Workers are taking down Chernobyl's "sarcophagus," once meant to keep the reactor's radioactive materials locked inside, before it falls on its own accord.
The dismantling will begin after the New Shelter Containment (NSC) is in full working operation. Currently, the NSC controls part of the confinement. Earlier this year, the European Union handed off control of the NSC to Ukraine.
— Popular Mechanics
The steel and concrete containment structure, hastily erected following the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl power plant in 1986, is being replaced by internationally funded and coordinated effort. The new shelter, a €1.5 billion complex considered to be the largest work of movable... View full entry
Perhaps, as a real-estate developer, President Trump might appreciate the richness of America’s heritage of classical public buildings. It’s not inconceivable that he would support reform of the Guiding Principles. Otherwise, U.S. senators and representatives should do all they can to ensure that classical principles guide future federal architecture projects. In doing so, they will be contributing to a renewal of American civilization. — City Journal
During the administration of President John F. Kennedy, sociologist, politician, and diplomat Daniel Patrick Moynihan drafted the "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture," a set of architectural guidelines that inform the design of building projects undertaken by the Public Building Service... View full entry
The home consists of three pavilions connected by a central passageway. The public areas are in two pavilions: one side is the living room, and the other, the dining room and kitchen, all adjacent to patios accessed through glass doors, which can be opened when entertaining. With clerestory windows, these rooms are bathed with light, creating a treehouse feel. — Nola.com
Nola.com's Sue Strachan takes a look at the Frances and Nathaniel C. Curtis house in New Orleans. Originally built in 1963, the home became the first Modernist-era home in New Orleans to earn a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by maverick Modernist architects... View full entry
There’s a visually striking addition to the ever-troubled Tenderloin — a nine-story structure clad in colorful brick that holds 113 apartments for low-income residents, plus a pair of community-oriented retail spaces.
Too bad it took 11 years to summon the newcomer into existence.
— The San Francisco Chronicle
John King, The San Francisco Chronicle's urban design critic, takes a look at the David Baker Architects-designed 222 Taylor project, the fruits of a long-running effort to build affordable housing in San Francisco. While lamenting the long and drawn-out design and approval process the... View full entry
Americans have, for generations, prepared themselves for society’s collapse. They built fallout shelters during the Cold War and basement supply caches ahead of Y2K. But in recent years, personalized disaster prep has grown into a multimillion-dollar business, fueled by a seemingly endless stream of new and revamped threats, from climate change to terrorism, cyberattacks and civil unrest. — The New York Times
Giving the 96-year-old building a modern twist necessitated much more than a quick polish. The $315 million renovations required architects, building engineers, and sound engineers to revamp the modernity of the stadium while creating a brand-new, seven-story premium tower without losing a single piece of the venue’s historic stone façade. — Popular Mechanics
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a city gem. Standing next to the University of Southern California campus, the Coliseum is home to the USC football team as well as the temporary home to the Los Angeles Rams. Having hosted several historic and iconic sports events, including the 1932 and... View full entry
Due to many factors, now more than ever, LA architects have a responsibility to offer solutions and creative resources to solve this crisis immediately — as if our currently 59,000+ unsheltered Angelenos were displaced by an earthquake or a wildfire. — AIA|LA
This intertwined history of infrastructure and racial inequality extended into the 1950s and 1960s with the creation of the Interstate highway system.
As in most American cities in the decades after the Second World War, the new highways in Atlanta—local expressways at first, then Interstates—were steered along routes that bulldozed “blighted” neighborhoods that housed its poorest residents, almost always racial minorities.
— The New York Times
Writing in The New York Times, Kevin M. Kruse connects the dots between highway planning and America's historical campaign to keep African Americans "in their place," an impetus that can be traced back to slavery and its modern day manifestations: segregation, urban... View full entry
After a year's delay, construction crews Monday were installing the final glass panels in on the upper floors of the new Little Caesars headquarters on Woodward Avenue near the Fox Theatre.
Originally expected to be opened last summer, the building was delayed over an apparent problem with the unique pizza-slice wedges of glass that form the facade.
— Detroit Free Press
The SmithGroup-designed Little Caesar's headquarters in Detroit is finally continuing its construction progress, nearly a year after hiccups with the tower's pizza-shaped window installation delayed the project's completion. View full entry
Recognized as a UNESCO City of Design in 2015, Detroit has dedicated time and effort to help the city grow and thrive. This year, Design Core Detroit launched its first edition of the Detroit City of Design Competition. The international and multi-disciplinary competition invites... View full entry
The Trump administration is vastly expanding the scope of condominium purchases eligible for lower-down-payment loans.
The move, announced Wednesday by the Federal Housing Administration, could help revive the entry-level condo market for first-time buyers because FHA-backed loans require only a 3.5% down payment and lower credit score than conventional loans.
— The Wall Street Journal
The move, in the works since 2016, could help provide a modest pathway for more Americans to afford real estate purchases, though tight supply and a pronounced focus on luxury housing on the part of developers could dampen the effects of the new measure. View full entry
The four-person California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund, or CaRLA, has one reason for being — to sue cities that reject housing projects without a valid reason. The litigious nonprofit with YIMBY roots struck again last month, suing Los Altos after the city rejected a developer’s bid to streamline a project of 15 apartments plus ground-floor office space. — The Mercury News
CaRLA continues its aggressive efforts to get San Francisco Bay Area cities to stop denying by-right housing developments. “Something, by hook or by crook, has to make these cities actually build housing,” Sonja Trauss, co-executive director of CaRLA, told The... View full entry
In a 4-1 vote, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed today to cancel a $1.7 billion design and build contract with McCarthy Builders that it had approved in February.
“The contract with McCarthy Builders for a custody facility does not fit this board’s vision of a care-first model,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis.
— Curbed
In her lecture, entitled “Diverse City: How Equitable Design and Development will Shape Urban Futures,” Dowdell drew on her experiences growing up in Detroit and her work in real estate development. — The Harvard Crimson
Earlier this year, architect, Detroit native, and current National Organization of Minority Architects president Kimberly N. Dowdell presented a lecture discussing the importance of equity in design and development. With her multi-disciplinary background in real estate development... View full entry
When the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved the conversion of the 137-year-old Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the development quickly became one of the most talked about construction projects in the borough. Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), the architects responsible for the visionary renovation, will return this week to the LPC with changes for its previously approved design. — New York YIMBY
