When production begins, SolarCity, already the leading installer of residential solar panels in the [U.S.] will become a vertically integrated manufacturer and provider...At a time when conventional silicon-based solar panels from China have never been cheaper, investing in a new type of solar technology is a risky undertaking. However, the potential benefits are huge. The new factory...could transform both SolarCity’s business...and the economics of residential solar power. — MIT Technology Review

“I give it two years, max [...] It will be US business interests that finally push congress into lifting the embargo – they’re all going crazy being shut out of this market.” American architects and developers are already queuing up to be first in line, ready to pounce on investment opportunities when the embargo drops. Frank Gehry sailed into Havana in December, aboard a streamlined yacht he designed for himself, here to “offer his expertise to Cuba” according to a government statement. — theguardian.com

Now, after more than five flush years, oil prices are in a prolonged slump, the flow of workers has reversed [...] But Williston believes it can build something more enduring. [...]

The city used its newfound wealth to build a $70-million high school, a $68-million recreation center, and new water and sewer systems. It renovated Main Street and created a city position for someone to write parking tickets. Highways have been widened, and an airport is under development. — latimes.com

Scott Slater has a plan. It is not a popular plan, but he wants to pump 814bn gallons of water from under the Mojave desert to Los Angeles and other drought-stricken communities in southern California, and make more than $2bn doing so...In addition to environmental concerns, others object to a private company being able to make billions from water. Slater says they do not understand the law, which in California states no entity can own water but they can buy, sell and trade the right to use it. — The Guardian

That’s not to say that all circular buildings represent some emergent 21st-century order. It is interesting, though, that past precedents have usually been buildings designed for spectatorship: sports stadiums or, more resonantly, panopticon prisons, where inmates’ cells are arranged in a ring so they’re visible to guards in a central observation tower. Take away that tower and you have the Apple campus. — The Guardian

The controversial and seemingly doomed plan for a garden bridge over the Thames in London could be resurrected after the group behind the project reached an agreement with council officials over the level of public funding. On Monday...a joint announcement by Lambeth...and the Garden Bridge Trust said negotiations would resume after a deal to limit the money Transport for London (TfL) would have to pay towards construction to £10m, from an original £30m. — The Guardian

On Tuesday, Callison and architecture/engineering firm RTKL announced they have officially joined forces as CallisonRTKL...[CEO Lance] Josal said the merger is good news for both firms and 'especially for the Seattle office.' In talking to the firm's senior leaders, Josal said there has been 'a little bit of frustration on their part' because they felt the firm 'may have lost a bit of swagger locally' and wanted an owner that would invest in the firm... — Puget Sound Business Journal

We updated our methodology to include new metrics: percentage of women and minority designers; range and value of employee benefits; rate of employee turnover. — Architect Magazine

Would-be investors would face other obstacles even if the embargo were lifted... Cuba is still tightly controlled by its Communist government. [...]

In any case, most architectural work in Cuba today focuses on the restoration of Havana’s immense historic building stock—two-thirds of which is in disrepair—and on bringing Havana into the 21st century without imperiling its heritage. — architectmagazine.com

When an NFL team wants to build a new stadium, it often argues that the facility would boost the local economy.

But that is not true, says Roger Noll, a Stanford professor emeritus in economics. [...]

"NFL stadiums do not generate significant local economic growth, and the incremental tax revenue is not sufficient to cover any significant financial contribution by the city," said Noll, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. — stanford.edu