Thankfully, workers will no longer have to wade through crowds of wayward tourists every day. A new entrance officially opened [Aug. 22] for the famous Midtown supertall, designed to accommodate the large number of visitors and create a more engaging experience. [...] The crown jewel for the new lobby is certainly the introduction of a two-story tall model of the Empire State Building in front of an illuminating blue seamless background. — New York Yimby
Greenland Wuhan Center, designed to surpass the Shanghai Tower and become China’s tallest building, will be falling short of its planned 636 metres (2086 feet) height, after the local government prescribed a 21 percent reduction in height for the central China supertall, according to an account in local media outlet the Paper. — mingtiandi.com
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture won the competition back in 2010 to design China's tallest, and the world's 4th tallest, building. The supertall was originally designed to reach 126 floors, however construction halted in August last year stopping at the 96th floor. The height reduction... View full entry
The organizers of the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Japan want to ensure that visitors from around the world feel welcomed in their capital [...] Japanese event company, Yasu Project, developed a mobile mosque that will travel throughout the multiple Olympic stadiums. The mosque on wheels is located inside a 25-ton truck, with enough room to fit up to 50 people. It is also equipped with an outdoor rinse station, so that users can participate in a pre-worship cleanse. — popupcity.net
In an effort to extend hospitality and cultural inclusion during the 2020 Olympics, Japanese event company Yasu Project has created mobile religious spaces for Muslim attendees. These pop up mosques attempt to solve the issue of limited public and religious infrastructure and the desire for... View full entry
Irma instilled new urgency to address the islands’ housing problem. “What was an emergency prior to the storm is now a crisis—an utter and complete crisis with regards to the housing for average worker here in Monroe County,” said Mike Laurent, executive director of the Florida Keys Community Land Trust. — citylab.com
The Florida Keys Community Land Trust was developed after Hurricane Irma hit last year to help built new affordable housing, which suffered the most damage on the islands. So far the trust has four new affordable cottages under construction with plans of building 20 more. The new homes have been... View full entry
Earlier this week, the Oregon Building Codes Division announced a statement of alternate method (SAM) that makes Oregon the first state to allow for construction of wooden high-rises without special consideration. Previously, Portland, Ore., was the first American city to issue a permit for an all-wood high-rise, Project’s 12-story-tall Framework. — engineering.com
The statement of alternate method (SAM) was developed over two years by a committee created from the International Code Council’s Board of Directors. The committee proposed 14 suggestions concerning cross-laminated timber standards and best-practices, which were all accepted by the Oregon... View full entry
Morphosis recently announced the opening of a new flagship research and design facility for The Kolon Group, a leading manufacturing company based in South Korea. The 820,000-square-foot facility is located in Magok, an emerging tech hub in Seoul. Kolon Group facility by Morphosis, located... View full entry
Creating a fantasy world involves more than just magic and mysticism; it requires the creation of a built environment to host these stories, folktales, legends, and fables. While CGI and special effects help to make this look as realistic as the newest technology allows, the architectural... View full entry
Initially announced last fall, Gehry Partners' design for Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) has now been revealed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The new structure will be the first permanent facility for YOLA located in the Los Angeles neighborhood Inglewood. Exterior model view of the... View full entry
Niemeyer originally designed the property for his wife’s sister, Carmen Baldo. Seven years ago, Baldo’s children sold it to the artist Adriana Varejão and her partner, the film producer Pedro Buarque. — The New York Times
The New York Times shows off a newly renovated home in Brazil designed by Oscar Niemeyer, one of the country's greatest architects. The five year long upgrade was carried out by Brazilian artist Adriana Varejão and her partner, the film producer Pedro Buarque, who dramatically transformed the... View full entry
Duangrit Bunnag, the renowned local architect who won the bid to design Suvarnabhumi airport's second terminal, has denied plagiarising the work of a Japanese architect.
"I didn't copy anyone else's work. Those who follow my work will know that I created a similar image in my previous designs, such as for a hotel in Sri Lanka," Mr Duangrit told The Standard, a local online news portal.
— bangkokpost.com
Duangrit Bunnag's firm DBALP Consortium, along with Nikken Sekkei, EMS Consultants, MHPM, MSE and ARJ Consortium, were recently announced as winners of the Suvarnabhumi Airport Terminal 2 Project design contest. Focused on expanding the Thailand airport, the competition design sparked online... View full entry
Architects are overwhelmingly male and pale, young and privileged, and there are legitimate concerns about them designing our cities in their image. Fewer than one in every 10 architects is black, Asian or minority-ethnic, and less than a third of UK qualified architects are women. And the numbers are not improving. — The Guardian
Christine Murray tackles one of architecture' ever-pressing questions—can a field lacking in diversity truly design for everyone? In her essay for the Guardian, Murray considers what the world might look like if the politicians, planners, developers and architects actualizing our cities were... View full entry
Now, Dubai has taken a step further along the road to making such dreams a reality by announcing that 25% of the city-state’s new buildings will be made using 3D printers by 2025.
The move is part of an ambitious 3D-printing strategy announced in 2016 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai.
— weforum.org
According to the Dubai Future Foundation the city aims to reduce labor by 70% and cut overall costs by 90% with their 3D-printed construction plan. The strategy not only aims at addressing the UN's projected density for urban areas in the future, but also holds potential to solve Dubai's severe... View full entry
If you live or work in a city, then you probably see the impact of growing urbanization every day—gridlock traffic, construction cranes peppering the skyline, soaring housing costs. Sure, these are major challenges and annoyances for city dwellers, but they also represent a huge opportunity for the global architecture, engineering, and construction industry: one that requires building the future for a 10-billion-person planet. — autodesk.com
According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 68% of the world population are projected to live in urban areas by 2050. Autodesk explores the implications for architectural growth in this timeframe with market research firm Statista. Take a look at the projected... View full entry
CG Architect has announced their winners for their yearly visualization awards. The CGarchitect 3Dawards have 4 separate categories: Image, Film/Animation, Interactive and Student. Within the Film/Animation and Image categories there are also two sub-categories for Commissioned and... View full entry
Studio Gang reveals a new, 400-foot tall residential tower called "MIRA" for San Francisco's Transbay neighborhood. The building features classic bay windows staggered in a twisting design around the structure. "MIRA" high rise rendering by Studio Gang, located in San Francisco. Image: Studio... View full entry
