Assassin’s Creed Unity is a 2014 video game set in Paris in 1789 that includes a surprisingly detailed digital model of the cathedral [...] The video game version of the cathedral wasn’t detailed enough for that kind of forensic research, but the makers of the game did find a way to put their version of Notre-Dame back to work. Today, Ubisoft is releasing Save Notre-Dame on Fire, a virtual reality game set inside the cathedral on the day of the fire. — Fast Company
"We’re using real elements from the architecture to create something that’s interesting for the player. We have all the immensity of the real Notre-Dame," shares Ubisoft's SVP Deborah Papiernik with Fast Company. The game was released in unison with a new movie directed by Enemy at... View full entry
Embarking on a new project type for the first time in the history of the practice, Ma Yansong’s MAD Architects recently unveiled photos for a social housing scheme located near Beijing’s central business district called Baiziwan. It is promoted to include some 4000 new housing units... View full entry
Students from the University at Buffalo have embarked on the construction of three tiny homes to help combat homelessness. Led by Brad Wales, a clinical assistant professor at the university’s Department of Architecture, the initiative forms part of a design-build program within the school... View full entry
Pininfarina has released project images of their Light Towers design for a new residential development in the metropolitan city Mérida along the Yucatan Peninsula. According to the architects, “The structure will consist of two distinct buildings rising 15 and 17 floors high, connected by... View full entry
Your eyes do not deceive you: after six years, construction is set to come to a close next month for the new Sixth Street Viaduct. The $588-million structure, which spans 3,500 feet across the L.A. River between Boyle Heights and the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, will open to the public in a two-day celebration on Saturday, July 9 and Sunday, July 10, 14th District Councilmember Kevin de Leon announced this week. — Urbanize Los Angeles
The largest bridge project in the history of Los Angeles is finally here. Designed by a team including architect Michael Maltzan and HNTB, the Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project sees the creation of a new bridge, dubbed “The Ribbon of Light”, to replace the original 1932 structure. The... View full entry
MVRDV is transforming the famed Herman Hertzberger-designed Centraal Beheer building in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn into a sustainable, green residential neighborhood. MVRDV will work alongside Hertzberger's office, AHH to revitalize the celebrated structure. Certitudo... View full entry
A general picture of the proposed $10 billion overhaul of Washington, D.C. Union Station is bit clearer this week after the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts released renderings of a revised plan from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Earlier in May, the FRA scrapped parts of that plan that... View full entry
In 1958, Frank Lloyd Wright broke a personal record with a cottage he designed for Seth Peterson, a longtime admirer of his work. At just 880 square feet, the home along Mirror Lake, in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, is the smallest residential building Wright ever touched. But it isn’t his smallest structure. Instead, that honour goes to a doghouse, which Wright conceived in the mid 1950s and is now on display at the Marin Civic Center, in San Rafael, California. — House & Garden
In the early 1950s, Robert and Gloria Berger commissioned Wright to design a Usonian-style home for their family in San Anselmo, California. In 1956, their 12-year-old son, Jim Berger, wrote to Wright asking for plans for a matching doghouse for his Labrador... View full entry
Construction of Studio Gang’s planned Parcel F contribution to the Mission Rock development is officially underway in San Francisco, filling in the final puzzle piece of a 28-acre mixed-use scheme led by Tishman Speyer and the local Major League Baseball affiliate San... View full entry
Factory-produced homes can produce up to 45% less carbon than traditional methods of residential construction, according to new research by academics from the University of Cambridge and Edinburgh Napier University. A study found that two modular housing schemes designed by HTA Design, consisting of a total of nearly 900 homes, saved a combined 28,000 tonnes of carbon. — Building
The two schemes studied were the 44 and 38-story Ten Degrees towers in London’s Croydon borough, the world’s tallest completed modular building, and The Valentine, a 10-story student housing project in London’s Redbridge. Both were completed in 2020. The report found that... View full entry
The Line, as the car-free linear city that will form the backbone of Neom is known, could cost up to $200 billion to build, the prince said last year, though that was before the plan changed to include gigantic horizontal buildings.
The buildings would be “different heights as you go,” adapting to the landscape, with their final size determined by engineering considerations and the terrain, Al-Nasr said.
— Bloomberg
The OPEC nation has thus far been mum as to the new plan’s details but says it will be funded in part through an increase in surplus revenues overseen by the Public Investment Fund, which is managed by NEOM’s CEO Al-Nasr. It is yet unclear whether Bechtel, who previously signed on their... View full entry
ICYMI, Sean Joyner debunked Architecture’s Mythological Work Culture. Given the clear "disconnect between the traditional professional ethos and the advent of the current zeitgeist" he argues "It is time to value people over projects, individuals over industry, compassion over concept." Not... View full entry
But Mr. Schiffman said he had no active role in those projects, a statement that raises questions about whether the buildings were approved for construction without the oversight and involvement of a registered architect — a requirement in New York State to ensure that buildings are properly designed and do not pose a safety risk. — The New York Times
The New York Times has obtained a document showing that the credentials of a retired architect in his mid-80s were used to fake his approval of building designs that he did not review. Warren L. Schiffman has been designated as the architect of record on an under-construction, 642-feet-tall hotel... View full entry
Terminal C, Delta’s new dedicated terminal, is now complete and open for business at LaGuardia Airport. The $4 billion terminal spans 1.3 million square feet and represents Delta’s largest-ever airport investment. New facilities include 37 gates, 36 full-service check-in counters, 49 self-service kiosks, 16 bag drop counters, 11 security screening lanes with room for five additional lanes in the future, and 13 restrooms. — New York Yimby
This is the latest milestone in the six-year, $8 billion reconstruction of LaGuardia Airport (LGA). It follows the recent opening of a second skybridge as part of the HOK and WSP-designed Terminal B renovation. For this project, LGA Terminals C and D will be consolidated into a single terminal... View full entry
Grimshaw has released the final designs for City Rail Link (CRL), the largest infrastructure project ever in New Zealand. Situated in Auckland, it includes three train stations, designed in collaboration with WSP as part of the Link Alliance, a consortium of seven companies delivering the main... View full entry
