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It would be helpful if there were another word for “infrastructure”: it’s such an earnest and passive word for the blood vessels of this country, the crucial conveyors and connections that get us from here to there (or not) and the ports that facilitate our trade (or don’t), as well as the carriers of information, in particular broadband...
The word “crisis” is also overused, applied to the unimportant as well as the crucial.
But this country has an infrastructure crisis.
— the New York Review of Books
Elizabeth Drew considers several recent books on American infrastructure, with an eye to both the material reality and the political system producing it. She concludes that fixing our infrastructural systems "may require even more widespread paralyzed traffic, the collapse of numerous bridges, and... View full entry
Many school buildings that used to house children now just primarily house debris thanks to a precipitous drop in public school enrollment over several decades. One independent website puts the figure at over 1,000 abandoned schools in states stretching from West Virginia to Indiana. Some... View full entry
Pop Chart Lab — the studio that gained renown for their infographics on culturally relevant topics like beer, cats, comic-book villains, famous TV characters, and so on — recently came out with "The Architecture of American Houses: A Structured Survey from 1600 to the Present", an enticing... View full entry
As the saying goes, history likes to repeat itself. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. broke ground yesterday on the Kennedy Center Expansion Project. The ceremony also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Center's original groundbreaking in 1964. The event... View full entry
The architecture profession is back on the rise as the American economy recovers, according to NCARB's 2014 Survey of Architectural Registration Boards. For starters, the number of architects has grown by 3.1 percent since 2011.Collecting data from all 54 U.S. territories (including District of... View full entry
The Chicago Architectural Club launched its 2014 edition of the Chicago Prize ideas competition this past weekend: design the Barack Obama Presidential Library! From the lively discussion (if not frenzy) surrounding a Barack Obama Presidential Library possibly being built, the Chicago Prize invites architects and designers to send ideas of how the U.S. Presidential Library building typology should be reinvented. — bustler.net
The Chicago Prize 2014 competition aims to spark debate on the typology of the presidential library. Speculative proposals will fulfill functions like housing a collection of artifacts and documents relating to the president’s life while also providing educational infrastructure and framework... View full entry
Iconic artist, designer, and environmentalist Maya Lin was announced as the recipient of the 21st Annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize...Established in 1994 through the will of legendary actress Lillian Gish, the award recognizes highly accomplished artists who have pushed the boundaries of their respective art forms, contributed to social change, and are seen as a lasting inspiration for the next generation. — bustler.net
The Gish Prize is regarded as one of the most prestigious honors bestowed to U.S. artists and has one of the largest cash awards, with this year's prize valued at US$300,000."Maya Lin has created a powerful and highly influential body of work within both art and architecture that includes... View full entry
The U.S. Department of Agriculture officially launched their U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize Competition. As the first step of a new USDA and forest industry initiative, the competition...aims to showcase the architectural and commercial feasibility of advanced wood products in tall building construction in order to support employment opportunities in U.S. rural communities, maintain the health and resiliency of American forests, and advance sustainability in the built environment. — bustler.net
"Following a funding initiative announced by the Obama Administration and the U.S. forestry industry through the USDA, SLB and BSLC earlier this year, the competition invites all U.S. developers, institutions, organizations and design teams willing to undertake an alternative solution approach to... View full entry
Following the European announcement, the North American regional winners for the Holcim Awards 2014 were recognized at a recent ceremony at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto, Canada...The international jury led by Toshiko Mori (USA) highlighted 13 projects from across the U.S. and Canada, which altogether received US$330,000 in prize money. — bustler.net
Winning projects include those by students, emerging professionals, and leading practitioners — with some familiar names like BIG, the "Hy-Fi" by The Living's David Benjamin, Sheila Kennedy of KVA MATx, and NADAAA.Below are a few of the winning projects.HOLCIM AWARDS GOLD 2014 - North America... View full entry
Certainly, it's a minor miracle that Epiphany wasn't gutted at some point in its long life to make way for late 20th-century design nightmares such as drop ceilings and wood paneling. But more significantly the church represents an interesting period in Southern California history. — latimes.com
The Church of the Epiphany was an iconic meeting spot for activist groups throughout the 20th century -- including Cesar Chavez, who gave talks there -- and continues to be a valuable community space today. After a 2011 art auction to preserve the aging church, a second benefit auction is... View full entry
As the latest addition to Florida's State University System, the new Florida Polytechnic University will formally open to the public on August 16 in Lakeland, Florida and welcome its first students when classes begin on August 25. Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava designed the 170-acre campus... View full entry
Biber Architects of New York recently announced the groundbreaking of the USA Pavilion, "American Food 2.0: United to Feed the Planet", for the Milan World Expo in 2015. The US pavilion is one of 147 participating countries responding to the expo's theme, "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life", which addresses global issues regarding food security, access and waste, and the challenging prospect of nutritiously feeding 9 billion people by 2050. — bustler.net
Highlighting America's role in the global food system, the barn-inspired pavilion includes features like a a harvestable vertical farm, food trucks, and a boardwalk.Read more about it on Bustler. View full entry
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien were honored with the prestigious National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). As the highest award bestowed to artists and arts patrons by the U.S. federal government, the medal specially recognizes individuals or groups for their... View full entry
Architects are the highest paid group of designers, and they are also generally the most highly educated. Architects employed in firms earned median hourly wages of $35.30, while their self-employed counterparts earned $22.90. But, when looking in terms of concentration, the nation’s leading clusters for architects may not be what you think. — citylab.com
Styled after American corporate identity throughout the 20th century, our next featured 2014 Venice Biennale pavilion is "OfficeUS" representing the U.S. of A. Organized by NYC's Storefront for Art and Architecture in collaboration with PRAXIS Journal, the two-part exhibition will showcase and critically reinterpret the global influence of American architecture in the last century...For each week of the Biennale, OfficeUS will also address 25 issues relevant to its project archive. — bustler.net
More on Bustler. View full entry
