Through my research on elevators, I got a glimpse into why so little new housing is built in America and why what is built is often of such low quality and at high cost. The problem with elevators is a microcosm of the challenges of the broader construction industry — from labor to building codes to a sheer lack of political will. [...]
It’s become hard to shake the feeling that America has simply lost the capacity to build things in the real world, outside of an app.
— The New York Times
Stephen Smith, through the New York nonprofit Center for Building in North America, has been exposing variables that undermine the housing market's intricate calculus in the form of building codes, cost of labor, zoning regulations, and the construction industry. He says: "Elevators in North... View full entry
With summer in full effect, we're taking a look at the highlights on Archinect's Instagram feed from the spring and summer so far. Whether you're already one of @archinect's 96.8k followers or not (yet) — check out the most popular posts of the past three months, showcasing stand-out... View full entry
The winners of AZURE’s annual AZ Awards have been announced as part of the competition’s 14th edition. A select jury that included Julie Bargmann, the Guest of Honor at the recent AZ Awards Gala in Toronto, and nine others chose each winner from a group of submissions representing... View full entry
The Grimshaw-designed Robert Poujade pedestrian bridge in Toulouse has officially opened. Developed alongside ppa.architecture as part of a consortium led by French civil engineering construction company Eiffage, which included Ingérop, ATP, and Quartiers Lumières, the bridge is one of... View full entry
The shortlist for the 2024 edition of the World Architecture Festival has been revealed ahead of the annual live in-person event, which takes place in Singapore's Marina Bay Sands from November 6th to the 8th this year.A panel of 175 international judges, including Peter Cook, Nigel Coates, and... View full entry
The penultimate segment of the forthcoming California High-Speed Rail connection from Southern California to the San Francisco Bay Area has been approved for construction. The stretch begins at Palmdale in northern LA County and connects to Burbank. It will be followed by the final link between... View full entry
Look below for Archinect's latest curated selection of architecture and design firms currently hiring on Archinect Jobs. This week's featured employer highlight includes openings in New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. New York City-based project management and real estate advisory firm... View full entry
Today, the ideas Mr. Lombardi pioneered nearly 50 years ago are serving as a template for addressing twin problems: the city’s enormous office glut and its growing housing crisis. Mr. Lombardi, now 84 and still running a 16-person firm, is part of a wave of architects and developers now undertaking the mammoth work of converting financially distressed office buildings into multifamily housing. — The New York Times
A lengthy Times profile on the legendary New York conversion architect Joseph Pell Lombardi traces his early career efforts in SoHo and the Financial District to the contemporary challenges posed by office buildings and the impetus to remake them into housing in spite of the difficult... View full entry
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has announced University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture associate professor Cathi Ho Schar as its incoming president for 2024–2025. Ho Schar is also the inaugural director of the eight-year-old University of Hawaiʻi... View full entry
A shift toward a more diverse and prepared architecture profession has been documented in the latest NCARB by the Numbers report from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. The council’s annual survey revealed the total number of licensed practitioners to have grown by... View full entry
MVRDV has shared details of its latest design, the new Tiffany & Co. location in Shanghai’s Taikoo Li Qiantan retail development, featuring a glittering imitation of a diamond-encrusted facade. Image © Wen Studio The firm’s newest project for the jeweler follows last year's... View full entry
A new traveling exhibition examining the incredible influence of the late I.M. Pei has opened at the M+ Museum in Hong Kong. The first full-scale retrospective of the legendary designer, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, is curated by Aric Chen and Shirley Surya. The show breaks down six... View full entry
Following our previous visit to New York-based OLI Architecture, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in Manhattan this week to explore the work of WXY Architecture + Urban Design. Led by founding principal Claire Weisz, the firm has built a portfolio driven by “innovative... View full entry
The Los Angeles City Council moved to finalize plans for the long-awaited expansion of the Los Angeles County Convention Center in downtown. Populous will be leading the design work for the project, which includes a landscaped component from OLIN as was previously reported in March of 2022. ... View full entry
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has shared photos of its new bus shelter designs for the City of Los Angeles. The LA STAP (short for Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program) shelters are the first prototype designs for the initiative that will eventually install 3,000 shelters and 450 shade... View full entry
