Archinect - News

Dave Chappelle went all out to stop an affordable housing development in his hometown

2022-02-10T13:40:00-05:00

Dave Chappelle threatened to pull his various business ventures from his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio, if the village council went ahead with a plan to build — wait for it — more affordable housing in the area.

Dave Chappelle has turned into quite the evil troll in recent years over other hot-button issues which now extend into a proposed multi-family development project in his Dayton-area hometown. Chappelle owns several small businesses in the area under a holding company called Iron Table, which he claimed are worth $65 million during the hearing on the measure Monday night.

The comedian's opposition reportedly stems from the plan's lack of sidewalks and an increased amount of traffic to the area, which is adjacent to his bucolic 39-acre estate. The proposal was passed over in the end and replaced by a previous plan that will add 143 single-family units with starting prices around $300,000, according to Rolling Stone.

“I cannot believe you would make me audition for you,” Chappelle told those assembled at the village council meeting. “You look like clowns. I am not bluffing, I will take it all off the table. I’ve invested millions of dollars in this town. If you push this thing throu...

Double profits for Foster + Partners amidst a year of economic recovery

2022-01-13T15:13:00-05:00

The architecture practice run by Sir Norman Foster almost doubled its profits as it expanded in the Middle East and gained new business despite pandemic lockdowns. Total revenues fell by £33m to £200m in the year ending 30 April 2021, accounts for Foster + Partners, the practice’s main trading company, show. But profits before tax almost doubled to £36.2m during the year, compared with £19.8m in the previous year.

New projects included a planned luxury tower development in Greece and a new tourist destination on an artificial island in the Red Sea (although notably, the Tulip Tower did come off the books due to environmental concerns).

Foster himself is worth well into the nine-figure range and has recently sold a significant portion of his shares to a Canadian investment firm. The firm reported earnings for the past four years that combined are over £900 million ($1.24 billion) in spite of the considerable forces at play economically during the pandemic. Foster + Partners also reported that a £500,000 ($686,000) government loan taken out for their 2020 furlough was repaid.

Wealth is cemented at the top as starchitects continue to see gains

2021-11-22T14:32:00-05:00

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, a new list from therichest.com has ranked the world’s top ten architects in terms of their total net worth.

Big A architecture remunerates extraordinarily well for some, with the total list’s net worth nearing three-quarters of a billion USD.

Norman Foster took the top spot with an estimated net worth amounting to $250 million. The outspoken 86-year-old has had a windfall of big development contracts in the past few years, which has helped him maintain the position he has held for parts of the last two decades.

Frank Gehry came in a distant second with around $100 million in total worth. Gehry was followed quickly by Moshe Safdie, who also hit the $100 mark, although it was not clear which methodology was used to delineate the two (some publicized estimates have Safdie’s worth significantly higher at around $150 million). Oculus designer Santiago Calatrava was the only other architect to hit the nine-figure plateau. His estimated net ...

OMA adds a bit of firm history into its design for the new Amex Centurion card

2021-08-13T17:05:00-04:00

A tiny new addition to Rem Koolhaas and OMA’s famed catalog will be launching in the USA in September after a successful European launch earlier this year.

The new Centurion Card design is a collaboration between the Dutch studio and American Express aimed at updating the bulletproof old metallic versions of the card that have been on the market since 2005.

The Boompjes project, Stefano de Martino at OMA

The card’s design is based on the original plan for Boompjes, the never-realized Rotterdam redevelopment project that Koolhaas counts as the first major commission in his home country. Amex came across the Boompjes designs (which feature prominently in several different museum collections including the MOMA) after approaching OMA with the project in 2019. The design was originally centered around the Roman theme that has been synonymous with the company since its inception in America in the late 1950s.

The design is taken from a 1982 silkscreen triptych rendering designed by Koolha...

Gensler is America's top-grossing architecture firm for ninth year in a row

2020-09-02T13:27:00-04:00

Global architecture firm Gensler has once again out earned all other practices in the United States. For the ninth year in a row, the San Francisco-based design giant has topped the list of Architectural Record's Top 300 U.S. Architecture Firms list. As typical, the 2020 list encompasses earnings for the previous year, 2019, and so does not capture any disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the year 2019, Gensler took in $1.523 billion in revenue. Second place Perkins and Will brought in $670.23 million and third place firm HDR made $517.60 million. Rounding out the top five, Dallas-based Jacobs made $509.90 million while Los Angeles-based AECOM garnered $439.30 million. Following these firms are HKS, HOK, Stantec, SOM, and Perkins Eastman.

The 25 top-grossing architecture firms for 2019 are listed below.

London, New York, Hong Kong are the most expensive cities in new International Construction Cost Index

2020-04-02T17:35:00-04:00

The latest International Construction Cost Index has just been released, and the top spots don't really come as a big surprise: London, New York, Hong Kong, Geneva, and San Francisco are the planet's most expensive cities for construction.

Compiled by design and consultancy organization Arcadis, the 2020 ICC Index surveyed construction costs, market conditions, and expert opinions in 100 large cities across six continents.

The top ten most expensive cities are:

1. London
2. New York
3. Hong Kong
4. Geneva
5. San Francisco
6. Copenhagen
7. Tokyo
8. Zurich
9. Dublin
10. Edinburgh

The ten cheapest surveyed cities are:

91. Hangzhou
92. Bangkok
93. Chengdu
94. Guangzhou
95. Wuhan
96. Shenzhen
97. Kuala Lumpur
98. Mumbai
99. New Delhi
100. Bengaluru

Arcadis 2020 International Construction Cost Index (Source)

The report also highlighted emerging industry trends associated with climate change, such as sustainable construction, decarbonization, climate resilience, and emission reduction goals.

New this year...

MTA suffers huge losses from COVID-19 pandemic as ridership declines sharply

2020-03-20T17:41:00-04:00

Ridership declines across all of the MTA’s trains and buses is becoming “more severe” by the day, the agency’s latest statistics revealed, causing $87 million in weekly revenue losses and raising the specter of more debt and drastic cuts to much-needed long-term repairs.

Already dealing with financial pressure, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is being hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic, as new ridership data in the latest Annual Disclosure Statement reveals.

"Recent substantial declines in ridership and traffic in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have already been observed and have become more severe daily," reads the statement. "There remains a high risk for further reductions in ridership and people may permanently alter their commutation behavior after this crisis based on their telecommuting experience during the COVID-19 crisis."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by MTA New York City Transit (@mtanyctransit) on Mar 18, 2020 at 7:03pm PDT

Earlier this week, MTA Chairman and CEO, Patrick J. Foye, requested an incremental $4 billion in federal assistance to "allow MTA to respond to the coronavirus pandemic" — more than 23% of the agency's current annual $17.1 billion operating budget.

Value learning over money. In the long run, it will pay off

2020-01-17T13:47:00-05:00

In many of my conversations about career with soon to be graduates, recent graduates, early professionals, and even intermediate professionals salary is probably one of the most frequent topics. Here are some of the questions I hear from professionals looking for their first full time job, for example:

"How can I negotiate a good salary?"
"Salary is probably the most important factor in my search, which firms pay the most?"
"I was excited about this job, but I just found out my friend at another firm is getting paid more than me. Should I change firms?"

What's the problem here? The preoccupation with money is truly bewildering. Early on, it's quite simple: know what the average pay is for your experience level and make sure you aren't being underpaid. If you are at a firm that can pay you more, then kudos to you, but the obsession with money at this point in a career is misplaced. We should all be fairly compensated for our work, this is a given.

Thought experiment: what's the better o...

Bel Air 'Chartwell' mansion sells for $150M, now the priciest home in California

2019-12-12T14:35:00-05:00

Some know it as “The Beverly Hillbillies” mansion, others as Chartwell. Now, it has a new name: California’s chart-topper. The Bel-Air residence of late media mogul A. Jerrold Perenchio has sold for the highest price in California history, about $150 million. The buyer is Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and co-chairman of publishing company News Corp., The Times has confirmed.

The spacious estate at 875 Nimes Road in Bel Air, also known as "The Beverly Hillbillies" mansion from the 1960s TV show, finally changed owners for an undisclosed amount, which sources familiar with the deal told the LA Times, was around $150 million.

While the deal would easily beat the previous California record setter, the 123-room Spelling Manor which sold for $120 million in July this year, the Chartwell selling price still comes in roughly $200 million under the original $350 million asking price for which the property came up for sale in 2017—and considerably lower than the $238 million penthouse in the Robert A.M. Stern-designed 220 Central Park South luxury condo tower in New York City, the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S.

Portugal issues collector coin for Pritzker Prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto Moura

2018-12-13T17:41:00-05:00

The Portuguese mint and National press has released new coins in honor of the country's Pritzker Prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. Known for his stadium in Braga, Portugal and his House Number Two in Bom Jesus, Portugal, the 66 year-old architect is often praised for his ability to blend drama with his thoughtful use of colors and materials.

The coin to honor Souto de Moura has been designed by another Portuguese architect, and fellow Pritzker winner, Alvaro Siza. The design focuses on nature and construction, with one side featuring a stylized depiction of his Igreja de Santa Maria in Marco de Canavese, and the other, an abstract line drawing of a tree.

Last year, a coin designed by Eduardo Suoto de Moura was released to honor Siza. This year's release continues the Banco de Portugal's "Portuguese Architecture" series.

Fabricator of Louvre Abu Dhabi's lattice dome declares insolvency due to the project

2018-11-27T18:48:00-05:00

Waagner-Biro, the Austrian steel engineering company that built the dome of the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, has announced its insolvency and is fighting to save parts of its business by selling off subsidiaries. Austrian press reports say that delays in payment and spiralling costs of the Louvre project were chiefly to blame for the company’s struggles.

Established in 1854 as a locksmith, Waagner-Biro has played a significant role in architectural steel engineering. Some of their high-profile projects include the spiraling roof of the Great Court in the British Museum, the dome of the Reichstag in Berlin, and a stage system for the Sydney Opera House, to name a few.

$245 million, and America's most expensive listing could be yours

2018-10-30T19:58:00-04:00

The limestone clad mansion in Bel Air owned by the late TV executive Jerry Perenchio just got a price cut. But at $245 million, the commanding French neoclassical residence, which measures 25,000 square feet, is still the most expensive listing on the open market in the U.S. The property, which came up for sale last year for a staggering $350 million, has long been the cream of the crop among high-end estates.

If you happen to have won the $1.6 billion lottery jackpot last week or simply don't know where to stash away all those extra tax-cut savings, here's a sweet dealio for you: the spacious 'Chartwell' Bel Air mansion at 875 Nimes Road was built in 1933 and also appeared in the 1960s TV show The Beverly Hillbillies.

Photo: Jim Bartsch/Hilton & Hyland.

"Features include a Wallace Neff designed 5-bedroom guest house, 75-foot pool with spacious pool house, tennis court, car gallery for 40 vehicles, 12,000 bottle wine cellar and precisely manicured gardens befitting a chateau in France," reads the property description.

Oh, and it's a total steal, too: after being listed for an eye-watering $350 million last year, the asking price has since dropped significantly to a bargain $245 million. Plenty of spare cash left to fill that 40-vehicle car gallery.

Canadian $10 bank note features Antoine Predock's Canadian Museum for Human Rights building

2018-04-10T14:51:00-04:00

In March, the Bank of Canada unveiled a new $10 bank note [...] The laurel leaf signifies justice, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights building, designed by New Mexico architect Antoine Predock, is featured prominently. To contrast its striking modernism, the Library of Parliament’s vaulted ceiling is reproduced with a metallic sheen, as is the Arms of Canada insignia.

Canada's new $10 note depicting Antoine Predock's Canadian Museum for Human Rights building on the back of the bill, along with an eagle feather and the laurel leaf.

Canadian Museum for Human designed by Antoine Predock, located in Winnipeg, CA. RightsImage: Bob Linsdell/Wiki Commons.

The front of the new note depicts Nova Scotia civil rights icon Viola Desmond, the first Canadian woman to be honored on money (besides the Queen).

The Viola Desmond bill will enter into circulation by late 2018.

The half-billion-dollar Bel Air giga-mansion is still looking for a buyer

2018-03-05T14:14:00-05:00

The construction of this and other so-called giga-mansions underscores a new gilded age in the United States and especially in LA. [...] The splurge comes amid a housing shortage that has fuelled a homelessness crisis, with 57,000 people without permanent shelter in LA county [...]. The Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez compared the city’s hilltop mansions to giant tombstones marking the death of humility.

The Guardian takes a peek into the world of ultra-luxury real estate developer Niles Niami whose latest endeavor—the sprawling Bel Air hilltop giga-mansion with its four swimming pools, 20 bedrooms, movie theater, and nightly club aptly called The One—frequently makes the news for being America's priciest home. Clocking in at $500m, the property is still waiting for a billionaire buyer.

AIA Consensus Construction Forecast predicts accelerated growth through 2019

2018-01-29T14:28:00-05:00

Construction spending for nonresidential buildings is projected to increase 4 percent this year and continue at that pace of growth through 2019. While the commercial construction sectors will generate much of the expected gains this year, by 2019 the industrial and institutional sectors will dominate the projected construction growth. [...] However, in the face of a supportive economy, construction spending on nonresidential buildings disappointed last year.

The American Institute of Architects has published its latest Consensus Construction Forecast, and it's looking quite rosy. Despite labor shortages and rising material costs that continue to have an impact on the construction industry, the report — supported by the last few editions of the Institute's monthly Architecture Billings Index — projects a 4% increase for nonresidential buildings this year and a continuation of this pace through 2019.

Analyzing this economic optimism, the AIA points out five key factors:

Rebuilding and repairs from natural disasters
Tax reform implications for construction
Possibility of an infrastructure package
Strong consumer and business confidence levels
Leading economic indicators for the construction sector

For the full report and an interactive version of the infographic above, head over to aia.org.

Can these positive projections be felt in your firm or region as well? Let us know in the comment section below.

Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles dominate list of most expensive homes sold in 2017

2017-12-21T15:40:00-05:00

After 2016 smashed records for the planet’s biggest deals, this year was not far behind. There was a noticeable flurry of activity in the aptly named Golden State of California where the rich and famous – and we’re talking the likes of Beyoncé and Jay Z – flocked to snap up a piece of prime LA luxury. But three of the most expensive homes were all inside one development in Hong Kong.

Lifting poor neighborhoods out of poverty with alternative investment models

2017-12-06T14:08:00-05:00

How do you raise the standard of living in the poorest neighborhoods in the country? That’s what community developers, typically nonprofits that build and finance affordable housing, have tried to do over the last few decades. And yet [...] many of these communities remain stuck in poverty. [...] This problem has stumped community developers for decades. But two local nonprofits think they’ve hit on something: They’ve created a private equity fund.

Le Corbusier's Chandigarh to be removed from Swiss 10-Franc bills

2017-10-12T13:59:00-04:00

Swiss francs, like most world currencies, have long featured notable faces from the past. But now, each beautiful note is designed around an abstract theme related to Switzerland. For the 10-franc note, instead of the retired portrait of the controversial genius Le Corbusier, the theme focuses on Switzerland’s organizational talent – expressed by time.

Le Corbusier and his plan for Chandigarh won't be featured on the new 10-Franc bill anymore. The new bill is inspired by Switzerland’s "organizational talent" and punctuality; it represents a pair of hands conducting time, the country's longest railway tunnels, and a map of the country and of its railway network. The Corbusier 10-Franc bill was introduced and in circulation since 1995; it has been highly controversial in Switzerland due to his affinities with fascism and the Vichy government.

A pair of hands conducting the time with a baton on the new 10-Franc bill from 2017.

Two rail tracks connecting in the world's longest railway tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, part of the world's densest railway network reducing the time for traversing the Alps in Central Switzerland.

AIA's Consensus Construction Forecast downgrades expectations for 2017 and 2018

2017-07-24T15:51:00-04:00

Entering 2017, construction forecasters were quite optimistic about the near-term outlook for the industry. [...] However, as of the mid-year 2017 update, the grounds of this euphoria are evaporating. [...] key elements of the Trump administration’s legislative agenda have made almost no progress. [...] As a result, the AIA Consensus Construction Forecast panel is predicting slower growth for the construction industry for the remainder of 2017 and through 2018.

"The slower estimated growth for 2017 is expected to continue through 2018. Overall spending growth is currently projected by the Consensus Forecast panel at 3.6 percent for next year, down modestly from the 4.9 percent forecast entering this year. Commercial construction is expected to perform closest to prior expectations, with the 4.0 percent expected growth in spending for 2018 down less than 0.5 percentage points from the late-2016 forecast. Industrial construction is now likely to see very modest 1.1 percent growth next year, down from the prior expectations of 3.3 percent, while the institutional outlook has dropped from the 5.8 percent forecast of six months ago to 4.1 percent with the current projections."

For the full report and an interactive version of the infographic above, head over to aia.org.

AIA awards $100,000 to five intriguing Upjohn Research Initiative projects

2017-04-25T12:46:00-04:00

From a Circadian Daylight Metric and Design Assist Tool to Trashwalls, the AIA has announced the five projects it has selected for its 10th annual Upjohn Research Initiative grants, and they're all fairly promising. Speaking broadly, the projects each propose investigating a particular aspect of the built environment in an effort to try and improve the quality of life of that structure's likely daily inhabitants. For example, the Trashwalls from a team of researchers from Washington State University are "fabricated using materials harvested from the local solid waste stream, are designed to reduce heat loss from rented apartments, improve the comfort of those spaces during hot or cold weather, and save renters money on their utility bills, while reducing pollution. The purpose of this project is to design, construct, and examine prototypes of interior insulating walls that are attractive, have an R-value of R-10 (US) or greater, cost less than ten cents per square foot, are built fr...

Internet providers can now profit from your privacy, thanks to the House Republicans

2017-03-28T18:57:00-04:00

Not content to creepily stalk you with tailored ads on Facebook and Google, ISPs can now sell your internet browsing history to third-parties for cash, thanks to the corporately-backed husks that voted for the move in the U.S. House of Representatives. According to The Washington Post:

Congress's joint resolution empowers Internet providers to enter the $83 billion market for online advertising now dominated by Google and Facebook. It is likely to lend momentum to a broader GOP rollback of Obama-era technology policies, and calls into question the fate of other tech regulations such as net neutrality, which was approved in 2015 over strident Republican objections and bans Internet providers from discriminating against websites. And it is a sign that companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon will be treated more permissively at a time when conservatives control all three branches of government.

Zaha Hadid leaves £67 million fortune in her will

2017-01-16T13:38:00-05:00

[Hadid] bequeathed a lump sum of £500,000 to her business partner Patrik Schumacher. Hadid also left a total of £1.7m to four nieces and nephews, as well as her brother Haytham Hadid, whose share was £500,000 [...] Her will, obtained by the Architects’ Journal, shows that the net value of her estate was £67,249,458. The calculation was filed in the high court dated 14 December 2016 [...] The will shows Hadid is leaving her architecture practice, of which she was the sole owner, in trust.

AECOM halts work on Faraday Future's $1-Billion Nevada factory

2016-11-22T15:05:00-05:00

Faraday Future’s future is looking bleaker. After the electric car start-up failed to pay millions of dollars in bills, its contractor Monday halted work on Faraday’s $1-billion North Las Vegas, Nev., car factory. [...] The contractor is Aecom, the Los Angeles-based engineering giant. [...] Faraday failed to pay $21 million due to Aecom in September and owed $25 million in October and $12 million in November, according to Aecom.

Faraday Future previously in the Archinect news:

Is Your Architectural Firm a Practice or Business?

2016-11-14T09:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by BQE ArchiOffice.

In my experience, most firm owners don’t appreciate the significance of being at the helm of a business. At the risk of sounding cliché, they run a “practice” and they operate it as if they’re just… well… practicing. This problem is evident in each firm’s mission statement. Of the many I’ve read, only a handful acknowledge the firm’s ultimate goal is to sustain itself and be a profitable, successful business. This is a primary reason why architects are notoriously under-compensated.

Mostly, firms use the mission statement as an opportunity to echo what every architecture school pounded into our brains: something touching upon the noble pursuit of our profession, improving the built environment, serving our clients and helping the planet. Neither our employees nor our clients can differentiate one firm from another. Imagine showing up at a conference and everyone is handed a name tag that reads “Joe.” Not much sense in that. Why bother ...

Is Vancouver's 15% tax on overseas buyers helping to cool the housing market?

2016-10-12T14:22:00-04:00

There is a city which is suffering a worse property bubble than Sydney, whose residents are more priced-out than Londoners, and where there is a greater divide between the housing haves and have-nots than even San Francisco. That city is Vancouver, and in response to these mounting challenges, the west-coast Canadian metropolis recently imposed an extraordinary new tax on foreign buyers – whose impact is now being watched closely by other cities grappling with bloated property markets.

Quickly Recover from Missing Billable Hours and Miscalculated Project Costs

2016-10-10T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by BQE ArchiOffice.

Learn how this Brisbane-based architectural firm is enjoying faster cash flow now.

About

Based in West End, Brisbane, Tim Bennetton Architects is a small, private architectural firm with a single director and three employees. They work in an intimate, responsive environment that collectively values good design, simplicity and positive relationships. This Australian firm goes above and beyond for their clients to ensure that the joy remains through the ups and downs of their projects – from the initial meeting through to completion. Tim Bennetton and his team offer unparalleled service that provides excellent design, as well as an experience in transforming that vision into reality.

Background

Prior to finding the right software for their firm, Tim Bennetton Architects encountered many time tracking issues that made it difficult to estimate project costs and profits. “We used something called Timesheet Professional, which tracked our ti...

Financial Management for the Small Architectural Firm 101

2016-09-12T08:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by BQE ArchiOffice.

Providing great architectural services and running a financially successful firm are not mutually exclusive. It’s quite the contrary. If you are as good an architect as you think, you’ll be successful and it won’t be because of your design skills. However, what separates the great–struggling designers from the great-successful designers isn’t just luck.

It’s not your fault that after all the years of education and training you endured to become an architect, you don’t know the first thing about how to run a business. Sure, you can design – like nobody’s business – but do you truly understand the difference between income and revenue? How about a credit and debit? Do you know what an overhead factor is and why it’s so critical? Do you know what your minimum billing rate is? Did you ever sit down and map out your firm’s operating budget?

Chances are the answer to all these questions is no. So let’s get to work and get you on the right tr...

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...

AIA's Consensus Construction Forecast projects continued but moderate growth in 2017

2016-07-26T12:44:00-04:00

After a strong 2015, there is a growing sense that the construction industry expansion will be more tempered over the next eighteen months. [...] The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s leading construction forecasters, is projecting that spending will increase just less than six percent for 2016, with next year’s projection being an additional 5.6% gain.

“Healthy job growth, strong consumer confidence and low interest rates are several positive factors in the economy, which will allow some of the pent-up demand from the last downturn to go forward,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “But at the same time, the slowing in the overall economy could extend to the construction industry a bit – with the biggest drop off expected in the industrial facility sector over the next year and a half.”

For the full report and an interactive version of the infographic above, head over to aia.org.

The self-segregation of America's wealthiest class

2016-05-12T13:16:00-04:00

For years now, people have been talking about the insulated world of the top 1 percent of Americans, but the top 20 percent of the income distribution is also steadily separating itself — by geography and by education as well as by income. This self-segregation of a privileged fifth of the population is changing the American social order and the American political system, creating a self-perpetuating class at the top, which is ever more difficult to break into.

"Geographic segregation dovetails with the growing economic spread between the top 20 percent and the bottom 80 percent: The top quintile is, in effect, disengaging from everyone with lower incomes."

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