California apartments with commanding views of the Pacific are now in danger of collapsing into the ocean.
Erosion blamed on El Niño rains is tearing away at the cliffs of Pacifica, just outside San Francisco. Drone footage shows how volatile the situation is, and how close to the literal edge some apartments are
— huffingtonpost.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:To better predict sea level rise, scientists resort to crowdsourcing and ask drone owners to help create dataHave these heavy rains alleviated the California drought?Officials Set Fire to House Teetering Over 75-Foot Cliff View full entry
Constructed in an area which experiences frequent flooding, the Greenhouse That Grows Legs incorporates a novel approach to flood protection. The building is fabricated on a bespoke steel frame with four hydraulic legs, capable of lifting the building 800mm from the ground on command. — Bat Studio
According to the designer, Bat Studio, the greenhouse stands on hydraulic legs that can lift it up in case of flooding – a common occurrence in the area. Built in glue-laminated timber sections, the greenhouse is meant to be both visually-pleasing and functional. The most prominent façade... View full entry
Turkish artist Aydın Büyüktaş has created warped, three dimensional photographic portraits of various cities, buildings, and landscapes around the world that bring to mind both the trippy dreamscapes of "Inception" and the curved future dwellings in "Interstellar." According to his Facebook... View full entry
Final farewells were visible all over the 6th Street Viaduct on Wednesday. Spinning tire trails were burned onto the bridge's asphalt deck; declarations of love and poetry were scribbled onto its concrete railings and incomprehensible graffiti was blasted across its high metal arches...Demolition of the crumbling bridge is scheduled to begin this week and could take up to nine months to complete, as crews cart away more than 110,000 tons of concrete. — Los Angeles Times
"While I'm more aware that the closure will cause delays, believe me, it will be worth it in the long run,” Mayor Garcetti tells the L.A. Times. More on Archinect: Say goodbye to the Sixth Street Viaduct along the L.A. River at ForumFest 2015, Oct. 25 HNTB, Maltzan, AC Martin win 6th Street... View full entry
In a fresh setback for India's tallest skyscraper, Palais Royale at Worli, the Bombay high court on Wednesday held that the 13 upper floors of the 56-storey building as well as a 15-storey public parking tower next to it were "completely illegal". [...]
The builder also sought to claim that the tower with 900 parking spaces was in public interest. The HC disagreed, saying "but for the incentive FSI (that the developer could claim) they would not have constructed it for social service".
— The Times of India
H/T CTBUH.Related stories in the Archinect news:World's first Slum Museum is coming to MumbaiSteven Holl Architects wins star-studded competition to design Mumbai City Museum North WingAre India's cities prepared to withstand an earthquake like in Nepal? View full entry
Seven centuries ago, denizens of the Wyre Forest in Worcestershire carved themselves a "rockhouse" from Triassic sandstone. Apparently considered to be among the best of the 40 or so rockhouses currently in earthly existence (including the Kinver Edge Holy Austin Rock) the recently refurbished... View full entry
In China each year, the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival features both buildings and sculptures constructed entirely of ice and snow, which are augmented with nighttime illumination. Here are a few highlights from this year's festival: China doesn't have a lockdown on spectacular ice and snow... View full entry
Although the renderings and Twitter pics of Diller Scofidio +Renfro's Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive produced a heated response on Archinect, evaluating the museum from a programmatic standpoint makes it appear as less of a "giant TV on the sidewalk" and more a clever fusion of needs... View full entry
Gone is the “Art Bay,” with a glass garage-like door that would have allowed visitors to enter galleries straight from the street.
Gone, too, is the fourth-floor “Gray Box,” with acoustic absorption panels through which passers-by could have peered up at performance art in progress.
And there will be no new public entrance to the sculpture garden on 54th Street.
The Museum of Modern Art has eliminated these polarizing elements of its sweeping redesign, museum officials said on Tuesday...
— the New York Times
MoMA officials also released more information on the construction, slated to begin in February with total costs estimated between $390 million and $400 million. The Diller, Scofidio + Renfro-led renovation is the second major redesign for the influential museum in recent memory. Just over ten... View full entry
Dubai’s iconic sail-shaped hotel, the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, is about to undergo a dramatic expansion of its footprint with the addition of a huge deck extending out over the waters of the Gulf.
In what’s being called a “world first” in marine design and engineering, the so-called North Deck has been manufactured at a shipyard in Finland and is now undergoing an 8,000-nautical-mile journey by ship, in six sections.
— globalconstructionreview.com
Related news stories on Archinect:Archinect speaks to designer of controversial Dubai Frame projectAfter massive Dubai skyscraper blaze, experts concerned about towers built before 2012 with 'highly flammable exterior cladding'Unchecked climate change will make the Gulf uninhabitable, claims new... View full entry
The biggest names impacting New York’s skyline come together to discuss the projects that now epitomize the city, the ever-evolving real estate market and what’s next for New York’s neighborhoods. — 92Y
Commissioned to convert an abandoned printing plant into a university art museum, Diller Scofidio + Renfro took inspiration from fresh fruit. The architects left the original building intact, stretching a sleek skin around it, split open at the front. The new Berkeley Art Museum will open next week with an exhibition that historically contextualizes Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s design process, and provides a formidable storehouse of ideas for future architecture. — forbes.com
Recent photo of the almost completed structure on January 21. (Image via @BAMPFA on Twitter.)Previously on Archinect: DS+R's new Berkeley Art Museum gets opening date View full entry
Online visitors from around the world can now explore the interior of the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum through Google Street View technology. Additionally, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, in collaboration with the Google Cultural Institute, has made available over 120 artworks from its collection for online viewing. [...]
The Guggenheim’s architecture presented unique challenges for Google’s engineers and Street View team.
— guggenheim.org
Ready to immerse yourself? Click here to start your stroll down the rotunda.All images courtesy of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Related stories in the Archinect news:Google is letting you visit museums around the world using Street View and YoutubeGoogle Street View captures beautiful... 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
The more period commentary on these spaces you read...the more you see the hotel's owners are falling into the very trap the interiors were engineered to escape: banality, anywhere-ness, the flimsiness of changing fashion...Are the current going to rip out the mirror and replace it with barn wood and mason jars? Just wait. Stop the unpermitted demolition. Landmark this interior and, in doing so, remind people of its undated and undateable wonder. — ny.curbed.com
Alexandra Lange writes about the Ambassador Grill & Lounge and Hotel Lobby at the United Nations Plaza Hotel (now known as ONE UN New York), which is currently planned for reconstruction and where illegal exploratory demolition has reportedly begun. The remodeling plan has sparked outcry from... View full entry