Collaboration is essential to our work in architecture, but, as the saying goes, a team of experts does not make an expert team. Cognitive scientist, Stephen M. Fiore believes he has an answer to better collaboration. He suggests to start in our schools, where students work in groups but are not... View full entry
A vice chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art stepped down on Thursday after months of protests over his company’s sale of tear gas, culminating in the withdrawal of eight artists last week from the prestigious Whitney Biennial exhibition. — The New York Times
The decision came days after London-based Forensic Architecture joined seven other artists in withdrawing from the 2019 Whitney Biennial exhibition. Kanders struck a petulant tone in his resignation letter, saying, “The targeted campaign of attacks against me and my company that... View full entry
Following Archinect's recent coverage of sustainable design practices this week we have selected nine firms who are seeking to hire candidates with strong backgrounds in sustainable design, analysis and research, LEED documentation, and green construction guidelines. University of Texas at... View full entry
Smart cities make two fundamental promises: lots of data, and automated decision making based on that data. The ultimate smart city will require a raft of existing and to-be-invented technologies, from sensors to robots to artificial intelligence. For many this promises a more efficient, equitable city; for others, it raises questions about privacy and algorithmic bias. — New York Times
Promises for a better, smarter city have flooded media headlines, but if these so-called "smart cities" are said to be the answer, can the general public adapt to these infrastructure dreams? In a recent piece by Shoshanna Saxe for the New York Times, the experienced civil and mineral engineer at... View full entry
New HR Software, designed for Professional Service firms makes it easy to manager people, projects, and profits from one system. BQE Software, Inc., a global leader in accounting and project management software, launched Core HR, a new module of BQE Core that provides benefit tracking, salary... View full entry
Under the ambitious “Lantau Tomorrow” plan, Hong Kong will first build a roughly 2,500-acre island—roughly the size of 1,000 football fields—around the uninhabited Kau Yi Chau Island to the northeast of Lantau. This may be followed by an additional 1,700 additional acres of land reclamation around the island Hei Ling Chau, which is roughly two miles from Mui Wo and visible from its shoreline. — CityLab
CityLab reports that under a new aggressive urban growth plan, Hong Kong will create a pair of new islands totaling over 3,200 acres in area in order to create new high-density urban neighborhoods. Record-breaking affordability issues on the island have pushed wait times for public... View full entry
With affordable homes already in short supply around the U.S., house-hunters this spring faced another challenge: surging prices. Median home prices in the second quarter surged to a record high $266,000 for single family-homes and condos, according to a recent report from property research firm ATTOM Data Solutions. That's up 6% from about $250,000 a year ago. — CBS News
"U.S. homeowners who sold in the second quarter of 2019 realized an average home price gain since purchase of $67,500, up from an average gain of $57,706 in Q1 2019 and up from an average gain of $60,100 in Q2 2018," states the July ATTOM report. The locations with the highest average home seller... View full entry
Based across the U.S. (and Vienna, Austria), last week's Employer of the Day featured firms all have recent job openings seeking motivated candidates with a minimum of 3-5 years of professional experience and are eager to be involved in all design phases. Read on to learn more about these listings... View full entry
Boris Johnson has a mammoth task on his hands as soon as he enters No.10.
Brexit, climate change and ensuring the UK has a safer, high-quality built environment must be priorities.
— RIBA
The assumption of Boris Johnson to the prime ministership of the United Kingdom has come with no honeymoon period, it seems. This week, as Johnson's selection was formalized, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) issued a pointed and lengthy list of concerns facing the nation's building... View full entry
Forensic Architecture has announced its decision to withdraw from the 2019 Whitney Biennial. The London-based research group has also requested to replace its 10-minute video about the global spread of tear gas and bullets produced by companies linked to Whitney Museum vice chairman Warren Kanders, with new evidence they’ve found that directly links the weapons manufacturer to violence on the Israeli-Palestinian border in Gaza. — Hyperallergic
The fallout over the unethical business ties of certain members of the Whitney Museum of American Art's board of trustees continues unabated. Forensic Architecture's decision to join seven other exhibitors in withdrawing from the prestigious 2019 Whitney Biennial exhibition comes as the art... View full entry
Italian practice Mario Cucinella Architects (MC A) — together with AICOM, RINA Consulting, GAE engineering, Enzo Rizzato, and the consultancy of Mobility in Chain — was recently commissioned by the city of Lecce's Local Health Authority to design the new "Sud Salento" hospital in... View full entry
The world’s first solar road in Normandy, northern France, which opened in 2016, has failed to meet expectations.
The 2.8 square km of solar panels is in part damaged beyond repair and the 1km road did not produce the power the manufacturer Wattway had promised.
Panels were worn out by traffic and joints between the panels were shattered.
— Energy Reporters
After less than three years in operation, the high-profile 1-kilometer trial stretch of the world's first photovoltaic road in northern France has failed to meet expectations. Instead of delivering the promised 790kWh per day, the first year's actual daily power output was only half that amount... View full entry
A quasi-Gothic, Kengo Kuma and Associates-designed 40-story mixed-use skyscraper could be headed to downtown Seattle's Belltown neighborhood. The project, developed in collaboration with architects Ankrom Moisan, landscape architects Berger Partnership, and developer Pacific Virginia, will... View full entry
An organization that relies upon individual goals or performance benchmarks to evaluate employees...needs to be careful to design competitions and structure comparisons that thwart the efforts of some workers to sabotage their colleagues. Otherwise, saboteurs may bring down everyone’s numbers — including their own. — Stanford Business
Associate professor, Szu-chi Huang at the Stanford Graduate School of Business has been studying how competitions within the workplace materialize among larger teams. She explains that competition inside companies "is something that needs to be carefully structured and managed." And that while... View full entry
The Dodgers [...] will unveil plans for a $100-million renovation of Dodger Stadium that will provide a new center field plaza as well as elevators and bridges that will connect the outfield pavilions to the rest of the stadium. [...]
The stadium will maintain its league-high capacity, which is listed at 56,000. And despite all the changes, club officials say the picturesque view of Chavez Ravine fans have become accustomed to will not be disrupted.
— Los Angeles Times
"The new Centerfield Plaza will create a stadium 'front door' with almost two acres of unique food offerings, entertainment and kids areas, retail locations, sponsor activations, more social and standing room areas and greater access for those with special needs," states the description of the... View full entry
