. "And yet none of the claims have been supported by empirical evidence. Which isn't to say they're not right. It's just to say that we don't know. That we haven't known."

In this spirit of empirical discovery, Montgomery takes readers around the world in search of the places where urban design has (and has not) improved quality-of-life. — The Atlantic Cities

The Architecture Lobby is an organization of architectural workers advocating for the value of architecture in the general public and for architectural work within the discipline. […]

The Architecture Lobby survey that is being distributed here gathers information that provides evidence for ourselves and for the public about the nature of our work and where we do and do not place value; where we could and should demand respect. — The Architecture Lobby

Interiors is a magazine devoted to investigating the architectural designs of film settings. Creators Mehruss Jon Ahi and Armen Karaoghlanian explain how they deconstruct these fictional spaces down to a blueprint level. [...]

It starts out with a detailed essay on how space is used in a setting--perhaps the house from Up or the spaceship from 2001: A Space Odyssey--and continues with blueprints from specific scenes [...]. — fastcocreate.com

Using digital fabrication and some clever tricks we're able to manufacture beautiful, low cost structures which easily bolt together. You design for it like it's a big imaginary 3D printer then you and your friends get together and bolt your house together! [...]

It works like a techno version of a barn raising. — Arcology Now

On stormy days and windy nights, Tribeca residents say their neighborhood is filled with a strange, high-pitched whistling sound coming from the redeveloped World Trade Center site. It's an inopportune location for howling (although, really, where is?), but it's hardly the first building to surprise its neighbors by humming or whistling. [...]

But just to be clear? It's not haunted. Port Authority's rep told Pix 11 he hopes ghost stories won't "become part of the dialogue." — gizmodo.com

Thankfully, the vagina stadium controversy appears to have faded from the news cycle already. [...]

It all also reminded me of how architecture is so routinely pilloried, and with such imaginative comparisons, delicious takedowns, and clever labels. The nicknames come from comedians and critics, rivals and urban legend. [...]

Mockery, of course, is nothing new. It’s just been on a steady incline throughout the 20th century. — theatlanticcities.com

Adolf Loos, the enigmatic Moravian-born architect, is better known for his writings than his buildings. A century after the publication of his polemical essay “Ornament and Crime,” a Columbia University exhibition called “Adolf Loos: Our Contemporary” examines his enduring relevance. — nytimes.com