Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
Chicago will receive a total of $185 million in federal funding to make several of its Chicago Transit Authority and Metra stations accessible for disabled riders, officials announced Monday as part of a new program tucked into the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden last year. — Chicago Tribune
The money is part of the larger $1.75 billion provision set aside for accessibility improvements in various urban transit agencies by the federal infrastructure bill from last year. New York is the only city to receive more. Per the Tribune, a total of 42 of the CTA’s 145 stations are not... View full entry
Washington, D.C.’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has announced that a joint team of SOM and Selldorf Architects will lead a major modernization of its now 48-year-old Gordon Bunshaft-designed facility in the last of a three-phase campus revitalization that will begin in 2025, according... View full entry
Following last week’s look at an opening for a Structural Steel Specialist at the AISC, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore a role for a Wayfinding Designer at Mijksenaar USA. The successful candidate will join the firm’s New York City office, working on... View full entry
Toronto residents are expressing their concerns over the Diamond Schmitt-designed plan for a massive new aquatic theme park at Ontario Place they say is “tone-deaf” and exclusionary of their basic needs. Spurred on by the recent release of updated renderings and other details of Therme... View full entry
The House Select Committee on Congressional Modernization has approved select recommendations first provided to that body by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) during a recent hearing on March 17. A slate of proposals for updating Congressional office space was originally put... View full entry
The federal government is taking the Chicago Cubs to court over the team's recent renovations at Wrigley Field, claiming the changes to the ballpark don't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court by the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago, the Cubs "failed to ensure that recent additions and alterations at Wrigley Field are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.” — CBS Chicago
Between 2014 and 2019, Wrigley Field underwent a significant overhaul known as “The 1060 Project,” which included new seats, expanded bleachers, a new outdoor concourse, new concessions, upgraded restrooms, new team clubhouses, and more. The alleged violations to the ADA Standards for... View full entry
New York has lagged for years behind other major American cities in making its subway system accessible to people with disabilities: Just 126 of its 472 stations, or 27 percent, have elevators or ramps that make them fully accessible. But on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it would add elevators and ramps to 95 percent of the subway’s stations by 2055 as part of a settlement agreement in two class-action lawsuits over the issue. — The New York Times
The settlement will see 81 subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2025. Another 85 stations will be made accessible by 2035, with 90 more by 2045, and an additional 90 by 2055. The subway stations selected for changes include nine that currently are partially accessible, where... View full entry
Some big names were on hand last week to celebrate the opening of Gensler and Marvel’s noteworthy new Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) branch in the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. The upgrades now make it the second-largest in the BPL’s system and are part of a larger $52 million land-sale... View full entry
As public bathrooms continue to be one of the rarest commodities in the city, the Adams administration has not provided a timeline or any details for the installation of 15 automatic sidewalk toilets unused for more than a decade.
But only five of the toilets have been installed and the city has struggled to find suitable new spots. For years, the others remained mothballed in a Queens warehouse but city officials declined to detail where they are currently located.
— The City
The toilets are a holdover of the Bloomberg administration, which signed a franchising agreement with Cemusa (later JC Decaux) in 2006 that was supposed to provide 20 such facilities at a cost of around $500,000 apiece. Recently, the city declared it will not force dining establishments to offer... View full entry
CVS Pharmacy and Michael Graves Design are now teaming up on a direct-to-market line of home health care products that will build on the legacy of inclusive design beget by its namesake in the inspiring last decade of his life and career. The initial round of products focuses on bathroom... View full entry
An important update has been issued to one of the most-watched cultural projects in the UK this afternoon after Selldorf Architects released their initial plans for the redesigned Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery of Art in London. The firm was tapped in July to lead a multidisciplinary... View full entry
Inclusive design consultancy Human Space has been commissioned by the Canadian government with the aim of making the country’s federally-owned heritage buildings more accessible. The two-and-a-half-year project will seek to improve accessibility for users with disabilities without compromising... View full entry
As part of an institutional pivot that will take the combination art and history museum in a new direction, Calgary’s Glenbow Museum has officially closed its doors ahead of a three-year-long renovation project meant to reinterpret the 55-year-old museum’s image and impact on the local... View full entry
The Domus Aurea in Rome is open once again with a new feature following a 14-month hiatus after the coronavirus pandemic forced the 2,000-year-old palace’s shutdown. Stefano Boeri Architetti helped welcome back the public with an improved ramp and new entryway featuring an exhibition titled... View full entry
Through a series of postcards and a love letter, Toronto-based practice Atelier RZLBD has proposed a conceptual project that would add a 35-mile long tower above Toronto’s Yonge Street, the longest street in the world. Titled #YongeCity, the megastructure would be composed of space frame... View full entry
