The urban changes that Philadelphia experienced in the first years of the 21st century were gentler and more likely to enhance the city’s existing 20th-century form. The tech-induced trends from the last 10 years have challenged that physical form by radically reconfiguring the way we move through, and interact with, the city. — The Philadelphia Inquirer
Inga Saffron, architecture critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer provides a tech-focused decade-in-review highlighting the impact of smartphone technologies on the city’s urbanism. Highlighting the proliferation of “fast-casual” food, buildings, and development approaches, Saffron... View full entry
When Archinect first covered the Wuxi Taihu Theatre project back in 2018, many were mesmerized by the theatre's alluring design and its resemblance to China's iconic bamboo rainforest. A year later, Archinect catches up with London-based architect Steven Chilton of SCA | Steven Chilton... View full entry
As the decade draws to a close, it might be worth considering one overlooked ten-year anniversary: In October 2009, the e-commerce giant Amazon introduced same-day delivery service. [...] Amidst these transformations, one long-standing building typology has found itself again at the cutting edge of commerce: the vertical urban warehouse. — Urban Omnibus
Architectural critic, curator, and educator Nina Rappaport penned an insightful Urban Omnibus essay on the revived vertical urban warehouse typology — and the physical infrastructure that surrounds these facilities — in the age of online retail and instant gratification. "New York... View full entry
Katerra has failed to complete roughly a dozen projects and could only name one that was delivered on time. All the while, logistical and technology-based issues have chipped away at the company’s image as a revolutionary tech startup.
Some clients have ended their relationship with the firm. Other clients, however, are tied to Katerra’s executives, and have drummed up business for the company—a similar arrangement used by WeWork executives, which became a concern for some investors
— The Real Deal
The Real Deal takes an investigative look at some of the recent business dealings and project announcements from Katerra. The vertically integrated construction and modular building components start-up is facing renewed media and financial scrutiny following the recently announced closure of... View full entry
It was the year that council housing turned community-minded, King Arthur got a swishy new bridge and the Lake District harboured a gem — The Guardian
Oliver Wainwright, architecture and design critic at The Guardian, picked his top ten projects of the year, including a couple we have also covered on Archinect this year: the energy-efficient and 2019 Stirling Prize-winning Goldsmith Street housing project by Mikhail Riches and Cathy Hawley; and... View full entry
In Silver Spring, Maryland, the 135,000 square foot building pushes the boundaries of a net-zero building. With its completion in 2018, the building was built in collaboration with United Therapeutics, a biotech company, and Whiting-Turner Contracting. Unisphere. Image © EwingCole... View full entry
Princeton University has filed a $10.7 million lawsuit against the design and construction firms responsible for the creation of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment complex at the school due to “extensive changes and delays” involved in the delivery of the... View full entry
[...] a team of Canadian science and engineering graduates is pitching a dream to plant a billion trees by 2028 using drones. The project is dubbed Flash Forest and combines the use of drones with specially-designed pods and an accelerated seed germination process. According to Flash Forest, its technology can plant trees 10 times faster than a single worker and at a cost that is 80 percent cheaper than traditional tree planting methods. — New Atlas
On their Kickstarter page, the team behind the Toronto-based Flash Forest project explains what happens before and after heavy-lift drones pneumatically fire their custom-designed seed pods into the ground: "Before we plant our pods, we pre-germinate the seeds inside using our own 'secret sauce.'... View full entry
Hillsides, houses, airports and cathedrals; cityscapes, landscapes and the ocean rocking toward the horizon; courtrooms and bedrooms, bungalows and castles; gas stations, skyscrapers, apartment buildings; the roofs of Paris and New York, corridors, tapestries, train depots and a mineshaft burrowing into an icy mountain.
These are the 90 painted backdrops that remain of more than 200 saved through the Art Directors Guild Backdrop Recovery Project
— The Los Angeles Times
The Los Angele Times takes a look at the Art Directors Guild Backdrop Recovery Project, a two-year-long effort aimed at saving some of the industry’s remaining iconic scene paintings. Lynne Coakley, president of JC Backings, a Hollywood legacy scene painting company that produced iconic... View full entry
August held a special place for tall architecture, broke architecture students, and some interesting developments with Kanye West. Let's dive into the big hits of this year's August roundup. Rendering of Rainier Square Tower ↑ Seattle's second-tallest skyscraper is almost complete The... View full entry
Congratulations! You've made it past the halfway mark of Archinect's 2019 Year in Review series where we revisit the biggest, and some of our favorite, stories in the news this year. Let the binge reading continue — this was July: ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN CULTURE Courtesy of Los Angeles County... View full entry
Before the internet and social media, architecture projects and the work of architects were viewed and documented differently. Similar to other professions like the culinary arts and fashion, the public's understanding and exposure to these industries has changed as new technologies have... View full entry
While finding the right employee hires is a key concern for any business, less attention has been paid, until recently, to streamlined training and workforce development initiatives. Yet, with the growing sophistication and proliferation of online training services and mobile apps that can assist... View full entry
In June, Archinect connected with many prolific professionals, saw several interesting milestones within the industry, and some novel collaborations. Let's check out some of June's 2019 highlights. Alan Manning at the Los Angeles Art Walk ↑ How One Designer Taught Himself to Draw and Became... View full entry
The Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University has announced a new student architecture prize fund that will go toward supporting the work of fourth-year undergraduate students enrolled in the school's housing and community building-focused studio. The Hobin... View full entry