The recently opened Apple store in Chicago has been praised by one of the city’s papers as an “elegantly understated… boon to the city’s riverfront,” but perhaps that perception will change after the discovery of a significant design flaw.The structure’s ultra-thin carbon fiber roof was fashioned in the shape of a MacBook Pro but does not have any gutters to catch water, so melting snow has begun to turn into icicles and sliding snow that can harm pedestrians below. — Fortune
Outside Apple's recent Chicago store signs read: "CAUTION Watch For Falling Snow and Ice" as noted by blogger Matt Maldre. The new design by Foster and Partners was intended as a “town square” experience for the community, and to serve as a flagship design for all future Apple stores... 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 profiles!)... View full entry
The savvy emphasis on escape and disconnectedness and repose has resonated among the millennials Getaway aims to reach. In each of its markets, outside New York, Boston and Washington, Getaway’s houses are booked solid on weekends, and in early 2017, the company, founded by two Harvard graduates, raised $15 million in venture capital funding, which suggests that a tiny house campground may soon be coming to a forest near you. — The Washington Post
Getaway positions its retreats just outside major cities where individuals are encouraged to recharge and reconnect in nature. Tapping into the tiny house phenomena that rapidly gained popularity among millennials after the 2008 housing crisis, Getaway houses can be rented at just over $160 a... View full entry
One consistently popular series in the Archinect news is the weekly "Ten Top Images on Archinect's Pinterest Boards" roundup featuring project images of outstanding work on various Firm and People profiles on Archinect. Each week showcases pictures from one of our (currently) 27 themed and curated... View full entry
A rare find on the housing market: The Olfelt House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright can now be yours for $1.3 million. Located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota this rare find includes 3 beds and 2 baths set on 3.77 acres of private, grassy meadows. The house features a vaulted great room, walls of... View full entry
![bhome System in Asturias, Spain by [baragaño] Architects. Photo: Mariela Apollonio.](https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/aa/aa9acmf4ei1xenn6.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=514 "bhome System in Asturias, Spain by [baragaño] Architects. Photo: Mariela Apollonio.")
It took less than four months to build this modern prefab home in a factory, and only five hours to assemble it on-site. The minimalist modern abode is set in Valdés, a small town in Asturias, northwest of Madrid. Studio [baragaño] designed the Montaña House as a stylistic mix between a traditional home and the granaries found throughout the area. — inhabitat
The house, designed by Studio [baragaño], was constructed in less than four months in a factory in Madrid then transported to Valdes, where a local artisan embellished the structure with a slate roof. This space was designed using traditional residential architecture as inspiration and boasts... View full entry
The Obama Center design team has been reworking plans for a proposed controversial garage on a portion of the historic Midway Plaisance, across the street from where the presidential complex is to be built in Jackson Park. [...]
When I left off on this story in November, Tod Williams, one of the architects, said relocating the garage was under consideration, given the concerns of community groups for the historic publicly owned Midway property.
— Chicago Sun-Times
Curbed Chicago picks up the story where the Chicago Sun-Times left off and reports about some of the praise and criticism that was presented at a meeting the Obama Foundation had called on December 20 at its Hyde Park Headquarters. The hearing was led by the project's architects Tod Williams... View full entry
2017 saw a multitude of new projects from proposal to completion. A floating roof for Apple, San Francisco's tallest building, semi-transparent "Concrete"... Here are the 14 most attention grabbing projects of 2017, in case you missed the headlines. A “hyper-democratic” housing complex in... View full entry
When it comes to large-scale residential buildings, a complex set of economic, urban, and regulatory systems sometimes seem to have left little room for architectural exploration. Architects often struggle to find a point of entry for inserting their creative perspective in a way that would... View full entry
In the 1970s, a state agency tapped some of the best young architects in the country for an ambitious affordable housing effort that—despite its flaws—could not be matched today.
Twin Parks, an affordable housing project in the Bronx, does not comport with expectations. [...]
Overall, it provides palpably better affordable housing than what’s typically offered in the U.S., and maintains an engaged community.
— CityLab
CityLab writer Anthony Paletta looks back at the origins of the 1970s Twin Parks affordable housing development in the Bronx and its (now) famous architects who were then just gaining traction in their young careers, most notably Richard Meier, James Polshek (and this year's winner of the AIA Gold... View full entry
It's been a busy year for architects around the world, and plenty of high-profile projects — some dazzling, some goofy, some controversial — welcomed their first guests and residents in 2017. From the long list of completed buildings featured in the Archinect news this year, we have selected a... View full entry
Architectural historian Charles Jencks has agreed to turn his house into a museum, according to BD. Located in London's Holland Park, the early Victorian stucco villa has interiors designed by Michael Graves and other alterations by Terry Farrell. An important example of post-modern design, the... View full entry
Time flies mercilessly, and another iconic example of contemporary architecture is already celebrating its 10th anniversary: designed by the late Dame Hadid and shortlisted for the 2008 RIBA Stirling Prize, the four stations of Innsbruck’s Nordpark Cable Railway opened to the public in December... View full entry
Was the street art covering 5Pointz, a largely empty warehouse in Long Island City, Queens, significant enough to preserve under US federal law? A federal judge in Brooklyn in currently considering the arguments in a case that tests the limits of the Visual Artists Rights Act (Vara), and could soon decide whether a developer Gerald Wolkoff and his companies violated the act when he tore down the graffiti-covered building to construct residential towers and what, if any, damages they will pay. — The Art Newspaper
Despite being in the midst of a housing crisis, the United Kingdom seems bent on destroying some of the finest examples of social housing the post-war era has to offer, even tampering with the heritage-listing system in order to do so. The Robin Hood Gardens council estate, an icon of brutalist... View full entry
