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Block 185, the downtown Austin office tower project best known as the future home of Google, has made significant progress since its groundbreaking back in the downright prehistoric era of 2019 — and though it hasn’t reached its full height of 594 feet just yet, the 35-floor building’s ever-growing prominence on the downtown skyline is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook. — Towers
The 35-story Block 185 office tower, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in collaboration with the local office of STG Design for developers Trammell Crow Company, will be Google's regional HQ in Austin. Completion is scheduled in 2022. Previously on Archinect: Pelli Clarke Pelli, Gensler... View full entry
Due to pandemic-related delays, the highly anticipated Lucas Museum will open its doors to the public in 2023. Construction began in March 2018, yet health and safety protocols relating to the Covid-19 pandemic have pushed back the Museum's opening. Renders of the $1-billion Museum and... View full entry
With pre-construction underway, the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) announced more details of its construction costs and economic impact for Chicago. In February, the Obama Foundation shared that in addition to breaking ground in 2021, they expressed their commitment to providing... View full entry
The allure of ADU's has grown significantly. Yet, with new state laws initiated in places like California pre-fabricated options for backyard dwelling units are more accessible to those who want them. This past month, Los Angeles launched its new ADU Standard Plan Program to streamline the... View full entry
Across the United States, construction workers were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not to diminish the hardships and sacrifices of other essential workers and industries affected by the pandemic, Susannah Jacob of the Atlantic highlights the ongoing dangers and overshadowed accounts of... View full entry
After breaking ground in late 2018 and topping out nearly one year later, the OMA/Shohei Shigematsu-designed Audrey Irmas Pavilion at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles is increasingly taking shape. The $75 million expansion — OMA's first building in the city — will house a... View full entry
Frank Gehry's team is wrapping up another high-profile project this year: after the $1-billion mixed-use development The Grand topped out in Downtown Los Angeles this week (aiming for completion in late 2021), the LUMA Arles art complex in the south of France just announced its intention to open... View full entry
Two years after The Grand, the Gehry-designed $1-billion mixed-use development, broke ground in Downtown Los Angeles, construction reached a major milestone this week with the enormous structure officially topping out. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Grand (@thegrandla) A... View full entry
Following the sudden, dramatic price spikes on an array of building materials in 2021, the Associated General Contractors of America has appealed to President Joe Biden to take action to ease the skyrocketing cost of lumber. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, "AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr asked Biden to urge domestic lumber producers to ramp up production to address growing shortages, as well as to make the crafting of a new softwood lumber agreement with Canada a top priority of his administration." View full entry
After breaking ground on its first residential high-rise in Philadelphia in June 2019, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates now celebrated the topping out with developer Dranoff Properties. Dubbed Arthaus, the 47-story glass-and-steel tower sits on Avenue of the Arts vis-à-vis the city's Kimmel... View full entry
French experts are combing the country’s forests for centuries-old oaks to rebuild the Notre Dame spire that was destroyed by fire. [...]
Last July, Macron announced the spire would be reconstructed exactly as it was. This is expected to require up to 1,000 oaks aged between 150 and 200 years old.
— The Guardian
Rebuilding the fire-damaged Gothic cathedral hasn't been easy: construction crews were impacted by COVID-19 safety measures, and since French President Macron decided to ditch the modern spire and restore it to its "last known visual state" based on Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's 19th-century... View full entry
Designed by Ma Yansong's team at MAD Architects, the intriguing new Wormhole Library in Haikou, the capital of the Chinese province of Hainan, recently celebrated its topping-out milestone. The structure sits within the city's Century Park along the Haikou Bay coastline, allowing visitors... View full entry
Ford Motor Co. of Dearborn has brought on New York City-based EverGreene Architectural Arts, one of the largest specialty contractors in the U.S., to revive the grandest areas of Michigan Central Station, including the main waiting area, arcade, ticket lobby, and restaurant. The company specializes in restoring historic buildings. — DBusiness Magazine
Ford purchased Detroit's historic but long-vacant Michigan Central Station in 2018 with plans to redevelop the hulking structure as the shining centerpiece of the company's new 30-acre Corktown mobility innovation district. PAU was brought on as the lead architect and strategic planner, and in... View full entry
Less than a decade after a spate of record-breaking condo towers reached new heights in New York, the first reports of defects and complaints are beginning to emerge, raising concerns that some of the construction methods and materials used have not lived up to the engineering breakthroughs that only recently enabled 1,000-foot-high trophy apartments. — The New York Times
The New York Times on complaints about substantial "leaks, creaks, breaks" in NYC's preeminent supertall ultraluxury condo tower, and briefly also tallest residential building in the world, 432 Park Avenue. Previously: Rafael Viñoly admits 432 Park ‘has a couple of screw-ups’Central Park... View full entry
A new report details how construction costs have changed across 12 U.S. cities since the coronavirus pandemic began. Broken down by market, all of the U.S. cities in the Rider Levett Bucknall report saw at least small gains, except for Chicago, which experienced a 1.29% decrease in comparative costs from October 2019 to October 2020. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, the new report by construction consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall signals a 2.03% increase of the national average for construction costs. The survey tracks the RLB Comparative Cost Index for major cities across the United States and found the biggest cost... View full entry
