To continue with Javier's recent place hacking post of this dude climbing the Shard, I bring you this insane video of base jumpers "hacking" the Koekelberg Basilica in Brussels. View full entry
Because towers take so long to plan and construct, the current crop reflect a vision up to a decade old, reckons Nick Offer of Arup, an engineering firm. Economic conditions and the scale of such projects mean that only the very brave will invest now... In 2010 the coalition scrapped the previous, Labour government’s density targets, which were designed to encourage developers to build more units. Instead it has endorsed “garden cities” — economist.com
Related: Just climbing the shard, whatever... View full entry
On any given night in the U.S., there are approximately 60,500 youth confined in juvenile correctional facilities or other residential programs. Photographer Richard Ross has spent the past five years criss-crossing the country photographing the architecture, cells, classrooms and inhabitants of these detention sites. — wired.com
Demolition, on the one hand, seems like an essential part of a building's life cycle, but when it comes to important architecture milestones, it makes you wonder why these buildings warrant such an ending. This month (March, 16th), it was exactly 40 years since the first building of Pruitt-Igoe was demolished by implosion in 1972. — huffingtonpost.com
In Moscow, it's common for two buildings to have blind walls facing each other over a wide alley. This setup provides the perfect space for a lithe, little office to build itself a perch. The structure fuses onto the neighboring buildings with steel clamps, hovering off the ground so pedestrians can stroll under it. It also glows at night, thanks to a translucent plastic shell, looking like a wasps' nest from hell. — theatlanticcities.com
Chicago architecture firm Goettsch Partners has designed the signature building that will be the new home of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and provide additional space for the School of Communication on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. The university is planning to break ground and begin construction in May of this year. The project is slated to be completed and ready for move-in in fall 2015. — bustler.net
Back in February 2010, we had the chance to publish first renderings and plans of the, then under construction, ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, a performing arts, media, and cultural center located on the landmark Bethlehem Steel site in eastern Pennsylvania. Now, with the center finally completed, the American Institute of Architects Pennsylvania has awarded a Silver Medal, the organization's highest honor, to the building's designers, Spillman Farmer Architects. — bustler.net
Also, Spillman Farmer Architects is currently hiring. View full entry
Shenzhen-based firm WAU Design has shared with us their proposal "Twisted Link" that recently won the team a Commendation in the Design Ideas Competition for Liantang / Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point Passenger Terminal Building, a new structure between the New Territories of Hong Kong and Luohu in Shenzhen, China. — bustler.net
Since the iPhone is by far the most popular mobile device that Archinect readers own, according to our web analytics, we developed this app for you iPhone (and iPod/iPad!) users as a simple, mobile version of Archinect...Lian Chikako Chang loves the new app because it is "so readable. I can archinect on my way to the cafeteria".
Since the iPhone is by far the most popular mobile device that Archinect readers own, according to our web analytics, we developed this app for you iPhone (and iPod/iPad!) users as a simple, mobile version of Archinect. The app is not designed to offer the full functionality that that the website... View full entry
As Modernist buildings reach middle age, many of the stark structures that once represented the architectural vanguard are showing signs of wear, setting off debates around the country between preservationists, who see them as historic landmarks, and the many people who just see them as eyesores. — nytimes.com
Also see this discussion in the forum: Paul Rudolph threatened with demolition: when I see #&*! like this I just want to give up. View full entry
499.SUMMIT is a conceptual proposal for a futuristic high-rise urban penitentiary in Jersey City which seeks to challenge the conventions of traditional prison design. The project, a collaborative effort by grad students Andreas Tjeldflaat and Gregory Knobloch, was part of the PennDesign studio FUTURE PRISON DESIGN. — bustler.net
Marcos Zotes has shared with us his winning light installation for the Reykjavik Winter Lights Festival 2012. Photo by Ragnar Th Sigurdsson Marcos Zotes, winner of the Reykjavik Winter Lights Festival 2012, and Chris Jordan presented Rafmögnuð Náttúra in Reykjavik, Iceland... View full entry
From a seagull's perspective, it resembles the Titanic shipping company White Star Line's logo. Viewed from a fish's perspective, the building's four "hulls" soar as high as the Titanic's bow. An aluminum skin, composed of 3,000 panels, reflects the light from the water at the foot of the building. — Der Spiegel
On March 31 the Titanic Belfast, a six-story exhibition building, officially opened in Belfast. The "discovery center" is just the first phase, of a multi-million pound development which will include a mix of shops, bars, restaurants, offices, leisure facilities and residential accommodation... View full entry
In 2009 and 2010, we visited residents of Lafayette Park with photographer Corine Vermeulen while researching our forthcoming book Thanks for the View, Mr. Mies. Vermeulen’s portraits of townhouse owners in their homes appeared in the New York Times. Here we present the corollary to that series: tenants of the Pavilion and the Lafayette Towers in their apartments. Vermeulen’s portraits are accompanied by Lana Cavar’s photos of the views from each apartment window and by excerpts from interviews — places.designobserver.com
“This is a major win not just for the county but for the nation,” Mr. Astorino, a Republican (ed. and Westchester County executive), said at a news conference. “We took a very principled stand against an unwarranted invasion by HUD and the federal government, and the county won.” — NYT
Peter Applebome examines the news, that Westchester is ahead of schedule in building the 750 affordable homes, required under the terms of a far-reaching affordable housing agreement reached in 2009, with HUD and other federal officials. Currently, 206 units have been approved and of those 196 of... View full entry