Facades using the product, called Solar Squared, will be able to generate electricity while allowing greater amounts of daylight. The blocks also provide improved thermal insulation, developers say.
Solar Squared’s design consists of an array of optical elements that focus sunlight on small-sized solar cells. These are incorporated within the glass bricks during manufacture and they collect diffuse components of sunlight, making it useful for capturing solar energy in urban areas.
— Global Construction Review
Academics from the Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Science department of England's University of Exter have developed a solar power technology that fits into glass bricks. Its modular design is scalable, allowing for flexible structural integration. We now have the capability to build... View full entry
EB-5 filings show that Ritz-Carlton New York has plans to build the “Ritz-Carlton New York (Madison Park)” at Broadway and East 28th Street. Building permits filed in January 2016 call for a 40-floor, 580-foot tall tower designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, which will contain 164 units, several eating/drinking establishments, a club lounge on the 29th floor and a rooftop bar on the 32nd. — 6sqft
Viñoly's leafy design will join "hotel row" where one can already find the Ace, Nomad, and Flatiron hotels. A Virgin Hotel expected to open in 2019. View full entry
The Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge sits across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. Named after the prominent American abolitionist, the bridge was built in 1950 and today, makes crossing the river possible for 77,000 daily commuters. Over the decades, the bridge has deteriorated faster... View full entry
"The effort to turn Fresh Kills Landfill into a verdant and vibrant destination for wildlife and outdoor recreation received a huge boost on Monday as the city awarded a $22.9 million contract for the construction of the first major section of Freshkills Park." — 6sqft
Lomma Construction Corp. will lead works on the first 21 acres of the North Park. The area will be kept largely natural with simple additions including a seven-acre seed farm, an observation tower for birdwatching, a picnic lawn, composting restrooms, a waterfront overlook deck, a bicycle repair... View full entry
In its scale, this faintly quaint, eloquently designed contraption aspires to conjure up the spirit of those 19th-century exemplars of elegant engineering like the Brooklyn Bridge or the Eiffel Tower: industrial-era monuments of structural form, both necessary and sufficient, ingenious but not space age, encapsulating the aspirations of a city. — NY Times
While the Shed, an art and performance space designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Rockwell Group will be in construction for at least another year, the structure is already capable of conducting its five minute moving act along the High Line. Weighing in at 8 million... View full entry
The panic was kicked off by photos posted to social media tagging traffic news organization JS100. The posts said the under-construction building across from Mahatun Plaza near BTS Phloen Chit looked in danger of collapse.
Concerned citizens gathered Tuesday at the construction site on Phloen Chit Road where the building’s angled appearance sparked concern about its structural integrity to hear district officials and site management say it was part of the design.
— Khaoso English
“The building isn’t crooked or leaning over, it’s part of the architectural design,” Morakot Sanitthangkul, Pathum Wan district director, said.”Let me confirm for everyone again, for the fourth time: It’s part of the 3D design.” The 32-floor hotel was designed by Tandem Architects... View full entry
Abellanas’ secret cabin replicates the childhood experience of hiding under a table or in a closet – ‘The feeling kept hidden while still being able to hear and see what happens around us,’ he says. ‘Observing passing cars and trains with no one seeing me gives me great sense of peace.’ — The Spaces
Fernando Abellanas, a self-taught designer from Valencia has created a pop-up studio into the underside of a traffic bridge. Its metal base is moved from one side of the bridge to the other by a hand crank along rails, where a shelf, chair, and desk have been bolted to the bridge’s concrete... View full entry
Marble~ish was developed as part of the research from the 2016/17 Harry der Boghosian Fellowship at Syracuse School of Architecture. Conducted by Maya Alam in collaboration with her students “~ISH: Stages Before the Real” is an installation exploring questions concerning the in-between: site... View full entry
The historic Japanese city of Kumamoto, famous for its picturesque 15th century castle, experienced a damaging earthquake in 2016, leading to the demolition of several of its historic buildings. The World Monument Fund has pledged to help restore the remaining older buildings (although it should... View full entry
If you draw by hand and want that authentic, angular all-caps architectural lettered look for the text on your drawings, this straightforward video breaks down how to create all 26 letters of the alphabet. Get ready to learn about "dynamic angles" and suggested connections: 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 wing of an airplane is a mechanized form. But it’s also a shape, like the wing of a bird, that we understand from the living world. Last spring, eight students from the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design — part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at... View full entry
Hudson Yards has been making headlines in recent months...But immediately to the northwest, another tower that’s been in the making for an equally long period of time may have just received a boost to become the tallest of them all. A new rendering of the Moinian Group’s 3 Hudson Boulevard has surfaced, showing both an updated design for the building itself, as well as the addition of a 300-foot spire, that would make the supertall the tallest in the neighborhood. — New York Yimby
Despite years of vigorous effort in the Hudson Yards, the Related Companies may not have the tallest skyscraper of them all, thanks to FXFOWLE's proposed spire-tastic tower on 3 Hudson Boulevard. Nothing's final as of yet, but as YIMBY notes, "Back in 2012, YIMBY heard speculation that the tower... View full entry
Brooks + Scarpa designed the Gateway Sculpture to welcome visitors to Pembroke Pines' new City Center in Florida. Painted in a bright, hard-to-miss yellow, the sculpture provides “way-finding and anchor[s] a sense of arrival.” The steel sculpture rises as tree columns that lead to perforated... View full entry
Stately, elegant, reflective: these adjectives have largely described the work of British architect David Chipperfield, whose structures tend to invite contemplation and pause before hot take Instagramming. His selection as the architect of the West Bund Art Museum in the new cultural center... View full entry