Archinect - News

Energy department commits $6 billion to decarbonizing industrial manufacturing

2023-03-13T19:14:00-04:00

The Biden Administration announced a plan to help decarbonize the industrial manufacturing sector through a new $6 billion investment it says will eventually help lower emissions while signaling a newfound demand in the “marketplace for clean products.”

As part of the government’s largest-ever investment into industrial decarbonization, manufacturers of things like concrete, cement, and steel that are known to be heavy polluters will be bolstered by support through the new Industrial Demonstrations Program, which in turn advances grants to early-stage projects in line with the administration’s broader 2050 carbon economy goals.

The White House says grants will cover up to half of the costs for qualifying projects. The funding was made possible as part of the new Inflation Reduction Act and previous Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Roughly one-third of all domestic carbon emissions come from the industries included in the decarbonization package, according to the Department of Energy (...

Does the US need a government issued BIM mandate?

2019-12-12T15:01:00-05:00

In May 2011, the UK Government issued a mandate stating that all centrally-procured government projects must utilize "fully collaborative 3D BIM," which produced a ripple effect in industry adoption of the technology across the region.

Some wonder if the US will follow a similar pattern by introducing nationwide regulations that mandate the use of BIM technology. Construction Dive writer Jenn Goodman tackled this in a recent article looking at the already large adoption of BIM solutions across the US.

Goodman cites remarks from Steve Jones, Senior Director of Industry Insights Research at Dodge Data & Analytics. He says, "Theoretically, Congress could pass a law requiring BIM on all federally funded projects, but our research suggests that in the U.S., we are past the point in BIM maturity where we’d see a big gain from a federal mandate."

Goodman also covers the initiatives put forth by buildingSMART alliance with the National BIM Standard-United States (NBIMS-US), which aims to p...

Why is America obsessed with huge homes?

2019-09-17T16:00:00-04:00

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 uncovered data regarding average housing sizes that helps breakdown American homes and its obsession with size. A professor of landscape architecture and planning at the University of Georgia, Hirt explains America's "average" housing size isn't merely tied to the larger than average lot size prevalent in the United States.

In her research, Hirt gathered data from other countries like Australia, Demark, Canada, and New Zealand to compare with home sizes in America. She shares with Joe Pinsker of The Atlantic, "Even in the absence of a uniform, universal system of measurement, America is in the top tier, globally, when it comes to the size of its citizens' living spaces. The country attained this statu...

Does America still need classical architecture?

2019-08-18T14:00:00-04:00

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.

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 (PBS) and the General Services Administration's Design Excellence program.

For Moynihan, the principles reinforced an ideology of good design in federal building projects. Moynihan expressed, "The belief that good design is optional, or in some way separate from the question of the provision of office space itself, does not bear scrutiny, and in fact invites the least efficient use of public money."

Writing for City Journal, Catesby Leigh voices support for reinvigorating federal buildings through classical architecture and traditional design, which, Leigh argues, have already produced the U.S.'s most prominent civic structures.

Leigh writes: "The design of federal buildings should be guided...

Can the government really tell us what's beautiful? The UK government attempts to put beauty first in order to solve building issues

2019-01-28T09:15:00-05:00

The UK government thinks it has got to the heart of the housing crisis: the problem is, new homes just aren’t beautiful enough. “Build beautifully and get permission,” says the housing minister, Kit Malthouse. “Build beautifully and communities will actually welcome developers, rather than drive them out of town at the tip of a pitchfork.”

According to housing minister, Kit Malthouse, the key to solving the housing crisis in the UK is “putting beauty at the heart of our housing and communities policy.” On November 3, 2018, the initiative to champion beauty when building better homes was announced through the "Building Better, Building Beautiful" Commission. What was thought to initiate a progressive interrogation of how beauty within the built environment would solve problems turned into a "parody of Victorian mores" as parliament debated.

Examples of government dabbling in notions of "what is beautiful, progressive, and architecturally mesmerizing" can be found throughout history. Building quality has decreased over time while monopolies over land and project developments have increased. Rightfully addressed by many it's quite easy to use these government initiatives as distractions from the real issues at hand. Although the Guardian article references the housing crisis in the UK, issues of government influence in ...

Roeoesli & Maeder Architects team up with local Kenyan builders to complete the new Swiss Embassy in Nairobi

2018-07-26T12:17:00-04:00

Having to work through a flurry of logistical challenges from 3,700 miles away, Lucerne-based Roeoesli & Maeder Architects (or ro.ma) led an international design team to successfully complete the new Swiss Embassy in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. The architects describe the design as “an appropriate representation of Switzerland”, while also incorporating local Kenyan building practices and the skills of local companies. Roeoesli & Maeder won the commission in an open competition in 2011.

During the construction phase, Roeoesli & Maeder couldn't spontaneously drop by the site, so they observed the project through only photos. “Building was often done by ‘trial and error’. In other words, they build something (which does not necessarily have to correspond with the plans) and ask whether or not it is OK; if the answer is no, then it is demolished and a new attempt is made,” they explain.

Photo: Iwan Baan.

The exposed concrete building has an earthy red dye whose color...

Fair Housing Act ruling now vulnerable with Justice Kennedy’s retirement

2018-06-28T15:49:00-04:00

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the most important decision on fair housing in a generation. He’ll almost certainly get to see it overturned in his lifetime. When Kennedy announced his long-rumored retirement on Wednesday, he shined a spotlight on the tenuous political balance of the U.S. Supreme Court. Famously a swing vote, Kennedy sided with the court’s four liberal justices on defining decisions on reproductive rights, same-sex marriage, the death penalty, and other hot-button social issues.

The "disparate impact" ruling of the Fair Housing Act is now being reconsidered by HUD. This could lead to the department repealing altogether, despite the fact that the Supreme Court already affirmed its constitutionality. Justice Kennedy's legacy of further integrating society is vulnerable to be overruled under Trump.

AIA leadership contend steel & aluminum tariffs will negatively impact architecture industry

2018-03-06T14:03:00-05:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) President Carl Elefante, FAIA, and EVP/Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA, released the following statement today in response to the Administration’s plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

"The Administration’s announcement of new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports threatens to drastically increase the prices of many building materials specified by architects. These metal products are some of the largest material inputs in the construction of buildings. Structural metal beams, window frames, mechanical systems and exterior cladding are largely derived from these important metals.

“As creative problem solvers, architects rely on a variety of these materials to achieve functional and performance goals for their clients. Inflating the cost of materials will limit the range of options they can use while adhering to budgetary constraints for a building.

“By the same token, the Administration’s proposed infrastructure fund...

It's now illegal to ask job applicants for salary history in NYC and California. Is it legal where you live?

2018-01-03T12:00:00-05:00

Thanks to recent legislation, architecture job seekers in competitive markets like Los Angeles and New York City won't have to worry, for the most part, about the dreaded salary history question when applying for a job.

In an ongoing trend, states and cities across the U.S. are passing laws that prohibit employers from asking potential new hires about their salary history. Advocates of banning salary history inquiries argue that such laws will help foster pay equity.

California is the latest state to enforce a ban. The law, which went into effect January 1, makes it illegal for public and private employers to inquire about salary history from their job applicants. It also requires employers to disclose a salary range of the position they are hiring for, should the applicant request it.

New York City's salary history ban went into effect on October 31, 2017. Public and private employers in the city cannot ask about an applicant's salary history during the hiring process, including in...

OMA renovates the Rijnstraat 8 government office building into a transparent workspace

2017-11-02T15:59:00-04:00

In The Hague, the Dutch King officially opened the OMA-designed Rijnstraat 8 government building yesterday. With OMA Partner Ellen van Loon and architect Bart Nicolaas as the project leads, the firm helped renovate the former VROM building, which marks the first big step in the Dutch government's larger masterplan to reduce their real estate in the political capital.

Photo: Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti.

Showing off seemingly vast transparent glass facades, the new 100,000 m2 Rijnstraat 8 houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers, and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.

OMA redesigned the building in a way that allows for flexible ways of working and requires less office space. New open office plans, glass facades that replaced solid walls, and a new walkway that runs the entire length of the building were all added. OMA also created a large public square-l...

Brutalism lovers rejoice: Plans for a new FBI headquarters are canceled

2017-07-11T14:40:00-04:00

The decision follows years of failed attempts by federal officials to persuade Congress to fully back a plan for a campus in the Washington suburbs paid for by trading away the Hoover Building to a real estate developer and putting up nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds to cover the remaining cost. For years, FBI officials have raised alarms that the decrepit conditions at Hoover constitute serious security concerns.

Built in 1975 in Washington DC, at $126 million, J. Edgar Hoover Building was the most expensive federal building ever erected. While much loved by some architectural critics, the building has also been under intense criticism for its appearance and functionality ever since its construction.

J. Edgar Hoover Building from the street - taken in April 2007.

Some of its most distinctive features like its open courtyard, designed to allow visitors to walk freely into the inner courtyard, and its firing range equipped with a 162-seat auditorium, where visitors can sit and watch agents take shooting practice, have become obsolete over the years. The Stanislaw Gladych and Carter Manny-designed Brutalist icon was going to be demolished and replaced with a mixed-use condo building, but as of now, it's destiny is unclear.

According to the Washington Post, "Further retrofitting is prohibitively expensive; despite the Hoover building’s overall size of 2.4 million gross square feet only 53 perce...

Trump nominates Elaine Chao for Secretary of Transportation

2016-11-30T14:40:00-05:00

Mr. Trump...has said that infrastructure redevelopment will be a priority of his first 100 days in office. And Ms. Chao has experience — politically and personally — in navigating the competing centers of power in the capital...But now that she is in line for a prominent position in Mr. Trump’s cabinet, it is her own ties to business that are likely to come under scrutiny. As labor secretary, she faced criticism that her department favored business and was lax on enforcement and worker safety.

Inside the failure of Jerry Brown's plans to ease California's housing crisis

2016-09-13T12:49:00-04:00

Despite introducing what seemed like excellent legislation to help increase the number of affordable housing units in developer-backed housing projects, California governor Jerry Brown's proposal caused so much multi-faceted angst it became political poison, primarily because it gently circumvented the traditional development process. This L.A. Times piece takes a look at what went wrong, noting that:

If developers pledged to set aside some units in their projects for low-income residents, the governor’s proposed legislation would have eliminated some local hurdles to building, likely leading to a modest increase in construction.

Yet the proposal the governor unveiled in May represented a profound shakeup in how the development process would have worked in California. The measure challenged the primacy of local control over housing, inflamed powerful entrenched interests and was eyed warily by the very groups representing those the plan was supposed to help.

For more on California's...

Finnish government pulls funding for the Guggenheim Helsinki

2016-09-08T13:16:00-04:00

The Guggenheim Foundation's Helsinki museum, the design of which was chosen after a hotly anticipated competition last year, is now missing a major financial backer, namely, the government of Finland. Prior to its withdrawal, Finland was going to pick up construction costs and a portion of the operating fees in exchange for top-tier artworks and exhibitions from the Guggenheim.

However, this pull-out isn't entirely unexpected. Before the winning design by Moreau Kusunoki Architectes was even chosen, there were rumblings of dissent: many in Finland felt that the Guggenheim was becoming a bland franchise, to the point that an alternative competition, "The Next Helsinki," was launched to solicit other designs. As Sampo Terho, parliamentary head of the Finns Party, said, “This is the end of the matter, we have ruled out state funding (for Guggenheim) once and for all, for this government.”

Listen to our interview with Moreau Kusunoki Architectes about their winning design for the Guggen...

Inside Aravena's open source plans for low-cost yet upgradable housing

2016-04-06T14:35:00-04:00

After Alejandro Aravena accepted the Pritzker Prize yesterday, his firm Elemental released four open source plans for low income housing that, according to the firm's website, balance the constraints of "low-rise high density, without overcrowding, with possibility of expansion (from social housing to middle-class dwelling)." The plans were released partly as a response to the looming housing crisis of 2030, in which it is estimated that two billion people will be living under the poverty line.

Aravena's self-described "incremental housing" is partly a governmental effort, and partly an individual one. By providing plans for proven models of sustainable housing, people can have greater agency in housing themselves. "Given the magnitude of the housing shortage, we won't solve this problem unless we add people's own resources and building capacity to that of governments and the market," reads Elemental's statement.

The four projects Elemental has released plans for are Quinta Monroy, V...

Studio Gang Architects selected to design new U.S. Embassy in Brazil

2016-03-09T12:55:00-05:00

Out of a shortlist of six firms, The Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations has chosen Studio Gang Architects, run by MacArthur fellow and winner of 2016's Architect of the Year from the Women in Architecture Awards, Jeanne Gang, to design a multi-building campus for the new U.S. Embassy based in Brasilia, Brazil. Studio Gang Architects, which has tackled such easy breezy projects in the past as a proposal to reverse the flow of the Chicago River, was chosen in part for its "more than 20 years of collaborative experience executing projects with complex constraints at challenging sites," according to a press release. The new embassy, which will rebuild the existing compound on its 12 acre site, will feature a Marine Security Guard Residence, a Chancery, and various support facilities.

For more on what the Gang has been up to:

Japanese government hopes to cap Olympic stadium costs at US$1.28 billion

2015-08-28T12:17:00-04:00

The government hopes to cap the cost of building the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at ¥155 billion, much lower than the ¥252 billion projected under a recently scrapped plan [...]. The government intends to make sure that the stadium will be built by April 2020. But given the International Olympic Committee’s request that the venue be built by January of that year, it plans to ask a yet-to-be-named contractor to propose shortening its construction schedule, the sources said.

Read more about the troubled New National Stadium Tokyo in the Archinect news:

Open data's potential & challenges to boost tenants’ rights activism

2015-05-11T17:54:00-04:00

Open data, and the interactive mapping and data visualization that can come of it, has become a de facto engagement and storytelling tool among contemporary journalists, social justice activists, and civic-minded technologists. But despite its allure, open data’s potential for fostering civic engagement and creating transparency and dialogue is plagued by issues of usability, access, and quality control.

What's the perfect size for a city?

2015-05-01T18:21:00-04:00

Welcome to the wonderful world of governing urban regions, where between fragmentation and amalgamation no one actually knows what the right-sized box for local government is or how to change it [...] Municipal fragmentation has been criticised for decades... amalgamation – bringing fragmented government regions together – comes with downsides of its own. Of course, you can put people in the same governmental box, but that won’t necessarily create common ground

With London's Palace of Westminster crumbling, the British government may have to find a new home

2015-03-03T18:02:00-05:00

Let me share a secret with you. Even those who love the Gothic extravagance that is the Victorian Palace of Westminster know that great swaths of it are out of date. [...] In 2015 the urgent question is again what to do about it. [...] options ranging from staggering on as usual with make-do-and-mending to a new 21st-century building on a new site, possibly far from London.

Seoul’s official architect Seung H-Sang on his capital vision

2014-09-08T13:37:00-04:00

“The first thing is to find the identity of Seoul,” he says. “Seoul was created very differently from western cities, with special theories of feng shui and Confucianism, and we kept that for 600 years. We didn’t change anything – even under Japanese colonialism, that was kept. But since the 1960s, under American influence, it has changed very much.” If Seung has his way, the days of skyscrapers springing up in central Seoul would come to an end.

Net Neutrality lives on in Santa Monica, California

2014-04-30T18:40:00-04:00

[Santa Monica will] be able to offer its residents real net neutrality, which the [FCC] is working on rolling back for just about everyone else in the US. [...] Santa Monica has cleverly and quietly been installing its own network of city-owned fiber-optic cables for years, and they intend to keep the net neutral. [...] Santa Monica has also made about $5 million providing internet service and leasing out the cables to other providers, and their competition has driven down rates.

The Federal Communications Commission recently proposed that internet service providers (like Verizon, AT&T, and Time Warner Cable) should be able to charge companies extra for faster service -- so for example, Netflix could pay AT&T more to ensure faster download speeds for its viewers. This would violate net neutrality, the concept that aims to ensure that every companies' data on the internet is treated (and delivered) equally. Under the FCC's proposal, larger companies would be able to make their content more accessible to users, handicapping smaller companies from the get-go.

But what if your internet service provider wasn't AT&T or Verizon, but your own city? Should city governments hold the reins of internet service, and ultimately net neutrality? It's not only a question of download speeds for the user, but of how local governments could use internet traffic data to change their city. If the internet were treated like a local utility, then perhaps city governments could more ...

U.S. Capitol building to receive much-needed facelift

2014-03-27T13:42:00-04:00

Since the Civil War, the majestic dome of the U.S. Capitol has symbolized the unity of the United States, despite the discord in the government it overlooks. [...] But the dome has lately grown as fractured as the federal government, and Tuesday the Architect of the Capitol announced that a $59 million project to save it would begin next month. [...] There are now hundreds of cracks and deficiencies, and water already has stained parts of the Capitol’s interior.

Parliament-themed Austrian Pavilion revealed for 2014 Venice Biennale

2014-03-18T19:39:00-04:00

Power to the people is the driving force behind the Austrian Pavilion for the upcoming 2014 Venice Biennale. The pavilion will include an exhibition that explores the concept of parliament and its architectural influence on the world's more than 200 national parliament monuments.

The pavilion was designed by a collective team including Commissioner Dr. Christian Kühn, Harald Trapp, Coop Himmelb(l)au, Auböck + Kárász Landscape Architects, Kollektiv/Rauschen, and the Vienna University of Technology - Institute of Architecture and Design.

Here's a glimpse of the models in the exhibition:

Find out more on Bustler.

New whitehouse.gov petition urges to utilize open architectural competitions for the design of Federal buildings

2014-02-26T13:13:00-05:00

43 signatures down, only 99,957 more to go — Archinect senior contributor John Jourden brought to our attention a new online petition at whitehouse.gov, which urges the administration to award the design of new Federal building projects utilizing open architectural competitions.

The initiative has now until March 26 to reach its goal of 100,000 signatures to be considered for an earnest review.

Here's the petition text in full:

"The United States offers the best architectural education available in the world but has not engaged its young designer base in creating the vision for the future of America's built environment. American architecture programs as a leader in design education, technological innovation, and sustainability attracts students from all over the world yet the United States does not invite any input from its young designer base as is commonly done in many European countries. Young American designers truly represent an untapped resource for a new vision of the United Sta...

L.A.'s "People St." initiative puts public place-making into the public's hands

2014-02-13T14:27:00-05:00

Communities can transform underused areas of L.A.’s largest public asset—our 7,500 miles of city streets—into active, vibrant, and accessible public space with People St, a program of the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). Eligible Community Partners can apply for approval to create projects that enhance the quality of life in this city. Three innovative types of projects are available: Plazas, Parklets, and Bicycle Corrals.

Los Angeles began piloting its "People St." program in 2011, developing spaces designed to reclaim sections of streetspace for public recreation and use, rather than car traffic. The projects were few but popular, including the Sunset Triangle (designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios) plaza in Silverlake, a couple of parklets in Downtown, and bike corrals in Atwater Village and Highland Park. Led by LA's Department of Transportation and invigorated by LA's current mayor, Eric Garcetti, the program will accept applications for "People St." initiatives by any eligible community group, beginning this March.

The program is designed not only so communities can individualize their surroundings and make their city more livable, but for LADOT to expedite city improvement projects. Initiatives that otherwise would have taken years of planning and hundreds of thousands of dollars become faster and cheaper to execute, led by the people most in touch with the project site, and approved by city of...

On the Outskirts of Crypto City: The Architecture of Surveillance

2014-01-09T13:32:00-05:00

Looking at the diagram of a restricted image reminded me of the ubiquitous stock photograph of the NSA, the one reminiscent of the Kaaba and among the few used by news outlets. The photograph’s ubiquity, along with its subject’s resemblance to another opaque monument, serves as shorthand for an institution that seeks to be perceived as beyond human comprehension or accountability. I made my pilgrimage not to the NSA, however, but to adjacent temples of lesser gods.

Healthcare.gov aside, government and tech are starting to get along

2013-12-04T15:00:00-05:00

At the intersection of these two domains – technology and civic life – a small and fascinating sector has been taking root for the last few years. [...] Together, these types of companies and organizations have loosely come to define "civic tech" – and the potential for a future where technology finally, seamlessly, significantly alters how we relate to government and our neighbors.

Not without its growing pains, the U.S. government is slowly learning to effectively use technology to connect to its citizens. The expanding field of "civic-tech" focuses on the sharing and distillation of government data, to grease the bureaucratic wheels and ramp up personal civic engagement.

Explore the world of civic tech with this interactive network map, courtesy of the Knight Foundation.

The AIA issues statement on federal government shut-down

2013-10-01T12:17:00-04:00

It’s been 17 years since the federal government last experienced a shutdown. As federal agencies begin the process of shutting their doors and furloughing non-essential personnel, there are lots of questions about how it will affect all Americans, especially those who work with (and for) the federal government. If your projects receive federal funding, will they have to stop? If you are a federal contractor, what should you be doing?

AIA President Mickey Jacob, FAIA, today issued the following statement on the partial federal government shutdown that began early this morning.

“The AIA is a non-partisan professional association; we work with members of both political parties. And like most Americans, AIA members are extremely disillusioned with the current state of affairs in the nation’s capital.

“The design and construction industry is slowly recovering from one of the worst economic crises in modern history. The last thing we need is the self-inflicted wound that can potentially further damage the economy.

“We urge both political parties to set aside political divisions and put the “common good” of the American public first. That phrase is an anachronism in today’s political vernacular, but lawmakers ought to commit it to memory in coming weeks as the fight over the budget commences and the deadline to address the debt ceiling arrives.

“We urge the public to ask their Congressional to refocus their d...

Solar Decathlon 2013 is coming to Irvine, California this October!

2013-09-25T21:15:00-04:00

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an award-winning program that challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

Students from around the world will bring their designs for solar-powered houses to Irvine, California this October, as part of the 2013 Solar Decathlon. First held in 2002, the Solar Decathlon is a biannual student competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Decathlon will take place at Orange County Great Park, with model houses erected for public tours October 3-6 and 10-13, from 11am - 7pm daily.

Take a look at the competing entries via the Dept. of Energy's flickr stream, as well as photos from XPO, the "clean, renewable and efficient energy exposition" that will host the competition. Competitors will be representing the following schools, listed as teams:

Arizona State University and The University of New Mexico (U.S.)
Czech Technical University (Czech Republic)
University of Louisville, Ball State University and University of Kentucky (U.S.)
Middlebury College (U.S.)
Missouri University of Science and Technology (U.S.)
Norwich Universit...