Called the NikeLab Chicago Re-Creation Center, the space feels like being inside a giant Nike shoebox designed by Abloh himself. It features the self-aware, over-indexed print labeling that Abloh is known for. The Re-Creation Center sign itself has “for promotional use only” printed on top. The rest of the space’s irony is more subtle, or arguably nonexistent. — Fast Company
Virgil Abloh is a name that's grown synonymous with what is trending in design and fashion. A connoisseur of creating new things from the simplest of concepts, Abloh's collaboration with Nike has emphasized his influence not only in design but in design culture. Having worked with some of the... View full entry
The Taliban captured the 12th-century Minaret of Jam and killed 18 Afghan security personnel tasked with protecting the World Heritage Site. Pro-government forces have yet to re-secure the area. The current condition of the brick structure and the surrounding communities, who were both threatened by torrential flooding just last week, is still unknown. — The Antiquities Coalition
Nearly two decades after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan began, significant works of Islamic heritage continue to fall under threat in the country. Just last week, for example, the 12-Century era Minaret of Jam, the world's second tallest Islamic tower, appears to have been captured by... View full entry
[Helen Liu] Fong’s specialty was Googie architecture, what Wong calls futuristic “Jetson kind of aesthetic” coffee shops and motels that would sweep the highways of America in the middle of the last century. Some of Fong’s most famous projects include the Holiday Bowl on Crenshaw Boulevard, the first Norms Restaurant, Johnie’s Coffee Shop, and the still kicking Pann’s Restaurant at 6710 La Tijera Boulevard. — Curbed LA
A whimsical subcategory of mid-century design, known as 'Googie' architecture, was as integral to the Southern California architecture scene as any modernist homes designed by Schindler, Neutra or the Eameses. This is because Googie architecture was the design of choice for coffee shops, delis... View full entry
The Louvre in Paris turned away thousands of tourists waiting in line to enter the museum yesterday after security staff staged a walkout. The employees are on strike to protest the museum’s handling of its exploding attendance, which exceeded 10 million people last year. This growth has resulted in “unprecedented deterioration in visiting conditions, and obviously working conditions,” according to the guards’ union. — Artnet
The beloved Louvre in Paris is one of the most visited museums in the world. With its iconic pyramid expansion designed by the late I.M. Pei it has become a must-see site. Just last year, the museum attracted 10.2 million visitors, a record-breaking attendance in the museum's history. Other... View full entry
The Supreme Court on Tuesday let stand a lower court’s ruling that said transgender students in an eastern Pennsylvania school district can use locker rooms and restrooms that match their gender identity. — Daily Beast
The United States Supreme Court declined to review a previous decision from the Third Circuit Court in Doe v. Boyertown School District that had upheld the school district's policy of allowing transgender students to use their bathroom of choice. View of a gender-neutral bathroom at the Federal... View full entry
The clunky, amoebalike building cannot seem to decide between the digitally derived expressionism of such architects as Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid, and Zumthor’s own brand of minimalist modernism. We’re left with a museum that benefits nobody and satisfies none of the needs of the art in its collection, nor of the public that will view it. And yet in April, it was approved... — New Republic
With the recent approval of LACMA's redesign back in April, Peter Zumthor's design for Los Angeles' iconic art museum has received an alarming reaction from the public, specifically those in the architecture community. In Archinect's most recent coverage of the museum, many of our readers shared... View full entry
The Design Nexus seeks to honor the work of African American designers from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds together on a single platform to showcase their craft and the places they work. — Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design has launched the African American Design Nexus (AADN), a new virtual collection that highlights African American architects and designers from various generations, practices, and backgrounds. National Museum of African American History in... View full entry
Marshall Brown, an Associate Professor at the Princeton University School of Architecture, has been producing a provocative series of post-war architecture collages since 2013. 14-9-2 2013-2014, Collages from magazine pages, glue, on archival paper, 17 x 14 vertical 14 x 17 horizontalThey often... View full entry
Significant expansions to Disneyland, the fabled theme park in Anaheim, California, are not taken lightly among its designers and imagineers. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the newest 'land' at the park, has been hotly anticipated since it was first announced over five years ago. The 14-acre addition... View full entry
The housing crisis in large cities, especially in Los Angeles, has been an ongoing issue. Currently, Los Angeles County is home to the second largest population of settled homelessness in the U.S. Local government and organizations aim to create solutions in order to combat the issue with a little... View full entry
Shangai-based architecture firm X+Living has just completed their most recent - and possibly most beguiling - bookstore in the city of Chongqing, China. Zhongshuge, a Chinese bookstore chain known for its bold interior design, commissioned X+Living to develop their newest shop with mesmerizing... View full entry
The specter of unwanted change has loomed over a quiet corner of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District for nearly the past four years. [...] Displacement is a genuine concern in Network cities, which, in addition to Seattle, include Boston, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Toronto. — Crosscut
Several city staples like Chinatowns are facing the effects of gentrification and urban displacement. "White populations in Chinatowns grew faster, for example, than the overall white populations in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, according to a study by the Asian American Legal Defense and... View full entry
Genesis, this is not. This is the fate of the multimillion-dollar Noah’s Ark replica and theme park in Northern Kentucky, Ark Encounter, which is suing insurance carriers over coverage for rain-related damages to the property. The company is seeking to recoup what it says were $1 million worth of repairs, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs, and an unspecified amount of punitive damages. — The Washington Post
Lawyers of the Ark Encounter — the buzzy Noah's Ark theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky that opened in 2016 — filed a lawsuit last Wednesday against the park's insurance company for breaching their coverage policy obligations, after heavy rains in 2017 and 2018 caused a landslide on the... View full entry
Blending social impact practices, architecture, and economic development initiatives the non-profit organization rise International aims to build and create Lesotho's first Architecture and Design library. From now until August 1st the African Library Project will be collecting books for rise... View full entry
The Urban Food Forest would include edible trees, shrubs, vines, walking trails, community garden beds and a number of other features that would be open to the public for free. — The Hill
The Conservation Fund is working in southeast Atlanta to help create a new 7.1 acre Community Urban Food Forest, the largest in the country. The effort aims to convert an existing agricultural property into a new model for urban park and forestry initiatives by growing a variety of fresh foods... View full entry
