At least 18 “high street titans” – architecturally significant department stores that have fallen victim to profound changes in shopping patterns – are at risk of being permanently lost, according to a new report. But these “cathedrals of commerce”, as Émile Zola described them in his 1883 novel The Ladies’ Paradise, should be granted new lives – as art galleries, residential housing, community hubs and social spaces, says Save Britain’s Heritage. — The Guardian
The report Departing Stores: Emporia at Risk details the threats to department stores across the UK and what can be done to save these spaces. It covers 46 landmark department stores in town and city centers, some of which have been restored or developed while maintaining their architectural... View full entry
A milestone development on the way to what is one of the most anticipated new openings of the year as the exteriors have been completed on SHoP’s award-winning 111 West 57th Street supertall tower in Midtown Manhattan. Once completed, the building will stand as the second-tallest... View full entry
Josh Niland reached out to both emerging and established firms founded by architects who are partners (in both business and life) and asked them to reflect on the benefits and practice of such a "total" partnership. Some noted an "About" page, "crafted" language and reallynotmyname felt like "This... View full entry
A trio of concerned letter writers replied to a March 31st opinion piece by The Guardian’s Owen Hatherley in which the critic declared that “hardline modern architecture is now something of a cult.” “A living city has to strike some sort of balance between avoiding the strangulation and... View full entry
The British Museum is facing legal action from one of the UK’s leading heritage preservation organisations over its refusal to allow the 3D scanning of a piece in its Parthenon marbles collection.
The Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) said it would serve an injunction against the museum imminently, raising the stakes in the dispute between the two.
— The Guardian
The 269-year-old institution is said to have refused a request from the Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) that would have reproduced a metope from the Acropolis’ south-facing facade for an important proof of concept. The scans are supposed to allow for a robotic replication... View full entry
Let’s start with a little exercise. I would like you to input “Meow Wolf Denver” on Google Maps (here, I did it for you) and look at where the red pin falls on the map. Do you see it yet, the small, somewhat tear-shaped building tucked inside an interwoven web of highways? That, my friends, is Denver’s newest arts destination—and it sits on a tiny, triangular plot of land at the intersection of three highways. — Fast Company
Meow Wolf, the Sante Fe-based arts and entertainment company that specializes in hosting large-scale immersive experiences, has set up shop in Denver, with a new, uniquely-positioned space that opened to the public in September 2021. The building, spanning 5 stories and 95,000 square feet... View full entry
An exciting birthday gift is underway in the Charm City as Kohn Pedersen Fox has finally broken ground on a new headquarters for T. Rowe Price in the company’s hometown of Baltimore 85 years after its founding. The project was announced in December 2020 and centers around a new... View full entry
Arup has designed and engineered the Netherlands’ tallest timber-hybrid residential building. Completed this year, HAUT is part of the country’s commitment to becoming climate-neutral by 2050, in which the use of timber as a building material has been identified as one of the most... View full entry
Foster + Partners has shared an update to its recently announced retrofit of William Pereira’s iconic Transamerica Pyramid Center in San Francisco. New renderings appear to show fresh and open office spaces upgraded for workers’ comfort and workplace flexibility in addition to an on-site... View full entry
Broadway Junction, the busy yet infamously underutilized area surrounding the Broadway Junction Subway station, may need to brace for a big change. The area, which sits between several neighborhoods including East New York, Bed-Stuy and Brownsville, has become the center of a private developer’s new vision for East Brooklyn. — BK Reader
At a virtual town hall held on March 22, Totem Group, a Brooklyn-based real estate development firm, shared preliminary plans to build a large mixed-use building next to the busy station complex. Totem’s proposal calls for the construction of four high-rise towers, with two including housing... View full entry
Seattle-based firm The Miller Hull Partnership has designed an important new laboratory building for the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) that will have a light impact on the lush natural landscape that surrounds it. Developed to offset the anticipated growth of UCSC’s research... View full entry
Two buckets. That’s all that was left at the end of the day when Nexii, a concrete alternative start-up, tore down one of its first demonstration projects. A 700-square-foot showroom and model home displaying Nexii’s building technology was constructed in 2019 near Vancouver to prove the buildability of the new material, which has far lower emissions than conventional concrete. — Fast Company
Combining their sturdy panel-based construction system with their concrete alternative, Nexiite, which produces about 35% lower carbon emissions than conventional concrete, Nexii was able to deconstruct the showroom in six days, saving almost every part of the building for future reconstruction... View full entry
The city of Los Angeles is moving forward with a historic plan from Handel Architects and OLIN for a slice of Downtown’s Bunker Hill neighborhood called Angels Landing. The LA Times is reporting the city’s granting of entitlements needed to build on the parcel designated Y-1, which features... View full entry
Cathedrals, churches and basilicas across Italy are at risk of being razed by earthquakes that could strike at any moment. But the government is on a mission to protect some of the country’s most significant and vulnerable religious buildings from disastrous seismic shocks. A new national project backed with €250m from Italy’s multibillion-euro pot of EU Covid-19 recovery funding is unprecedented in Europe for its scale and reach, officials believe. — The Art Newspaper
In one of Europe’s most earthquake-prone countries, the anti-seismic plan will allow the Italian culture ministry’s heritage safety department to distribute resources around the country that will mitigate the impact of future disasters. Straps and chains will be wrapped around bell towers... View full entry
Owner Michael Shvo and his partners have hired world-renowned architect Norman Foster to redesign the iconic tower’s interiors and plan to invest $250 million to renovate the 1972 building and expand its Redwood Park. The owners also plan to roughly double the size of neighboring 545 Sansome St. and add a new facade to create a modern office building at the cost of around $150 million. — The San Francisco Chronicle
Work is expected to begin within the week and take around a year to be completed. The project will include the expansion of Redwood Park and, potentially, the adjacent 545 Sansome Street, which will be rebranded as 3 Transamerica pending approval by the city. Previously on Archinect: San... View full entry
