One of the leading academic art museums in the country has announced SO – IL will head a new expansion effort that will deliver the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) with the first stand-alone structure in the institution’s storied history. Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu’s team is now... View full entry
Archaeologists of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Iphan, the Mexican federal bureau that oversees cultural heritage projects) have unearthed a remarkably well-preserved Maya city in the Yucatán peninsula near Merida while examining a construction site for archaeological artefacts. — The Art Newspaper
The site is called Xiol, which is believed to have been occupied by more than 4,000 people between 600 and 900 AD. It consists of nearly 100 structures with features related to the Mayan Puuc style, an architecture characterized by carefully-cut veneer stones set onto a concrete core, with... View full entry
Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for a nine-story, timber-structure department store in Tokyo, presenting an elegant retail space that features several green-building practices. Called the Shibuya Marui Department Store, the space is set to become a new showcase for sustainable lifestyle... View full entry
Norwegian outdoor furniture manufacturer Vestre has moved into The Plus, its new factory in Magnor, Norway, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The 75,000-square-foot (7,000-square-meter) factory was built in 18 months and claims to be the world’s most environmentally-friendly furniture... View full entry
Longtime Archinectors will surely recognize the name John Hill as the writer behind one of the oldest architecture blogs on the internet, A Daily Dose of Architecture (changed to A Daily Dose of Architecture Books in 2019). In addition to 23 years of covering architecture and related books online... View full entry
The L.A. Metro system’s planned revitalization of Los Angeles Union Station is another step closer to reality following a vote last week that cleared the way for the $2.3 billion megaproject’s further advancement downtown. Local outlets are reporting that the recent Board of Directors meeting... View full entry
New photos have been released of Álvaro Siza’s completed 611 West 56th Street, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect’s first designed building in the United States. The 35-story luxury condo tower in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood stands 450 feet tall and consists of... View full entry
A cross-industry coalition, representing stakeholders across the built environment, has come together to develop a standard for verifying buildings in the UK as net-zero carbon. Called the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, it provides a single, agreed methodology for proving built... View full entry
Citing the climate crisis, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to ban most gas appliances in new construction, a policy that’s expected to result in new homes and businesses coming equipped with electric stoves, clothes dryers, water heaters and furnaces.
The nation’s second-largest city was late to the game, said Councilmember Nithya Raman, the policy’s lead author — but no longer.
— The Los Angeles Times
Raman’s motion echoes that of many other cities in the state as well as a recent proposal to phase out non-electric car sales by the year 2035. It also includes a provision that all newly-constructed buildings be emissions-free, a requirement it first adopted for all municipal properties in... View full entry
The developer of a controversial Harlem complex that would have brought 915 new apartments to an underutilized stretch of 145th Street — half of which would have been income restricted — has scuttled the plan ahead of a subcommittee vote on the project Tuesday morning. — Gothamist
Developers Pointsfive reportedly withdrew their application for the zoning needed to build the mixed-use, ShoP Architects-designed One45 hours before it was set to be voted on by the New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. The proposal included a pair of 363-foot-tall towers... View full entry
As reported by The Washington Post and other outlets, some of the 140 surviving capsules will be transformed into rentable apartment units, with others traveling to public collections abroad such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which has expressed interest along with many other international... View full entry
Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic 87-year-old Fallingwater historic site is getting a very necessary modern upgrade according to a press release issued last month by Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the organization responsible for its stewardship. In order to supplement sustainability goals tied to... View full entry
A new multi-use complex made nearly entirely of wood has been introduced to Barcelona’s Trinitat Vella district. Called the Center for Community Life, the new public building will form part of a community facility hub for the districts of San Andreu and Nou Barris set to be built in the... View full entry
Developers and city officials recently joined to celebrate the start of construction on a dual-building affordable housing complex in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The development site is located on Newport Street between Thatford and Rockaway Avenues and will debut as Bridge Rockaway. — New York Yimby
Total construction costs for the complex are estimated at $118 million. The development team includes contracting firm Mega Development, non-profit industrial developer Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, and The Bridge, a non-profit organization that provides rehabilitative services... View full entry
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has finally picked an architect for its 66 Portland Place refurbishment. The organization announced today that it has selected Benedetti Architects in the national competition to lead the overhaul of its aged neoclassical headquarters... View full entry
