Washington oversaw construction of the house while serving his two terms as president in New York and Philadelphia. He insisted that the President’s House be built of stone and embellished with extensive stone ornamentation...Washington requested alterations to the original design, adding the distinctive rose and acorn carved stone embellishments and cutting the building’s height. — National Geographic
The gutted interior of the White House, May 1950Abbie Rowe - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Noel Grove, William B. Bushong and Joel D. Treese take us back to 1792, when James Hoban (born in Ireland) became the architect of the President's House. They also explore how the... View full entry
Cheap stick framing has led to a proliferation of blocky, forgettable mid-rises—and more than a few construction fires. — Bloomberg Businessweek
"These buildings are in almost every U.S. city. They range from three to seven stories tall and can stretch for blocks. They’re usually full of rental apartments, but they can also house college dorms, condominiums, hotels, or assisted-living facilities. Close to city centers, they tend toward a... View full entry
The city’s most polarizing building is now officially middle-aged and a couple of fans have reproduced a pin that was given out during its opening week celebrations in 1969 [...]
Joyce Linehan, chief of policy for Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh, still has an original pin, which local designers Chris Grimley and Shannon McLean used as the basis for a reproduction.
— CityLab
Commemorative pin and letter press drawing card. Image via OverUnder's website"Cast in bronze and hand patina’d, the commemorative lapel pin is produced in a limited edition of fifty," reads the pin's description on the website of OverUnder, the Boston-based architecture and design firm behind... View full entry
But with land prices near all-time highs, developers and nonprofit housing groups are giving the leftovers another look...Several of the projects that have been built on these odd lots have been very inventive, and might even lead to better land-use and zoning policy — NYT
Stefanos Chen first reported on the launch of Big Ideas for Small Lots NYC competition and later highlighted a few recent examples of this sort of work. The list of firms includes; Aufgang Architects, OJT, SLCE Architects, SZCZ and XS House See also; Atelier Bow-Wow and "Pet Architecture" View full entry
The completion of this transaction, which will see us bring new life to the iconic Lord & Taylor building, reflects the evolution of the We Company, the diversification of our real estate strategy and the company’s ongoing transition from an occupier to an operator of space — TheRealDeal
WeCompany, formerly known as WeWork made significant company transitions earlier this year. Now venturing beyond the shared workspace and leasing office business model, the WeCompany closed and confirmed its purchase of the historic Lord and Taylor flagship in January. News of the building... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect... View full entry
This week on Archinect Sessions we’re sharing our inspiring conversation with Theaster Gates. For those of you who aren’t already familiar with Theaster, you’re in for a treat. Theaster Gates often refers to himself as a potter, and while it’s true that he is, through years of training and... View full entry
Archinect Outpost has hosted a plethora of events in its short eight months of operation, each of which has brought the Los Angeles community together to celebrate exciting new publications and design items. We are proud to announce that we have several more to come, from various disciplines and... View full entry
The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission paved the way for Snøhetta to partially redesign Philip Johnson’s Postmodern skyscraper at 550 Madison Avenue Tuesday with a vote backing the contested plan. [...]
The biggest change to the property, which was granted landmark status in July 2018, is the privately-owned public space (POPS) at the ground level.
— Curbed NY
Image: SnøhettaSnøhetta's original proposal to renovate the, now landmark-protected, 1984 icon of Postmodernism at 550 Madison Avenue was met with fierce opposition from architects, preservationists, and critics. An updated design that incorporated much of the feedback was released a few... View full entry
There are little more than 400 African American female architects in a profession of over 110,000. Although an improvement over the roughly 90 that existed when I entered the profession, the current numbers continue to reflect the obvious dearth of women like me. [...] My primary advice to young people is to seek mentorship as early as possible. Take advantage of many architects like myself who are willing to expose you to our studios, our staff, our work, and our own experiences. — Forbes
If you're unaware of her name, you know of her work. Zena Howard's contributions to the architecture profession are rooted in design strategy and advocacy. With over 25 years of experience, the seasoned architect has worked on several notable projects. As Principal and Managing Director of... View full entry
We've all seen them: photorealistic, high-gloss architectural renderings of new, flashy projects, and then—a few years later—the actual, built reality looks nothing like the too-good-to-be-true visualizations the public was sold on. Natural light, the lack of natural light, dust, humidity... View full entry
Robert Winter, the architectural historian who spent his life chronicling Los Angeles' sweeping cityscape, passed away Saturday night at age 94. His death was confirmed by his publisher, Angel City Press. Author of the seminal work, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, Winter is... View full entry
Tiny houses are promoted as an answer to the affordable housing crisis; a desirable alternative to traditional homes and mortgages. Yet there are many complexities and contradictions that surround these tiny spaces, as I discovered when I began investigating them. — Fast Company
There is something inherently romantic about the nomadic lifestyle cooked up in the 1960's, exemplified by the VW van and the desert campfire. While this relic of America's recent past became, undoubtedly, the inspiration for the Tiny Home movement in recent years, the reasons for its current... View full entry
Residents of flats overlooked by the Tate Modern have lost their high court bid to stop “hundreds of thousands of visitors” looking into their homes from the art gallery’s viewing platform.
[...] the board of trustees of the Tate Gallery said the platform provided “a unique, free, 360-degree view of London” and argue that the claimants could simply “draw the blinds”.
— The Guardian
The judge presiding over the highly publicized case dismissed the residents' demands that parts of the 10th-floor public viewing terrace in the Tate Modern's Herzog & de Meuron-designed extension be closed off to prevent visitors from peeking through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the ritzy Neo... View full entry
Join us this Thursday from 6-8pm for an event celebrating the newly published Concrete Los Angeles Map by Blue Crow Media. The map is available for sale here, and can be picked up and purchased during the event. Detail of Concrete Los Angeles MapDiscover L.A.’s finest examples of concrete-built... View full entry
