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Plans for the upcoming restoration of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 66 Portland Place headquarters in London have become clearer with the release of an updated proposal detailing the scope of work on the new House of Architecture project. Benedetti Architects will be... View full entry
With the upcoming 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on the horizon for 2025, the new interior renovations by Trahan Architects to one of its tragic epicenters—the historic Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana—is an important project to highlight following the completion of... View full entry
Over the past decade or so, bleacher stairs have become a ubiquitous marker of contemporary public architecture. It’s time for the trend to stop.
Its subsequent proliferation serves as a good example of how avant-garde design, or at least a consumerist version of it, filters down to the mainstream.
The broader point is that architects need to be more inventive as they plan new public spaces, and their patrons need to demand that those spaces are accessible for the entire population.
— The Dallas Morning News
The ubiquitous “bleacher stair” feature can be seen in designs for the Studio Museum of Harlem, Perez Art Museum Miami, and the new Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History (just by my count) and can be traced to Rem Koolhaas’ design for Prada’s NYC flagship in 2001, says... View full entry
New research produced by the University of Cambridge has identified key strategies to better effect a widespread implementation of inclusive design beyond its current status as a nascent set of concepts that have yet to be fully adopted by practitioners in almost every sector. The paper’s lead... View full entry
A dramatic new makeover of Penn Station’s entrance at 7th Avenue and 32nd Street in Manhattan has been completed by Foster + Partners and AECOM for clients Amtrak and the Vornado Realty Trust. The rebuilding project expands the entrance’s width by 50 percent while making it... View full entry
Trailblazing architect, industrial designer, and inclusion advocate Beverly Willis passed away on October 1st in Connecticut from complications related to Parkinson’s disease, the New York Times reported on Monday. She was 95. The founder of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation leaves... View full entry
Following last week’s look at an opening for a Program Production Fellow at MoMA PS1, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an opportunity on Archinect Jobs for a Facilities Accessibility Planner at Yale University. The role, based in New Haven, CT, calls for... View full entry
More than 30 years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, mandating reasonable accommodations and accessibility features for people with disabilities. Yet to this day, ADA noncompliant sidewalks, crosswalks, and public transportation stops permeate U.S. cities from coast to coast. — Next City
The plaintiff in the Hunters Point Library suit against Steven Holl — disability advocate Tanya Jackson — is another high-profile case highlighting the effects of racial health inequality in design and the failures of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for Black disabled... View full entry
Polish firm SLAS architekci has injected an eye-catching multifunctional public space into a university campus in the southern Polish city of Chorzów. Called “Activity Zone,” the project was a nominee in the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe... View full entry
New York City is suing the architects behind the Hunters Point Library for tens of millions of dollars over portions of the structure not being accessible to people with handicaps, in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. [...]
The city’s lawsuit was filed May 17 in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. The defendants are Steven Holl Architect, PC, aka Steven Holl Architects, and the individuals Steven Holl and Christopher McVoy.
— Queens Chronicle
The original lawsuit was brought to Federal court in November 2019 by a local disability advocate named Tanya Jackson. The project debuted just two months prior and drew the immediate ire of critics who were quick to point out the flaws in its $41.5 million non-universal design. Steven Holl... View full entry
With several high-profile projects, including the planned Etihad Stadium expansion and the $1 billion Eleven Park in Indianapolis, on its horizon, Populous senior principal Silvia Prandelli sat down with The Athletic recently to detail the firm’s approach to stadium design in... View full entry
Playgrounds today are becoming more varied, more accessible, and more customized, according to playground experts. Some, surprisingly, may even be getting slightly more dangerous, at least within the limits of U.S. safety standards, giving American children more opportunity to take risks and push limits. — Fast Company
As reported by Fast Company, the transformation of playgrounds across the U.S. has been driven by the desire for these spaces to reflect the unique qualities of their communities or this idea of “localized play”. The term was noted by Scott Roschi, the creative director of Landscape... View full entry
A Manhattan federal judge on Friday approved a settlement to a class action lawsuit that locks the MTA into equipping 95% of subway and Staten Island Railway stations with elevators or ramps — with a deadline three decades away.
The approval by Judge Edgardo Ramos caps one part of a long-running push by advocates for people with disabilities to improve access to a transit system where merely a quarter of the nearly 500 stations comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
— The City
As The City reported, the ruling makes the terms of last June’s landmark settlement official. Judge Ramos told plaintiffs that he knows the push would be a “very difficult thing to achieve.” MTA officials currently plan the upgrades in stages, with 81 stations affected by 2024 as... View full entry
Los Angeles-based Darin Johnstone Architects has offered an inside look at their recently-completed renovation of the Ahmanson Auditorium. Located on the ArtCenter College of Design’s Hillside campus in Pasadena, the 3,300-square-foot auditorium saw upgrades to its lobby, main theater, and... View full entry
PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, the first and only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) dedicated to design, are marking the first step in their three-year partnership to develop Black designers and increase representation in the design industry with a program... View full entry
