One of designer Kashef Chowdhury and URBANA’s superlative recent works has received a huge honor from the UK’s oldest architectural organization. The Royal Institute of British Architects has today announced the firm’s Friendship Hospital project in Bangladesh as the winner of the... View full entry
The building’s current owner — Archer Daniels Midland Milling Co., part of the farm and food products giant — has been pushing to demolish the Great Northern, setting off a furious fight between preservationists and the company. — The New York Times
The 125-year-old building has been credited with inspiring a host of modernist architects like Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. The building’s facade was gashed open by a windstorm that has left its empty interior partially exposed since December 12th. At least three previous owners have... View full entry
The fire that ripped through Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building in 2018 was so fierce and all-consuming that the cause can never be known conclusively, according to a long-awaited report. — The Guardian
The report by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), which involved more than 172 weeks of excavation and examination of hundreds of tons of debris, along with analysis of witness testimonies, CCTV, and photographic evidence, deemed the cause of the fire as “undetermined”. This was the... View full entry
An update has come in one of the most controversial developments in recent Parisian history: The Belgian construction group Besix has been announced as the contractor for the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Tour Triangle in the 15th arrondissement’s Parc des Expositions. Global Construction Review... View full entry
A new landmark in the long history of Chinese housing experiments is about to be inaugurated as Stefano Boeri Architetti's “social forest” has been completed in Huanggang. Located in Hubei Province’s second-largest city, Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex is a near-identical... View full entry
Lloyd's of London (SOLYD.UL) is considering whether to remain in its flagship City of London headquarters and may make a decision this year, the commercial insurance market said on Tuesday. — Reuters
The news comes just over a month after the death of its Pritzker-winning architect in London at the age of 88. A Lloyd’s spokesperson pointed to the shifts in workplace culture brought on by the Coronavirus as significant factors behind the potential change. The insurance giant's... View full entry
The fight for affordable housing in New York City has come to one of Lower Manhattan’s most important developments in recent memory. An online petition organized by the New York Review of Architecture and Citygroup has been circulating that appears to call for a 75% increase in the number of... View full entry
For more than three decades, Clive Wilkinson has been among the most sought-after office designers in the world. He has planned spaces for the likes of Microsoft, Disney, Intuit and other companies seeking unorthodox approaches to work life.
But he now has regrets about what is perhaps his most famous work: Googleplex, the tech giant's posh headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
— NPR
Wilkinson’s statements offer a rebuke to the Silicon Valley culture he played a role in pioneering and now deems to be "fundamentally unhealthy." The $1 billion office complex in Mountain View, California designed by STUDIOS Architecture with interiors by Wilkinson is serviced by a... View full entry
An initiative in Brighton aimed at helping protect the bee population could do more harm than good, scientists have warned. The council in Brighton has passed a planning condition that means any new building more than five metres high will have to include swift boxes and special bricks with holes known as bee bricks. They will provide nesting and hibernating space for solitary bees. — The Guardian
The mandate was first proposed in 2019 and then attached to all planning permissions after April 1, 2020. As reported by The Guardian, scientists warn that this move may not result in a notable difference for biodiversity, with some arguing that it could actually harm bees if the holes aren’t... View full entry
A new landmark on the European cultural scene is now on view in Hungary. Sou Fujimoto’s House of Music has now officially opened in the country’s capital city after almost six years of construction. The 97,000-square-foot performance venue is the centerpiece of the Liget Budapest Project, a... View full entry
Canadian commercial real estate company Cadillac Fairview (CF) has announced a $77 million revitalization of the CF Toronto Eaton Centre. The project will see a $60 million refurbishment of its iconic galleria skylight roof. According to CF’s announcement: “The existing glass will be... View full entry
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is about to make a big splash — over the next eight years. The venerable cultural institution on Monday announced its Centennial Commitment, a $500 million transformation of the aquarium culminating in 2030, the Shedd’s 100th anniversary. — Chicago Sun Times
The eight-year project will be split into four phases and commence later this year. The first phase will cover major interior renovations, including the modernization of the original six historic galleries, enhancement of all animal habitats, the restoration of the original walls of windows, and... View full entry
A much-needed upgrade is coming to one of the most popular universities in the Czech Republic thanks to plans for a new art and architecture campus for Brno University of Technology from Feilden+Mawson’s FAM Architekti studio. Image: Feilden+Mawson / FAM Architekti Image: Feilden+Mawson... View full entry
One of Taiwan’s largest public utility companies is ready to make a bold statement about its intentions with a new operations storage facility from MVRDV called "Sun Rock" that will play a significant part in the country’s transition to a green energy economy. This is the firm’s second... View full entry
A team led by Foster + Partners in collaboration with Swedish firm Marge Arkitekter has been unveiled as the winners of the competition for the development of Stockholm Central Station in Stockholm, Sweden. The pair is joined by LAND Arkitektur, Thornton Tomasetti, Ramboll, Wenanders, and TAM... View full entry
