The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has created a free, public report as a resource for architects, designers, clients, funders, and policy-makers involved in the creation of new infrastructure facilities and housing in First Nation, Inuit, and other Indigenous communities. The... View full entry
The Taj Mahal in Agra could be closed unless the Indian government steps in and saves the neglected landmark, says India’s Supreme Court. “Either we shut down the Taj or demolish it or you restore it,” the two-judge committee told state officials last week. [...]
The Supreme Court says that it will monitor the situation on a day-to-day basis from 31 July.
— The Art Newspaper
Frustrated with the slow response from officials in charge of restoring the deteriorating Taj Mahal, India's highest court demanded swift action to stop the ongoing discoloration of the iconic Unesco World Heritage site caused by pollution and millions of tiny insects, saying: "We want you to... View full entry
An astounding collection of architectural projects that never made it into being are being displayed on kiosks around New York City. Based off the 2016 book Never Built New York, LinkNYC—which supplies the city with free wifi—is collaborating with curators and authors Greg Goldin and Sam... View full entry
Groundbreaking research presents credible estimates of the total parking supply in several American cities, and it's not pretty. Parking spaces are everywhere, but for some reason the perception persists that there’s “not enough parking.” And so cities require parking in new buildings and lavishly subsidize parking garages, without ever measuring how much parking exists or how much it’s used. — usa.streetsblog.org
A new report from Eric Scharnhorst at the Research Institute for Housing America, an arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association, estimates the total parking supply in five US cities. Looking at satellite imagery and tax record data, Scharnhorst tallied on-street parking, surface parking, and... View full entry
France’s rail operator SNCF has unveiled plans to triple the size of Paris’ Gare du Nord station in time for the 2024 Olympic Games. [...]
The project, carried out in partnership with developer Ceetrus and architect Denis Valode of Valode et Pistre, will be the largest refurbishment of the station since it was built in 1864.
When complete it should increase the capacity of Europe’s largest station from 700,000 to 800,000 people a day.
— Global Construction Review
Image: Valode et Pistre.Besides accommodating an increase in travel volume during the 2024 Olympic Games, the dramatic expansion of Paris' Gare du Nord terminus station is also preparing necessary spaces for new arrival procedures of British nationals in the post-Brexit era: (soon) no longer EU... View full entry
Four months ago, ground was broken for the $1-billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park. Construction has now gone vertical, with a tower crane soaring above Vermont Avenue.
The 300,000-square-foot facility, which is being built as a legacy project by Star Wars creator George Lucas, replaces two former parking lots with a four-story, 115,000-square-foot structure that will serve as the permanent home for the filmmaker's 10,000-piece collection.
— urbanize.LA
Three years in the making, this cozy wilderness cabin in Slovakia's Kysuce region looks much more spacious inside than its 40m2 size. Michiel De Backer and Martin Mikovčák of Ark Shelter Studio designed the modular getaway cabin with several large windows that help occupants reconnect with... View full entry
On this week's show, Archinect Sessions episode 124, Ken and Donna look back at this year's AIA National Convention in NYC. Listen to episode 125 of Archinect Sessions, “Fear of Commitment”. iTunes: Click here to listen, and click the "Subscribe" button below the logo to automatically... View full entry
The caption to the photograph reveals that this isn’t New York at all, of course, but Sweden: a life-size replica of Harlem in a forest in the west of the country, near Gothenburg. The asphalt and snow are real enough, but nearly everything else is fake. The streets are void of people and cars; the store fronts are life-size photographs, printed on canvas and hung on steel frames. Welcome to the Potemkin village: a place of clones, impostors, facsimiles, frauds. Maybe don’t plan to stay. — The New York Times
Why is there a life-size replica of Harlem in Sweden? This bizarre space turns out to be a test track for self-driving cars. Why Harlem? Even Austrian artist Gregor Sailer who photographed the space doesn't know. Sailer traveled around the world to capture 25 of these false architectural... View full entry
Ground has finally broken for a police station in the South Bronx that will provide a new home for NYPD's 40th Precinct. Expected to open in 2021, the precinct will be leaving its current space, a three-story, 1920s Renaissance Revival building, for a shiny, 68-million-dollar new one, designed by... View full entry
Maurice Cox grew up in Brooklyn, a borough whose name has since become a global shorthand for gentrification. An urban designer, architectural educator, and former mayor of the City of Charlottesville, VA, in 2015 Cox became head of the planning department of Detroit, where he hopes to prevent the forces that have reshaped his childhood home from taking over the Motor City. [...] Cox is using design to catalyze growth that’s incremental and closely in line with the city’s strong sense of self. — Urban Omnibus
Urban Omnibus presents an insightful conversation between Maurice Cox, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Detroit, and Marc Norman, founder of the consulting firm “Ideas and Action” and Associate Professor of Practice at UMich's Taubman School of Architecture and Urban... View full entry
We get it. It can get a little overwhelming keeping up with the dozens of new architecture competitions launching worldwide on any given week — let alone having to stay on top of the multiple deadlines for each and every one. That's why Bustler is here to help! At the end... View full entry
It isn't often that architect Moshe Safdie is sent back to the drawing board. But that's exactly what happened earlier this year when his soaring vision for the National Medal of Honor Museum clashed with a local height ordinance.
[...] planning commission in the Charleston suburb of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, unanimously denied its Safdie-concieved proposal because it would exceed by 75 feet the elevation limit on land zoned for no more than 50 feet.
— CityLab
"Ultimately, it all came down to a lack of communication," writes Jolee Edmondson. "What has transpired in Mount Pleasant underscores the importance of builders engaging in community outreach before submitting a formal plan for public property. Safdie's design was unveiled in 2015, but it was... View full entry
The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris held an architecture photography contest from 3 May to 5 June 2018 for the best images of the their iconic building designed by Frank Gehry. Open to amateurs and professional photographers alike, visitors were invited to post one or several... View full entry
The Treetop Studio presents an orderly facade among an eclectic variety of houses, garages, and back fences in Paddington, Australia. Designed by Darlinghurst-based Aileen Sage Architects for a writer and musician, the compact creative studio is a refined response to the local council's... View full entry
