Once the storm passed, the sight of Punta Gorda may have surprised some people. While it had typical post-hurricane storm debris, downed trees and several flooded streets, a number of homes and buildings appeared largely intact and many showed only minimal damage to their exteriors.
How is it possible that the coastal city wasn’t more devastated by a storm that ranks among the most powerful to ever strike the United States? One major factor, according to some experts, are modern building code
— The Washington Post
While other southwest Florida communities like Fort Myers were devastated, Punta Gorda, a town of about 20,000, was saved thanks to strident code changes enacted in the wake of 1992’s Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Charley twelve years later. “It’s a demonstration that updated building codes... View full entry
MVRDV has unveiled final images of the Radio Hotel and Tower in upper Manhattan, marking the Dutch firm’s first completed building in the United States. Located in New York’s Washington Heights, and delivered for developer Youngwoo & Associates with Stonehill Taylor as architects of record... View full entry
DLR Group and real estate developer Hines have announced that they are planning to deliver their T3 (Timber, Transit, and Technology) office concept to Chicago. It will be the city’s first mass timber office building and, as noted in its press release, one of the first timber buildings... View full entry
Diller Scofidio + Renfro has shared new photos of its just-opened Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. The three-year, $110 million project culminated in an 84,000-square-foot multipurpose arts facility that houses a 400-seat proscenium... View full entry
With a grand opening just a little over a week away, the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) has revealed the latest photos of its Morphosis-designed new South Coast home in the beachfront community of Costa Mesa. Located on the campus of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 53,000-square-foot... View full entry
Today, it appears unchanged from the outside. But an entirely new building has been inserted within the existing footprint. Twenty-first century white cube galleries have been incorporated into the original structure, increasing the exhibition space by 40%. — The Art Newspaper
Following a major 11-year-long, $96 million restoration led by Rotterdam-based firm KAAN Architecten, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) finally reopened in Belgium. Photo: Karin Borghouts KAAN Architecten’s work combined a renovation of the 19th-century neoclassical museum building... View full entry
Houses of worship in California are now in the position to take on the state’s largest social problem with the adaptation of new legislation that allows for housing development on plots that are, in almost every case, zoned exclusively for commercial use. In July, Governor Gavin... View full entry
BIG and Carlo Ratti Associati, in collaboration with local firm RSP Architects Planners & Engineers, have announced the completion of their new CapitaSpring skyscraper in Singapore’s Central Business District. After the project broke ground in February of 2018, the completed biophilic... View full entry
A revamp inside one of America’s most important cultural venues is ready to debut two years ahead of schedule (and reportedly on budget) after the project team behind Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in Manhattan announced an October 8th public opening date on Tuesday. NYC's redesigned new... View full entry
Nearly a year after its initial unveiling, Nabr, the housing startup co-founded by Bjarke Ingels, has announced the beginning of presales for the first site in its BIG-designed development in downtown San Jose. Featuring updated designs for its three-tower block, the firm is promoting the... View full entry
Studio Gang has been selected to design the campus of the Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay in Wisconsin. The Center will rise atop a nine-acre site along Geneva Lake. It will serve as a space to gather women leaders across various industries, including engineering and technology... View full entry
A joint team of OMA and Jacobs has been selected to design a new 200,000-square-foot headquarters for the University of Illinois System's Discovery Partners Institute in Chicago, the state and Governor J.B. Pritzker announced on Thursday. The multi-year project will transform a disused 62-acre... View full entry
Junya Ishigami + Associates has completed a residence and restaurant for a French restauranter in the city of Ube, Japan. Asked by the client for a space that "has to look as if it has been there and will continue to be there for the longest time," Ishigami responded with a cave-like structure... View full entry
After Hurricane Fiona tore through Puerto Rico on Sunday [Sept. 18], roads in the small mountain city of Caguas—hit with more than 20 inches of rain—were underwater. Landslides washed away some streets. As on the rest of the island, the electric grid went down, and it wasn’t clear how many homes had been damaged or destroyed. But in two new prototype homes, the electricity stayed on. — Fast Company
The prototypes are single-family homes completely off-grid with electricity and potable water. They were designed by New York City and Puerto Rico-based Marvel Architects and paid for by nonprofit Acacia Network. The homes utilize hurricane and... View full entry
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has released data chronicling the prevalence of buildings with total heights taller than 150 meters (492 feet) in major metropolitan areas across the world. The statistics speak to several yearslong industry-wide trends as well as a... View full entry