Building Information Modeling (BIM) continues to be a growing tool among architecture firms. Previously reported on Archinect in October 2021, a new study concluded the many benefits of BIM use on project completion and client satisfaction. "According to the report, these benefits include improved... View full entry
In a 2019 edition of our Studio Snapshot series, we spoke to BairBalliet founders Kelly Bair and Kristy Bailliet on the subject of computational design. “Our role as contemporary architects is to challenge the conventions of how software is used,” the architects told us. Throughout... View full entry
AI SpaceFactory and the NASA Kennedy Space Center have unveiled the design of LINA, a 3D printed structure intended to become a lunar outpost. Designed to be constructed by autonomous robots on the Moon's south pole, the scheme is defined by Romanesque arches that can withstand high compressive... View full entry
Smart city technology should do things like shorten commute times, speed the construction of affordable housing, improve the efficiency of public transit, and reduce carbon emissions by making building technology more efficient and providing less polluting transportation alternatives to the car. But often its proponents focus on what it can do rather than what it should. If Sidewalk’s Quayside failure taught us anything, it’s that these technologies need to respond better to human needs. — MIT Technology Review
The MIT Technology Review took a dive into the abandoned pre-pandemic conversion of Toronto’s 12-acre Quayside waterfront plot into an elaborate “Smart City” development by the hands of Sidewalk Labs. The revitalization was recently repackaged as a mixed-use green corridor concept to be... View full entry
Earlier this week, we reported on Nexii Building Solutions, a Canadian startup which The New York Times described as a “rising star” in prefabricated modular construction. The company’s $1 billion valuation, combined with the $155 million it has raised through funding rounds, demonstrates... View full entry
One year after the failure of the ambitious construction startup Katerra, another construction technology company is seeking to pick up the mantle as a leader in sustainable, modular, prefabricated construction. Based in Vancouver, Nexii Building Solutions has been described by The New York... View full entry
Like many highway projects around the world, it has been engineered to span great distances and stand strong—feats that have become so normal they’re expected as the status quo. But unlike most large-scale building projects, this bridge has been designed and constructed without any drawings. — Fast Company
Called the Randselva Bridge, the structure stretches 2,080 feet and stands 180 feet above ground at its highest point. It’s located near the city of Hønefoss, about 31 miles northwest of Oslo. When it opens to traffic next month, it will be the longest bridge ever constructed without 2D... View full entry
Assassin’s Creed Unity is a 2014 video game set in Paris in 1789 that includes a surprisingly detailed digital model of the cathedral [...] The video game version of the cathedral wasn’t detailed enough for that kind of forensic research, but the makers of the game did find a way to put their version of Notre-Dame back to work. Today, Ubisoft is releasing Save Notre-Dame on Fire, a virtual reality game set inside the cathedral on the day of the fire. — Fast Company
"We’re using real elements from the architecture to create something that’s interesting for the player. We have all the immensity of the real Notre-Dame," shares Ubisoft's SVP Deborah Papiernik with Fast Company. The game was released in unison with a new movie directed by Enemy at... View full entry
Factory-produced homes can produce up to 45% less carbon than traditional methods of residential construction, according to new research by academics from the University of Cambridge and Edinburgh Napier University. A study found that two modular housing schemes designed by HTA Design, consisting of a total of nearly 900 homes, saved a combined 28,000 tonnes of carbon. — Building
The two schemes studied were the 44 and 38-story Ten Degrees towers in London’s Croydon borough, the world’s tallest completed modular building, and The Valentine, a 10-story student housing project in London’s Redbridge. Both were completed in 2020. The report found that... View full entry
In late 2021, we covered a study by researchers at the University of Plymouth in the UK, which found that living wall systems can reduce heat lost from existing buildings by 31%. The Plymouth study was symptomatic of a larger curiosity within architecture on the impact of integrating nature and... View full entry
The work of Concordia University Centre for Sensory Studies director David Howes and other researchers working in the growing field of sensory urbanism was recently highlighted by Jennifer Hattam of MIT Technology Review. A wide range of methods ranging from the high-tech and... View full entry
The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has announced Design Academy Eindhoven program head Marina Otero as the winner of this year’s $100,000 Wheelwright Prize in support of her research proposal titled ‘Future Storage: Architectures to Host the Metaverse.’ Through the grant, Otero will... View full entry
As reported by Electrek in May 2022, Tesla has moved its previously-announced plans for a supercharging station featuring a diner and drive-in movie theater from a vacant lot in the city of Santa Monica to the current location of a Shakey's Pizza franchise on 7001 Santa Monica Boulevard... View full entry
Prometheus Materials, a Colorado-based developer of zero-carbon building materials, has announced the securing of $8 million in funding from investors including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, The Autodesk Foundation, and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund. The funds form part of an effort by... View full entry
Cityzenith, a Chicago-based digital twin platform, announced last week that it is partnering with the Los Angeles branch of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge to help construct a digital twin, or virtual replica, of a section of the city to help make its buildings more sustainable and reduce carbon emissions. — Construction Dive
The project will initially center on the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood of Bunker Hill. Cityzenith’s SmartWorld digital twin product will be implemented to enable building owners to simulate their financial paths to net-zero emissions. This is part of Cityzenith’s "Clean Cities &mdash... View full entry
