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The University of Southern California School of Architecture has announced the launch of the HLW Project Héroe Research Initiative, an "interdisciplinary task force comprised of architects, consultants, medical experts, contractors, and USC Architecture students and recent graduates that... View full entry
Princeton University School of Architecture Professors Paul Lewis and Guy Nordenson have been awarded a research grant by the Princeton University Funding Program for Rapid Novel and Actionable COVID-19 Research Projects fund to help propel the duo's work on "Manual of Urban Distance... View full entry
Led by Samir Bantal, AMO, the think tank founded by Rem Koolhaas has announced a new partnership with Volkswagen to focus on the development of rural mobility. As a first step in the partnership, the team has begun a study for an electric tractor that will be developed for sub-Saharan Africa "to... View full entry
Now that 2020 is here, many are looking to the new year with optimism and initiative to face the world's pressing issue of climate change. Amid the constant reminders of the globe's current climate crisis, a December editorial piece and report from Nature.com elicits a reason to reflect... View full entry
The wide-range of benefits offered by green roofs have encouraged increasing numbers of municipalities and building owners alike to invest in this architectural sustainability solution. Aside from fighting air pollution and mitigating urban heat island effect, these roofs also implement savings on... View full entry
Supporting applied research projects that 'enhance the value of design and professional practice knowledge', The AIA Upjohn Research Initiative funds up to six research grants of $15,000 to $30,000 annually for projects completed within an 18-month period. This year's grants... View full entry
Joseph Choma, founder of Design Topology Lab and an architecture professor at Clemson University, is pioneering work into the field of foldable structures and materials. For the past few years, Choma has been focused on developing a fabrication technique that allows fiberglass to be folded by... View full entry
This post is brought to you by the Piet Zwart Institute. The Piet Zwart Institute houses the international Master programs of the Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. Named after the pioneering Dutch designer, Piet Zwart, who worked experimentally across media and... View full entry
Every year, the MacDowell Colony's prestigious arts fellowship welcomes more than 300 artists from across the U.S. and worldwide to produce original works. Out of 846 applications, a diverse group of 86 artists were awarded $10,000 MacDowell Fellowships for a summer residency. Located in a... View full entry
Recent computational tools that model the simulation of traffic, acoustics and heat conservation, among others, are allowing a more quantitative objective evaluation of forms.
The metrics could be expanded to include terrain maps, sun paths, existing trees and other environmental input, allowing the buildings to be highly adaptive to their context. The physics simulation could force certain boundary shape constraints.
— Joel Simon
Evolving Floorplans is an experimental research project created by a New York-based programmer, Joel Simon. When approaching floorplan design solely through the angle of optimization, a genetic algorithm arranges the rooms and the flow of people in a manner that minimizes things like walking time... View full entry
Researchers say India could alleviate its growing shortage of sand, which is needed for concrete, by partially replacing it with waste plastic.
Research carried out by the University of Bath in the UK, and India’s Goa Engineering College, has found that concrete made with an admixture of ground-up plastic bottles is almost as strong as traditional concrete mixtures.
— globalconstructionreview.com
With India's rapid urbanization, concrete construction has dramatically increased causing a shortage in the country's sand used to make the building material. Mixing in plastic bottles focuses on solving both the issue of a sand shortage and the accumulation plastic waste on the streets. While... View full entry
Morphosis recently announced the opening of a new flagship research and design facility for The Kolon Group, a leading manufacturing company based in South Korea. The 820,000-square-foot facility is located in Magok, an emerging tech hub in Seoul. Kolon Group facility by Morphosis, located... View full entry
The New Museum announced today the appointment of V. Mitch McEwen as Curator of IdeasCity, the museum's initiative exploring the future of cities. McEwen is the principal and cofounder of A(n) Office, a collaborative of design studios in Detroit and New York exploring the... View full entry
Bernstein hopes the research will offer empirical evidence that will help managers consider the possible trade-offs of moving to an open office plan. In seeking a lower cost per square foot, they buy into the idea that it will also lead to more collaboration, even if it’s not clear that’s true.
“I don’t blame the architects,” he said. “But I do think we spend more of our time thinking about how to design workspaces based on the observer’s perspective” — the manager — “rather than the observed.”
— The Washington Post
If you're not a fan of open offices, you now have some empirical evidence in your favor. In two field studies recently published by Ethan S. Bernstein and Stephen Turban, they found that face-to-face interaction decreased by approximately 70 percent in both cases, while digital... View full entry
When complete, the 25,000 sq ft Well Living Lab, the first scientific research centre in Asia to focus on the indoor environment, will feature a range of simulated homes and offices. The facility will make small variations to the environment – in lighting, air quality and noise levels, for example – and monitor how they affect workers’ health, happiness and productivity. The research findings will be used to change the way future buildings are designed. — The Guardian
