Archinect - News

AECOM to provide ‘environmental restoration and compliance services’ for NASA

2024-04-11T13:16:00-04:00

Architecture and infrastructure consulting firm AECOM is to provide environmental restoration and compliance services to NASA facilities across the U.S. The five-year contract will see AECOM deliver environmental sampling, contaminants investigations, and human, health, and ecological risk assessments to NASA’s U.S. facilities.

“We are proud to continue building on our 60-year history of successfully serving NASA by leveraging our environmental restoration and compliance expertise, actively advancing our purpose to deliver a better world for the next generation,” said Frank Sweet, chief executive of AECOM’s global Environment business, in a statement. “The management and remediation of hazardous materials, such as PFAS and other substances, continues to be a key priority for our teams and our clients, and we look forward to our continued partnership with NASA on this shared mission.”

AECOM provided architecture and engineering services for the Integrated Engineering Services Buildin...

Gordie Howe International Bridge construction: Opening delayed to September 2025

2024-01-09T17:04:00-05:00

The completion date for the delayed Gordie Howe International Bridge has been pushed back to September 2025, according to the Detroit Free Press.

A public announcement put out by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority detailed the progress that’s been made since the project commenced in late 2018.

Since that time, the bridge’s road deck construction, stay cable installation, and Port of Entry facilities have progressed successfully. Completion of the road deck, stay cable installations, and ancillary Port of Entry outbuildings will follow in the coming year. The finalization of the operations process is then anticipated for the year after.

"After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted com...

AECOM and luis vidal + architects complete shining new Terminal E expansion at Boston Logan International Airport

2023-11-15T18:17:00-05:00

Work on the new Terminal E at Boston Logan International Airport has been completed by AECOM, luis vidal + architects, and Suffolk following a five-year and almost $640 million construction effort.

Standing out thanks to its prismatic red-colored aluminum roof panels, the 390,000-square foot expansion adds four new gates to the 49-year-old international terminal while modernizing its existing interior spaces and adding a security checkpoint, HVAC system, restaurants, and new 21,000-square-foot Delta Sky Club.

Luis Vidal, the president and founding partner of luis vidal + architects, says the result is “a bold, striking building designed with sustainable principles and focused on providing a unique, comfortable, and healthy environment for passengers and workers alike.” He has also described it as the first example of a "Fourth generation" of airport design in America.

Photo: Ema Peter

The new terminal serves as the centerpiece of the larger capital plan for Logan begun by Massport be...

Tennessee Titans pick construction team for new Nashville NFL stadium

2023-08-23T13:47:00-04:00

NFL franchise Tennessee Titans has announced that Tennessee Builders Alliance (TBA) will serve as the Construction Manager at Risk on its new stadium project.

TBA consists of Nashville-based ICF Builders, Polk & Associates, Turner Construction Company, and AECOM Hunt. The team has more than 55 years of NFL stadium construction experience, with Turner and AECOM Hunt behind 17 of the 30 most recently completed NFL stadiums.

Renderings of the Titans’ proposed $1.2 billion, 60,000-seat stadium by Manica Architecture in collaboration with HASTINGS Architecture were revealed in October 2022. The structure will span 1.7 million square feet and sit along Nashville’s East Bank, on the east side of the current stadium. It will feature a circular ETFE translucent roof, exterior porches with panoramic views of the city, improved sightlines for spectators through a variety of seating experiences, and a 12,000-square-foot community space that is available year-round.

Previously on Archinect: T...

New construction video highlights AECOM's nearly complete Intuit Dome in Inglewood

2023-07-19T13:35:00-04:00

Following reports of its topping out in March, the AECOM-designed Intuit Dome, the future home of the Los Angeles Clippers, is taking shape ahead of its expected completion in 2024.

A new video depicts the status of the project as of June 2023, where its standout steel frame with diagrid geometry can be seen wrapping the structure. This building skin is formed from a series of diamond-shaped, interwoven metal panels with multiple uses. According to the architects, the frame was inspired by the form of a basketball net as a ball passes through it.

A vast array of solar panels can also be spotted on the structure’s roof. Intuit Dome is set to operate 100% carbon-free, powered fully by batteries and solar power. The design team, alongside the Clippers organization, worked towards initiatives that will earn the stadium a LEED Platinum certification.

The $1.2 billion, 18,000-seat arena will be the centerpiece of a larger mixed-use project, including an 85,000-square-foot training faci...

Skanska, AECOM, and SOM announce the completion of Penn Station's Long Island Rail Road concourse renovation

2023-07-10T17:47:00-04:00

Skanska, AECOM, and SOM have announced the completion of Penn Station’s $414 million Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) concourse renovation. The project, which began in January 2021, set out to modernize and widen LIRR’s 33rd Street train hall corridor, all while maintaining the station’s daily operations and train service.

"In order to best accommodate and enhance the commuting experience for the 600,000 passengers that utilize LIRR’s 33rd Street corridor daily, deciphering a path to improving the station’s circulation and traffic flow without disrupting daily train service was paramount,” said executive vice president of Skanska’s East Coast civil operations, Michael Viggiano. “We’re thrilled to be celebrating the completion of this project and to have played a crucial role in reconstructing one of New York City’s most highly trafficked transit hubs.”

The design-build project included the design and construction of the concourse, with a widened corridor, raised ceiling heights, upgrade...

AECOM, Bechtel officially join reconstruction effort in Ukraine

2023-07-05T17:33:00-04:00

AECOM and Bechtel have both announced their involvement in the international effort to rebuild Ukraine following 15 months of a devastating war which had, by mid-spring, enacted more than $147.5 billion worth of damage to infrastructure across the country, according to estimates from the Kyiv School of Economics.

The moves were announced late last month in conjunction with the country’s Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development (AECOM) and the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (AECOM and Bechtel), and will include the delivery of a “wide range” of reconstruction projects along with supportive technical expertise to the government and other private contractors.

Important cost estimation and other kinds of engineering consultations will also be provided as part of the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure memorandum as the country transitions to an international model for procurements.

Related ...

HOK enlisted by Jacksonville Jaguars to reimagine stadium

2023-06-08T13:05:00-04:00

HOK has announced that it is partnering with the Jacksonville Jaguars to undertake the renovation of TIAA Bank Field into the “Stadium of the Future.” The transformation seeks to invigorate the Jaguars franchise and spur the development of the city of Jacksonville.

Rendering courtesy of HOK

Work towards a long-term stadium solution began in July 2020 with a thorough engineering assessment of the current stadium. It was concluded that it was possible to address the stadium’s challenges through a renovation rather than new construction.

“From stadium discussions starting in 2016 to the formal process launched in July 2020 and now concluding, our objective has always been the same — lock in a promising future for the Jaguars and help our downtown become an economic engine to lift all of Jacksonville, particularly areas that have been underserved,” said Jaguars owner Shad Khan.

Rendering courtesy of HOK

HOK is joined by Impact Development and Management as the owner’s representative, al...

AECOM picked as project management consultancy for NEOM International Aiport

2023-03-28T15:40:00-04:00

AECOM has announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide project management consultancy services for the NEOM International Airport in Saudi Arabia.

The firm will offer support towards master planning, design, and construction services as well as testing, commissioning, operational readiness, activation, and transition. AECOM has been present throughout NEOM’s development so far. In 2019, the firm won a project management contract for the development of NEOM Bay.

Previously on Archinect: Aecom wins project management contract for Saudi Arabia's Neom Bay

Additionally, in more recent news, it was announced that British engineering consultancy Atkins had been enlisted as a strategic Delivery Partner for The Line, the complicated linear city concept that aims to be the centerpiece of the NEOM megaproject.

Previously on Archinect: Atkins joins NEOM as strategic partner for The Line project

“We are very pleased to be part of this innovative NEOM project, which is set ...

New Clippers NBA arena tops out in Inglewood

2023-03-13T14:00:00-04:00

According to the company’s website , the new facility is designed to mimic the look and feel of “the elegant form of a basketball net as a ball passes through it.” It will feature five basketball courts, more than any other NBA arena. According to the company’s website , the new facility is designed to mimic the look and feel of “the elegant form of a basketball net as a ball passes through it.” It will feature five basketball courts, more than any other NBA arena.

The AECOM-designed $1.2 billion construction broke ground in September of 2021 and is moving along schedule towards a 2024 completion. Its reported $260 million worth of community benefits are said to be the largest ever associated with an American sports arena project. In total, the arena will have a capacity for 18,000 future Clippers fans while their current abode undergoes a “nine-figure” overhaul courtesy of MEIS and Gensler.

Once construction is finished, the arena, which sits due south of SoFi Stadium, will occupy a 28-acre site that includes a Deer District-like public plaza, shopping areas, training facilities, and a 150-room hotel.

Previously on Archinect: Concrete frame at LA Clippers' new Intuit Dome arena tops out

Los Angeles hopes it will serve as a key cog in their upcoming Metro Crenshaw/LAX line extension. The NBA has more photos of the new construction here.

Terminal 5 expansion at O'Hare International Airport opens to the public

2023-02-09T17:45:00-05:00

Chicago’s $1.3 billion O’Hare International Airport Terminal 5 expansion and renovation has been completed, marking the end of four years of work to modernize the terminal.

The project broke ground in 2019, with construction led by Austin Power Partners. The terminal’s capacity was increased by 25% to improve efficiency and reduce delays. Passenger amenity space was increased by 75%, and the existing building was expanded by around 350,000 square feet. Additional renovations were made to 750,000 square feet of the existing structure.

HOK and Muller & Muller Ltd. led the redesign of the facilities, maintaining the original 1993 design while modernizing them for today's demands. Vaulted ceilings invite natural light and provide views across the airfield toward the Chicago skyline. The project also incorporated new sustainable technology throughout the terminal, including 40,000 square feet of high-performance glass, water efficiency measures that exceed Sustainable Airport Manual re...

Miami issues massive $10 billion RFP for downtown redevelopment

2022-08-23T12:03:00-04:00

Formally branded as MetroCenter, the 28-acre district includes the seat of government for Miami-Dade County. When a developer is chosen, they could be given the right to build up to 23.7 million square feet of mixed-use space on 17 acres. The developer could be chosen in 2024, according to the Miami Herald. The master builder would also get “unlimited height and development intensity” on the land that would be leased long-term to the developers, according to the county.

Reports indicate that the scheme would include up to 8,500 total units, with 2,000 being designated as affordable or workforce housing, according to the RFP. Of the plan’s 11 sites, 9 are earmarked for “vertical development” while the remaining 2 are reserved for parklands. AECOM will serve in an advisory role. Developers liken the plan to Hudson Yards or the Umeda in Osaka, Japan.

Concrete frame at LA Clippers' new Intuit Dome arena tops out

2022-08-05T15:28:00-04:00

The AECOM-Hunt Turner joint venture is celebrating the topping out of the Intuit Dome’s concrete frame, the future home of the Los Angeles Clippers.

According to Turner, more than 200,000 hours of work were performed by 350 workers to complete the frame. During construction, 65,000 cubic yards of concrete were placed, and 6,600 concrete mix truck deliveries were completed. The largest foundation pour was 2,572 cubic yards, and the largest deck pour was 980 cubic yards.

Previously on Archinect: The Los Angeles Clippers break ground on $1.8 billion Intuit Dome

“What our construction team has achieved in the last six months is incredible,” said Rames Sundaram, Project Executive at Turner. “Our first foundation was poured on January 12th, and our last deck pour is on July 27th. So, in just six short months, we have completed what normally takes nine months of work. Really amazing!”

According to Turner Vice President Michael Marchesano, the swift completion of the concrete frame has en...

Battery Park City gears up for major transformation that will make it more resilient to sea level rise

2022-07-28T13:00:00-04:00

New York’s Battery Park City will soon undergo a series of major resiliency projects that will completely transform the Lower Manhattan coast as the threats of storm surge and sea level rise loom.

Starting in September, after Labor Day, the first phase of the multibillion-dollar Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) Project, led by Battery Park City Authority, is set to break ground. Called the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project (SBPCR), the endeavor will see the creation of a continuous flood barrier from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, through Wagner Park, across Pier A Plaza, and along the northern border of the Historic Battery to an elevated point near Bowling Green Plaza.

South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, site plan. Image: Battery Park City Authority

The project is expected to last two years and, when complete, will feature expansive lawns and gardens; education, community, dining, and programming spaces; public restrooms; and universal access. The projec...

all(zone) will push new material boundaries in the ninth MPavilion

2022-07-12T12:51:00-04:00

Two months after being named the designer of the prestigious annual MPavilion commission in Melbourne, Australia, Thailand-based practice all(zone) has revealed an experimental concept featuring a mixture of materials and forms they claim are previously unseen in the country's architectural history.

The ninth edition of the pavilion will be displayed prominently in Melbourne's historic Queen Victoria Gardens and query audiences to “think more deeply about different ways of using materials in a sustainable future,” according to a new project announcement.

Image courtesy Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

By incorporating layers of colorful netting and a waterproof mesh membrane produced by the French manufacturer Serge Ferrari, the pavilion’s presence expands on the commission’s legacy of producing cultural incubators that form the basis for critical exchange in the marketplace of ideas. AECOM and the specialist engineering consultancy TENSYS are now working with all(zone) on a construction pr...

AECOM pulls its operations from Russia in protest of Ukraine invasion

2022-03-07T15:14:00-05:00

One of the world’s largest engineering consultancies has joined the growing list of architecture firms ceasing activities in Russia in protest of the country's military invasion of Ukraine after AECOM announced it will be halting its operation in Russia effective immediately.

Speaking in a press release, AECOM said its goal was to “ensure the safety, security, and well-being of our teams throughout the region.” The firm indicated that the financial impacts resulting from their actions would be in the $40 to $50 million range limited to the second quarter of the fiscal year only. A $10 million total cash loss is expected as well. The firm currently employs about 350 workers across two separate offices in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

“We support the people of Ukraine who are facing tremendous suffering as a result of Russia’s unlawful invasion,” AEC...

AECOM awarded FEMA contract to lead flood-risk response in 17 U.S. states

2022-02-16T17:19:00-05:00

AECOM has announced that its Compass Production and Technical Services Joint Venture (Compass PTS JV) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide production and technical architectural and engineering services for the Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (RISK MAP) Program.

The contract has a combined program ceiling of $300 million for a one-year base period with four, one-year option years. Compass PTS JV will deliver a range of services related to flood risk analyses, hazard mapping, disaster response, and risk reduction. AECOM will also utilize its engineering and mapping capabilities to provide high-quality local flood hazard and risk data and information at state-level scales.

The contract covers regions that face the most frequent and severe flooding in the country. The states included in the contract’s scope are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Car...

AECOM has been enlisted by NASA to provide architecture and engineering services

2021-09-29T18:32:00-04:00

AECOM has announced that it has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide architecture and engineering services as part of its Southeast Regional Architect and Engineering (SERAE) program. The five-year, multiple-award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract has a shared program ceiling of $300 million.

AECOM will focus on the rehabilitation, modernization, and development of new systems for facilities, utilities, and ground support at prominent NASA locations across the United States. They include the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Johnson Space Center in Texas, White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, and more.

The firm will provide a wide range of architecture, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical infrastructure services across all project phases, including planning and feasibility, permitting, preliminary engineering, final design, engineering services during construction, activation, and commissioning. They...

The Los Angeles Clippers break ground on $1.8 billion Intuit Dome

2021-09-20T15:41:00-04:00

The design meetings have been going on for years. Technology has evolved throughout the process. Painstaking decisions were made time and time again, right down to what an inch or two difference in leg room between rows would mean or where cupholders should be affixed to the seats. Finally, Steve Ballmer and the LA Clippers are ready to build their new home.

Four years after announcing plans to relocate from the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Clippers have broken ground on their long-awaited $1.8 billion, privately funded arena. It will be named Intuit Dome, as part of a 23-year naming rights agreement with Intuit, Inc. The 18,000-seat, AECOM-designed arena is scheduled to open in time for the 2024-2025 NBA season.

Through this partnership, Intuit and the Clippers plan to establish programs to reinvigorate the local economy, such as a commitment by Intuit to provide $1 million over the next three years to underserved school districts that are part of a program providing financial education to students. Intuit has also committed to providing free tax preparation services for low-income families in the area.

Previously on Archinect: Plans for LA Clippers arena in Inglewood move ahead

In addition, the Clippers have agreed to an estimated $260 million community benefits package, the largest ever associated with an arena.

Iberdrola teams up with AECOM to create Italian railway powered by green hydrogen

2021-08-31T16:59:00-04:00

Spanish utility company Iberdrola has announced that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed, with signatories including AECOM, for a project to convert Italy’s historic Apennine railway into one powered by green hydrogen.

Other members of the agreement include Italian sustainable developer Ancitel Energia e Ambiente and Italian hydrogen company Cinque International. Funded by the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, the project aims to replace defunct diesel locomotives with green hydrogen-powered ones. This switch will be a “drastically less expensive alternative” to traditional electrification, says Iberdrola. The company also claims that this will bring “innovation and development” to areas impacted by depopulation and deindustrialization due to earthquakes in 2009, 2016, and 2017.

The more than 186-mile-long railway line will connect inland areas of Italy, running through four central Italian regions. The MOU also includes an evaluation of the technical viability to ...

AECOM is moving its headquarters to Dallas, Texas

2021-08-19T14:31:00-04:00

Multinational engineering firm AECOM announced Tuesday that it is relocating its global headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas, effective October 1, 2021.

AECOM CEO Troy Rudd and select corporate leaders will move to the company’s existing Dallas office, joining the more than 1,200 employees based at the location. The company’s 2,500 employees based in California, across its Los Angeles office and other offices across the state, will remain. As stated in AECOM’s announcement, the move will provide the firm “additional benefits as a corporate hub and talent magnet for the engineering and consulting industry.”

In recent years, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has been an attractive landing spot for businesses and workers. As reported by Construction Dive, since 2010, 140 companies have moved their headquarters to Northern Texas, according to an op-ed by JLL Dallas Managing Director Jeremy McGown. He notes that the metropolitan region has grown faster than any other major city, with nearly ...

Fallen Journalists Memorial: AECOM and Paul Goldberger will help materialize a new site of remembrance to commemorate journalists who made the ultimate sacrifice

2021-07-01T08:00:00-04:00

On June 24th, the Fallen Journalists Memorial (FJM) Foundation announced its partnership with global engineering and infrastructure firm AECOM, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger, and the Levinson Group on a new site that pays homage to journalists worldwide. The FJM Foundation commits to memorializing and amplifying the work of these individuals whose lives were lost while in service to pursue the truth.

The memorial is "the culmination of dedicated work by the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation to honor the reporters, photojournalists, producers, editors, and others in the field, who have died while performing their jobs as journalists," shared Claire Sale, AECOM's project manager overseeing the memorial project. "We are honored to have a role in bringing this memorial to life."

The initiative stemmed from the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act that Congress passed in December 2020. The bill authorized the planning and development of "a commemorative work...

LA Clippers Arena: Inglewood City Council approves environmental report

2020-07-22T18:36:00-04:00

The Clippers’ plans for a billion-dollar arena complex moved closer to reality Tuesday after Inglewood’s City Council voted unanimously to approve the environmental impact report for the project. The approval came seven months after the release of the report, which spanned thousands of pages and required nearly two years to complete [...].

Image courtesy of the Los Angeles Clippers

According to the Los Angeles Times, concerns over gentrification brought forward by local groups opposing the 18,000-seat Clippers Arena and nearby NFL SoFi Stadium development were ruled out by the report.

AECOM is the architect of the $1.2 billion arena complex proposal for the Steve Ballmer-owned NBA team.

Los Angeles Clippers buy Forum arena with plans to move forward with another stadium next door

2020-03-25T18:57:00-04:00

The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball franchise has purchased the Forum arena in Inglewood, California for $400 million as part of a plan to construct a new AECOM-designed basketball megaplex for the team next door to the existing complex.

Previously on Archinect: “Plans for LA Clippers arena in Inglewood move ahead.” Image courtesy of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Plans were unveiled last year for a basketball net-inspired 900,000-square-foot arena that would become the new home for the basketball team. The Forum, designed in 1967 by architects Charles Luckman & Associates, is currently used for a variety of sporting events and concerts. The complex was designed as a modern feat of engineering by architect Charles Luckman and storied engineers Carl Johnson and Svend Nielsen and was the first arena of its size to be built without interior columns.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles Clippers owner Steven Ballmer paid $400 million in cash to the New ...

Indonesia hires Aecom, McKinsey and Nikken Sekkei to design new capital

2020-03-04T15:45:00-05:00

The Indonesian government is involving three international consulting firms in developing the masterplan of the country’s new capital city, which is to be located in East Kalimantan. [...] American engineering company AECOM, consulting firm McKinsey & Company and Japanese architectural and engineering firm Nikken Sekkei would design the city, which is to feature the latest technology and be environmentally friendly at the same time.

In August 2019, Indonesian President Joko Widodo had announced the selection of a 450,000-acre site in East Kalimantan province on Borneo Island where the nation's new capital would be relocated to.

Jakarta, the current capital on Java Island, is traffic-choked, increasingly prone to floods, and some areas of the metropolitan area with a population of more than 30 million have been sinking as much as 10 inches a year, caused by the digging of underground aquifers and amplified by rising levels.

AECOM reportedly discussing deal with WSP

2020-01-15T19:09:00-05:00

Canada’s WSP Global Inc. has approached rival engineering services firm Aecom about a possible deal, according to people familiar with the matter. [...] Aecom shares opened up 4% Tuesday, valuing the company at about $7.7 billion. WSP fell 0.4% to C$93.22 apiece in Toronto, giving the company a market value of about C$9.9 billion ($7.6 billion).

"Meanwhile, WSP's acquisitions of U.S.-based construction and engineering firms go back several years," reported Construction Dive, detailing the Canadian company's strategic shopping spree that included notable acquisitions of companies like Berger Group Holdings Inc., Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Ecology and Environment Inc.

A deal with Los Angeles-based industry heavyweight AECOM would grant WSP further access to the U.S. market and result in significant cost savings, according to Bloomberg.

Plans for LA Clippers arena in Inglewood move ahead

2020-01-03T14:27:00-05:00

Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved fast-tracking the billion-dollar arena complex the Clippers want to build in Inglewood, as plans for the project continue to advance. [...] The Madison Square Garden Co., which owns the Forum less than two miles away, called the arena plan “deeply flawed” and pledged to continue its fight against the project.

Designs for the proposed $1.2 billion basketball arena by AECOM were first unveiled in July last year.

"The Clippers, owned by billionaire Steve Ballmer, will install 330 electric vehicle chargers at the arena, fund 1,000 residential chargers in the surrounding area, purchase two electric buses and 10 electric vehicles for Inglewood’s municipal fleet, and plant 1,000 trees as part of its agreement with CARB," Daily Breeze reports. "The arena is expected to meet a Gold standard under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program."

Image courtesy of the Los Angeles Clippers

If approved and completed, the 18,000-seat venue would become the new Inglewood home of the Los Angeles Clippers, just in time for the 2024-25 NBA season and coinciding with the end of the team's lease with its current home, the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles.

The planned arena is located near the currently under-construction Los Angeles Rams football stadium designed by HKS...

Interrogating the impacts of NYC’s Rikers jail replacement plan

2019-12-12T14:06:00-05:00

The height of the new jail towers was later slashed from 45 storeys to a maximum of 29, but the damage had been done. The images of these brutish concrete silos symbolised a rack’em and stack’em approach, attracting criticism from both prison reform advocates and the communities in which these fortified slabs were to be planted.

Writing in The Guardian, critic Oliver Wainwright examines competing visions for the future of New York City’s prisons.

Earlier this year, AECOM was selected to envision a dispersed carceral archipelago for the city that would take the place of the sordid Rikers Island prison. The plan has faced strong opposition from groups like No New Jails NYC and others who seek to have the city move away from mass incarceration and toward alternative forms of justice administration.

AECOM's basketball net-inspired designs for a new Los Angeles Clippers arena are unveiled

2019-07-26T16:18:00-04:00

The Clippers on Thursday unveiled the first look at their proposed Inglewood arena, an 18,500-seat, billion-dollar project funded by owner Steve Ballmer that the team believes will begin construction on time in 2021 and open three years later.

The basketball net-inspired designs for the 900,000-square-foot arena include a solar panel tile cladding system as well as a sunken basketball court overlooked by stacked seating areas, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Ground-level view of the plaza leading to the arena. Image courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers.

The arena is designed by AECOM, while Anderson Barker Architects and City Design Studio of Los Angeles are designing a series of buildings located with a plaza that leads to the arena. Hood Studios is providing landscape architecture services for the project.

The stadium will be located on a site next door to the forthcoming HKS Architects-designed Los Angeles Rams stadium.

Handel Architects aims to build a "community of opportunity" in East Harlem

2019-07-19T14:53:00-04:00

Construction on Sendero Verde, a sizable Handel Architects-designed affordable housing development in New York City, is expected to break ground later this summer.

Patch reports that L+M Development Partners, Jonathan Rose Companies, and Acacia Network, the developers behind the project, have secured the necessary funding to get shovels in the ground. AECOM is providing landscape architecture services for the project.

The $233 million, three-phase development will ultimately bring close to 700 affordable housing units to New York's East Harlem district, where recent developer interest and real estate activity have disturbed the area's naturally affordable existing housing stock. The project results in part from the recent re-zoning of the East Harlem neighborhood, an effort that is expected to bring up to 1,288 affordable housing units to the area, overall, according to Patch.

The development will preserve a series of existing community gardens currently located on the developmen...