Even then, the gender imbalance was glaring. The so-called Million Dollar Staircase, spanning 444 steps and four floors of the New York State Capitol, memorialized the faces of dozens of distinguished figures in delicate carvings, but not one was a woman. Scrutiny prompted a state official to hastily authorize the addition of several women to the staircase’s lower level. The year was 1898. — The New York Times
After 125 years, New York State will make its first new addition, Brooklyn native and late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The carving will be formed from the same Scotland-sourced Corsehill sandstone used for the original stairs. It is expected to cost around $150,000 and complete... View full entry
Michael Maltzan's long-awaited overhaul of the UCLA Hammer Museum has set a date for its public debut after more than two decades of work undertaken at the behest of director Ann Philbin. March 26th will mark the completed transformation of the 33-year-old Westside institution, with a new facade... View full entry
According to the company’s website , the new facility is designed to mimic the look and feel of “the elegant form of a basketball net as a ball passes through it.” It will feature five basketball courts, more than any other NBA arena.
According to the company’s website , the new facility is designed to mimic the look and feel of “the elegant form of a basketball net as a ball passes through it.” It will feature five basketball courts, more than any other NBA arena.
— LAist
The AECOM-designed $1.2 billion construction broke ground in September of 2021 and is moving along schedule towards a 2024 completion. Its reported $260 million worth of community benefits are said to be the largest ever associated with an American sports arena project. In total, the arena will... View full entry
You’ve heard of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but did you know New York has its very own leaning tower? Manhattan’s “Leaning Tower of FiDi,” developed by Fortis Property Group, has this dubious distinction: It is tilting by three inches to the north, and has been beset by numerous construction delays, disputes with lenders and more.
How did this engineering blunder ever come to pass?
— The Real Deal
One Seaport (aka “161 Maiden Lane”) is now the subject of a contentious lawsuit between Fortis and the project’s construction engineer Pizzarotti. Pizzarotti claims the developers are at fault owing to shoddy preparatory work on its foundation, which left the tower at risk for... View full entry
MAD Architects has revealed the design of Danshuis, a world-class dance center built from a former riverfront warehouse in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It will feature professional dance studios, theaters, and exhibition spaces for dancers from around the world. Image: Proloog MAD Architects was... View full entry
To say the last few months have been life-changing for Edwin Castro would be putting it mildly. In November, he bought a winning Powerball lottery ticket at a Mobil gas station in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena. Last month, he finally claimed his record-shattering prize, taking home a $997.6 million lump sum before taxes. Less than 30 days later, he’s the proud owner of one of the flashiest new mansions in the star-studded Hollywood Hills. — Dirt
Castro purchased the mansion for $25.5 million, a discount from the property’s initial ask of $29.95 million. According to the Los Angeles Times, this is the most expensive sale in the Hollywood Hills this year and one of the neighborhood’s priciest ever. The home was built in 2022 by luxury... View full entry
Foster + Partners has been announced as the Design Architect of a new renovation of the 97-year-old San Diego Museum of Art following a comprehensive search. Located in Balboa Park, the museum will add a new education center and welcome pavilion through the delivery of the project, which focuses... View full entry
As we celebrate Women's History Month, we continue our focus on celebrating the built works of female architects and female-led architecture firms. Last week, we highlighted projects from architecture firms in the American West that have been posted to their firm profiles. Today... View full entry
BIG and prominent lawyer-turned-hotelier Liz Lambert have announced they will be teaming up with ICON on a new high-end hospitality project in Marfa, Texas. The project will reshape Lambert’s 21-acre El Cosmico resort from a collection of disparate yurts, tents, and other small structures into a... View full entry
Henning Larsen has released details of its newest K-12 project in the Danish village of Rønde. The project worked to add an ultragreen extension to the village’s existing Feldballe School that offers carbon sequestering while incorporating plans for its future disassembly and reuse as... View full entry
For the latest installment of Archinect's Studio Snapshots, Katherine Guimapang connected with Stephen Wilder, Principal of Think Wilder Architecture. Melvin L. Mitchell, FAIA, NCARB, NOMA was struck by the length of Wilder’s journey from school to licensure “Insightful. Pride-evoking (a... View full entry
A transformational new adaptive reuse project for Harvard Law School’s Lewis International Law Center has been completed recently by Deborah Berke Partners. Meant to “holistically” meet the demands posed by modern legal education, the project remade the original 1957 Shepley, Bulfinch... View full entry
Pininfarina has just shared an update on its new Light Towers luxury residential project in Mérida, Mexico. The development broke ground last Wednesday with local politicians in attendance to celebrate the beginning of construction on a project the firm and developers Branson say represents a... View full entry
Notre-Dame Cathedral's spire will be back in place by the end of the year, but a full reopening following the devastating fire of 2019 will not happen before next year's Paris Olympic Games.
The reconstruction is still on track for completion by the end of 2024, the culture ministry told AFP.
But the sharp spire, added by architect Eugene Viollet-Le-Duc during the cathedral's redesign in the 19th century, will be back in place by the end of 2023, the ministry said.
— France 24
This setback constitutes a major blow to French President Emmanuel Macron’s lofty initial promise to have the restoration work completed in time for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games. Spectators had called into question whether or not the goal was feasible or even salutary from the... View full entry
Retrofitting the UK’s historical buildings, from Georgian townhouses to the mills and factories that kickstarted the Industrial Revolution, could generate £35bn of economic output a year, create jobs and play a crucial role in achieving climate targets, research has found.
The organisations behind the report are calling on the government to work with industry to [...] advice into a national retrofit strategy, as the UK only has half the skilled workers needed to retrofit all old buildings.
— The Guardian
The report from a consortium that includes the National Trust, Historic England, and property group Grosvenor also outlined Britain’s need for 105,000 additional skilled workers to help meet the country’s lagging 2050 net zero decarbonization goals. By that time, the retrofitting market is... View full entry
