Tougher building rules for skyscrapers have been drawn up by the City of London because of concerns that a high-rise, urban microclimate will generate winds capable of knocking over cyclists and pedestrians.
Developers will have to provide more comprehensive safety assessments of how proposed buildings will affect people on street level, with more robust testing of roadways and pavements using detailed scale models in wind tunnels and computer simulations.
— The Guardian
After a series of high-profile skyscraper design controversies, including documented incidents of pedestrians being knocked off their feet and cyclists being pushed sideways into the path of vehicles due to strong skyscraper-generated winds, London is moving to regulate the wind-driven... View full entry
The Basement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program provides eligible low- to middle-income homeowners living in East New York and Cypress Hills, Brooklyn with low or no-interest, or possible forgivable, loans to convert their basement or cellar into a safe, legal, and rentable apartment, based on altered building code legislation passed in February 2019. — NYC Housing Preservation & Development
With plenty of futuristic and architecturally diverse buildings to choose from, which of these world-famous designs has gained the title of the most popular on Instagram around the world?
We gathered research to find out the most Instagrammed skyscrapers in the world [...] we wanted to see what the total height of these Instagram photos would be in comparison to the height of the buildings themselves.
— Dublin Airport Central
With the looming presence social media has over the built environment, iconic buildings have never been easier to track down, especially as platforms like Instagram make high-profile architecture accessible at the press of a button. Dublin Airport Central recently conducted a... View full entry
With no photographic evidence of the theatre from when it first opened, Dr Arrighi and her team have scoured archival eyewitness accounts and architectural floor plans to recreate the theatre in the virtual world. — ABC Local
A group of researchers at University of Newcastle are working to recreate the Victoria Theatre, which opened in 1891. The effort is part of the Lost Theatres Project involving, 12 universities from across Australia and run by AusStage, a national performance database that provides open access to... View full entry
The myth of the calling obscures the role of architectural support staff and encourages architects to surrender their workers’ rights. It stands in the way of solidarity between all architectural workers. — Failed Architecture
Writing in Failed Architecture, Marisa Cortright unpacks how the sense of unwavering duty implied by the architecture profession’s persistent reliance on hero myths and the idea of architecture as a calling undermines both the individual and collective interests of architectural... View full entry
Renowned Palestinian-Jordanian architect Rasem Badran was recently announced as the 2019 laureate of the honorable Tamayouz Lifetime Achievement Award, which celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions to society and have long been dedicated to the advancement of architecture... View full entry
With only 400-some Wright structures still standing, surely these listings must erupt in bidding wars from eager buyers as soon as they hit the market, right?
Wrong. On the contrary, Wright homes tend to sit on the market for years. Often with numerous price cuts!
— Realtor.com
Owning a home designed by a famed architect may be a dream for many. However, what are some of the unforeseen factors that come with owning such a home? According to Adriana Velez from realtor.com, owning a Frank Lloyd Wright home comes with its fair share of obstacles. Velez explains, "for... View full entry
As New York grapples with its constant demand for public spaces, some residents are objecting to the restrictive and exclusionary designs and policies that they say reflect an increasingly hostile city. And as more developers build amenities in exchange for greater density, there is increased scrutiny on what passes for free and open public spaces. — Gothamist
The implications for hostile architecture are often presented as subtle design solutions that can aide the public from unwanted city disturbances. However, many individuals are beginning to notice these design efforts to become politically driven initiatives for controlling people... View full entry
Prada Poole conceives the city of the future through what he calls “the three stages of a nonexistent architecture.” In this conception, the traditional city would, in successive transformations, morph into an immaterial city, without inertia, in which the solid buildings would be replaced by the accumulation of foam that would “appear and disappear, converge and disperse according to the different needs.” — MAS Context
Antonio Cobo examines the revolutionary work of Hippie Modernist architect and theorist Jose Miguel Prada Poole for Mas Context. View full entry
On August 14, 2019, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved a resolution that temporarily halts the use of public funds on any further demolitions in Tenth Street—an important move given that to date, at least 70 of the district’s 260 homes have been demolished. Thanks to a broad-based coalition effort bolstered by the media attention of the 11 Most listing, this vote removes the immediate threat to the neighborhood and helps advance the cause. — Saving Places
Chicago-based Studio Gang architects, Aurora Capital Associates, and William Gottlieb Real Estate have completed work on 40 Tenth Avenue, a 10-story, 160,000-square-foot, prismatic boutique office building created for New York City’s Meatpacking District. Image courtesy of Studio... View full entry
I want this to be me and my friends, most of us in our mid-40s, and many of us looking around, now that our kids are tweens, and thinking, Hmmmmm, am I doing what I want? Am I saying what I need to say? The new midlife crisis is a career crisis, not a marital crisis. — Curbed
It is rare for individuals in creative fields to be accurately portrayed in film, especially women. With the release of the film adaptation of Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Curbed architecture critic, Alexandra Lange, writes to express her anticipation for the film's... View full entry
Workers are taking down Chernobyl's "sarcophagus," once meant to keep the reactor's radioactive materials locked inside, before it falls on its own accord.
The dismantling will begin after the New Shelter Containment (NSC) is in full working operation. Currently, the NSC controls part of the confinement. Earlier this year, the European Union handed off control of the NSC to Ukraine.
— Popular Mechanics
The steel and concrete containment structure, hastily erected following the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl power plant in 1986, is being replaced by internationally funded and coordinated effort. The new shelter, a €1.5 billion complex considered to be the largest work of movable... View full entry
Perhaps, as a real-estate developer, President Trump might appreciate the richness of America’s heritage of classical public buildings. It’s not inconceivable that he would support reform of the Guiding Principles. Otherwise, U.S. senators and representatives should do all they can to ensure that classical principles guide future federal architecture projects. In doing so, they will be contributing to a renewal of American civilization. — City Journal
During the administration of President John F. Kennedy, sociologist, politician, and diplomat Daniel Patrick Moynihan drafted the "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture," a set of architectural guidelines that inform the design of building projects undertaken by the Public Building Service... View full entry
The home consists of three pavilions connected by a central passageway. The public areas are in two pavilions: one side is the living room, and the other, the dining room and kitchen, all adjacent to patios accessed through glass doors, which can be opened when entertaining. With clerestory windows, these rooms are bathed with light, creating a treehouse feel. — Nola.com
Nola.com's Sue Strachan takes a look at the Frances and Nathaniel C. Curtis house in New Orleans. Originally built in 1963, the home became the first Modernist-era home in New Orleans to earn a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by maverick Modernist architects... View full entry