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The acclaimed Japanese firm Atelier Bow-Wow has completed its first and only home built in the United States. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas in California, the Mountain House sits as a “meticulously designed and thoughtfully crafted residential structure” in sixty acres of... View full entry
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has been awarded more than $200 million from the Biden Administration in what is one of the largest pieces of federal funding awarded to the project in its history.
The $202 million grant was made by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the 2022 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program — part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021.
— KTLA
The latest funding reduces some of the $128 billion burden incurred by the project, which had been teetering on the edge before the state allocated enough funding to complete a critical 171-mile stretch in California’s Central Valley. The federal money will be put specifically towards six grade... View full entry
A new study from the University of California, Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation has uncovered over 171,749 acres of developable land owned by nonprofit colleges or faith-based organizations in the state, bolstering the aims of the “Yes in God’s Backyard” movement as it... View full entry
Mork-Ulnes Architects has unveiled their completed residential project in Bernal Heights, San Francisco. Named ‘The Silver Lining House,’ the home was commissioned by architectural photographer Bruce Damonte and interior designer Alison Damonte, who sought a “container for the couple’s art... View full entry
Over a five-year period, the company became the largest landowner in Solano County after purchasing more than 55,000 acres of undeveloped land. The company has paid more than $800 million since 2018, according to court records. [...]
On the eastern end of Solano County, the city of Rio Vista is now surrounded by Flannery Associates land. Mayor Ronald Kott said that, like many Solano County officials, he had not been approached by anyone from the company to discuss plans for the land.
— LA Times
Similar to Marc Lore’s utopian vision for a new $400 billion Shenzhen-style city from scratch called Telosa, the secretive land grab-cum-startup city lies suspiciously close to Travis Air Force Base and is being marketed as a “new city with tens of thousands of new homes, a large solar energy... View full entry
Professor Walter Hood is set to become chair of UC Berkeley's Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning (LAEP) for a two-year term beginning this fall. Berkeley describes Hood as “one of the pre-eminent American landscape designers working today,” whose projects “combine... View full entry
The project, slated for a property at 670 Mesquit Street, would include four buildings on a site stretching between 6th and 7th Streets creating more than 800,000 square feet of offices, 420 homes, ground-floor commercial uses, and a 236-room hotel. That last component of the project is the subject of a new motion introduced on August 16 by 14th District City Councilmember Kevin de Leon. — Urbanize Los Angeles
The motion, which was referred to the Los Angeles City Council’s Trade Travel and Tourism Committee for consideration, states that Vella Group, the developer behind the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed 670 Mesquit Street project, is seeking financial assistance from the city for the completion of... View full entry
The Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley has released a statewide assessment of the development of housing five years after the implementation of California's Senate Bill (SB) 35 began in 2018. The bill eased the barriers to housing production for builders, in some cases removing... View full entry
Aaron Neubert Architects has completed the ‘t House,’ a residence for a young family located in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills, overlooking the San Fernando Valley and Griffith Park. Described by the design team as an “innovative model for Southern California hillside developments,” the... View full entry
California has become the first U.S. state to establish general code standards mandating the reduction of embodied carbon emissions in large commercial and school buildings. The decision, recently announced by the California Building Standards Commission, encompasses commercial buildings exceeding... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to Los Angeles-based Assembledge+, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in LA this week to explore the work of Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA). Founded in 1994, and operating from studios in both LA and Detroit, the firm describes itself as “rooted... View full entry
The California Science Center has offered an update on the construction of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. When completed, the center will be home to the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which will be configured in a ‘ready-to-launch’ system complete with the orbiter Endeavour, solid rocket... View full entry
California’s Building Standards Commission has voted to ease barriers to the safe conversion of underused existing commercial buildings. The move has been described by AIA California as “an action that simultaneously addresses the climate emergency and California’s housing crisis.” The... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Los Angeles this week to explore the work of Assembledge+. Founded and led by David Thompson, and based on Sunset Boulevard, the firm describes itself as... View full entry
MVRDV has completed a mixed-use tower in San Francisco inspired by geology. Named ‘The Canyon,’ the 23-story scheme is part of a wider master plan along the city’s waterfront to create a sustainable community named Mission Rock. Image credit: Jason O'Rear The Canyon is one of four buildings... View full entry
