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Now in its third edition, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University announce the winners of this year's 2021 Course Development Prize in Architecture, Climate... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects has issued its first statement on a policy decision by newly inaugurated U.S. President, Joe Biden. Publicly sworn in on Capitol Hill earlier today, Biden spent the afternoon signing executive orders, many of which will reinstate environmental regulations... View full entry
While the news cycle in October was mostly dominated by the upcoming elections and ongoing pandemic, other aspects of life continued. In the world of architecture, these were the stories that captured our collective attention... The Challenges of Academia Lesley Lokko resigns as Dean of CCNY's... View full entry
One of the UK’s most famous architects has withdrawn from an environmental coalition in a dispute about the destructive role of aviation in the escalating climate crisis. [...]
The decision follows a row over Foster and Partners’ work on airports around the world – seen by critics as incompatible with tackling the climate and ecological emergency.
— The Guardian
Airport designs have been key projects in Foster + Partners' portfolio for years, with prominent recent commissions and competition entries in Saudi Arabia, Marseille, Chicago, Mexico City, and Beijing. Following Foster's decision to withdraw from his initial commitment, Architects Declare issued... View full entry
Previously on Archinect, we reported the announcement of three architecture schools pledging climate action. Since then, two more schools of architecture have joined. On October 30th, US Architects Declare confirmed that Woodbury School of Architecture and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee... View full entry
Kunkel thinks a hybrid between Indigenous and Western architecture styles could lead to more sustainable designs, ones that incorporate modern technology to achieve the same qualities found in the place-based architecture perfected by Indigenous people over thousands of years. — High Country News
Spaces of Opportunity: Phase 1 (under construction)Jessica Kutz on how Phoenix and other communities across America, are already having to adapt to extreme heat plus other impacts of climate change. At the same time these communities are already developing solutions; from "smarter" cities... View full entry
In the summer of 2020, U.S.-based practices took action and signed on to join the international pledge for climate action. With the U.S. Architects Declare movement growing since May and over 284 signatures added to the list, three architecture institutions have signed on to the movement... View full entry
[...] the European Union sees a chance to create a new common aesthetic born out of a need to renovate and construct more energy-efficient buildings.
The proposal for energy retrofits is part of the climate actions at the core of the EU’s 1.8 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) coronavirus recovery plan and could result in a sweeping architectural makeover, one that leaders have compared to a new Bauhaus movement for the continent.
— Bloomberg
For Bloomberg CityLab, Kriston Capps and Laura Millan Lombrana contemplate how the European Union's bold $2.1 trillion coronavirus recovery plan, and its embedded measures to make buildings more energy-efficient, could shape architecture and urban design on much of the continent. A new Bauhaus... View full entry
Interior designers and architects are often left out of the embodied carbon conversation, but the impact and opportunity with interior materials is huge–especially when you account for cyclical renovations over the building’s life. There are many ways to reduce the carbon footprint of a... View full entry
Realtor.com has become the first site to disclose information about a home's flood risk and how climate change could increase that risk in the coming decades, potentially signaling a major shift in consumers' access to information about climate threats. [...]
Still, other websites such as Redfin, Zillow and Trulia have no plans to share information about flooding with users [...] say home sellers are reluctant to publish flood risk information, since it could decrease their home's value.
— NPR
The city's complex drainage system protects Hong Kong from once-disastrous flooding caused by seasonal typhoons. But will it be strong enough to withstand the effects of climate crisis? — CNN
CNN's James Griffiths on the challenges of building a vast rain water-draining tunnel network in one of the world's densest cities and how well it is prepared for ever-intensifying climate and security threats. "At present, some rain is collected and reused for irrigation and flushing water, but... View full entry
[...] tall buildings are still sold on the basis that they are good for the environment. Mostly the argument is about density – if you pile a lot of homes or workplaces high on one spot, it is said, then you can use land and public transport more efficiently. There’s some truth in this, but you can also achieve high levels of density without going above 10 or 12 storeys. — The Guardian
The Observer's Rowan Moore dissects a list of the usual arguments in favor of ever taller buildings around the world and concludes that not much of it passes the reality test of urgent climate crisis, resource scarcity, wealth distribution, city planning, global pandemic, and ultimately, good... View full entry
Climate-conscious architects in the United Kingdom are speaking out against British architect Norman Foster as efforts to have architects disengage from air transport projects intensify. Last week, Archinect reported news of a high profile airport commission taken on by Foster + Partners for a... View full entry
Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger has announced the creation of the new Columbia Climate School, the first new school at the university in 25 years. The school will focus on research initiatives targeted toward generating scholarship and pedagogical momentum around the issue of... View full entry
Local Laws 92 and 94, which went into effect on November 15, 2019, require all new buildings and major roof alterations to be capped with a green roof, solar panels, or some combination of the two.
If successful, the new policies could transform New York’s skyline.
— Urban Omnibus
In their publication Urban Omnibus, The Architectural League of New York asked experts from the Green Roof Researchers Alliance to elaborate on the implications of NYC's ambitious decarbonization legislation, the Climate Mobilization Act, which — since November 2019 — requires all new... View full entry
