Australia’s first office tower with a “solar skin” is expected to be built next year in a landmark moment for the construction industry and decarbonisation efforts. The eight-storey building at 550-558 Spencer Street in West Melbourne will cost $40m and has been designed by the architecture firm Kennon on behalf of Dr Bella Freeman. — The Guardian
The first-of-its-kind structure for Australia will be covered by 1,182 solar panels with the equivalent thickness of a conventional glass façade. The cladding is called Skala, developed by German solar energy technology company Avancis. The system utilizes a thin-film PV module that sits atop a... View full entry
New York City-based architecture firm Martin Hopp has completed the renovation of a 720-square-foot basement in Manhattan into a flexible and hyper-functional living and working space. Located in a 1930s building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, the garden-level apartment was in need... View full entry
London-based architecture studio Bureau de Change and Lulu Harrison, a postgraduate student in Central Saint Martins' Material Futures program, have collaborated to create a series of cladding tiles made from glass using mussel shells. Their work explores alternatives to the processed and... View full entry
The graphic design industry has lost an icon as multiple outlets are reporting the death of Pentagram co-founder Colin Forbes last week at his home in Westfield, North Carolina. Forbes was seen as a monumental figure who pioneered various typographical concepts and was pivotal in the... View full entry
A new multi-use complex made nearly entirely of wood has been introduced to Barcelona’s Trinitat Vella district. Called the Center for Community Life, the new public building will form part of a community facility hub for the districts of San Andreu and Nou Barris set to be built in the... View full entry
Brooklyn-based architectural design practice SITU and the Design Trust for Public Space have announced the launch of Turnout NYC, a community-oriented initiative that aims to transform underutilized spaces into vibrant and accessible venues for arts and culture, while highlighting underrepresented... View full entry
This post is brought to you by YACademy Pandemic, economic crisis, migration, and climate change: every area - from the periphery of our metropolis to the most remote tropical village - can now be defined as an “emergency context”. The United Nations - already before the pandemic cycle... View full entry
A new Silicon Valley startup is taking the charge put forth by the recent expansion of ADUs and other non-traditional forms of accommodation in the uphill battle to provide affordable housing to the millions of Californians struggling to find a way forward. Business Insider recently took a closeup... View full entry
The apartment signs of L.A. announce location through flair, decadence, strangeness, absurdity, signification. When you see an otherwise unremarkable name affixed to a building in your neighborhood, you know — probably to the exact number of paces or miles, if you counted — how much further your intended destination is. That’s the thing about L.A. apartment signs — they point you toward where you need to be: home. — The Los Angeles Times
The LA Times has a really cool new series I am personally obsessed with wherein the “architecture of everyday life” is explored in and around the city. In this iteration, the Times’ style editor Ian Blair waxed poetic about LA’s midcentury typographical elements, best embodied on the... View full entry
Google has announced the opening of its new Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, with the neighboring Charleston East project in its final phase of construction. Together, they form the latest additions to Google's headquarters. Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of Google The web giant... View full entry
It’s like installing a two-story-high picket fence around Stonehenge — San Diego Reader
A dispute over an addition to the Salk Institute in La Jolla has ended. Last week, the Planning Commission denied an appeal claiming the proposed design ruins the historic integrity of the East Torrey Pines building. The proposed project, located at 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, increases the... View full entry
This post is brought to you by YACademy Architects have always been asked to breathe new life into ancient architectures inherited from the past or into historical – often monumental – artifacts that no longer respond to the customs and needs of contemporary society. Nevertheless, the ancient... 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. Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Working Spaces. Tip: use the handy FOLLOW... View full entry
NYC-based architecture and design studio Marc Thorpe Design has launched a design & build agency in New York’s West Catskills dedicated to the development of affordable solar-powered homes. Called Edifice Upstate, the agency was formed in collaboration with local builders... View full entry
Niall Patrick Walsh explains how multiple fatal fires earlier this year (in the Bronx and Philadelphia) are but the latest examples in an ongoing national failure "to adhere to existing regulations and unsatisfactory explanations from city officials responsible for enforcing" standards and safety... View full entry
