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Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA) has begun construction on a much-needed cathedral addition that will add a contemporary feel in "harmonious dialogue" with a 12th-century structure set on the edge of the historic Loire Valley in France. The cathedral is host to several important polychromatic... View full entry
Whence a military installation, now an art gallery. A new adaptive reuse project from Signal Architecture + Research has transformed a one-time coastal artillery fortification in Port Townsend, Washington into an eight-acre arts compound with accommodations for studios, exhibition space, and a new... View full entry
Two and a half years after a fire ravaged the centuries-old Cathedral of Notre-Dame in the heart of Paris, the building has been secured enough to start the rebuilding process, which is expected to be completed in 2024, according to the French authorities. — The New York Times
The news was announced last weekend in a statement on Facebook by Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris, the public body responsible for the conservation and restoration of the 850-year-old cathedral. This milestone and expected timeline meets French President Emmanuel Macron’s five-year plan to... View full entry
Video shot Monday morning shows New Orleans’ historic Karnofsky Shop was destroyed by Hurricane Ida Sunday. [...]
The site, located on South Rampart Street, is where Louis Armstrong played jazz music and briefly worked. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
— WGNO New Orleans
The two-story brick building in New Orleans’ Central Business District has stood vacant for decades and was considered a hallmark of both Jazz history and Jewish culture within the Crescent City. The Karnofsky family, which purportedly loaned Louis Armstrong the money to buy his first cornet... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. Today's top images (in no particular order) are from the board Old+New. Tip: Use the handy FOLLOW feature to... View full entry
Archaeologists at the University of Reading and local volunteers have discovered a long-lost 8th-century Anglo-Saxon monastery in the historic village of Cookham in Berkshire, England. The finding provides unique insight into one of the most prominent women of the early middle ages and potentially... View full entry
Starting today, the Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture and Planning in collaboration with Massachusetts-based nonprofit Handhouse Studio are building a full-scale replica of a truss that belonged to the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. As part of a teaching project by... View full entry
The floor of Rome’s Colosseum, where gladiators once fought against each other and wild animals, is set to be restored to its former glory.
Milan Ingegneria, a structural engineering and architecture firm, has won an €18.5m (£16m) bid to build and install a retractable arena floor that will allow visitors “to see the majesty of the monument” from its centre, culture minister Dario Franceschini said on Sunday.
— The Guardian
Plans for the arena floor restoration of the Roman Colosseum (completed in AD80 under Emperor Titus) first appeared on Archinect in January. Concept for the new Colosseum arena floor. Video via MiC_Italia on YouTube. Milan Ingegneria's concept of a retractable arena floor allows the structure... View full entry
For the first time in more than 45 years, a Victorian home was relocated in San Francisco Sunday.
The 1880 Italianate-style house, once located at 807 Franklin, crawled seven blocks to 635 Fulton on a hydraulic dolly operated by remote control.
— SFGATE
Less than 8% of sites on the National Register are associated with women, Latinos, African Americans or other minorities. [...]
The reason for this underrepresentation is an overly technical, legalistic approach to determining what merits designation.
— Los Angeles Times
Sara Bronin, a University of Connecticut Law School professor specializing in historic preservation law, penned an LA Times op-ed about the technical hurdles that have hindered many non-white historic sites to be designated for the National Register of Historic Places. "Preservationists have... View full entry
Researchers said on Saturday they had discovered a frescoed thermopolium or fast-food counter in an exceptional state of preservation in Pompeii.
The ornate snack bar, decorated with polychrome patterns and frozen by volcanic ash, was partially exhumed last year but archaeologists extended work on the site to reveal it in its full glory.
— The Guardian
The astonishingly well preserved and nearly 2,000-year-old snack bar, or Thermopolium, in Pompeii's Regio V has re-emerged in its entirety, along with food residues, animal bones, and victims of the AD 79 volcanic eruption, following a lengthy excavation effort. View this post on Instagram A post... View full entry
Despite widespread opposition, the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has begun a £2bn overhaul of Delhi's grand complex of government buildings in a bid to sever the nation from its colonial past.
At a ceremony held last week, Modi laid the foundation stone for a new building to replace Parliament House, designed by English architects Edward Lutyens and Herbert Baker, which upon its completion in 1927 became the seat of power for British-ruled India.
— The Art Newspaper
The ambitious plan by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to overhaul the sprawling complex of historic, colonial-era government buildings in Delhi is off to a rocky start: despite ceremonially laying the foundation stone for a new parliament building on December 10, further spending on the... View full entry
Vestiges of racism and oppression, from bricked-over segregated entrances to the forgotten sites of racial violence, still permeate much of America’s built environment. — The New York Times
For the NYT, photojournalist Richard Frishman shares powerful images of sites, buildings, and places throughout the United States along with their almost forgotten, sometimes preserved, stories from America's segregated past. "All human landscapes are embedded with cultural meaning," Frishman... View full entry
A stunning 3D virtual tour from the Egyptian Tourism Authority takes viewers deep into the heavily detailed tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses VI. Named Tomb KV9, the underground structure has a long corridor leading down to the now-broken sarcophagus, and both walls and the ceiling are inscribed with writings from ancient Egyptian texts and astronomical renderings. — Colossal
If you're ready for some archaeological adventure but find yourself pandemic-trapped at home and unable to make it to Egypt's ancient Valley of the Kings right now, try the virtual tomb tour of Pharaoh Ramses VI who reigned in the 12th century BC. Take a look at some screenshots of the ruler's... View full entry
President Emmanuel Macron of France on Thursday dropped the unpopular idea of building a modern spire atop a restored Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, a possibility he had floated after a devastating fire sent the previous spire crashing through the roof. [...]
But the idea of a modern spire never caught on with critics or with public opinion, and Mr. Macron never committed to it.
— The New York Times
French President Macron's decision to let go of his long-championed vision of a contemporary spire for the fire-damaged Gothic cathedral comes one year after the French senate passed a bill approving the government's restoration plan under the condition that Notre Dame be restored to its "last... View full entry
