Let's face it, construction noise isn't the most pleasant sounding thing. However, it's a vital part of the design process when working on a project. But what if the loud beeping of cranes and other bothersome acoustic noise could be turned into rhythmic music? Thanks to Reddit users... View full entry
RCH Studios recently completed a $41 million renovation of the public plaza that unifies the Music Center arts complex in Downtown Los Angeles. Flanked on either side by the Welton Becket-designed Mark Taper Forum and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the plaza has been revamped with an eye... View full entry
A Robert A. M. Stern Architects-designed high-rise has recently reached completion. And with a timeline of almost three years, the project's realization has made it Chicago's tallest "strictly residential" skyscraper, with the program lacking hotel, office, and retail program types. The... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect profiles!)... View full entry
The Seattle City Council will consider a ban on natural gas for newly constructed homes and buildings, favoring the use of electricity for heating and cooking.
Councilmember Mike O’Brien plans to introduce legislation this week that would prohibit natural-gas piping systems in new structures, starting next summer. The ban would take effect for permitting on July 1, 2020, according to a draft of the legislation.
— The Seattle Times
If successfully implemented, the ban would position Seattle alongside Berkeley, San Jose, San Francisco as American cities that have recently banned new natural gas infrastructure. A 2016 report estimates that roughly one-quarter of Seattle's total greenhouse gas emissions come from... View full entry
The leadership of the American Institute of Architects organization has officially signed off on an ambitious climate agenda that was proposed during the organization's annual meeting in Las Vegas. The so-called "Resolution for Urgent and Sustained Climate Action," introduced at the meeting... View full entry
A group of leading French architects have denounced a plan to renovate the Gare du Nord, one of Paris’s main train stations, calling the designs that would turn the station into a glassy, mammoth, restaurant-filled shopping mall “indecent,” “absurd” and “unacceptable.” — The New York Times
Plans to drastically expand and modernize Paris's foremost train station were unveiled in 2018 with a commitment to meet the increased travel volume during the Olympic Summer Games in 2024 and cope with the more complex arrival procedures of British nationals in the post-Brexit era. An open letter... View full entry
The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering has announced a trio of finalist teams competing to redevelop the site of the former Parker Center police headquarters in the city's Civic Center district. Each of the teams, according to Urbanize.la, is each made up of designers, contractors... View full entry
The city’s [Transit-Oriented Communities] program has been touted as one of City Hall’s most successful initiatives for producing affordable housing. Since it was launched in late 2017, developers have proposed nearly 20,000 new homes, nearly 3,900 of which would be kept affordable for lower-income households, according to the latest data from the planning department. — The Los Angeles Times
The notorious Los Angeles NIMBY group Fix The City has filed a lawsuit targeting the city's Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) program, arguing that the program, widely approved by a 2016 voter referendum, violates city and state laws and was not properly vetted by the public. Alex Comisar, a... View full entry
INFONAVIT, the federal institute for workers housing of Mexico, is the largest mortgage lender in Latin America. Founded in 1972, the Mexico City-based institute has played a critical role for families across Mexico attempting access decent housing. The institution, along with MOS architects, has... View full entry
Ever since its opening in 2009 the Millennium Tower has been slowly sinking, so far it's settled about 16 inches on its southwestern corner, causing the entire to tilt around 14 inches. Residents applied for a permit to perform a retrofit back in December 2018 and a plan is now in place to... View full entry
Plans for a site located at 265 West 45th Street in New York City's Midtown district are beginning to take shape as developer Extell moves forward with a potential project there. New York YIMBY reports that the developer recently filed demolition permits for a series of four-story... View full entry
Along the banks of the Rhône and Saône rivers in Lyon stands an unmissable new tower designed by the famed architect Jean Nouvel. The 16-story building's pastel-colored facades and angular parapet present a stark contrast to the tower's more traditional industrial and residential apartment... View full entry
After an extensive renovation, the art nouveau market anchoring the neighborhood returned to its original 19th-century splendor last year. In the area around it, parking was moved underground, newly planted trees and shrubs dot the streets and public plazas, children romp in new play areas, and bicyclists and pedestrians now have ample space to move around freely. In short, public space has increased by thousands of square meters — all because car traffic was deprioritized. — Capitol Hill Seattle
In an effort to improve safety conditions for the city's pedestrians and cyclists, Seattle in considering implementing a series of traffic calming measures along a six-block section its Capitol Hill neighborhood that would create the city's first "superblock" configuration. The move comes as the... View full entry
Architecture and nostalgia share a special relationship. Designs trends and building techniques that thrived during their heyday may not receive the same response decades later. However, one must not underestimate the following of these seemingly "outdated" designs. As the world continues to... View full entry
