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Hudson Yards, the $20 billion Related Cos. development on Manhattan’s far west side, is taking a key step forward as work begins on a platform over the area’s rail depot designed to support three skyscrapers. [...]
Building the 37,000-ton platform enables the start of almost 6 million square feet (560,000 square meters) of construction on the eastern half of the 26-acre (11-hectare) yards, said Stephen Ross, the New York-based developer’s chairman and founder.
— bloomberg.com
"Ai Weiwei, who helped design the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, stayed away from the opening ceremonies because he said he wanted his building to represent freedom, not be a trophy for an autocratic regime uninterested in change." — hyperallergic.com
Are we even delineating the role of the Architect in the construction process? Especially in the case where the clients are a monarchy and the problem cited is endemic to the entire region and not limited to the construction industry?Quoting Ai Weiwei and not Herzog and de Meuron seems almost... View full entry
Kohn Pedersen Fox's Riverside 66 in Tianjin, China is steadily working its way to completion, scheduled for this September. The 10-year retail project will be one of China's longest buildings, with a 350-meter "super shell" made of 22 seven-story concrete ribs and 10,000 panels of glass. At this... View full entry
"I have nothing to do with the workers," said Hadid. "I think that's an issue the government – if there's a problem – should pick up. Hopefully, these things will be resolved."
Asked if she was concerned, Hadid added: "Yes, but I'm more concerned about the deaths in Iraq as well, so what do I do about that? I'm not taking it lightly but I think it's for the government to look to take care of. It's not my duty as an architect to look at it.
— theguardian.com
David Boyle did not build his house out of shipping containers to be hip, though he does live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He left the water pipes exposed not in pursuit of an industrial chic aesthetic, but to make them easier to fix. [...]
Their goal, he said, was not style, but a place immune to the neighborhood’s rising rents, built out of materials cheap enough that it could inspire other urban homesteaders to do the same.
— nytimes.com
The latest addition to the Los Angeles skyline — the New Wilshire Grand, the tallest structure to be built west of the Mississippi — takes a major step forward Saturday when more than 2,000 truckloads of concrete are driven through downtown for what is being billed as the world's largest continuous concrete pour.
The slurry-fest begins at 5 p.m. and is expected to last nearly 20 hours.
— latimes.com
The organising committee for the Qatar 2022 World Cup has promised that contractors who build its stadiums will be held to high standards on the welfare of migrant workers, in the wake of trenchant and sustained criticism.
But the promises, made after demands for a progress update from football's governing body Fifa, do not deal with wider concerns about workers engaged in the £137bn construction boom underpinning World Cup infrastructure.
— Guardian
After the accidental death of over 185 Nepali workers' death, Qatar has obliged to introduce new standards to avoid further pressure from the international community.However, it only deals with the construction of the stadiums, which is due to begin in earnest this year. View full entry
Less than five months before Brazil's World Cup kicks off, 6 out of 12 venues are still unfinished -- including a complex in the northern city of Manaus, where construction workers have died and pay for laborers is an issue. Fifa has warned Brazil's World Cup 2014 host city of Curitiba that it could be excluded unless work speeds up. — marketplace.org
Previously: Three killed after partial stadium collapse at 2014 World Cup venue View full entry
A German architect accused of improperly installing a fireplace in his Hollywood Hills mansion, leading to a firefighter’s death in February 2011, is expected to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter Friday. — LA Times
Architect, Gerhard Becker, is accused of involuntary manslaughter in Los Angeles in the death of a firefighter in February 2011. He is expected to plead "no contest" and serve a 6 month long sentence. Becker was accused of constructing fireplaces in a 12,000 square foot residence in the Hollywood... View full entry
Brazil's World Cup preparations suffered a deadly setback on Wednesday when a roof collapsed killing at least two building workers at the São Paulo stadium that is due to host the opening match.
Coming a week before the draw for next year's tournament, the fatalities revive concerns about unsafe infrastructure and the slow pace of construction, which have dogged the hosts for more than a year.
— theguardian.com
The winners of the 2013 Structural Awards were revealed last Friday during a ceremony event [...] in London. Hosted by The Institution of Structural Engineers, the annual Structural Awards recognize the talents, the challenging environments, and the invaluable contributions of the world's best structural designers.
Twelve winners from around the world were honored this year, with the Taizhou Bridge in China winning the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence — the highest title.
— bustler.net
Previously: The Structural Awards - 2013 Shortlist View full entry
Upon receiving approval, construction of MVRDV's The Couch is set to begin this month. The Couch is a club house that the Dutch firm designed together with co-architect Studio Bouwkunde for IJburg, a growing tennis club established in 2010 on an artificial island in Amsterdam. — bustler.net
Images courtesy of MVRDV. View full entry
After winning first prize in a 2009 international competition, Henning Larsen Architects' Kolding Campus building for the University of Southern Denmark is full of sustainable features. One in particular is the recent construction of its facade, which is built with a solar shading system that maintains climate control throughout the day — and plus, the triangular shape of the solar shutters add a nifty-looking pattern for the structure. — bustler.net
[Genie is] a platform with online-based planning applications to help architects and engineers in the design process, especially for skyscrapers and large buildings. The platform includes planning tools of expert architects and engineers and advance analytics and simulation tools. Genie standardizes and automates the design and construction processes with unlimited design options, enabling an architect to preserve the building's uniqueness in the urban environment. — Globes
The much anticipated—and wildly criticized—San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge finally opened to the public earlier this week (previously on Archinect). See 42,000 hours of bridge construction compressed to a compact 4-minute time-lapse video below. View full entry