Yin Zhi, head of Beijing Tsinghua Urban Design Institute, said, "The technique that Broad Group uses has no precedent in the world, and the cost they promised is very low. So they either have some record breaking techniques or it’s a lie. They are gambling. If they win, they will change the history of world architecture, but that's one chance in a million." — news.xinhuanet.com
In China’s Hunan province, ground was broken for the next "world's tallest skyscraper". It was a brave ambition. The developer Broad Group planned to build an 838 meter tower with 202 stories, in just 10 months. The tower would surpass the current tallest skyscraper, Dubai’s Burj... View full entry
My own conviction is that the most meaningful prolonged response to the Pritzker — but much more, to the entrenched discrimination it both reflects and reinforces — will involve political action directed toward measureable change. It will involve ramping up the current professional and cultural conversation — now focused on sharing experiences, promoting awareness, influencing leaders in the field — and articulating specific goals, definable outcomes. — Places Journal
Lately the subject of women's status in architecture — long dismissed as essentialist and unnecessary — has bounded back onto the agenda. As recent articles, books, exhibitions, online discussions and petition campaigns all attest, the full integration of the profession remains a... View full entry
“I can see all of the devices in your home and I think I can control them,” I said to Thomas Hatley, a complete stranger in Oregon who I had rudely awoken with an early phone call on a Thursday morning.
He and his wife were still in bed. Expressing surprise, he asked me to try to turn the master bedroom lights on and off. Sitting in my living room in San Francisco, I flipped the light switch with a click, and resisted the Poltergeist-like temptation to turn the television on as well.
— forbes.com
In her recently published Op-Ed Ann Lui, reflected on the experience of receiving a jury citation, for her and her partner’s entry in the 2013 Burnham Prize Competition: NEXT STOP-Designing Chicago BRT Stations. She concluded "So submit the competition that doesn’t have a... View full entry
“We’re not willing to back down on this.They can put forward as much pressure as they would like but I’m very committed to this program and I’m very committed to the well-being of our neighborhoods.” - Gayle McLaughlin, Richmond’s mayor — NYT
Peter DaSilva for The New York Times The power of eminent domain has traditionally worked against homeowners, who can be forced to sell their property to make way for a new highway or shopping mall. But now the working-class city of Richmond, Calif., hopes to use the same legal tool to... View full entry
Bruce Katz, vice president of the Brookings Institution, says that many American cities show promising signs of renewal. He's written a book with Brookings Fellow Jennifer Bradley called The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy. The book argues that metro areas — or, cities and suburbs together — are powerful economic engines with considerable political influence... — npr.org
RSI-studio has won the category of Best Commissioned Architectural Image in the 2013 CGArchitect Architectural 3D Awards. The prize, which is part of the annual competition hosted by CGArchitect, recognized the best in 3D architectural images for 2012-2013. — bustler.net
It often happens that news events create a new context for existing photo projects, and such is the case with Philip Jarmain’s photos of Detroit in light of the city’s recent filing for bankruptcy. Jarmain’s series American Beauty documents architecture from a pre-Depression era Detroit — a time when the city was on the rise. They now stand in contrast to its current rock-bottom economic straits. — wired.com
The opening of Work Towards Fairness by architect Eric Moed signifies the first step towards the restoration of Casa do Passal in central Portugal. The Casa do Passal was formerly inhabited by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who helped around 30,000 people escape into neutral... View full entry
As John Kerry was trying to renew negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority late last week, the "Architactics" exhibition opened at the ZeZeZe Architecture Gallery in Tel Aviv Port. This coincidence provides an injection of realism into what, a week earlier, seemed like a series of interesting mental exercises, but far from the present reality. The aim of the exhibition... is to mobilize tools from the world of design and architecture to help to promote the peace talks. — haaretz.com
"The conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is based mainly on a territorial problem, and therefore architects must play a central role in finding its solution," says architect Yehuda Greenfield-Gilat, who, together with fellow architect Karen Lee Bar-Sinai, founded Saya in... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) selected ten recipients to receive the 2013 Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship. The recipients will receive compensation for the entire cost of the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) and a full set of study guides provided by Kaplan Architecture Education. — aia.org
The recipients are Dijana Alickovic, Assoc. AIA, Nicole Alvarez, Michael Archer, Assoc. AIA, Rachel Auerbach, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, Gina DeLeon, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Erike DeVeyra, Assoc. AIA, Steven Marrone, Assoc. AIA, Erin Porter, Assoc. AIA, Jaclyn Thomforde, Assoc. AIA, and Melissa... View full entry
Yesterday, led by Speaker Christine Quinn, the New York City Council voted to limit Madison Square Garden’s permit to operate on top of Penn Station to just 10 more years.
Building a new Penn Station and the next Madison Square Garden will not only improve the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people who use the station every day – it will revitalize the surrounding area and bring tremendous long-term economic value to the region.
— mas.org
“Ultimately people can’t get around conveniently because they are far away from everything.” And it is this observation that for me epitomizes the problem of the driverless car — it’s the worst kind of solutionism. By becoming so enamored with how technology might transform the car, we’ve neglected to adequately explore how getting rid of cars might transform how and where we live. We’d do well to heed Gorz’s exhortation to “never make transportation an issue by itself.” — opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com
It's a given that America continues to be a car-obsessed society despite the more painstaking reality of driving a car in many major cities of today. In The New York Times, editor Allison Arieff of SPUR points out that the U.S. is still fixated on selling, using and enhancing the car when... View full entry
Keeping up-to-date with your favorite architects, firms and schools has just become WAY easier! As you know, Archinect delivers a lot of news and information, every day, reflecting the activity of the architecture community at large. For some people, this can be too much information! So... View full entry
The ABI remained positive again in June after the first decline in ten months in April. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the June ABI score was 51.6, down from a mark of 52.9 in May. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 62.6, up sharply from the reading of 59.1 the previous month. — calculatedriskblog.com
