[Amager Bakke] is a work that revels in its own contrivance, a condensation and celebration of the surrounding artifice, a creation of what might be called hypernature. It is at once an energy facility, converting refuse into electricity, and a ski slope. It is arresting and striking. It’s an emblem of a culture of why-not and because-you-can that currently pops up in a number of modern cities [...] — The Guardian
Writing in The Guardian, architecture critic Rowan Moore heaps praise on Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and the firm's founder in a write-up of the firm's recently completed Amager Bakke project in Copenhagen. Describing the architect's ability to impress clients, Moore writes, "He... View full entry
This post is brought to you by LafargeHolcim Foundation Call for exemplary construction projects and visionary design concepts. The LafargeHolcim Awards seeks leading projects of professionals as well as bold ideas from the Next Generation that combine sustainable construction solutions with... View full entry
A new FXCollaborative-designed, 34-story office tower slated taking shape in Brooklyn has topped out ahead of its late-2020 completion date. The 500,000-square-foot complex, located at 1 Willoughby Square (1WSQ), is billed as "Brooklyn's first ground-up office tower in a generation," and... View full entry
After emerging triumphant in an international design competition, David Chipperfield Architects have received the commission for the Rolex USA headquarters in New York. It will be located on the corner of 5th Avenue and 53rd Street and will replace an existing building that has been occupied by... View full entry
Around 0.9 billion hectares (2.2 billion acres) of land worldwide would be suitable for reforestation, which could ultimately capture two thirds of human-made carbon emissions. — Good News Network
Professor Thomas Crowther, co-author of the study and founder of the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich that conducted the research writes, “We all knew that restoring forests could play a part in tackling climate change, but we didn’t really know how big the impact would be. Our study shows clearly... View full entry
Sitting there, program in hand, concept underway, and with constraints to abide by, we consider the possibilities. The design process isn't a scientific thing, there's an artistic aspect to it, one that sometimes leaves us searching for the perfect solution. We arrive at something, but know when... View full entry
Sterling Backus's son only had one question after he drove a Lamborghini Aventador in the XBOX video game Forza: Can we build one? Most dads would respond with a chuckle and some quip about winning the lottery. But not Backus, whose day job is laser physicist. Backus responded, "Sure," and he meant it. As of this week, the replica is capable of driving under its own power. — Auto Blog
With a budget of about $20,000, the father and son team have tackled the tremendous challenge of building a car from scratch. Backus talks about spending his time on YouTube learning about 3D-printing and how he obtained the panel layouts for the car on GrabCAD and modified them as required. The... View full entry
The University of Pennsylvania's newly-inaugurated Stuart Weitzman School of Design was officially renamed last week in honor or Penn graduate and global footwear designer Stuart Weitzman. The school, which houses undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture... View full entry
Every year the International Union of Architects (UIA) reminds the globe to celebrate World Architecture Day (WAD). However, like most annual holidays that generate a large amount of interest within a 24-hour period, but quickly fade away as the day ends, there's hope that this year's festivities... View full entry
Skanska USA has introduced a new open-source database tool, the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (“EC3”), which estimates and evaluates the carbon emissions contained within a variety of construction materials...The searchable database is based on environmental product declaration (EPD) data and has a list of more than 16,000 materials...categorized by performance requirements, design specification, project location, and global warming potential. — Construction Dive
The new technology enables owners, contractors, and designers to calculate a project's carbon footprint, reports Construction Dive. Currently in pilot testing, the tool "has helped participating projects to achieve embodied carbon reductions of up to 30% with little to no cost impact. View full entry
The Roosevelt neighborhood has the makings of a huge transit-oriented development success story. A building boom is underway, protected bike lanes have recently gone in, and the station site will be home to an affordable housing complex right around the time trains begin operating.
Northgate Link, along with an underground station in Roosevelt, will open in 2021, and the neighborhood–like others along the line–are already transforming
— The Urbanist
The Urbanist takes a look at three neighborhoods in Seattle that have seen a rush in transit-oriented development as a new light rail line heads toward its 2021 completion. View full entry
Yes, messy sidewalks are hard. But so are shops and restaurants with steps at their entrances. So are blocks that lack curb cuts or have ones that are poorly designed. So are broken elevators. So is the fact that in L.A., if you’re a disabled person (which is what Radcliff calls himself rather than a person with a disability), you generally have to spend more on rent, because the properties covered by rent stabilization are older ones less likely to be accessible. — The Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times takes a look at how a pervasive lack of universal design across Los Angeles makes daily life nearly impossible for disabled people. View full entry
The BIG day has arrived for the Danish firm's long-awaited, waste-to-energy ski slope Amager Bakke, which was inaugurated and fully opened to the public today. At 41,000m2, the year-round ski plant — also dubbed “CopenHill” — was the winning proposal of a 2011 competition that was... View full entry
A new tower designed by Zaha Hadid Architects containing the world’s tallest atrium is nearly complete. The so-called Leeza SOHO tower straddles a new subway line in Beijing and was designed for developer SOHO China. The subway line running below the site bisects building, creating the... View full entry
Google's Architect-In-Residence and Head of R+D for the Built Environment, Michelle Kaufmann, will help lead the first ever 2019 fellowship cohort. After releasing an open call for fellowship applications earlier this year, four fellows have been chosen to help spearhead Google's newest... View full entry