In a recent article on the future of airports, The New York Times noted that the average age of an airport terminal is more than 40 years old, meaning many are becoming ill-equipped to deal with modern air travel trends. Unsurprisingly, our editorial has recently featured several aviation... View full entry
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
ZGF Architects has unveiled details of its Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which has just broken ground in Los Angeles. The 200,000-square-foot facility will house 150 exhibits across three multi-level galleries and will serve as the permanent home of Space Shuttle Endeavour, one of three... View full entry
Mysterious mounds in the southwest corner of the Amazon Basin were once the site of ancient urban settlements, scientists have discovered. Using a remote-sensing technology to map the terrain from the air, they found that, starting about 1,500 years ago, ancient Amazonians built and lived in densely populated centres, featuring 22-metre-tall earthen pyramids, that were encircled by kilometres of elevated roadways. — nature
According to archaeologists, this is the first clear evidence that urban societies existed in this part of the Amazon Basin, a region that was long believed to have only been wilderness before the arrival of Europeans. Researchers had previously thought that all Amazonians lived in small, nomadic... View full entry
Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic 87-year-old Fallingwater historic site is getting a very necessary modern upgrade according to a press release issued last month by Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the organization responsible for its stewardship. In order to supplement sustainability goals tied to... View full entry
Working remotely has become commonplace for many firms as they navigate the ongoing effects of the pandemic. With projects continuing to move forward, offices and studios have adopted safer work practices to keep their teams connected and motivated. The continued evolution and iteration of... View full entry
Last week, we reported on Barcelona’s mission to build a digital twin of the entire city on a supercomputer housed in a 19th century chapel. Speaking to Politco about the potential for the data-driven replica to aid Barcelona's urban development, the city’s Deputy Mayor noted: "We are in an... View full entry
Located at Seventh Avenue and 49th Street, the removal of the payphone kiosk marks the end of an era. It was the last of its kind in operation in New York, following a sweep of the city’s 8,178 active public payphones starting in 2015. Replacing the former payphone sites have been LinkNYC kiosks... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Oneistox As was once the case with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) technology, so is now the case with Building Information Modelling (BIM) — a paradigm shift is underway. The AEC industry worldwide is witnessing a markable shift in the way projects are handled and... View full entry
Designer Colin Cantwell, who was responsible for the design of the Death Star and several iconic ships in the Star Wars saga, has passed away at the age of 90. The news was confirmed by the designer’s partner, Sierra Dall, and reported first by the Hollywood Reporter. Born in San Francisco in... View full entry
Barcelona has become the latest city to begin construction on a digital twin of itself. Currently in a test phase, the data-driven replica of the city is expected to be operational by 2027, at which point it will be used as an urban planning tool to shape the city’s future development. The... View full entry
Wildfires are becoming an increasing threat to American homeowners with the acceleration of climate change, and now a new tool from the nonprofit First Street Foundation will allow them to access probability-based data about the potential risk their property may face over the next 30 years. ... View full entry
Earlier this week, we covered comments by columnist Kunle Barker in the UK’s Architects’ Journal, who warned against the trend of offsetting emissions to achieve a “zero carbon” built environment. “Offsetting is not sustainable,” Barker wrote. “In fact, it's not even close to being... 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
The MIT Media Lab has shared insights into their pioneering project to build habitats in outer space. Named TESSERAE, the project seeks to create a highly-engineered tile which can be used as a building block for self-assembling, adaptive, reconfigurable structures. Artist's render of TESSERAE... View full entry