It's one of largest and most popular covered markets in the world -- but now management claims vendors have weakened the structure of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar to the point it may collapse. Merchants view the situation differently. — spiegel.de
Cramped rooms with low ceilings and one small window facing directly on to a brick wall. If you crane your neck, you can just about see the outside world. It could be a description of the cells in Pentonville Prison, but these are the conditions enjoyed just down the road from the Victorian jail in a new student accommodation block for University College London – today announced as winner of the Carbuncle Cup by Building Design magazine, for the worst building of the year. — theguardian.com
Previously: Britain's worst buildings of the year - vote now for your (least) favorite! View full entry
Architects Alice Kimm, FAIA; John Mutlow, FAIA; Lorcan O’Herihy, FAIA; Warren Techentin, AIA; Patrick Tighe, FAIA; and Ed Woll, Ph.D. will present housing projects in development and discuss the potential of micro-housing units, transit oriented development and changing lifestyles to create livable density in LA. — USC Architecture
This past Wednesday, I attended a panel discussion of architects at the University of Southern California about the future of housing in Los Angeles -- an exciting and highly debatable topic nowadays, as transit networks expand and neighborhoods densify. Presented in conjunction with two... View full entry
For the better part of two years, Graves checked into hospitals and rehabilitation centers as a business traveler checks into hotels. [...]
While receiving his medical care, Graves was struck by the poor designs of hospitals, health care facilities and the chairs, tables and other devices used by patients. "If it's going to be this bad for everybody else in health care," he said, "I should do something about it."
— money.usnews.com
Previously: Architecture for Recovery: IDEO and Michael Graves Design a Home for Disabled Military Veterans View full entry
[It] is the same technology as we use in Holland. It’s made up of concrete caisson, boxes, a shoebox of concrete. We fill them with styrofoam. So with [these] you get unthinkable floating foundations [...]
The house itself is the same as a normal house, the same material. Then you want to figure out how to get water and electricity and remove sewage and use the same technology as cruise ships."
- Koen Olthuis
— The Atlantic Cities
Dutch architect Koen Olthuis sees the future of architecture floating out to sea -- quite literally. Responding to undeniable ecological shifts of rising sea levels and seasonal flooding, Olthuis has proposed floatable-projects all along the social spectrum, designing prefabricated multi-use... View full entry
Adrian Scott Fine, the conservancy’s director of advocacy, spoke with us about the importance of this national recognition, what it means for the historic houses and why an 11th home, Case Study House No. 23A, was deemed eligible to be listed but wasn’t because of the owner's objection. — latimes.com
Previously: LA's Most Famous House Finally Makes the National Register View full entry
Reforming parking policy is an urgent imperative which could have significant positive effects on the natural environment, our cities, the economy, and our society. For many issues, from affordable housing to carbon emissions, it is an obvious solution that has remained hidden in plain sight for too long. — Graphing Parking
Architect Seth Goodman has taken it upon himself to expose how dramatically parking plays a role in planning, through a series of nifty infographics that show just how much parking space is allotted for a given institution or destination. Inspired by Donald Shoup's The High Cost of Free... View full entry
"The Politics of Parametricism" conference at LA's Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) from Nov. 15-16 explores the vast complexities of Parametrics, the evolving design paradigm described as becoming the "avant-garde in architecture and design" and "the next 'grand style' of architectural movements." — bustler.net
The first thing you notice when walking into Gallaudet University’s newest residence hall is how utterly familiar it looks. [...] Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. is home to nearly 2,000 students who are deaf or hearing impaired, and its recently built dorm was designed with them specifically in mind. — wired.com
It’s a cellar’s market.
New Yorkers are spending more than the price of the average American home — on storage units.
Tribeca’s 56 Leonard just sold a 200-square-foot unit for $300,000. That’s $1,500 a square foot for a metal cage in the basement of the future luxury skyscraper.
— nypost.com
Over at The Atlantic Cities, editor Emily Badger tried to put things in perspective and created this helpful little chart of median home prices in a few U.S. metropolitan areas (find a screenshot of the interactive chart below). More on 56 Leonard Street in the Archinect News: Work to Begin on... View full entry
Welcome to the world’s tallest slum: poverty-ridden Venezuela’s Tower of David. Squatters took over this very unfinished 45-story skyscraper in the early 1990s, and they’ve been there ever since. The tower was originally intended to be a symbol of Caracas’ bright financial future, complete with a rooftop helipad, but construction stopped because of a banking crisis and the sudden death of the tower’s namesake, David Brillembourg. — vocativ.com
That the Antinori family embraced a more ambitious project, allowed Archea to design everything down to the furniture and fittings, then paid the bills after the budget more than doubled from its original $45 million, and also endured years of delays because of construction problems, shows how much fine, successful architecture depends on the right client. — New York Times
Fröbe says she has developed an affection for good Bausünden, and is excited whenever she comes across them. The buildings are products of ingenuity, determination and courage...According to Fröbe, there's a fine line dividing good Bausünden from good architecture. — Der Spiegel
Kristin Haug recently spoke with architectural historian Turit Fröbe, who has compiled a photo collection celebrating the Germany's ugliest edifice. The most beautiful examples of Bausündens, have been published in a new book titled "Die Kunst der Bausünde" (The Art of... View full entry
Due to popular demand, the Museum of the City of New York is now extending their "Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers" exhibit until Sept. 15, 2013. Originally planned to close on Labor Day weekend after recently hosting its special "Living Large While Living Small" series this month, the exhibit continues to attract visitors from around the globe. — bustler.net
In addition to experiencing the fully built micro-apartment, visitors were drawn to one specific feature: the "Cubista." The Cubista is a coffee table and ottoman that transforms to a table that can seat four people. Starting Friday, Aug. 30 until Sept. 15, any museum visitor can enter for a... View full entry
A day camp sponsored in part by the University of Georgia is introducing middle school students to architecture, landscape architecture, and planning [...]
Over the course of a week, the children take field trips, practice using design tools and techniques, and discuss issues related to planning and design. In addition, they have the opportunity to meet and interview design professionals, including some CED faculty.
— American Planning Association
