Pelli Clarke & Partners has completed Torre Mítikah, the tallest building in Mexico City. Situated in the city’s Coyoacán neighborhood, the 877-foot-tall residential skyscraper is described by its designers as a “window to the heavens.” Image credit: Jason O'Rear Externally, the sleek... View full entry
The abundance of feral pigeons [...] is mostly affected by the presence of modern buildings with low abundance of pigeons found in areas where there is a preponderance of modern buildings.
The study confirms the results of international studies which indicate that the densest populations of feral pigeons occur in historic town centres, as the old buildings provide ample nesting sites, while the high human population density of both locals and tourists in historic towns provides constant food
— Malta Today
According to the authors, the Maltese study “lays the ground for further research on feral pigeon populations and their ecology in urban environments as well as contributing information for management programmes that are tailor-made to the local situation and circumstances.” Rat populations... View full entry
Mayors across a variety of American towns and cities have used the U.S. Conference of Mayors to voice concerns about their ability to address the dual crises of housing affordability and homelessness. As reported by Politico, specific struggles shared by mayors include attracting investors... View full entry
An eye-catching new landmark of an architecturally changed community is now up for grabs after designer Tomas Osinski’s Invisible House hit the market in Joshua Tree, California, for $18 million. Image courtesy Aaron Kirman Group The mirror-clad 5,490-square-foot home was completed with the help... View full entry
But joining the fraternity of cities with supertalls can also be a dubious distinction: Real estate is a lagging indicator, and skyscrapers often arrive after the boom is over, looming half-empty as monuments to a bust. Others, however, are convinced that Austin’s high-rise stampede is just getting started.
Given the city’s emerging significance as a next-gen manufacturing hub this building boom could defy the skyscraper effect.
— Bloomberg
With a slate of high-rises and supertalls, including KPF’s Waterline design and the record-setting Wilson Tower from HKS in the works, Bloomberg asks if the pace of development can be sustained amidst tech’s downturn and the annals of urban economic history. The salvation apparently lies... View full entry
In a few short years, policymakers and building designers have gone from pushing energy-efficient design and products—which saved folks money—to targeting carbon emission reductions, even if it costs more in the long run. This paradigm shift is rapidly changing expectations for the development and operation of affordable housing. — Shelterforce
New York, Boston, and Los Angeles are three of America’s largest cities to have recently adopted some version of law or code changes mandating the design of new buildings (with the occasional exception for certain, typically smaller multifamily developments) be made all-electric. The... View full entry
This month, listings appeared on multiple websites advertising the 2.5-acre property at 8150 Sunset Boulevard as being for sale. The now vacant lot, which sits at Sunset's intersection with Crescent Heights Boulevard, is the former site of the Garden of Allah, and more recently, the Lytton Savings Building. — Urbanize Los Angeles
The amended plan includes a retail center and residential tower with 38 total units of affordable housing divided into two sculptural volumes that straddle a 2.5-acre plot. Once developed, it will join Gehry’s similarly-designed Ocean Avenue Project and the 45-story The Grand LA as the... View full entry
The University of Toronto’s School of Engineering has announced a new research center that will, together with its industry partners, work to find a viable solution to the growing need for public infrastructure that is in tune with the push for sustainability and concerns over climate change... View full entry
Ken Griffin’s empire will occupy more than half of the office space at a new Manhattan skyscraper at 350 Park Ave., which is expected to be completed in 2032. [...]
Citadel confirmed plans to construct a tower at 350 Park Ave., a 1.7 million-square-foot (158,000 square-meter) building that would replace three properties in that area. The firm has been working with developers Vornado Realty Trust and Rudin Management Co.
— Bloomberg
Citadel's fund is managed by billionaire philanthropist Kenneth Griffin, whose 2018 donation to West Palm Beach, Florida's Norton Museum of Art earned him a special named wing also designed by Foster + Partners' New York office. If approved, the new 1,350-foot supertall 350 Park Avenue tower... View full entry
Following our previous visit to San Francisco-based Mork-Ulnes Architects, we are using the first 2023 edition of our Meet Your Next Employer series to explore the work of global sports and entertainment venue specialists Populous. Founded in 1983, the firm operates 23 global... View full entry
HOK has announced plans for a new seven-story football operations center to be located at the heart of the University of Miami's campus in Coral Gables, Florida. Working alongside local mainstays Arquitectonica, the pair will deliver a new 172,000-square-foot facility beset with amenities for... View full entry
Foster + Partners has completed a 42-story office tower in the regenerated Suhewan area of Shanghai. Named the 'Suhe Centre for China Resources Land,' the 656-foot-tall tower is described by Foster + Partners as “a landmark building that offers truly modern workspaces which prioritize city and... View full entry
AL_A has been granted permission to construct the world’s first magnetized fusion power plant. The Culham Science Centre facility, to be located in Oxford, UK, is anchored by a 125-foot-tall cylindrical fusion hall wrapped in a translucent facade. The scheme was first unveiled in August... View full entry
Anderton’s book provides further powerful evidence that density is not something to be scared of, but is fertile ground for architectural invention, creating more neighbourly, walkable communities, and ultimately making Los Angeles a more livable city for all. — The Guardian
The Guardian’s Oliver Wainwright joined Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles author Frances Anderton for a walking tour of select historic apartment buildings that included Richard Neutra’s 1937 Strathmore Apartments in Westwood (noteworthy as the first apartment Charles and... View full entry
On the first anniversary of the Twin Parks fire in the Bronx that killed 17 people, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will announce a new national plan to combat “America’s fire problem” using investigatory muscle granted by federal legislation that President Biden signed last month.
The legislation will give the United States Fire Administration the power to identify the causes of fires like the one at the Twin Parks North West housing complex.
— The New York Times
A year removed from the tragic blaze that took the lives of 17 people in the Bronx apartment complex once lauded by Paul Goldberger for its trend-bucking design, lawmakers in Washington have finally heeded the desperate pleas of public housing advocates who appealed for stricter safety... View full entry
