As investigations into the ways in which the coronavirus spreads continue, new research suggests once again that bathrooms, and particularly toilets, represent a potential vector for infection. Recently published research in the academic journal Physics of Fluids finds that toilet... View full entry
After a five-week lockdown, several conservation projects have begun in earnest in Mosul as part of a Unesco programme aimed at restoring the rich heritage of the war-ravaged Iraqi city’s old quarter. Restoration work funded by Germany has begun on the Al-Aghawat mosque, houses are being refurbished with the aid of the European Union, and the rehabilitation of the Dominican Al-Saa’a church is under way with funding from the United Arab Emirates. — The Art Newspaper
Rebuilding efforts are underway in Mosul, Iraq as part of UNESCO's Revive the Spirit of Mosul initiative launched in February 2018. The program aims to reconstruct not only the heavily war-damaged Old City but also foster social reconciliation and trust in the local population after years under... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Material Bank Material Bank is the world’s largest material marketplace, providing the fastest and most sustainable way to search and sample materials. It simplifies the complex process of material search and sampling by enabling architecture and design... View full entry
This week's featured virtual event happenings, from Archinect's Virtual Event Guide, address collaboration, manifestos, architectural media, Adolf Loos, games, female architects of color, public space post-pandemic, bamboo architecture, Syria, and more... Are you hosting a virtual lecture?... View full entry
Following advocacy efforts from the African American Student Union (AASU) and AfricaGSD at Harvard University, Harvard GSD Dean Sarah Whiting has unveiled a list of steps the school will take as it works to address institutional failures on issues of anti-racism and racial equality. In the... View full entry
With the reopening of Danish Architecture Center last week, Copenhagen welcomed a new art attraction: a 40-meter/130-foot-long tube slide spiraling down four stories inside DAC's boxy, OMA-designed BLOX home. Photo: Kontraframe Envisioned by German-Belgian artist Carsten Höller, famous for... View full entry
But death chambers and many solitary confinement cells — they’re officially called segregation units, not incidentally — are extreme cases. Architects should not contribute their expertise to the most egregious aspects of a system that commits exceptional violence against African-Americans and other minorities.
The least the American Institute of Architects can do now is agree.
— The New York Times
The New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman has penned a column highlighting the moral implications of having architects design solitary confinement and execution facilities. In the article, Kimmelman explores the American Institute of Architect's reluctance to take a positive stand... View full entry
Denmark has opened its new exploratorium and "nature arena" called NATURKRAFT (translated Nature Power) where visitors will experience different aspects of nature and how its physical and aesthetic characteristics will shape the sustainable cities and communities of the future. Designed by... View full entry
After a delayed opening originally scheduled for March 27th, the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (maat) has begun its new chapter with a museum-wide architectural intervention designed by New York-based studio SO - IL. Titled Beeline, the project is an ephemeral work that... View full entry
It’s no coincidence that Covid-19 has disproportionately sickened and killed members of demographic groups — people who are black, Indigenous and Latino; who are homeless; who are immigrants — that have been targets of systemic segregation that increased their vulnerability. It’s also not hard to imagine the pandemic, and a person’s relative risk of infection, being used to justify new versions of these discriminatory practices. — NYT Magazine
Kim Tingley, spoke with Joel Sanders, Hansel Bauman, Mabel O. Wilson and other academics and designers about how architecture could adapt to address issues of public health and universal design in a post-COVID-19 world. More about MIXdesign's COVID Case Study here h/t @Justin Garrett Moore, AICP View full entry
Michael Maltzan Architects has announced it is leading the design team for a new headquarters facility for the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles. The forthcoming headquarters is slated for a site in the city's rapidly gentrifying Westlake neighborhood just outside Downtown Los Angeles, where many... View full entry
A new initiative focused on leveraging designers' "professional connections and privileges in the name of advancing justice" offers an easy and effective way of reaching professional organizations, leading architecture firms, political entities, and academic institutions via email. Hosted on... View full entry
Princeton University School of Architecture Dean Monica Ponce de Leon has issued a statement on behalf of the school offering solidarity with the growing protest movement seeking social and economic justice for Black people in America. In a letter sent out to the Princeton SoA community... View full entry
if anything, the quarantine experience that we’re having is the realization that large-scale, drastic changes are actually possible. People will in fact go along with them. And that we’re resilient. We’ll find a new way to make things happen. — Delirious LA
UCLA scholar on urban planning Kian Goh interviews Geoff Manaugh on quarantine and ideas it prompts. "-It seems like every city has its own idea of itself. It makes its own myths through either its triumphs or its crises. Like, New York City now certainly reflects its idea of how it responded... View full entry
This is the fifth installment of Archinect Sessions six-part series of conversations we've had with architects, designers, and others in the industry. The discussions address the challenges experienced navigating these uncertain times, from the stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus, to the... View full entry