Although no campus buildings were deemed to be in the worst category, “dangerous,” six at UC Berkeley and three at UCLA were found to have a “severe” risk to life. The remaining 62 at UC Berkeley and 15 at UCLA were said to have a “serious” risk to life, according to the first reports released this week in response to a UC Board of Regents 2017 directive calling on every campus to undertake a seismic risk assessment. — The Los Angeles Times
The list includes some of both campus's most historic and important buildings, including Berkeley's architecture building, Wurster Hall, and UCLA's Powell Library. A potential 2020 ballot measure and a recently-proposed California State Senate bill could provide funding to make necessary retrofits. View full entry
The Trump administration and lawmakers in both parties generally don’t believe the government should be running in effect two enormous financial companies. Administration officials want to shrink the government’s involvement and return housing finance to a privately run system. — The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at how (and why) the Trump Administration is looking to change the federal government's role in overseeing aspects of the nation's mortgage securities market. According to WSJ, the two government-sponsored entities secure half of the nation’s... View full entry
“I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to build in Manhattan,” said Mr. Siza, 86. “Now, at my age, I thought I had lost the opportunity. I was very happy to be invited and thought, ‘Well, let’s see if I still have energy for this project.’” — The New York Times
The NYT writes about the first project opportunity in the United States for and by Portuguese master architect, and 1992 Pritzker Prize winner, Álvaro Siza. The slick 37-story residential tower at 611 West 56th Street is a joint venture between Sumaida + Khurana (the developers that also... View full entry
99 Hudson Street, a 900-foot tower residential tower designed by architects Perkins Eastman for developers China Overseas America in Jersey City, New Jersey, is nearing completion. The tower topped out as New Jersey's tallest skyscraper in late 2018. In recent weeks, according to New York... 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... View full entry
With abundant natural daylight, expanded food offerings, convenient parking, fitness options, and an on-site childcare facility, Walmart’s new 350-acre campus in Bentonville, Arkansas, has ample amenities to attract next-gen talent...It’s a connected and sustainable campus where associates are inspired to do their best work, a place that reflects the company’s culture, and a campus that seamlessly integrates into the fabric of the local community. — Gensler
Gensler has been named the Design Architect for the office buildings that will populate the new campus. The firm will also act as the Executive Architect for the overall campus design, leading a "team of consultants to create a campus that honors Walmart's history and amplifies the company's... View full entry
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (PCP) and Japanese "urban landscape developer" Mori Building have unveiled renderings for a new "modern urban village" slated for Tokyo's Minato City. PCP has designed the project's three towers, including the project's centerpiece, a 1,080-foot spire slated to... View full entry
A bill allowing these “accessory dwelling units” (ADUs) on historically designated properties won approval Tuesday from the city’s Planning Commission. The nod advanced a policy change that backers hope could help ease the burden of preserving creaky old houses while addressing growing demand for both affordable housing and dwellings suitable for aging in place. — PlanPhilly.com
The push to formalize Accessory Dwelling Units in historic buildings comes as the Philadelphia Planning Commission also moves to lower parking requirements and allow a greater number of uses for historic structures. View full entry
Back in 2008, Lego launched its series of architectural kits with structures such as the Empire State Building, Fallingwater, the Villa Savoye, and countless others. "Architects operate in grids and if you analyze these, in pen and paper over blueprints, then you can derive the best translation... View full entry
The [stabilization plan] calls for 52 piles to be drilled 250 feet down into bedrock to shore up the building, now leaning 17 inches to the north and west. The 2-foot-thick circular steel piles would be filled with steel reinforced concrete. Twenty-two would be sunk along Mission Street and 30 on Fremont Street. — The San Francisco Chronicle
The reinforcements will join the tower's existing 950-pile foundation in helping to stop the tower's drift. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, a report written by a panel of experts studying solutions to the sinking problem states, "In our professional opinion, once the... View full entry
The Cuomo administration is tapping two discretionary funds to steer nearly $47 million to an outlet mall on Staten Island, a multi-pronged subsidy that increased after the developers contributed $85,000 to the governor's campaign.
The Empire State Development corporation last month approved $21.9 million in subsidies for Empire Outlets [...] That's on top of a $25 million grant awarded last April by the state's Dormitory Authority.
— Politico
The recently-opened mall, designed by SHoP Architects, is part of a larger collection of waterfront revitalization and densification projects taking shape on Staten Island. View full entry
Six months after breaking ground across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall, construction has gone vertical for The Grand.
Over the past two months, a pair of tower cranes has been raised above the project site, which spans the full city blocked bounded1st Street, 2nd Street, Olive Street, and Grand Avenue.
— Urbanize Los Angeles
It has been exactly two months since the Gehry-designed The Grand development in Downtown Los Angeles completed a massive 15-hour foundation concrete pour for the project’s 39-story residential tower, and now, two tower cranes are driving the construction upwards, reports Urbanize LA. Related... View full entry
Now comes encouraging news of a Detroit program to take abandoned homes which can be saved into a land bank and then auction them off. The program is coupled with forgivable loans for repairs. — CNU
Detrroit is auctioning off vacant homes to "people who commit to fix them up and live in them." The implementation has supported Detroit's growing identity as a financially feasible place to "make a start with a home and a business." View full entry
When tracking the performance of cities across the United States, various factors come into play. Growth in population and employment are often the first to be researched and analyzed. However, not all cities are seen and discussed in the same light. CityLab co-founder and... View full entry
Weiss/Manfredi, Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS + R), and Dorte Mandrup have unveiled a trio of competing schemes for Los Angeles's La Brea Tar Pits, George C. Page Museum, and Hancock Park. The proposals are aimed at rejuvenating and updating the 12-acre park and its iconic tar pits... View full entry
