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Apple’s famous Fifth Avenue flagship reopens Friday after more than two years of renovations. The glass cube has returned as an entrance to the store, set above the newly updated and locust tree-lined public plaza. As 6sqft previously reported, it cost $2 million to remove the cube in 2017 during the Midtown Manhattan store’s expansion. — 6sqft
The cube, originally built in 2006, is designed by Foster + Partners. View full entry
High-speed rail service will be available for the first time this year during Hajj, the pilgrimage by Muslims to Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca.
Some of the millions of pilgrims expected to make the journey will be riding Haramain High Speed Rail, which links Mecca to Medina and passes through three stations: Jeddah, King Abdul Aziz International Airport and King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh.
— CNN
The route's four larger-than-life train stations are designed by Foster + Partners and BuroHappold as international gateways for each host city, and are based on traditional and ancient design motifs that prioritize the creation of breezy spaces that are protected from the sun. View full entry
The Autorité Environnementale (AE) has issued a statement saying a future scenarios study by the airport had underestimated the project’s environmental impact and overestimated its economic benefits. The new Terminal 1 extension is scheduled to open at the start of 2023 [...] However, it appears those plans clash with France’s new target to be carbon neutral by 2050, prompting the environmental agency to demand clarification. — Architects Journal UK
In 2017, Foster + Partners' competition submission beat a proposal by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners for the opportunity to design the new extension to Marseille Provence Airport in France. More recently, France's environmental agency has raised questions concerning the project... View full entry
In a defeat for Foster + Partners, London mayor Sadiq Khan has rescinded municipal approval for the 997-foot Tulip tower the architects had proposed for the city's Square Mile high-rise district. Architect's Journal reports that a spokesperson for the mayor's office said that the... View full entry
The City Council approved JP Morgan Chase’s plans Wednesday for a soaring 70-story tower to replace the Union Carbide Building in East Midtown. [...] The new tower will consolidate all of JPMorgan Chase’s employees in one building and will come with a 10,000 square-foot privately owned public space after Community Board 5 and elected officials pushed for more square footage. — Curbed NY
Despite environmental concerns, demolition of the historic 270 Park Avenue tower in East Midtown, New York has already started to make way for JPMorgan Chase's new 70-story headquarters, which Foster + Partners was selected to design. Construction of the new tower is currently scheduled to begin... View full entry
The controversial Tulip skyscraper in the City was granted planning approval today despite huge concerns about its impact on historic views of London.
The decision by the City of London Corporation’s planning committee paves the way for the 305.3-metre high structure on Bury Street, which will be western Europe’s second tallest building after the Shard.
— Evening Standard
Despite all controversy surrounding the 1,000-foot-tall Tulip Tower, the Foster + Partners-designed project appears to have breezed through the approval process since it was first unveiled last November. Credit: DBOX for Foster + Partners"This building—a lift shaft with a bulge on top—would... View full entry
Foster + Partners' design for a Tulip-shaped tourist attraction is being recommended for approval by City of London officials, reports Building Design. Sited next door to Norman Foster's Gherkin, the proposed viewing platform has received considerable pushback. Examples include opposition from... View full entry
The wait is over. New York's Hudson Yards, which took nearly 20 years of planning and development, finally opens today. In 2001, the project's name and role in a potential 2012 Olympic bid were brought to the public eye. Between May 2004 to December 2010, Hudson Yards experienced a series of... View full entry
The Norton, which closed last July to finish three years of renovations, will re-open to the public on Feb. 9 with eight new exhibitions and a $100 million face-lift, adding 12,000 square feet of gallery space, along with new classrooms, a restaurant, a sculpture garden and a 210-seat auditorium. — South Florida Sun Sentinel
Almost exactly two years after its ceremonial groundbreaking, the Norman Foster-designed Norton Museum of Art expansion has been completed and will open its doors to the public this Saturday, February 9. Image courtesy of Foster + PartnersThe expansion plan preserved the institution's original... View full entry
Chances for architectural greatness are rare. When they come around, we best grab them. Such is the opportunity Chicago has before it with one of the five plans for a new global terminal at O’Hare International Airport. — Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune architecture critic, Blair Kamin, comes out in clear support of the Norman Foster-led finalist entry to the $8.5B Chicago O’Hare 21 Terminal Expansion competition: "That plan, from a team led by London-based Foster + Partners architects, promises to be everything an airport... View full entry
Some work continued on Thursday at a partly-built $13 billion Mexico City airport that the new president is scrapping, even after the government announced construction had been halted. [...]
The head of the government-run agency responsible for the project, Gerardo Ferrando, said the only construction still underway was to preserve what had already been built, such as drainage works, slabs of foundation and a partly-built tower.
— Reuters
NAICM aerial visualization. Rendering: Dbox.It's unclear what should happen now with the partly built new Mexico City International Airport which, some argue, was about one-third complete. "Construction work is officially suspended on that airport, and negotiations on the early termination of the... View full entry
Architecture, creativity, and community. These are the themes that best summarize Apple retail in 2018. Over the past year, Apple has worked in new ways to expand its global and local reach. The company has challenged the traditional definition of brick-and-mortar stores during an uncertain time for many retailers. — 9to5mac
The multi-billion dollar company made moves this year with its heavy presence of retail stores through out the globe. From their new and newly remodeled stores every flagship highlights elements of accessibility, natural light, and energy efficient initiatives present. This year alone, nine brand... View full entry
Construction on Norman Foster’s Red Hoek Point, a 7.7-acre commercial campus at a former sugar factory, started in October and this week new renderings were released that provide the first look at the nearly four acres of green roof space, including walking and jogging paths and landscaping to mitigate stormwater runoff. — 6sqft
via Visualhouse New York View full entry
Officials in Qatar revealed the design for Lusail Stadium, the venue at which the opening and final games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place.
The 80,000-capacity venue will be the largest stadium of the tournament, which will kick off on November 21, 2022, and be the first to take place in the Arab world.
— Al Jazeera
Image courtesy of Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.While most designs of the eight 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums have been subject of public debate for some time (most notably the controversial Zaha Hadid-planned Al Wakrah Stadium), the final appearance of the biggest and central venue... View full entry
Gondalas designed to move up and down the top of the Tulip tower are at risk of confusing air traffic control systems, according to technical experts at London City airport.
Construction on the 305-metre (1,000ft) tower must not go ahead until an assessment has been carried out into its potential impact on radar systems at the airport six miles to the east, officials told the authority considering whether to grant planning permission.
— The Guardian
After its big reveal in November, planning for the 1,000-foot-tall The Tulip observation tower by Foster + Partners has been halted by officials to study the impact the attraction's moving glass spheres high up in the sky will have on radar systems at the nearby London City airport, pointing out... View full entry
