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Acres of prime real estate are opening for redevelopment as America’s malls struggle to compete with Amazon and other online giants, offering developers a rare shot to remake swaths of land in the country’s built-out metropolises.
In particular, real estate experts say, the demise of retail centers provides one of the best chances to add needed housing [...].
— Los Angeles Times
In his article, LA Times reporter Andrew Khouri also points out the drawbacks of these new development opportunities, writing "residents voiced concern that the development will make the area more attractive to those of higher incomes and put upward pressure on rents in the surrounding area, even... View full entry
Richard Neutra’s glass and steel Chuey House in the Hollywood Hills is being marketed as a ‘tear down’ for $10.5m.
The architect designed the midcentury modern home for poet Josephine Ain Chuey in 1956, and it has since passed down to her niece and nephew, who filed for bankruptcy in June. It’s now being sold as a ‘truly unique development opportunity’, with no mention of its architectural merit – just its ‘spectacular’ Sunset Plaza Drive location and ‘unmatched panoramic views..."
— The Spaces
Iconic, elegant, and now endangered: one of the works of the masters of mid-century modern architecture has been listed more for its lot than for the exquisitely cantilevered structure itself. After its completion, Josephine Ain, who was living with her husband Richard Chuey, wrote to Neutra... View full entry
In order to avoid being listed by Historic England, a developer recently demolished an ornate Jacobean pendant ceiling at one of their sites. Previously a hotel and bar, the owners, Midas Properties/G&E Baio Ltd, had a planning application to subdivide and convert the building into student... View full entry
Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter was appointed as advisor and architect for the new mixed-use headquarters of fashion company Bestseller in Brande, Denmark. Located in the company's hometown of Brande, the project will accommodate retail spaces for up to 30 shops, areas for offices, education, and public... View full entry
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported on the housing shortage in Venice Beach. As one of Los Angeles' hottest neighborhoods—in large part due to the influx of tech companies that have made it their home and lent it the new nickname, Silicon Beach—it might come as a surprise to learn... View full entry
The effort to convert the old Penn Central rail yard on the Far West Side of Manhattan into high-rises has bumped along since being proposed in the mid-1970s by a developer named Donald J. Trump.
What was proposed for the area often rankled neighbors, who found the buildings to be too tall, too close together and too pricey. But, after welcoming its first residents in the late 1990s, the controversial mega-project is entering its homestretch.
— The New York Times
The site includes buildings by architects like Richard Meier and the soon-too-be-completed Three Waterline Square by Rafael Viñoly. While Donald Trump is no longer the landlord, his name still appears on façades. View full entry
Ever wondered when the high-rises in downtown Los Angeles were built? This two-minute video of animated renderings by Commercial Cafe provides a brief history and date for most of the skyscrapers downtown, from City Hall to the Wilshire Grand, concluding with a color-coded erection sequence by... View full entry
Others are concerned the demolition of its famed French architectural gems will render Ho Chi Minh City indistinguishable from other Asian megacities. "In the 1960s and 1970s it was very much French, but now it's very Americanized, McDonald's on every corner," said Hiep Nguyen, born in Ho City Minh City and author of several books on its architectural history. "A streetscape without a story has no value," he added. — dw.com
"City officials are now writing a nine-point plan to classify buildings and mark some for protection," DW writes, "but admit such a huge task could take years to be implemented." View full entry
What's the value of history? It's a question that keeps coming up around the world as new projects displace older architecture. In Vietnam, many of Ho Chi Minh City's distinctive (and, in many cases, French-colonial-era) structures are being dispatched to memory in favor of newer developments... View full entry
A new report by the online property marketplace LendInvest reveals that four out of five of Britain’s housebuilders have gone out of business in the last 30 months. This is largely due to the dominance of the eight largest builders—responsible for constructing more than 50% of the country’s... View full entry
The rapid pace of urbanization in developing countries places increasing levels of stress on cities. As thousands of people move into urban areas each year, the availability of affordable housing emerges as a key challenge. In India, 412 million people live in urban areas. Depending on the source... View full entry
World Trade Centers aren't just for the northern hemisphere anymore: Perth, Australia will become the recipient of a two-towered, $1.85 Australian dollar World Trade Center designed by Woods Bagot. The uneven towers (one tops out at 36 stories, the other 75) still need official approval by the... View full entry
Never one to bore, Karim Rashid has announced that he’s formed a new vertically-integrated firm that will incorporate architecture, investment, and development of new projects across New York City. Rashid has teamed up with his namesake firm’s director of interior design, Alex Loyer Hughes, to form Kurv Architecture D.P.C. [...]
Although there’s overlap between Rashid’s namesake firm and Kurv at the moment, Kurv will focus more on ground-up production rather than design alone.
— Curbed New York
"We are foremost, a design-development firm, specializing in the increased return of tangible added value through the implementation of unique award winning design," the mission statement on Kurv's website reads. "The word design is used in the broadest sense to describe the full scope of the... View full entry
Isn’t Ilfracombe already a town?
Yes, but Hirst was deeply involved in the application process for an eco-friendly, 750-home development known as the Southern Extension.
That’s a terrible name for a town.
Which is probably why the scheme was known as Hirst-on-Sea until recently.
Until recently?
Hirst, who lives nearby, has now withdrawn from the project. His company, Resign, says it could not find a developer to build houses “in keeping with our vision”.
— The Guardian
Looks like Damien Hirst's plan to build 750 eco-friendly homes in the English seaside town of Ilfracombe isn't going to happen after all. When we first reported about the artist's town-development ambitions back in 2012, the announcement was greeted with skepticism from Archinect readers. Two... View full entry
The City Council this morning voted to approve the latest joint venture partnership and timeline for the long-delayed Grand Avenue project. The $950 million mega-development being designed by Frank Gehry is now scheduled to break ground in 2018 and open in 2022, according to developer Related Companies. [...]
The project was initially announced before the recession, and stalled during the economic downturn. It has been through numerous design changes.
— Los Angeles Downtown News
The glacial pace of the Grand Avenue Project development documented in the Archinect news:Redesigned Grand Avenue project wins L.A. County supervisors' blessingNew designs unveiled by Frank Gehry for LA's storied Grand Ave. projectIn the end, turmoil over Grand Avenue plan could help the... View full entry