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Perhaps, as a real-estate developer, President Trump might appreciate the richness of America’s heritage of classical public buildings. It’s not inconceivable that he would support reform of the Guiding Principles. Otherwise, U.S. senators and representatives should do all they can to ensure that classical principles guide future federal architecture projects. In doing so, they will be contributing to a renewal of American civilization. — City Journal
During the administration of President John F. Kennedy, sociologist, politician, and diplomat Daniel Patrick Moynihan drafted the "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture," a set of architectural guidelines that inform the design of building projects undertaken by the Public Building Service... View full entry
History has been made in England, where the Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners-designed Sainsbury complex in London has become the country's first historically-recognized supermarket. Sainsbury’s supermarket in London. Image courtesy of © Historic England DP251196 Built between 1986 and... View full entry
The plan is the fourth pillar in a five-year philanthropic effort dubbed AI for Good, which already includes previously announced target areas centered on the earth, humanitarian action and accessibility. The $10m cultural heritage initiative will focus on finding ways to celebrate people, language, places and historic artifacts, — The Art Newspaper
Microsoft, a leader in the tech industry, has initiated a new extension to their $125M AI for Good program. The company aims to use artificial intelligence as a way to preserve cultural heritage. According to an announcement made by Microsoft President Brad Smith, "We want technology to advance... View full entry
A slim hotel tower slated to rise on a Historic Core parking lot is slated to begin construction in spring 2020 and wrap up in 2022.
The Spring Street Hotel is developed by Lizard Capital and designed by Asap/Adam Sokol Architecture Practice. It would hold 170 rooms—20 of them suites—as well as a restaurant, bar, conference rooms, a screening room, and a gym.
— Curbed LA
Downtown Los Angeles has seen a significant revitalization in the last twenty years, with much of the change happening in its central Historic Core, the dense area of early 20th century buildings now largely occupied by wealthy residents. A striking new addition to the Historic Core might... View full entry
Conceived to handle fewer than 200,000 passengers, the replacement Penn Station is today the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere, through which more than 600,000 commuters pass each day — an experience as humiliating and bewildering as Grand Central remains inspiring and exalted. — The New York Times
NYT architecture critic Michael Kimmelman takes a look back at the triumphal arrival of the former Pennsylvania Station by McKim, Mead & White in 1910, its steady decline in the following decades, the consequential replacement with the current solution—a disappointing product of mid-century... View full entry
The New Delhi based practice, Studio Lotus, creates a winning project design that applies adaptive re-use techniques to transform the historic Mehrangarh Fort precinct in Jodhpur, India. The new Visitor Centre and Knowledge Centre is set to create an alternative entrance to the Mehrangarh Fort... View full entry
The completion of this transaction, which will see us bring new life to the iconic Lord & Taylor building, reflects the evolution of the We Company, the diversification of our real estate strategy and the company’s ongoing transition from an occupier to an operator of space — TheRealDeal
WeCompany, formerly known as WeWork made significant company transitions earlier this year. Now venturing beyond the shared workspace and leasing office business model, the WeCompany closed and confirmed its purchase of the historic Lord and Taylor flagship in January. News of the building... View full entry
This is the era of the glass and steel airport. As if made from the same mold, shiny, glittering terminals have become a status symbol for any city with aspirations. But all of this is a world away from the remoteness of Russia's Arctic regions and the Siberian wilderness [...] built in the mid-20th century when the Soviet Union saw in air transport a way to expand the state's reach to every corner of its territory, even if that meant little more than a dirt runway and a radio shack. — cnn.com
A collection of Russia's historic wooden airports are the antithesis of our current experience of most urban airports. Rather than immense glass and steel constructions, these old structures are made of simplistic wooden designs. While many may look dilapidated, several are still in operation... View full entry
Utopia, the Library and Academy for Performing Arts, has recently opened in it's new building designed by KAAN Architecten. Located in Aalst, Belgium, the brick structure incorporates a historic school building from 1880 embedded within. Utopia by KAAN Architecten, located in Aalst, Belgium... View full entry
The John Hancock Center is getting a name change, nearly a decade after another of Chicago’s most beloved skyscrapers — the Sears Tower — switched identities and caused a civic uproar.
Owners of the 100-story John Hancock Center said the building’s namesake, the insurance company that built the tower almost five decades ago, asked that its name and logos throughout the building’s interior be removed immediately.
— Chicago Tribune
Until the owners of the building, Chicago-based developer Hearn Co., find interested buyers for its naming rights, the iconic landmark tower will be known simply by its address, 875 N. Michigan Ave. View full entry
Deborah Berke Partners recently completed the two-year renovation of Washington D.C.'s iconic Wardman Tower. First built in 1928 by developer Harry Wardman and architect Mihran Mesrobian, the 9-story Georgian Revival tower was once home to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Herbert Hoover... View full entry
Building owner Mick Ruis had set a Jan. 10 deadline for preservation groups to raise $1.7 million in cash to buy the building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Local business leaders, the Montana Preservation Alliance and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy all were working toward a deal that would have spared the building [...] It is the first viable Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building to be lost in more than 40 years. — Daily InterLake
In a frustrating turn of events, Frank Lloyd Wright's Lockridge Medical Clinic — which was completed after his death in 1959 — in Whitefish, Montana was demolished overnight. The building's current owner Mick Ruis moved up his demolition plans and refused to give more time to preservation... View full entry
The monument conservation group, World Monuments Fund, has announced 25 of the world's at-risk sites on its biennial watch list. Threatened by human conflict, climate change, disasters and/or urbanization, the newly listed historical gems span more than 30 countries and territories dating from... View full entry
The Parker Center, depending on who you ask, is either a midcentury icon, or a powerful symbol of Los Angeles' racist past. Located downtown, the building was home to the LAPD up until 2009 when they relocated due to expensive retrofits needed on the site. Designed by Welton Becket—the architect... View full entry
[Hearn's] venture also controls rights to the building's name, which has remained unchanged since John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. developed it [...] Hearn has been in talks with companies interested in putting their name on the skyscraper since the structure's namesake no longer pays for that right. "We've had interest in it, but have not made a deal yet," Hearn said. That process could be resumed by a new owner. — Chicago Tribune
Chicago-based developer Hearn Co. currently plans on selling the John Hancock Center's office space, parking garage and, perhaps most interestingly, its naming rights later this summer. According to the Chicago Tribune, Hearn would use the proceeds from the naming rights toward a $10 million... View full entry
