Development is in the works for another park-adjacent parcel near the Metro’s Gold Line station in Chinatown. An LLC submitted plans on Thursday to the city to build 243 live/work units on a property on North Main and Sotello streets, a block away from Los Angeles State Historic Park. — Curbed LA
According to Curbed, the site is currently in use as a produce distribution center. View full entry
The London fire brigade’s readiness for the Grenfell Tower fire was “gravely inadequate” and fewer people would have died if it had been better prepared, a long-awaited public inquiry report into the disaster that killed 72 people has concluded ... [despite] “compelling evidence that the external walls of the building failed to comply with requirements” of building regulations governing fire safety. — The Guardian
The Fire Brigades Union published a damning report in September that accuses former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's deregulation — followed, and reportedly amplified, by Tony Blair — of having gutted building and fire safety regulations. At the same time, firefighters are blamed for... View full entry
From Atlantis in The Spy Who Loved Me to Nathan Bateman's ultra-modern abode in Ex Machina, big-screen villains tend to live in architectural splendor. The villain’s lair, as popularized in many of our favorite movies, is much more than where the megalomaniac goes to get some rest. Instead, the homes of the villains are places where evil is plotted and where, often, the hero is tested... — Tra Publishing
By Miami-based architect Chad Oppenheim and editor Andrea Gollin, the new publication explores the architectural designs from fifteen films through architectural illustrations and renderings, photographs, essays, film analyses, and interviews. Some of the films featured include Dr... View full entry
Going to the park and playing in the playground is a memorable childhood past time. However, with the increase of risk-averse design, have these beloved spaces for children to frolic, climb, and fall become too dull for children? Oliver Wainwright of the Guardian addresses an... View full entry
Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals, the hotel and spa in Switzerland, was designed intentionally devoid of clocks so that visitor's sense of time would be suspended and immeasurable. Completed in 1996, there is a legend about a mountain in the village of Vals that is said to have a mountain that... View full entry
The Rocco Design Architects-designed tower, which will hold the Wesleyan House Methodist International Church, sits on a teardrop-shaped site in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. With 800 square meters of plot and 11,000 square meters of program, the task proved challenging for the design team. The resulting... View full entry
According to a recent article from The Boston Globe, due to city's "hot" real estate market, which has "prompted a number of developers to tear down and build up," the Governor's office now wants to get in on the action. On Wednesday, the Baker administration unveiled plans to redevelop the... View full entry
Criticism: Everyone in architecture experiences it regularly. The importance of this consistent facet of the profession provides ongoing possibilities for discourse and improvement. However, like other areas where criticism plays a necessary part of establishing a significant impression or... View full entry
Heritage campaigners have welcomed the government’s plans to increase the number of listed buildings across the UK...Under the new scheme, which has been allocated £700,000, people will be encouraged to nominate buildings in their area and a heritage champion will be appointed to encourage councils’ local listings. — Architects' Journal
"These activists will form a task force, which the government describes as a modern version of the ‘Monuments Men’ who recovered countless artworks from the Nazis during the Second World War," Architects' Journal (AJ) reports. According to AJ, the plan is for the "heritage... View full entry
What would a picture of architecture, devoid of people, automobiles, animals, and all of the other urban seasonings we experience each day look like? 'Edge of the West Village' 'Hudson on My Mind' In his exhibition New York Unseen, on view at ClampArt through mid-November, the... View full entry
The visually ascending nature of stairs often creates two initial reactions, amazement or hesitation. In a recent piece by the Washington Post writer Maura Judkis unpacks the "stairs to nowhere" design concept. Initially coined by architect Morris Lapidus after his signature staircase for the... View full entry
The Minister's Treehouse — reportedly the largest treehouse in the world — has burned to the ground after a raging fire. The Tennessee landmark went up in flames late Tuesday night, and officials were unable to save it.
Cumberland County Fire Rescue said the entire building turned to ash in less than 15 minutes, CBS affiliate WVLT-TV confirmed. Locals watched as the fire erupted around 10:30 p.m. local time. The house collapsed just as emergency services arrived.
— CBS News
Built by Tennessee minister Horace Burgess, in response to a vision he had, the construction of the treehouse began in 1993. The structure was supported by an 80-foot-tall oak tree and quickly became a popular tourist attraction. In 2012 the location was closed due to fire safety concerns, a worry... View full entry
Reopening after a 14-month makeover, the renovated store is a multi-storey expo fitted with the work of [...] artists, which – unlike those collections, and art you'd find in a concept store – is intended to be viewed, rather than purchased. — Elle
Photo: Stephane Muratet, courtesy Louis Vuitton Elle's Sara McAlpine on the rise of 'The Spectacle Store' among luxury retailers and how Louis Vuitton's newly reopened London flagship fits right in. "The face of retail changes so fast," Peter Marino, whose New York-based firm was in charge of the... View full entry
The Chrysler Museum of Art on the University of Virginia campus will put on an exhibit entitled "Thomas Jefferson, Architect: Palladian Models, Democratic Principles, and the Conflict of Ideals." It looks at the Jefferson's influences and ideas around architecture, including displays of... View full entry
"A former Nazi bunker in Hamburg, built by forced laborers to shelter tens of thousands of Germans during Allied air raids in World War II, will soon house hotel guests," reports The New York Times (NYT). Fit with a five-story terraced roof garden, the hotel will house 136 rooms, and is due to... View full entry