ICYMI, back in October, Anthony Morey started a new series that he considers "an experiment in the ritual of juries". Narratives of Architecture was the first academic studio to be subjected to the experimental format of a jury presented in Pedagogies, the Public & Juries. The third round of... View full entry
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is moving forward with ambitious plans for a massive renovation and redesign of the New York museum's Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Devoted to Africa, Oceania and the Americas, the forty-thousand-square-foot wing will be designed by the architect Kulapat... View full entry
Six people, including a pregnant woman, have plummeted 84 floors in an elevator inside one of Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers, only learning afterwards how far they had fallen. [...]
One of several cables holding the elevator broke and the car fell rapidly, landing somewhere near the 11th floor.
— The Guardian
Everyone's worst nightmare became a near fatal reality for six people trapped inside an elevator after falling 85 stories inside Chicago's iconic 875 North Michigan Avenue tower, formerly known as the John Hancock Center. According to the Chicago Fire Department, the rescue operation inside the... View full entry
While Japanese whiskey distilleries are claiming top accolades for their finely crafted products these days, one decorated artisanal-minded Japanese master is bringing his craft to the heart of Bourbon country: Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban has been selected to oversee the planning... View full entry
British firm Foster + Partners have proposed plans for a Tulip-shaped tower that would rise beside their London landmark, the Gherkin. The new skyscraper, which at 305-meters high would become the city's second-tallest building, is conceived as a state-of-the-art cultural and educational resource... View full entry
In their latest project in their Miami home base, Arquitectonica designed the new Thomas P. Murphy Studio Building for the University of Miami School of Architecture. Opening on November 29, the 20,000 square-foot building will serve as a design laboratory and collaborative space for... View full entry
Rising 88 metres (290 feet) from the floor of an abandoned quarry, the 18-storey InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland Hotel in the city’s Songjiang district has been in development for 12 years and cost 2 billion yuan (US$287.9 million) to complete.
Of its 18 floors, just two are aboveground while its two lowest are completely submerged by a lake that occupies the remainder of the vast quarry pit.
— South China Morning Post
Remember the Chinese 'Deep Pit Hotel' that was poised to open inside an abandoned quarry outside of Shanghai? Officially titled InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, the 336-room luxury property finally launched yesterday. View full entry
Underutilized space is an unfortunate yet reoccurring issue that takes place in densely populated cities, Manhattan being no exception. When Youngwoo & Associates decided to take on a large underutilized space at the intersection of Amsterdam Ave and Washington Bridge, the team at MDRDV took... View full entry
Carved into a sand dune along a quiet beach in the port city of Qinhuangdao, the new Ullens Center for Contemporary Art Dune Art Museum debuted its first art exhibition last month, after three years of construction. Aranya commissioned Beijing-based OPEN Architecture to design the museum, which... View full entry
Located in the Belgian countryside, the recently completed Crematorium Sisegem has been designed by KAAN Architecten as a peaceful oasis. In Belgium, crematoria typically have a more complex programming than in other countries and are commonly used as spaces for gathering, enjoying a meal, and... View full entry
[...] the second supertall to result from the Midtown East rezoning is moving forward, with JPMorgan Chase filing a text amendment with City Planning for a 1,400-foot tower on the site of 270 Park Avenue. Designed by Foster + Partners Architects, the plans also come with the first renderings of the 2.4 million square foot supertall, and massing diagrams that offer a look at what’s in store for New York City’s most central business district. — New York YIMBY
After announcing Foster + Partners as design architect for its new 270 Park Avenue HQ tower a few days ago, JPMorgan Chase has now filed a zoning text amendment with NYC's City Planning department. The document shows two options for a massive supertall tower to replace the current building from... View full entry
In the construction of the new Yugoslavia, modernist thinking and design were deployed to guide the country’s rapid urbanization and industrialization as well as to unify the ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse population. — Places Journal
In columnist Belmont Freeman's latest article for Places, he examines the exhibition “Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948-1980,” now on view at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and finds a rigorous and revealing survey of Yugoslavia’s extraordinary built... View full entry
MAD Architects unveiled their scheme for the upcoming “Courtyard Kindergarten”, which will be located within a traditional siheyuan courtyard in Beijing that dates back to 1725. Currently under construction, the kindergarten is expected to be operating by fall 2019. Rendering by SAN.The... View full entry
Accessibility looks like different things to different people. When architects design buildings there are parameters that must be met in order to meet standard building codes. With the passing of the Americans with Disability Act, building regulations were placed to ensure that the design process... View full entry
The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island has opened the world's first-ever underwater hotel residence.
More than just a room or a suite (this is the Maldives, after all, so luxury is the name of the game), the two-story villa is set more than 16 feet below the Indian Ocean. Its name is "Muraka," which means "coral" in the Maldives' local language Dhivehi.
— CNN Travel
Image: Conrad Maldives Rangali IslandWith the cold and gloomy season quickly approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, many wish to escape to warmer, balmier settings. If the idea of sleeping under the water sounds like your kinda thing and a sweet $50,000 a night isn't too much of an obstacle, then... View full entry