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It's no secret that America has an unhealthy obsession with size, whether it be food portions or cars, and houses are no different. The long-running trend runs deeper than the McMansion typology many Americans are familiar, according to Professor Sonia A. Hirt. In a recent study, Hirt... View full entry
When tracking the performance of cities across the United States, various factors come into play. Growth in population and employment are often the first to be researched and analyzed. However, not all cities are seen and discussed in the same light. CityLab co-founder and... View full entry
Perhaps, as a real-estate developer, President Trump might appreciate the richness of America’s heritage of classical public buildings. It’s not inconceivable that he would support reform of the Guiding Principles. Otherwise, U.S. senators and representatives should do all they can to ensure that classical principles guide future federal architecture projects. In doing so, they will be contributing to a renewal of American civilization. — City Journal
During the administration of President John F. Kennedy, sociologist, politician, and diplomat Daniel Patrick Moynihan drafted the "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture," a set of architectural guidelines that inform the design of building projects undertaken by the Public Building Service... View full entry
It’s also not hard to picture oneself as a homesteader. The land is not free but it is cheap—some of the cheapest in the United States. In many respects, a person could live here in this vast, empty space like the pioneers did on the Great Plains—except you’d have a truck instead of a mule, and some solar panels, possibly even a cell-phone signal. And legal weed. — Harper's Magazine
"The San Luis Valley, with its cheap land, was a sort of magnet for these off-gridders," writes Ted Conover in his fascinating long read for Harper's Magazine about homesteaders on the margins of America. "There were a few hundred of them in total. Nationwide there are probably several thousand... View full entry
Entrepreneur and presidential hopeful Andrew Yang has a new policy proposal that promises to set him apart in the crowded Democratic field. He hopes to address an issue affecting the economic vitality of communities all across the country. Yang wants to save the malls. According to his campaign, some 300 malls will fold over the next 4 years, a number in line with an estimate by Credit Suisse that one-quarter of all malls will close by 2022. — City Lab
In the U.S., the presidential race has already begun with potential candidates showcasing their intended policies and platforms to the American people. Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has created a growing following due to his stance on universal base income and approaching politics... View full entry
We have a very special July 4th episode for you today. Today’s show offers an especially American conversation with the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Paul Goldberger. The discussion between myself and Goldberger was recorded live at Archinect Outpost last month for the launch of his latest... View full entry
Who and what comes to mind when thinking of American architecture? In practice, academia, and culture, America's influence on the built environment has undergone moments of triumph as well as moments of reflection. In celebration of the nation's independence from British monarchy in... View full entry
American homes are a lot bigger than they used to be. In 1973[...] the median size of a newly built house was just over 1,500 square feet; that figure reached nearly 2,500 square feet in 2015.
But according to a recent paper, Americans aren’t getting any happier with their ever bigger homes. “Despite a major upscaling of single-family houses since 1980,” writes Clément Bellet,[...], “house satisfaction has remained steady in American suburbs.”
— The Atlantic
For many homeowners in America, happiness is often incorrectly measured by how flatteringly the scale of one's home can be compared to those around them. Since the construction of Levittown and other post-war suburban developments, American homes have, on average, been built with incrementally... View full entry
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the U.S.' job growth over the past five years has been centered in large metro areas like Los Angeles and New York. What might be surprising is how the majority of those newly created jobs are either "mid-wage" or "low-wage" jobs, here defined as those that pay... View full entry
Mr. Margolies, who died on May 26, at 76, was considered the country’s foremost photographer of vernacular architecture — the coffee shops shaped like coffeepots; the gas station shaped like a teapot (the Teapot Dome Service Station in Zillah, Wash.); and the motels shaped like all manner of things, from wigwams to zeppelins to railroad cars — that once stood as proud totems along America’s blue highways. — The New York Times
In memoriam, here are a few of Margolies' idiosyncratic finds, many of which were compiled into the 2010 book "John Margolies: Roadside America":Other architectural photographers who are still doing their signature thing:Photographer captures the beauty of Beirut's architectureBêka &... 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
Since breaking ground last summer, the U.S. Pavilion -- titled “American Food 2.0: United to Feed the Planet" -- has opened to the public at the Milan Expo 2015, which is now in its first week. The U.S. joins the more than 140 participating countries that prepared exhibitions and pavilions that... View full entry
The Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and the Space Needle come to life in a growing series of U.S. landmark animations created by illustrators Kirk Wallace and Latham Arnott. In this collection, Wallace's background in computer science is hinted at through his signature computer... View full entry
New York-based Thinc Design revealed their exhibition design for the USA Pavilion in the upcoming Milan Expo 2015 this May. Collaborating with Friends of the USA Pavilion, Thinc Design's exhibition highlights America's role in the future of the global food system, as a response to the Expo's... View full entry
When Alfredo Jaar’s glittering “A Logo for America” video first played on a Times Square billboard in 1987, it riled up New Yorkers. [...] shows the words “This is not America” inside the outline of the United States. “A Logo for America” will receive a second life this week; beginning on August 1, the video will pop up on Times Square signs and screens between 11:57 pm and 12:00 am. But this 2.0 version loses some of the video’s original intent to reach a broad—and hopefully attentive—audience. — artfcity.com
