Montreal’s Thomas Balaban Architecte (TBA) has returned to a core area of its practice with a new private residence for an art-collecting Quebecois family called the Berri House. Challenged to “squeeze as much home as possible” out of a 112-year-old 130-square-meter (1,400-square-foot)... View full entry
Chemical engineering researchers at MIT have announced the creation of a new material that is “stronger than steel and as light as plastic, and can be easily manufactured in large quantities.” The material, for which the team has filed two patents, may one day be used as a structural material... View full entry
A new Indigenous cultural precinct where repatriated ancestral remains will be cared for, and where Indigenous Australia’s history will be unfurled through a large but little-known collection, is set to become a reality in four years on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra. — The Art Newspaper
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and the minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt made the joint announcement on January 4th. The precinct, named Ngurra, which means home, will receive $228 million from the federal government for its construction. A national architecture competition... View full entry
Writing about Twin Parks in 1973, The Times’s former architecture critic, Paul Goldberger, speculated that the project might “turn out to be important in the history of housing design.” [...] design, however compassionate, can mean only so much against the obstacles that make up the housing problem today.”
The calculus is the same half a century later. But the South Bronx isn’t. Gradually, it has been remade. Progress isn’t impossible, it’s a process.
— The New York Times
Both observed South Bronx developments, 1490 Southern Boulevard and a transformation of the Lambert Houses, are seen as examples of high-quality and effective public housing that offers residents more than just desultory amenities. The Times critic broke down the new-ish developments by... View full entry
The latest high-profile architectural addition to the Fort Lauderdale skyline is moving forward this week as the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has announced its approval of SOM's design concept for a new 252,000-square-foot federal courthouse. The development will target LEED Gold and... View full entry
The art ecosystem of Australia’s South Coast region got a significant boost over the weekend after the official unveiling of the new Bundanon Art Museum and Bridge for Creative Learning designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects. The Melbourne-based firm worked with landscape architects Wraight... View full entry
It was beautiful. It was a wreck. It blistered on the rocky hillside: a perfect dome, gray weathered concrete and granite connected by a bridge to an eroded staircase. The day was warm and bright, the interiors were crumbling and stuffy. Some rooms contained odd bits of dusty ’60s Italian modern furniture, bright-green glazed tiles and faded taupe cushions. An Italian paperback copy of Patricia Cornwell’s “Cause of Death” was left on a kitchen countertop. — New York Times Style Magazine
The death of Monica Vitti on 2 February 2022 has brought up many stories of "the Queen of Italian cinema" whose relationship with Michaelangelo Antonioni gave birth to a dome house known as La Cupola by Italian architect Dante Bini's company Binishell. In this five years old... View full entry
The well-heeled Silicon Valley suburb of Woodside has come up with a novel way to block plans that would potentially bring in more affordable housing: Declare itself Cougar Town.
Last week, officials in the enclave of 5,500 people announced that all of Woodside was exempt from a new state housing law that allows for duplex development on single-family home lots. The reason? The entire town is habitat for potentially endangered mountain lions.
— The LA Times
The move is potentially foreshadowing of the ways in which local governments in California will, as predicted before Governor Gavin Newsome signed S.B. 9 into law in September, attempt to brush off the state’s efforts to mandate zoning that would engender an increase in multi-family residential... View full entry
A unionization effort at SHoP Architects that drew attention from across the industry has now been defeated after organizers officially withdrew their petition with the National Labor Review Board (NLRB) to form a labor union within the office. After a push toward unionization was first made... View full entry
A proposed Downtown high-rise with a design inspired by California's redwood trees has taken a key step forward, following the publication of a Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment for the project. — Urbanize Los Angeles
Designed by Koichi Takada Architects, with MVE + Partners serving as architect of record, and RIOS as landscape architect, the 40-story tower located at the southwest corner of 11th and Hill streets in the South Park neighborhood will replace a two-story warehouse. The glass and steel building... View full entry
The nonresidential building sector is expected to rebound through 2023 after a slow recovery with the broader economy last year, according to a new report from the American Institute of Architects. The AIA’s Consensus Construction Forecast for December 2021, comprising leading economic... View full entry
The World Economic Forum has published a briefing paper setting out its recommendations for sustainable building development. Titled Accelerating the Decarbonization of Buildings: The Net-Zero Carbon Cities Building Value Framework,” the document sets to establish a series of practical steps at... View full entry
The Lexus Design Award has announced this year’s slate of finalists for its annual contest.A total of 1,726 entries from 57 different countries were reviewed by an expert panel that included design luminaries like Bruce Mau, Paola Antonelli, Anupama Kundoo, and Simon Humphries. Finalist... View full entry
A perfect fusion between fine artists, fashion designers, and rocket scientists is taking flight in New England thanks to the ambitious efforts of some of The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) nerdier undergraduates. NASA and the prestigious design school are now teaming up to outfit astronauts... View full entry
A century-old steel bridge in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam will be partially dismantled this summer to allow a superyacht being built for Jeff Bezos to sail through. — The Observer
The controversial project will make way for Bezos’ new $485 million Oceanco-designed sailing yacht, which is about half the length of the Titanic. Bezos has agreed to pay for the bridge’s removal. The 144-year-old structure narrowly survived heavy allied bombing of the city during War II and a... View full entry
