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[T]hough in practice CVS is context agnostic: A CVS looks like a CVS no matter where it is. It is a structure without character or distinction, and to walk along such a building is an unpleasant experience that degrades pedestrian life, the civic space and all the other properties around it. — Mark Lamster, Dallas News
Architecture critic Mark Lamster of The Dallas Morning News gives his two cents on why CVS Pharmacy, America's largest pharmacy chain, should rethink the “manipulative designs” of their retail stores, describing it as a case of “urban malpractice by chain retailers”. “As a CVS customer... View full entry
Architects pH+ and Developer City & Suburban have received planning permission to transform a decommissioned electricity works into a mixed-use residential scheme at The Camp, St Albans. Wrapped around two courtyards the project implements hidden parking below the landscaped shared spaces to... View full entry
In their latest collaboration with Apple, Foster + Partners envisioned the tech giant's new retail store near Macau's Sands Cotai Central resort as a luminescent “paper lantern” that reveals a “tranquil oasis” inside. According to the design team, the store can offer a sense of calm and... View full entry
Located in the affluent Melbourne suburb of Ringwood along Maroondah Highway, the Sage Hotel is the next phase of ACME's ongoing redevelopment of the Eastland mixed-use town center. The center first opened in 2015. The Sage Hotel is a simple volume whose structure is constrained by existing... View full entry
Built atop the rolling hills of eastern Napa Valley in California, the Odette Estate Winery was designed with sustainable farming and wine production in mind. Designer Signum Architecture was awarded as an Industrial Building category winner for the project in the 2017 American Architecture Prize... View full entry
Easton Helsinki, a shopping centre by Lahdelma & Mahlamäki in Itäkeskus, Helsinki, opened its doors to the public today. The 66,000m2 development is the first phase in a larger urban plan and looks to celebrate the identity and culture of Helsinki’s eastern districts. The project... View full entry
It's a double-win for Studio Daniel Libeskind, who was recently selected to design two mixed-use projects in France: the Occitanie Tower in Toulouse and the East Thiers Train Station in Nice. The projects unveil a new development strategy for both cities that was set forth by commercial real... View full entry
In hopes to bring tourism into the area, San Pellegrino will soon have a brand new flagship factory in San Pellegrino Terme, where the sparkling-water brand has resided since 1899. Bjarke Ingels Group had the winning proposal to design the new bottling factory in a competition against MVRDV... View full entry
Despite recent geopolitical tensions, The Philippines is projected to have one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and one seeming indicator of that is the increasing number of tall corporate towers — some with, uh, distinctive designs — that are sprouting up throughout Metro... View full entry
Very few people have a neutral reaction to Eric Owen Moss: in his conversation and his work, he can be abrasive, challenging, enlightening, and inspirational. For its part, Austria awarded him with its Decoration of Honor for Science and Art on June 21st, celebrating five decades of practice that... View full entry
Usually, you go to these fast casual things and you're in and out in a minute...In all of the commercial projects that we do, the reason that we do them and the reason that we probably get hired to do them is that we are interested in this idea of making a joyous space for everyday activities...
It's not so much about the brand name being reinforced everywhere as much as it is to provide this urban amenity living room.
— Barbara Bestor, on KPCC
Most people don't rave about the interior design in the average Jamba Juice. But Barbara Bestor and her practice might have changed that in the expanded Old Town Pasadena location they recently revamped. Bestor chats with KPCC's Alex Cohen in this 8-minute conversation about the new “Innovation... View full entry
The new building design introduced massive 40 foot sliding glass doors that could one day turn that store into an iCar showroom if they wanted to.
The estimated breakdown of the costs started with the shell of the building costing Apple $19 million. Some of the other costs included $1 million on the staircase alone. If there's 30 stairs that $33,333 per stair.
— Patently Apple
While Norman Foster's "spaceship" design for the Apple Campus has attracted its own share of critiques for possibly reviving older corporate design models, this newly refurbished Apple Store appears to be heading for a far more multi-faceted (and luxurious) future. In an era where many prefer to... View full entry
After 10 years, Kohn Pedersen Fox's Riverside 66 in Tianjin, China successfully reached completion as scheduled and officially opened to the public on September 26. The grand opening also marked the completion of the final phase of the main pedestrian He Ping Lu boulevard, which aims to become the... View full entry
Carlos Zarco Sanz from the University of Madrid recently sent us his proposal, "Korean Diaspora" from Re-thinking the Future's International Architectural Thesis Award we previously featured. His design won 3rd place in the Public/Institutional category.
Sanz's "Korean Diaspora" reimagines Manhattan's Koreatown as a shifting social and commercial space built for the neighborhood's present and future.
— bustler.net
For full details, head over to Bustler. Images courtesy of Carlos Zarco Sanz. View full entry
The skyline of Chile’s capital city, Santiago, has a new addition with the Gran Torre skyscraper casting a two-kilometre shadow across the historic city.
The 70-storey residential building stands more than 300 metres tall, making it the tallest building in South America. The five-ton steel structure cost an estimated one billion dollars to build and tenants are expected to move into the building next March.
— DesignBuild Source
