One of the biggest homes in U.S. history is rising on a Los Angeles hilltop, and the developer hopes to sell it for a record $500 million.
Nile Niami, a film producer and speculative residential developer, is pouring concrete in L.A.’s Bel Air neighborhood for a compound with a 74,000-square-foot (6,900-square-meter) main residence and three smaller homes, according to city records. [...] including a 5,000-square-foot master bedroom, a 30-car garage and a “Monaco-style casino,” Niami said.
— bloomberg.com
Rendering of the "largest home built in the U.S. this century." (Image: McClean Design; via bloomberg.com) Previously: The Biggest House in the US (according to Curbed) is Now Underway in Bel Air View full entry
Pritzker Prize laureates Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA were revealed today as the winners of an international competition to design the AUD$450 million expansion of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia. As part of the Sydney Modern Project, the expansion will upgrade the... View full entry
In an apparent video message, ISIS forces occupying the ancient city of Palmyra and its environs have stated that they do not intend to bulldoze its architecture, but plan to “pulverize” unspecified statues that they believe have been worshipped by “heretics” in the past. [...] The veracity of the message cannot be independently confirmed, but it has been assumed to be authentic by specialists on the subject, including the journalist Hassan Hassan, co-author of “ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.” — artinfo.com
Previously:ISIS militants seize control of ancient Syrian city of PalmyraAncient Syrian city of Palmyra under threat by ISISMeanwhile in Palmyra: ISIS executes more than 300 civilians in Syria’s Palmyra View full entry
The 260-meter long, 100-meter wide, six-floor building was built by Hong Kong-listed Chinese online game developer NetDragon Websoft, whose founder Liu Dejian — a 43-year-old University of Kansas alumni — is a huge [Trekkie]...With a total investment of 600 million yuan ($97 million), the building was inspired by the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E, which appeared in three “Star Trek” movies in the late 1990s and early 2000s. — The Wall Street Journal
Sources report that construction of the office building started in October 2010 and was then completed in May 2014.Check out the building on Google Maps or in the drone footage below. View full entry
Zhangjiajie, a scenic national park in the country's Hunan province, is set to open the world's longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge in July.
Spanning two cliffs in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon area, it will stretch 430 meters (1,410 feet) long and 6 meters (20 feet) wide, hovering over a 300-meter (984-foot) vertical drop.
In comparison, the Grand Canyon Skywalk in the United States is 21 meters (69 feet) in length and stands 219 meters (718 feet) above the canyon floor.
— cnn.com
UPDATE: World's longest and highest glass bridge opens in China View full entry
Axel Bering and Michael Jacobi, the main investors behind the Prora project, claim they could not care less about a building once being dedicated to Hitler. [...]
He and his partner, Michael Jacobi, both confess that because they had to comply with German regulations, their investment carries some Third Reich architecture qualities. They did, however, add a balcony, but otherwise they see Prora as a nice beach town and a solid investment.
— thedailybeast.com
Artist impressions of various sections of the Prora colossus and their new make-up (source: Seebad Prora):Previously View full entry
Look out—not up—because there’s a new low-rise Rafael Vinoly-designed building coming our way. The architect mastermind behind the city’s tallest residential tower, 432 Park Avenue, has just been chosen to to design a comparatively demure ten-story office-and-retail building in the Meatpacking District, reports The Real Deal. The new addition is being developed by Vornado Realty Trust and Aurora Capital Associates and is located on the former site of Prince Lumber at 61 Ninth Avenue. — 6sqft.com
Exterior becomes interior, public space overlaps with private space, and society is integrated into nature: or is it? These are but a few of the concepts seemingly behind the design of MAD's Clover House, a Kindergarten adjacent to a Japanese rice paddy field that also serves as a private... 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
Construction of the forthcoming Queens Library has begun at Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue in Hunters Point of NYC's Long Island City. Steven Holl Architects won the commission back in 2010 to design the new $30.6 million public library. Surrounded by recently built skyscraper condominiums and... View full entry
The Frank Gehry-designed Winton Guest House will embark on another lengthy roadtrip, moving roughly 1,200 miles from its current location in Owatonna, Minnesota to its new home in New York's Hudson River Valley. The geometric house sold for $750,000 at the Wright auction house in Chicago on... View full entry
The interior of the Four Seasons restaurant, a vision of Modernist elegance with its French walnut paneling and white marble pool of bubbling water, should not be changed, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission decided [...].
The decision was a setback to Aby J. Rosen, the owner of the Seagram Building, which is home to the restaurant. Mr. Rosen had proposed what he characterized as minor changes to the interior that was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson in 1958.
— nytimes.com
Phyllis Lambert — part of the group of architects passionately opposing Rosen's revamp plans and personally interwoven with the history of the Seagram Building like no one else — penned this Op-Ed in the New York Times last week: Save New York's Four Seasons. View full entry
The effort to save Norms comes at a time when historic preservationists say postwar buildings — especially on a smaller scale — face an increased threat from development pressure. — L.A. Times
Anyone who has ever grabbed a post-Largo meal or 2 a.m. existential coffee at Los Angeles restaurant Norms will be delighted to hear that The Los Angeles City Council has deemed the Googie-style building a cultural and historic landmark. Although this demarcation doesn't guarantee that it will... View full entry
Dubai is home to the iconic 828-metre high Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, but companies here are now vying to claim second place on the list of tallest towers in the emirate.
[...] the trend of building 'megatall' towers — those which reach more than 600 metres high – is likely to increase, particularly in the Middle East. [...]
Currently, Dubai has 917 high-rises and 465 skyscrapers, states Emporis, which collates data on building worldwide.
— emirates247.com
[The Stahl House] may be more famous for its breathtaking view of the Sunset Strip, its immaculate midcentury design, and its oft-photographed pool, which is perched on the edge of a cliff, but I love it for another reason, too: It’s living history. [...] The city around the Stahl House has changed, but the house itself has not. — Alison Martino — Los Angeles Magazine
Writer Alison Martino interviews Bruce and Shari, two of Clarence and Carlotta Stahl's three kids, on their experiences growing up in The Stahl House a.k.a. Case Study House #22. View full entry