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[...] Peter Barber, one of the most original architects working today. Over the past decade he has built a reputation for his ingenious reinventions of traditional house types and his ability to craft characterful chunks of city out of unpromising sites.
[...] He is a master of humane high-density, designing that rare thing: new housing that feels in tune with the grain of London, in the form of neither alienating slabs nor tacky towers, without resorting to pastiche.
— The Guardian
The Guardian's architecture critic, Oliver Wainwright, has nothing but praise for the award-winning firm Peter Barber Architects, a small practice that seeks to integrate social activism ideals when designing better, and more humane, housing for London. Holmes Road Studio, a whimsical housing... View full entry
Some of the world's most scenic locations for luxury homes — beachfronts, forests, mountains — are also prone to disaster: hurricanes and floods, wildfires and earthquakes. Architects and designers are increasingly tasked with creating gorgeous homes that are also able to stand up to nature's whims. — CNN
It shouldn't have to take another reminder from the United Nations that a lot more climate change-related extreme weather scenarios will be heading our way in the coming decades to finally take disaster preparedness into consideration when designing homes. View full entry
Amazon has made clear that it wants to own the smart home space. Now the company's going a step further, taking a stake in a start-up that's building actual homes.
On Tuesday, Amazon said its Alexa Fund invested in Plant Prefab, a Southern California company that says it uses sustainable construction processes and materials to build prefabricated custom single- and multifamily houses. The start-up is aiming to use automation to build homes faster and bring down costs.
— CNBC
With this recent investment in eco-friendly prefabricated home factory Plant Prefab, Amazon uses its mighty financial leverage and dominance in the market for voice-controlled connected devices to make the brand just as synonymous with smart homes as it already is with online retail. Plant... View full entry
Mexico and Sweden-based architectural practice MAIN OFFICE has recently completed CASA LT, an expansion and restoration of a residential complex located on the coast of Mexico. CASA LT by MAIN OFFICE, located in Sayulita, MX. © Rafael GamoCASA LT by MAIN OFFICE, located in Sayulita, MX. ©... View full entry
Actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation has sued the architect of scores of homes the nonprofit sold to Lower 9th Ward residents who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.
Make it Right itself was recently sued over the homes’ shoddy construction.
The new lawsuit against local architect John C. Williams was filed Tuesday in Orleans Parish Civil District Court.
— theadvocate.com
Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, recently facing a lawsuit of their own on delivering poorly constructed homes, is now suing John C. Williams, the architect responsible for many of the homes sold to New Orleans residents. Repairs to the water damaged homes caused by flawed... View full entry
At its current rate of growth, Brooklyn is about to be more populous than the entire city of Chicago.
Saying “we need more housing” is a given, but no one agrees on where, how high, and for whom. And New York has been later to that discussion than San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles: While the city is building housing, technically, it is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of 144,000 new Kings County residents since 2010.
— Curbed New York
Alexandra Lange takes a closer look at Brooklyn's contested 80 Flatbush mixed-use development and argues why it's good for the borough. View full entry
The new Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay (ISMO) was recently completed by Dutch firm KAAN Architecten. The institute moved into their new building as part of the Université Paris-Saclay's future campus in Orsay, France. Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay (ISMO) by KAAN... View full entry
Berlin has decided on a novel location to host some of the new apartments the city badly needs—on top of the old ones.
Yesterday, Berlin’s Senate announced a project to add more units on top of already existing buildings in the city’s east, with a possible capacity of up to 50,000 new homes. The plan to add floors isn’t novel in itself, of course, even in Berlin. What’s striking is the specific type of building chosen for the experiment: East Berlin’s Plattenbau.
— citylab.com
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward in 2005, Brad Pitt set up the Make It Right Foundation to aid in the rebuilding efforts. The non-profit charity, promoting energy efficient technology and high quality architecture, promised LEED Platinum-certified... View full entry
The environmental review period for the $1-billion Hollywood Center development has kicked off, and an initial report for the project offers up new details on what's to come.
The proposed mixed-use complex, slated for 4.5 acres of surface parking that wraps the iconic Capitol Records Building, would consist of four new buildings containing a total of 1,005 residential units - including 133 apartments to be set aside for extremely-low- and very-low-income seniors.
— urbanize.la
Previously: Hollywood Center towers proposed near Capitol Records Building View full entry
Are you specifically interested in housing architecture? From private high-end residences to modular homeless units, the residential sector offers a wide range of possibilities for dwelling design. The architecture of a living space has a tremendous impact over those who inhabit it shaping their... View full entry
Ten years after the housing collapse during the Great Recession, a new and different housing crisis has emerged.
Back then, people were losing their homes as home values crashed and homeowners went underwater. Today, home values have rebounded, but people who want to buy a new home are often priced out of the market. There are too few homes and too many potential buyers.
— NPR
NPR takes a closer look at the impact of the housing affordability crisis in midsized, fast-growing cities, like Des Moines, IA, Durham, NC, and Boise, ID—far away from the usual, well documented housing hot spots of the big coastal cities. View full entry
Continuing with designing for space, Foster + Partners will showcase their vision of life on Mars and the Moon as part of the Future Lab showcase at the 2018 Goodwood Festival. The firm will show a range of models, robotics, and futuristic designs to explore the future of life in space... View full entry
MAD Architects, headquartered in Beijing, is making progress on its first U.S. project, Gardenhouse in Beverly Hills (first announced on Archinect in 2015). The playful 18-unit residential project along Wilshire Boulevard just topped out and aims for completion before the end of the year—then... 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
