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While some presidents have had their personal opinions about the White House, it remains, nonetheless, a central piece of America’s identity.
And it remains, in the most literal sense of the word, for three major reasons, said David Fannon, assistant professor of architecture and civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern.
— News@Northeastern
While President Trump is on vacation, the White House is undergoing a $3.4 million West Wing renovation. Just over two centuries old, the home of the President has gone through as many changes as it has residents, maybe even more. David Fannon, an assistant professor of architecture at... View full entry
A draft government report on climate says the U.S. is already experiencing the consequences of global warming. The findings sharply contrast with statements by President Trump and some members of his Cabinet, who have sought to downplay the changing climate.
The document, which was leaked ahead of publication and reported by The New York Times on Tuesday, says Americans are seeing more heat waves and rainfall as a result of climate change.
— NPR
The draft report confirms previous assessments that global warming, as observed over the past decades, is indeed caused by human activity, and climate change is already showing affects on the United States' weather and economy. "That statement is directly at odds with statements from Trump and... View full entry
Just a few hours ago, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the non-binding Paris Agreement intended to mitigate climate change. The President of the American Institute of Architects Thomas Vonier, FAIA has issued a statement in response, reaffirming its... View full entry
The National Council of Architecture Registration Boards (NCARB) has tallied up the number of architects practicing in the United States, as well as each individual state. According to their 2016 survey, there are 109,748 architects in the U.S. It’s a drop from the previous year, although pretty... View full entry
Established in 2000 to “honor the contributions of immigrants to the United States and to foster appreciation of the arts and sciences”, the Vilcek Foundation has just announced that a major new prize for architects is open for applications. Three winners will each receive $50,000 in... View full entry
The American Society of Civil Engineers releases a report every four years that details the conditions and performance of American infrastructure. The group gives a letter grade—like with a school report card—and this year, America got a failing D+.Some of the dismal findings include:Only 51%... View full entry
Christo's proposed silver-fabric-panel draped "Over the River" project has been in the making for about 25 years, after he started hunting for a natural host site in 1992 and then gradually garnered the neccessary official approvals and permits over the following decades for a 42-mile stretch... View full entry
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has offered the post of secretary of housing and urban development to former presidential candidate Ben Carson, who will consider it over the Thanksgiving holiday, a Carson spokesman said on Tuesday.
"The president-elected asked him to consider it and he's considering it," Carson spokesman Armstrong Williams said. Carson, a retired surgeon, dropped out of the 2016 presidential race in March and backed Trump.
— Reuters
More on the US Department of Housing and Urban Development: Turning down tenants because of criminal records may be discrimination, says HUDRebuild by Design Wins Innovation AwardU.S. Department of HUD announces the Rebuild By Design winners View full entry
Accurately tracking a population that has no permanent home has always been a challenge for those who attempt to put together figures on homelessness. Many studies elect to count transients one night each year in order to create some form of consistency. Using that method, a study by the... View full entry
US President-Elect Donald Trump, who built his business on constructing towers, used his victory speech early today in New York to repeat his pledge to put “millions of people to work” rebuilding American infrastructure, airports, schools and hospitals.
[...]
“We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals,” he said to whoops and applause.
— Global Construction Review
“We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.”More on how the Trump residency may impact the built environment:AIA releases statement on 2016 U.S. Election results... View full entry
LIke everything else in the 21st century, infrastructure is no longer about big moves but rather about nuance, refinement, and creative strategy. This is the argument advocated by The Hill, which makes the case that all infrastructure projects should be resilient and made to serve multiple... View full entry
U.S. home resales unexpectedly fell in August, crimped by a shortage of inventory that is boosting home prices faster than the pace of wage growth.
The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday existing home sales declined 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 5.33 million units.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales rising 1.1 percent in August to a 5.45 million-unit pace.
— Reuters
July's sales pace was also revised lower to 5.38 million units from the previously reported 5.39 million units. However, despite sales being at their second-lowest pace of the year, home resales were still up 0.8 percent from one year ago.For more on the current state of the housing market in... View full entry
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the U.S.' job growth over the past five years has been centered in large metro areas like Los Angeles and New York. What might be surprising is how the majority of those newly created jobs are either "mid-wage" or "low-wage" jobs, here defined as those that pay... View full entry
On issues related to the funding, mass transit, biking, and the environment, the two parties have staked out dramatically different views about how they envision the future of the nation’s transportation system.
Democrats are proposing an expansive increase in federal support for transportation investment, with a focus on building access to opportunity, bolstering access to non-automobile modes, reducing the impacts of climate change, and maintaining the role of unions.
— The Transport Politic
Republicans, on the other hand, propose no increase in federal spending (though Mr. Trump may disagree), an elimination of the federal role in funding non-automotive transportation, an emphasis on pollution-spewing modes and energy sources, and a reduction in the role of unions.For more on the... View full entry
May 26, 2016Aravena’s Biennale for architecture to give a damn might imply a specific kind of project, but, after one day on the ground, it is clear that there is no one way for it to respond. For one thing, there is a truly incomprehensible quantity of material to cover. The volume alone speaks... View full entry
