there is a moat, of sorts, between the parking lot and the school. It’s planted with indigenous flowers and advertised as a learning opportunity for kids. The whole place has a playful, tree-house aspect, but indications of its impenetrability are everywhere: This sanctuary is a fortress, too. — NY Magazine
Lisa Miller attended a recent "media access day" for the new Sandy Hook Elementary School, designed by New Haven architects Svigals + Partners. View full entry
Howe Dell Primary in Hatfield could well be the UK’s most eco-friendly school. It has toilets that flush using rainwater, sedum roofs made of plants and vegetation, and classroom sink-tops made from recycled yoghurt pots. But the school’s design doesn’t just help protect the environment, it also uses nature to improve children’s academic performance and behaviour. — theguardian.com
Howe Dell Primary’s £10 million, eco-friendly design is used by teachers to promote sustainability to a new generation of pupils. Capita Architects were given free reign to push the limits of sustainable design in the project, which was funded by the council, and that was exactly what they did... View full entry
Missing L.A.’s iconic, historic 6th Street Bridge? Never fear – soon you may be able to keep a piece of it for yourself.
At “Rock Day L.A.,” an Aug. 13 event [...], officials will be handing out around 1,000 pieces of the demolished bridge for anyone to take home [...]
Demolition crews have been steadily dismantling the bridge since February, after an alkali silica reaction in the concrete, known as “concrete cancer,” forced the city to move forward with a plan to replace it.
— scpr.org
Previously in the Archinect news: LA mayor Eric Garcetti slow-jams 101 freeway closure announcementTake a look at "6," an experimental documentary that memorializes the recently-demolished Sixth Street Viaduct in LAA final hurrah for L.A.'s Sixth Street ViaductHNTB, Maltzan, AC Martin win 6th... View full entry
[John Irwin, one of the project's developers, noted:] "This is the right direction for development in L.A., embracing both the benefits of good planning—as well as a commitment to providing affordable housing at varying income levels, which we have agreed to increase” [...]
Ryu’s Chief of Staff Sarah Dusseault argued before the commissioners that setting such a low bar for affordable housing would set a bad precedent as the city is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis.
— losfelizledger.com
More Frank on Archinect: Frank Gehry's renderings for L.A.'s Sunset Strip revealedWhat's happening with Frank Gehry's masterplan for the LA River?Artist Daniel Buren spruces up Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton with colorful interventionLos Angeles River revitalization: prosperity for all or just a... View full entry
London City Airport has been given permission to go ahead with a $450m expansion plan that will fit it with seven extra stands, a parallel taxiway and an extended terminal.
The plan, which was approved by the government yesterday, will increase the airport’s capacity from 4.3 million passengers to 6.5 million by 2025.
The airport said the expansion would create “world-class terminal facilities, more space and facilitate a greater frequency of flights”.
— globalconstructionreview.com
Read more news and features about UK transport projects here:Grimshaw chosen to design Heathrow's new terminalAfter Brexit, “the priority for the government at this time will not be big sexy projects”Station to station: the architects behind Crossrail, Europe's biggest infrastructure project... 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 post is brought to you by Figueras International Seating. Katowice, a city of 300,000 inhabitants in the South of Poland, wants to leave its past of mining industry behind. In the heart of the city, and on what was formerly a mine and its inevitable mountains of mining residue, today we find... View full entry
Northwestern University announced a plan to replace an existing campus center with a 209,000 sq. ft building designed by Ennead Architects. The lakeside building will be accessible from multiple sides on two levels and will include an auditorium, a black box theater, and a large multipurpose... View full entry
Asif Kahn and Stanton Williams will design the new Museum of London, beating out competition like BIG and Caruso St. John from the shortlist of six architects. Their winning design features a dramatic domed hall with a central staircase down into the museum's excavated subterranean space.Currently... View full entry
On June 23rd, 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union. In the following month, the pound dropped 10% in value against the US dollar (the lowest since the 1980s), PM David Cameron resigned, Boris Johnson resigned, Nigel Farage too (not before insulting all of the European parliament), and... View full entry
I think it was a wonderful moment in American history. I thought what Michelle Obama was attempting to do was to draw that link to show that it isn't just what's going on in the White House now and isn't it great that there's a black family there, but there's a much longer history that needs to be appreciated...
[It was] just grueling, grueling kind of work. And nobody was really willing ... to do it. So slave labor played a massive role in getting this city built.
— Clarence Lusane
During her speech at the DNC on Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama alluded to the White House's history of slave labor during the 1790s. NPR interviews Clarence Lusane, chairperson of Howard University's political science department and author of “The Black History of the White House”, who... View full entry
It's rare that spectacle and nuance combine effortlessly, but an exception can be made for the lithe sculptural form of the San Shan Bridge. The bridge, which translated into English means "three mountains," will serve as a shapely conduit between Beijing and the river valleys of Zhangjiakou... View full entry
[...] has completed advanced wind tunnel tests on The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour, which is set to be 100 metres taller than the 828-metre Burj Khalifa when complete.
Emaar said the wind tests were crucial in defining the final height and design aspects, while the project’s Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls added that they "were an important component in the structural design stage, and we have deployed innovative engineering techniques to confirm the strength of the new icon".
— thenational.ae
The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour project previously in the Archinect news: "A notch taller" than Burj Khalifa: check out these new renderings of Santiago Calatrava's megatall Dubai towerSantiago Calatrava to design a seemingly supertall observation tower in Dubai View full entry
According to the Chicago Tribune, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have finally settled on a site for the Obama Presidential Center: historic Jackson Park. Adjacent to the University of Chicago, the park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. An official... View full entry
Looking for something new to do in Shanghai? Well, if you're someone who enjoys dangling off a terrifyingly high ledge with nothing but a safety rope to stop you from plunging to your death, then have we got an activity for you!
Tomorrow, a skywalk will open outside of the 88th floor of the Jin Mao Tower in Lujiazui. [...] it will be the highest fenceless, all transparent walkway outside a high-rise building in the world and is sure to scare you senseless, 340 meters above the ground.
— shanghaiist.com
For more terrifying photos, head over to Shanghaiist (if you can handle it).Related stories in the Archinect news:Chinese glass-bottom walkway cracks below tourists – 3,540 feet above groundChina opens 590-foot-high glass-bottom bridgeSorry, Willis Tower, but Shanghai Tower just kicked you out... View full entry