H.H. Richardson, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wrightthese are just a few famous architects who contributed to the urban fabric of Buffalo, New York. Even Buffalos more utilitarian structures like the citys grain elevators captured the imaginations of Walter Gropius, Albert Kahn, Erich Mendelsohn, and Le Corbusier. Buffalo, in its postindustrial aughts, produced one of the most progressive art movements in U.S. history, now remembered as the 1970s Buffalo Avant-Garde which included Cindy Sherman, and Gordon Matta-Clark. Bingo, a house deconstruction project by Matta-Clark, was sited at Niagara Falls in 1974.Today, a new historic preservation program by a University of Buffalo (UB) architecture professor seeks to tap into the citys radical legacy.Dennis Mahera designer, artist, and educator at UBhas partnered with the City of Buffalo and Buffalo History Museums Melissa Brown for an initiative that engages with the legacy of historic architecture, not unlike what Matta-Clark did a few decades back in the region.The initiative is about honoring buildings that were lost to demolition, according to press materials. The collaboration will result in a framework to salvage and repurpose meaningful elements from significant buildings, ensuring these materials inspire future storytelling, design, and reflection. Mahers vision is predicated on three key principles: the artful reimagination of historic buildings, fostering educational collaboration between UB architecture students and apprentices at Assembly House 150, and promoting visionary leadership.Maher founded Assembly House 150 in 2014. He describes it as part interactive architectural museum, part art/design studio, part construction trades workshop. The organization works from an 1850s church and helps create job opportunities for architecture students and affiliated tradespeople. Adrienne Economos Miller visited Buffalo and reported on Assembly House 150 in a feature story for ANlast year.The cast iron pilasters of the Dearing Building will be salvaged. (Courtesy Dennis Maher)The new program helmed by Maher started after two beloved barsThe Pink and Mulligans Brick Barwere lost due to fires. We know this can never replace the loss of a cherished space, said Catherine Amdur, Buffalos commissioner of permit & inspection services, but it ensures the stories, memories, and tangible pieces of these places are preserved for future generations to recall and connect with our shared history.Mulligans Brick Bar was located in the Dearing Building, which was completed in 1897. It burned in down early in the morning on Sunday. January 5. The building was going to be torn down, but the City of Buffalo intervened to delay demolition. Now it seems portions of the historic structure will be salvaged by Maher, including the cast iron pilasters, made by Washington Iron Works.Buildings are containers of our memories, and their pieces often move unseen, like a current beneath the surface, Maher said in a statement. This project allows the city to breathe in and breathe out these pieces, giving the memories back again.What comes next? The program will look towards collecting, curating, and publicly displaying salvaged architectural elements that will allow Buffalos residents to engage with their citys history and cultural identity.

Hours after Trumps inauguration, he was already thinking about architecture.It was one subject among many for an initial flurry of executive orders. Now the General Services Administration (GSA) has sixty days to deliver recommendations to President Donald Trump for promoting beautiful federal civic architecture.The executive order (EO) from January 20 was addressed to Stephen Ehikian, GSAs new administrator. Ehikian has taken the reigns from Robin Carnahan, the Biden administrations GSA administrator, and has since given top level GSA jobs to tech and finance leaders. The EO was one of dozens the Trump administration rolled out after being sworn in this weekend, just after Elon Musk gave what many called a Nazi salute. Other EOs had to do with mass deportations, anti-DEI and anti-trans programs, opening up oil rigs in Alaska, issuing pardons and sentence commutations for January 6 rioters, and other America First initiatives.Additional EOs will have global impact: Trump will have the U.S. leave the World Health Organization and has again pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement. He did this during his first presidency, only to have President Biden re-join the agreement as one of his first acts when he took office in 2021.Likewise, Biden revoked the original EO from 2020 that mandated federal buildings be built in the neoclassical style, a mandate that Trump has in turn reversed.Regional, Traditional, and ClassicalIn his EO related to architecture, Trump requested recommendations that would advance the policy that Federal public buildings [] be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States and our system of self-government.Such recommendations shall consider appropriate revisions to the Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture and procedures for incorporating community input into Federal building design selections, the EO continued. The EO also had language about buildings proposed before the 60-day deadline in late March.POTUS said in the EO that if GSA proposes to approve a design for a new federal public building before the deadline, Ehikian will have to notify Trump personally not less than 30 days before the [GSA] could reject such design without incurring substantial expenditures. Such notification shall set forth the reasons the Administrator proposes to approve such design, the EO concluded.The Washington, D.C. Metro was designed in the Brutalist style by Chicago architect Harry Weese. (Aidan Lang/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)The EO came two days after the National Civic Art Societys Justin Shubow appeared on CBS Sunday Morning and discussed what to do with the blight of Brutalist buildings, especially in Washington, D.C.National Building Museum executive director Aileen Fuchs was also interviewed for the segment and defended federal buildings realized in the Brutalist style. Last year, the institution hostedCapital Brutalism, an exhibition about the citys prevalent and controversial architectural style.Beyond this architectural task, under Ehikians tutelage the GSA has pledged to crush the Green New Deal and DEI programs within the GSA. We will remove extremist Green New Deal and ESG [environmental, social and governance] requirements from federal building construction, leasing and procurement to prioritize economic efficiency over ideological mandates, Ehikian toldFederal News Network.In the weeks leading up to Trumps January 20 inauguration, many, including Chicago Tribune columnist Ed Keegan, wondered if he would revive his EO from 2020 which mandated all new federal buildings be designed in the neoclassical style.The EO from 2020 was met with praise by the National Civic Art Society but widely condemned by many architects; architectural anthropologist Michal Murawski said the EO would result in Washington, D.C. looking like Yuri Luzhkov-era 1990s Moscow with all of its faux bells and whistles.There was no mention of classical architecture in the Heritage Foundations Project 2025, which many said would be Trumps playbook after taking office; although Project 2025 did propose creating a more conservative EPA, shrinking HUD, and hacking away at public transit infrastructure investment, among other things.This is all to say that, with this new EO, stylistic mandates are indeed back on the table.

Steve Soboroff, a reputable Los Angeles real estate developer and civic leader, has been appointed Chief Recovery Officer (CRO) by L.A. mayor Karen Bass. Soboroff is tasked with helping rebuild the city after the wildfires decimated so much of it. His new role is part of Basss L.A. Strong: Return and Rebuild program. Soboroffs job entails coordinating reconstruction strategies with the mayors office, and city agencies. He needs to recommend a comprehensive City strategy for rebuilding and expediting the safe return of residents, workers, businesses, schools, nonprofits, libraries and parks in areas devastated by the fires, according to a statement from the L.A. mayors office.This work is about Angelenos collective hope for the future, Soboroff said. For every resident, it may be the hope to return to a community they love as soon as possible. For others, its how to survive until they get to return to work in this 103-year old community. Our mission is to start building a clear, practical and doable path to the Palisades and everywhere help is needed in L.A. That work starts now, and we ask for everyones positive participation. Within the next 90 days, Soboroff will have to achieve four key benchmarks:First, hell have to develop a clear and defined protocol to ensure residents can safely access their property and to protect their properties until residents can return.Second, Soboroff will ideate an implementation framework for removing debris and streamlining rebuild approvals.Third, hell roll out a plan for rebuilding and reopening parks and libraries.Fourth, Soboroff will create an all solutions in system for watersheds, residential and commercial rebuilding, public infrastructure resilience, and overall long-term economic recovery.Previously, Soboroff served in the public and private sectors, having founded Soboroff Partners, a development and leasing company. He is also the City of Los Angeless former Police Commissioner. In describing her choice to work with Soboroff, Bass highlighted the realtors lengthy experience working in L.A. Our absolute priority is to return Angelenos to their homes and rebuild, Bass said.Steve knows our communities, he knows how to activate City Hall, he knows how to engage the public, business, non profit and philanthropic resources needed for this massive effort, Bass continued. There is no one better equipped to create our rebuilding plan. We will work closely together to move a strategy forward to rebuild neighborhoods that are stronger, more resilient and more united than ever before. I am enormously grateful that Steve Soboroff agreed to give himself to Los Angeles once again.To date, more than 12,300 structures have been destroyed, a number which includes 10,000 houses.

Rough and ReadyOffice JDY exposes masonry, wood, concrete, and stucco for VEJAs Williamsburg storeByKelly Pau January 21, 2025East, Interiors (Eric Petschek)SHAREA hodgepodge of masonry, wood, concrete, and stucco materials can often be found in old New York City buildings that have swapped owners (and thus designs) over time, and the Brooklyn locale for French sneaker brand VEJA is no different. Rather than concealing this idiosyncrasy,Office JDYrepaired and remediated the amalgamation while revealing it as the concept for the stores new interior. The mixed materials are paired with white surfacesthe only new finishes in the storemade with a custom lime-plaster mix developed with local craftspeople. This forms a textured wall and display of boxes to highlight products.Read more about the store on aninteriormag.com.

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You never forget your first Lynch. Mine was Dune (1984), that gorgeous, confounding mess of a film that somehow managed to be both a critical failure and a masterclass in architectural fever dreams. Years later, while poring over the works of Hans Poelzigthat mad genius of German ExpressionismI discovered something that made perfect sense: Lynch had borrowed heavily from Poelzigs subterranean Groes Schauspielhaus for the Emperors throne room. Of course he had. Who else but Lynch would look at a 1919 Berlin theater renovation and think, Yes, this is exactly what space feudalism should look like? The thing about Lynchs spaces is that they were never just settingsthey were characters themselves, brooding and breathing entities that seemed to exist independently of the stories they contained. Take Blue Velvet (1986), which I first experienced through an appropriately Lynchian act of teenage rebellion. I hid in the exit stairwell in the front of a theater at Baybrook Mall in Houston, waiting in that dark, smelly space while one audience filed out and another filed in, the coming attractions reels spinning above. When I finally emerged to take my seat, it felt like I had stepped through one of Lynchs own portalswhich, considering what I was about to witness, seemed perfectly appropriate.The seedy underbelly of Lumberton unfolded before me like a nightmare dollhouse, each room more suffocating than the last. In the apartment of Dorothy Vallens, who was played by Isabella Rossellini, shadows seemed to move of their own accord. And then theres The Slow Club, where Dorothy sang Blue Velvet under lights that rendered everything in hyperreal, oversaturated tonesa world more vivid than reality itselfand where Lynch performed his first great act of pop cultural alchemy, transforming tender Roy Orbison love songs like In Dreams into something menacing and strange, a trick he would repeat years later in Mulholland Drive (2001) when Rebekah del Rio sings Crying on a dimly lit stage.My introduction to Lynchs earlier work came through an equally strange confluence of pop culture. I first learned about Eraserhead (1977) through, of all things, a Rush music video. There it was, the movies poster, hanging in the background of their Tom Sawyer promo clip, like some sort of secret handshake between different forms of weird. It was fitting: Lynch had a way of seeping into the margins of mainstream culture, leaving his fingerprints in the most unexpected places. Lynch understood something fundamental about architecture that can elude even the best filmmakers: Spaces arent neutral containers for actiontheyre active participants in our psychodrama. The Brutalist geometries of Dunes Giedi Prime werent just set dressing; they were manifestations of the Harkonnens industrial evil, all sharp angles and steamy hardtop that seemed to want to hurt you just by looking at them. And what about Twin Peakss Red Room? Those curtains and chevron floors created a space that existed somewhere between a theater and a nightmare, a waiting room for the subconscious.I remember my freshman year of college, huddled around a TV set with friends, watching Twin Peaks unfold week after week. Angelo Badalamentis theme music, with its dark, reverb-soaked country-western tones, didnt just accompany the imagesit created the space, sonic architecture that seemed to extend the physical dimensions of the screen into something vast and unknowable. Thats what Lynch did better than anyone: He understood that space isnt just visual; its auditory, its emotional, its our subconscious. Its almost funny now to think about how Lynch approached interior design like a deranged architect. Every space in his films felt both meticulously planned and somehow wrong, as if theyd been designed by someone whod only heard about human habitation through an elaborate game of telephone or read plans though glasses with wrong prescriptions. The Palmer house in Twin Peaks, with a seemingly normal suburban layout, somehow managed to feel more disquieting than any haunted mansion. The way Lynch lit those spaces, and the way he moved his camera through them, was like watching architecture have a slow, deliberate nervous breakdown.And then there were the transitional spacesthe hallways, the curtained passages, the roads that seemed to lead nowhere and everywhere at once. Lost Highways endless dark roads, Mulhollands sinuous curves, even Eraserheads industrial wasteland corridorsthese werent just connections between places, they were liminal spaces where reality itself seemed to break down. Lynch understood that the scariest thing about any building isnt the room youre in, but the hallway leading to the room you cant see yet. Whats particularly remarkable about Lynchs architectural sensibility was how he managed to make even the most mundane spaces feel charged with potential energy. A coffee shop in Twin Peaks became a stage for cosmic drama, and New York, in a 1991 anti-littering ad for the Citys Department of Sanitation, became a haunted, rat-infested trash heap. A suburban street (and close-up shot of technicolor flowers in front of an iconic white fence) in Blue Velvet held secrets that would make Freud clutch his own overanalyzed pearls. He had this uncanny ability to take the familiarwhether it was a space, a pop song, or a slice of cherry pieand twist it just enough to make it deeply, profoundly unsettling. It wasnt about making things scaryit was about making them wrong in a way you couldnt quite put your finger on.Lynchs Expressionist sensibilities go far beyond that Poelzig-inspired throne room in Dune. You can see echoes of it everywhere, like in the distorted perspectives, the dramatic use of light and shadow, and the way architecture seems to reflect psychological states rather than physical reality. Watch The Elephant Man (1980), a nod to Carol Reeds monochrome dramas from the 1940s, and at the same time infused with a hoary mise en scne straight out of Charles Dickenss Bleak House (1853). Whatever the inspiration, Lynch wasnt just copying a stylehe was metabolizing it, processing it through his uniquely American optic to create something entirely new.Looking back at Lynchs body of work now, its clear that he wasnt just making films: He was one our best world-builders, architect and dream-maker rolled into one. Those gilded, Brutalist interiors of Dune, the tawdry bars of Blue Velvet, the iconic draped spaces of Twin Peakstheyre all rooms in the same vast, interconnected haunted house of the American psyche. Lynch wasnt just showing us these spaces; he was showing us how spaces shape us, haunt us, define us. He became, perhaps inadvertently, the master chronicler of late-modern Los Angeles. Though born in Montana, Lynch is undeniably one of Los Angeless own, his artistic DNA intertwined with the citys from his earliest works. His 1967 student film Six Men Getting Sick showed a passing flirtation with another SoCal talentthe conceptual artist John Baldessaribefore he developed his singular vision. He captured the citys essence not just in the fever dream of Mulholland Drive or the digital nightmare of Inland Empire, but in something as mundane as his daily weather reportsthose oddly comforting dispatches where hed announce the temperature and forecast with the same gravitas hed use for his surreal dream sequences. His spatial visions were so compelling that reality began to imitate them: Club Silencio in Paris, designed by Raphael Navot, sought to give form to Lynchs architectural nightmares, proving that his dreamscapes could breach the membrane between imagination and reality.Theres a bitter irony in learning that Lynch died of complications from emphysema while Los Angeles still sifts through the smoky, charred remains of the Palisades and Eaton fires. Its the kind of dark synchronicity that might have appeared in one of his filmsthe master conjurer of hazy dreams finally succumbing while his beloved city struggles to breathe. Perhaps thats the only way it could have ended for him. Lynch built his career on finding poetry in darkness, beauty in decay, meaning in confusion. He taught us that every exit might be an entrance, every ending a beginning, every silence pregnant with possibility. Silencio.Enrique Ramirez is a historian of art and architecture. He lives in Brooklyn.

With basketball and hockey seasons fully underway, Chicagos United Centerhome to the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawksis already a bustling place. A $7 billion vision to redevelop the area surrounding the sports arena and Chicagos West Side was revealed last summer and this week, new renderings emerged as the first phase of the proposed seven-phase project was given the green light by the Chicago Plan Commission. The 1901 Project, named after the United Centers address along Madison Street, posits more green space and mixed use options for the neighborhood to enjoy year-round. Its the vision of the stadium owners Michael Reinsdorf and Danny Wirtz. RIOS is serving as master planner and the landscape design for the project will be headed by New Yorkbased Field Operations.Renderings show the music hall clad in metal. (Courtesy Chicago Plan Commission)A 6,000-seat music hall is planned for development. (Courtesy Chicago Plan Commission)Our goals and the community goals and the city goals really are all the same: We all want this to be something special, United Center CEO Terry Savarise told the Chicago Plan Commission.In a presentation shared with the Chicago Plan Commission visuals and details of the planned 6,000-seat music hall were released. Renderings of the music hall show the building clad with perforated metal panels and an aluminum curtain wall. Its gold and bronze coloring appears to glisten in the daylight and glow from within when lit up in the evening hours. Other components envisioned for phase one include a hotel, parks, and pedestrian-forward greenspaces.Renderings of the hotel show a boxy, rectangular design. The base was visualized as being clad with stone, while the parking levels above are sheathed with metal louvers. The facade of the hotel floors above could be clad with a metal rainscreen system.A hotel is also a component of phase one. (Courtesy Chicago Plan Commission)As discussed when the 1901 Project was first unveiled the spaces around the United Center and corridors around the stadium, such as Madison Street and Adams Street, will be greened up. In its presentation to the Chicago Plan Commission, RIOS showed visuals that revealed planters lining the streetscape and plaza rich with vegetation and ample areas for benches and other seating. The proposed 10-acre park with winding pathways, shade pavilions, and sports field is still a part of the vision; it will occupy the top of a parking structure. Elsewhere around the neighborhood, parking lots will be transformed over to pedestrian spaces.The vision prioritizes pedestrians (Courtesy Chicago Plan Commission)Those of us who live in the community are very open to this because weve been literally living across the street from parking lots, said Alderman Walter Burnett, chair of the Chicago Plan Commission. It will be nice to have homes and businesses.A total of seven phases are planned. The developers and designers previously shared that the subsequent phases will be further developed based on market conditions and community feedback. Other ideas circulating on what they could bring to the neighborhood around United Center include housing, improved transportation infrastructure, and more park space.According to planning documents, phase one is estimated to complete in 2028.

Now thatfires in Southern California have ravaged a land area equivalent of three Manhattans, at least 27 people have been killed. Several homes by Richard Neutra, Gregory Ain, Eric Owen Moss, and other prolific architects in Los Angeles are gone. Rent prices in Los Angeleshavesurged by up to 12 percent, as landlords cash in on the disaster. California Governor Gavin Newsom has tried to stop rent gouging. He also waived two environmental review lawstheCalifornia Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Coastal Actto spur quick construction, which drew criticism from legal experts. Hundreds of firefighters in the line of duty are incarcerated individuals, many of them teenagers, making less than $5 an hour. Architects have been actively involved in the relief effort. Zeina Koreitem, of MILLINS, is coordinating a volunteer fire patrol in Topanga, and Office of Office, an architecture, urban planning, and policy non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, is offering its services pro-bono to residents of color who have been impacted by the fires in Southern California.Design for LA quickly organized as a free and public directory of architects, designers, landscape architects, contractors, engineers and other experts related to the building process, particularly in Southern California. It is based on a shared Google spreadsheet for built-environment professionals who are willing to provide services.The list is spearheaded by Joanna Grant, who partnered with Meara Daly of NelsonDaly, a public relations firm. Grant, who lives in Altadena, has offered her architectural services to neighbors.Im a resident of Altadena. Last week, I nearly lost my home. We have been evacuated ever since, Grant told AN. My neighbor, a firefighter, his brother, and son got a truck and saved about eleven houses on our block. But everything else on our block is completely destroyed.Shane Reiner-Roth, who previously lived in Altadena, described his experience with the fires for AN.Palisades Fire (CAL FIRE OFFICIAL/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)Dori Tunstall has helped put together a new group of volunteers, Design for Disaster Response. Jobi Blachy at Roger Thomas has started a Go Fund Me to support architects and designers in distress.The team at Hello Human encouraged people to donate to Tristan Louis Marshs Los Angeles Fire Charity Art Auction, or consider partnering withLA Wildfire Relief Free Market.Lost HeritageKatie Horak, Docomomo US President, issued a statement of solidarity with the people of Los Angeles on January 14. Collectively, we mourn the loss of countless heritage sites, many of them icons of the modern movement, that tell the stories of our great city: stories of its people, its optimism, its creativity, and its ingenuity. The very things that drew modern architects to these parts of the city during the postwar periodhilly terrain, breathtaking views, the beauty of the natural environment, and temperate climateare also what made them vulnerable. As a result, these fires have claimed the largest concentration of modern heritage sites of any disaster in Los Angeles history, Horak continued. Kevin Keim, executive director of the Charles Moore Foundation, has been diligently protecting Moores Burns House. Keim also said firefighters from Idaho are in his neighborhood, helping with disaster relief. There is no more wind, which is the best thing ever, because that was half of the ingredient in this cataclysm, Keim said. Peter Harper of Breland Harper lamented whats been lost, but emphasized the need to move forward. So many people we know are displaced and several have lost everything. We feel incredibly, incredibly luckynow it is time to help, Harper told AN.The Palisades has been one of the hardest hit communities so far. (CAL FIRE OFFICIAL/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)Clients houses and several commercial buildings we did in the Palisades burned to the ground, all truly, truly devastating. Questions of preservation, community, rebuilding, fire preparednessthe futurebeauty, are of course occupying us, Harper elaborated. In the space of a single week we have seen people go from total loss and devastation to planning the rebuilding. I can only attribute this to a strength of characterfull of resolve and imagination, one that is distinctly Californian.Coming TogetherThe heartache is palpable and the devastation is beyond anyones ability to calculate, Harper Halprin and Aaron Leshtz of AAHA Studio told AN. So many are hurting, so many lives, and livelihoods, lost. At the end of the day, the only way forward is through and, as architects, we are uniquely positioned to be on the front lines.Leshtz and Halprin continued, We will never be able to replace or recapture what we have lost, but we must rebuild. Our outreach has painted a picture of resiliency and love for our city and for our neighbors that we had forgotten. The road to recovery is going to be challenging, but we are ready for the uphill battle.There will be endless metaphors about the city being reborn and rebuilt from the ashes, and the architecture community is ready to help lead the charge.The disaster has touched students and academics as well. SCI-Arc faculty member Erik Ghenoiu and his family lost their home. Theyve since started a Go Fund Mefor support.The recent events have deeply impacted our community: two of our faculty members lost their homes, and one student lost their parents home, SCI-Arcs communications director Stephanie Atlan told AN. Additionally, projects created by our faculty and founders were tragically destroyed. Atlan added that SCI-Arc faculty are regrouping and rewriting curricula to better equip our students to confront these evolving realities.Folks at RIOS have opened their office doors for members of the design community affected by the fires to come work, access Wi-Fi, and find community, a spokesperson noted.On February 8, the Asian American Pacific Island Design Alliance (AAPIDA) Los Angeles Chapter will host a working session at RIOSs office to discuss rebuilding after the fire.

Fayetteville, Arkansas, is known for lots of things. Among them the University of Arkansas, the first home of Bill and Hillary Clinton, walkable (and bikeable) streets, and great civic buildings like Walton Arts Center. There, residents now have a new public amenity to enjoy: a gleaming public park designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architecture (NBW). The Ramble opened in phases over five years. It consists of two parts the Upper and Lower Ramble. The latter completed in 2022 and the former opened this year. Combined, the Upper and Lower Ramble comprise 50 acres of public outdoor space.The Ramble has meandering trails for all to enjoy. (Nick Hubbard)The Upper Ramble is bordered by Dickson Street, West Avenue, Spring Street, and the Razorback Greenway. Parallel to West Avenue is a 20-foot wide pedestrian promenade lined by shading trees. The landscape architects designed the greenspace with integrated lighting and seating.The Upper Ramble is bordered by Dickson Street, West Avenue, Spring Street, and the Razorback Greenway. (Nick Hubbard)The promenade will host a variety of uses, including tents for markets and festival circuits. Meanwhile, the portion West Avenue between Dickson Avenue and Spring Street is closed off to traffic. The Ramble is a celebration of Fayettevilles unique natural and cultural heritage, Thomas Woltz, a senior principal at NBW, said in a statement.Rock outcroppings double as informal seating. (Nick Hubbard)Working closely with the city and the community, Woltz added, weve created a space where people can gather, explore, and connect both with one another and with the environment in meaningful ways. Its a privilege to contribute to a project that not only enhances the citys landscape but also inspires a deeper appreciation for its natural beauty. The natural and constructed blend into one in the park. (Nick Hubbard)The new park links a handful of Fayettevilles key cultural buildings, including the Walton Arts Center, TheatreSquare, Fayetteville Public Library, and University of Arkansass Art and Design District. Community engagement activities, entertainment, and other happenings will take place in the park year-round.Walking paths can also be activated by the community. (Nick Hubbard)One of the Rambles defining features is its 20,000-square-foot gathering lawn, which is big enough to host 3,000 people. Shaded seating lines the lawn.An event stage on the lawn is expected to open in 2026. That space will accommodate performances, events, and more. In Fayetteville, the Ramble is ready for just about anything.

The new Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas was designed to offer all of the comforts workers enjoy at home in a centralized corporate location, an attempt at luring workers back to the office after the lull of COVID. The verdant 350-acre campus is the new global headquarters of Walmart. SWA was the landscape architect on the project and Gensler served as the building architect. Contemporary workplace design was forever changed by the pandemicand in many ways,the home office anticipated these changes, centering community-oriented design, indoor-outdoor connectivity, flexibility, and social cross-pollination, Gerdo Aquino, SWA co-CEO, said in a statement.The expansive campus has multimodal trails, among other amenities. ( David Lloyd/SWA)Walmart was founded in Bentonville in 1962, a corporation which inevitably grew into a multinational powerhouse synonymous with cheap consumer goods. Its old base of operations was an unassuming brick building, the Walmart Home office, also in Bentonville that the company had outgrown. Plans to upgrade the headquarters for Walmart personnel were first shared in 2017. Construction on the campus started in 2019 and concluded this year. Walmarts new headquarters accommodates 15,000 people in across 12 Gensler-designed buildings.Facade materials mimic exterior rock outcroppings. ( David Lloyd/SWA)Today at Walmart headquarters, employees circulate through a park-like campus with over 5,000 trees and enjoy multimodal trails ideated by SWA, but also constructed lakes, native and adaptive plantings, and bioswales that manage stormwater. A fitness center designed by Duda|Paine Architects is sited at the headquarters. And so is a childcare center by Page Architects, a hotel and welcome center by 5G Studio Collaborative and Book Powell, and a food hall by Miller Boskus Lack. Theres also a central conference and training hall.SWA also constructed small lakes for the verdant site. ( David Lloyd/SWA)The building exteriors feature expansive curtain walls that make for great viewing portals out to nature. Smoky red cladding makes up much of the opaque facade sections, which mimic the exterior rock outcroppings.Helen Walton Amphitheater ( David Lloyd/SWA)Likewise, locally sourced stone was used in outdoor amphitheater named after philanthropist Helen Walton. Sam Walton Hall is another space that pays tribute to Walmarts founders.Like many, Aquino added, we spent the past few years seeking solace in the outdoors and found extraordinary beauty in the landscapes where the Ozarks melt into lowland hills. That was really our jumping-off point: to instill feelings of rootedness, authenticity, and home by folding those ecosystems into the design.

Brought to you by:Architect: KPFLocation: Hangzhou, ChinaCompletion Date: 2024Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) is leading the construction of Westlake 66, a massive development in Hangzhou, China, that will eventually deliver five office towers and a hotel. Seeking to rebuke the citys car-centric urbanism and connect two of its important landmarksWest Lake and the Grand Canal, both UNESCO World Heritage Sitesthe architects devised a pedestrian corridor at the center of the site. The space is defined by a 550-foot-long continuous facade system that wraps the podium of the projects various components, a feature that establishes visual continuity and guides pedestrians through the large site. The urban cell wall, as the architects refer to it, was constructed using modular metal panels that are lined with colorfully glazed terra-cotta, a reference to Hangzhous traditional architecture.Once complete, the Westlake 66 development will deliver 5 office towers and a hotel, rising above a public commercial avenue. (Courtesy KPF)As part of the masterplan, the project needed to create an unprecedented urban facade strategy that would transform pedestrian connectivity across multiple city blocks, respond to varying urban forces, said Jeff Kenoff, design principal at KPF. We realized that the facade needed to be sinuous, yet human in scale, and looked to the ancient walls of the West Lake as a historic precedent for effective urban circulatory infrastructure.The Urban Cell Wall spans across the podium of the developments multiple components. (Courtesy KPF)The composition of the facade modules references the architecture of two important cultural sites in Hangzhou. The proportions reflect the masonry bond patterns present at the Lingyin Temple, a Buddhist monastery located on the outskirts of the city, and the Duan Qin, or broken bridge, which spans the nearby West Lake in the citys center.KPF also connects the design of the urban cell wall to natural structures, such as the hexagonal prisms of a honeycomb or the cellular structure of xylem and phloem, the vascular tissue in plant life. The architects note that the cells within a honeycomb can be repurposed for a variety of uses, including the storage of honey, larva, and eggs. Similarly, the cells at the base of the Westlake 66 development are designed to accommodate a wide range of uses, allowing the architects to anticipate programmatic changes to the development that may occur during leasing. Over the course of the project, the biggest unknowns can often be leasing decisions as well as system changes, all calling for last-minute design updates to the facade, added Kenoff.The composition of the modules was inspired by historic masonry precedents. (Courtesy KPF)Natural metaphors also inspired the aesthetics and functionality of the urban cell wall. (Courtesy KPF)Terra-cotta was selected to line the inside of the metal modules, and was sourced from the nearby city of Yinxing, which posses large clay deposits and has a long history of pottery production dating back to the Song Dynasty. Working closely with the terra-cotta manufacturer, KPF created five glazes for the terra-cotta liner profiles, hues of red, orange, and yellow, that were derived from Hangzhous colorful architectural landmarks.The biggest challenge was matching the colors between extruded and straight segments and cast curved corners, in terms of color as well as dimension, since they are produced with different methods that use different clay substrates, Kenoff told AN. Using parametric and computational methods, the design team simplified the construction of the modules by prescribing 21 unique permutations that include seven exterior metal profiles, the aforementioned five terra-cotta glazes, and four infill panel types. These combinations allow the modules to be optimized according to use, site conditions, and shadingthe later improving the projects energy performance.Westlake 66 is currently pursuing LEED Platinum, China Green Building Label 3 Stars, and Well Platinum certifications.The modules are designed to be roughly human sized in scale. (Courtesy KPF)KPFs podium strategy for Westlake 66 demonstrates how successful advocacy on the part of the architect can improve the quality of public space, even within strictly commercial developments. This case also exemplifies the importance of facade design to such initiatives. The urban cell wall establishes spatial organization, human scale, color, and visual continuity within the larger project, working in tandem with the landscaping and circulation to enhance the urban experience within Hangzhous city center.Project SpecificationsArchitect: KPFExecutive Architect: Wong & OuyangLocal Design Institute: Zhejiang Province Institute of Architectural Design and ResearchLandscape Architect: Adrian L. NormanInterior Design (Retail): The Oval PartnershipInterior Design (Office): M Moser AssociatesStructural Engineer: ArupMEP Engineer: J. Roger PrestonElectrical Engineer: J. Roger PrestonCivil Engineer: ArupLighting Design: Inhabit GroupAV/Acoustics: Campbell Shillinglaw LauSignage/Wayfinding: Dutton Bray DesignTelecommunications: Campbell Shillinglaw LauFire & Life Safety Consultant: Arup Fire EngineeringFacade Consultant: ALT CladdingTraffic Design Consultant: MVA Hong KongGeneral Contractor: China Construction Eighth Engineering Division, Jiangsu Jianye Construction GroupClient: Hang Lung PropertiesFacade Contractor: Jangho Curtain Wall System EngineeringFacade System: Jangho Curtain Wall System EngineeringCladding: Huajian AluminumGlass: CSG, SYPInsulation: Owens Corning

Boston has notoriously bad traffic, but does it have to be that way? Economists, planners, transit advocates, and politicians in Massachusetts are closely monitoring whats happening in New York, now that congestion pricing has gone into effect. Many view congestion pricing in Boston as a potential panacea for resolving what amounts to the fourth worst traffic problem in the world. Were looking very closely at what New York City is doing with congestion pricing, Brian Kane, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board, told WBUR this week. Im not saying thats going to happen in Massachusetts any time soon, but I do think we have a real world example of what could potentially happen if its allowed to continue after Inauguration Day, Kane said. That I think will be a good test to see if it could work here.Congestion pricing, or congestion relief, seems to be clearing up Manhattan gridlock, making for a more pleasant pedestrian and cycling (and driving) experience. It will unlock money for capital improvements to the subway. Many New Jersey commuters have come on board: Those who rely on Port Authority Bus Terminal to get to work say commutes have been cut substantially. Could Boston be next? If so, how would congestion pricing work in the City on a Hill?The Wu administration is using the No. 28 bus for a fare-free bus pilot program, which could be expanded with congestion pricing. (IliketrainsR211T/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0)I think Greater Boston is about ten years from a congestion pricing system, said Chris Dempsey, a Boston planner and partner at Speck Dempsey, who previously helmed Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), a local riders alliance. Dempsey also teaches in Harvard GSDs real estate program and prides himself on never having owned a car.I dont think anything is going to happen quickly here, but I do think that the progress, and what I would call success in New York is very helpful and beneficial to the conversation here, Dempsey told AN. All the technology is in place. You could basically snap your fingers and do peak and off-peak pricing overnight, if you wanted to. What were missing is the politics to make it happen. Politics, and other factors, are indeed at play, just like New York. Former Boston City Council President and District2City Councilor Ed Flynn, and others, say the additional tax may be burdensome, especially to the working class and seniors in a city thats already expensive. I think its unfair to have this type of commuting and add a tax to people struggling to make ends meet, Flynn told AN. Congestion pricing is inequitable. It would negatively impact working families and communities of color.Yay or Nay?Theresa Carr, a planner at Nelson\Nygaard with an economics degree, has been studying congestion pricings feasibility in Boston for decades. Previously, Carr has conducted congestion pricing studies for Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other cities. She also thinks Boston is ripe for following New Yorks footsteps. Sustainability, equity, climate resiliency, you name it. Congestion pricing pays dividends, Carr said. She alsobelieves congestion pricing in Boston could fill a widening hole in funding for mass transit in the city. As a transit planner, I am always trying to make mass transit competitive with driving, Carr told AN. This is where we need to consider economics, because it ultimately comes down to peoples willingness to pay for that competitiveness, right? Also, the T has a hole in funding, and I know the Millionnaires Tax will help with that, but theres so much more revenue we need to invest in transit. And congestion pricing can help with that enormously. It will benefit drivers, too, because it will make their commutes way more predictable.View of downtown Boston from South Station sidewalk (Sharon Hahn Darlin/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0)Joe Poirier is an associate of Carr and previously studied congestion pricings feasibility in Seattle. Congestion pricing is such a massive revenue generator, which cannot be understated, Poirier added. Poirier said too that, as many commuters shift over from gas guzzling cars to electric vehicles, and revenue from the gas tax shrinks, congestion pricing can make up for that shortfall. If gas tax revenue keeps falling, he said, theres going to be an even bigger hole in funding for fixing roads. Revenue from congestion pricing can help with that.Flynn, whose district includes Downtown Boston, the South End, Chinatown, South Boston, and other neighborhoods, sees things differently. Many of our commuters are hotel workers, janitors, nurses, and teachers, so I dont think we should make it harder for them, Flynn said. Our city is already facing shortages in public safety and traffic enforcement. Its not hard to imagine the labor and skills well lose if we burden commuters who drive into the city and provide these services, he said. Likewise, Flynn raised concerns about the MBTA, which is riddled with financial problems, and whether or not the T can handle the influx of riders congestion pricing would create. We have a struggling MBTA system. Many people need their cars because the transit system doesnt run 24 hours, Flynn said. Late night train service is non-existent, and bus service is limited and infrequent. Low income workers and first responders that work between midnight and morning have no choice but to drive into Boston so I think wed be hurting them the most. If congestion pricing forces people off roads onto our already fragile public transit system, the T is unlikely to perform effectively.Howd We Get Here?Talks about congestion pricing in Boston date back to the early 2000s, around the time then Mayor Bloomberg and his planning tsar Dan Doctoroff were weighing its application in New York. It was in 2005 when Paul Scapicchio, a former Boston City Councilor who represented East Boston and Chinatown, first floated the idea, which he continuously advocated for.T4MA took the baton from Scapicchio when, around 2017, Dempsey started courting then Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who historically had been opposed to congestion pricing. Governor Baker was a skeptic of increased tolling his entire political career, Dempsey said, but he eventually endorsed the concept of high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT), where you pay dynamic prices to move more quickly on free lanes.HOT lanes decreased traffic congestion, and many enjoyed the new capital it brought for infrastructure improvements. Things seemed to be going in the right direction for Bostons pro-congestion pricing bund until COVID-19 happened, when other things took priority for Governor Baker. Our momentum was totally killed by COVID, Dempsey said.South Station is one of the Ts most vital hubs. (IliketrainsR211T/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0)Incumbent Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey took office in 2023. Healey previously said she opposed congestion pricing but eventually changed her tune in 2024 when she created a task force responsible for generating transit revenue. The T has a $700 million funding gap, and the task forces job was finding ways to rectify that, which put congestion pricing back on the table.Congestion pricing was subsequently endorsed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu after Healeys announcement, although Wu has concerns thanks to shaky MBTA leadership. Boston City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune is also a strong proponent of congestion pricing. In response, Boston Herald pundits dismissed the idea as woke after Wus endorsement, much like what Joe Borelli did in New York.Borelli, a New York City Councilmember from Staten Island, has fought hard against congestion pricing, and continues to fight it hard. (But not as hard as Vickie Paladino, a Queens lawmaker who recently encouraged people to sabotage congestion pricing by aiming lasers at the sensor boxes.) New York conservatives have opined against congestion pricing for the supposed hardship it would mean for motorists. Dempsey however disagrees, and believes motorists have much to gain from the system. Anyone who drives into the city for work actually stands to benefit the most from congestion pricing, Dempsey told AN. Because congestion pricing creates much more predictability in your commute as a motorist. It can literally shave hours from your drive, giving you more time at home and with family.Flynn recognizes the need for reducing traffic but doesnt think congestion pricing is the right solution. Instead of a fee on our drivers I think its critical we invest in a more reliable public transit system, Flynn said, and increase bus routes and frequency to incentivize people to take transit.How Will It Work?On January 14, Governor Healey released a landmark $8-billion transportation plan which is meant to stabilize the MBTAs troubled finances and supercharge other transportation investments. Transit advocates had long awaited the plan because, previously, Healey said she may include resources in the budget for planners to study congestion pricings implementation in Boston, although the eventual budget inevitably had no such language.Like New York, it seems that constraints at the state level hinder congestion pricings employment in Massachusetts. In many ways, Boston could easily copy New York Citys playbook, Dempsey said, precisely because both cities are tightly governed at the state level, but there would need to be some differences in approach.Dempsey noted that there are two types of congestion pricing: Theres whats called cordon pricing and corridor pricing. Cordon pricing is what New York implemented, where 60th Street became a line, or a cordon, where tolls are extracted using sensor boxes (designed by Dattner Architects). Corridor pricing is a bit different, Dempsey said, and is probably the kind of system that would work best in Boston, which has a different urban layout than New York. Corridor pricing would mean sensor boxes installed above lanes on key arteries which feed into Bostons CBD like the Tobin Bridge, as opposed to a line like Manhattans 60th Street, although Dempsey said the project isnt advanced enough yet to know what the boundary would be, or where exactly the tolls should go.Moreover, Bostons subway system isnt as robust as say New Yorks, so instead of moving people onto trains, many Boston commuters would take bus service to avoid tolls. The added revenue congestion pricing unlocks could help Mayor Wu expand her fare-free bus pilot program, which is currently underway in Roxbury, among other benefits. Urban design aside, however, political bottlenecks are the real issue at hand.View of downtown Boston (SounderBruce/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)As a planning consultant, I can confidently say Mayor Wu is the best transportation mayor in the entire country, Dempsey said. She is a transit rider herself, and she understands how important transportation is for equity. But ultimately, I do really think that this is going to require state leadership. Because today, the city does not have the power to do tolling itself, right? And so the state, at a minimum, would have to give the city power to do this. And I just dont see that happening right now. Nevertheless, Dempsey remains optimistic. I get why people are skeptical in Greater Boston, Dempsey said, but polls show that approval for congestion pricing is always very low before its implemented, just like what we saw in New York. Dempsey pointed to a similar instance that occurred in Stockholm when the Swedish government held a referendum on keeping congestion pricingthe public voted overwhelmingly to retain it because of the capital improvements it untapped, and better commutes.For now, it seems as though congestion pricing is on the Massachusetts Governors backburner, but that could change after a positive phone call with the New York Governor. So for many, now is a good time to start thinking about congestion pricings feasibility in Boston, and whether or not its a good fit. The Massachusetts Governor is waiting to see what happens in New York, Dempsey said, and to gauge the political temperature from Governor Hochul.

At the Des Moines Art Center, a sprawling land art installation by Mary Miss installed in 1996 will be dismantled. A settlement reached this week between the artist and art center that houses Greenwood Pond: Double Site decided its fate once and for all.Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the artist will receive $900,000 from the Des Moines Art Center, and the center will be permitted to go about its previous plans to dismantle the piece from its property. A joint statement from the artist and Des Moines Art Center stated: The settlement will end a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Miss on April 4, 2024, and allow the Des Moines Art Center to proceed with previously stated plans to remove the artwork in its entirety.Miss was notified of the artworks demolition in December 2023 after the art center had already begun installing fencing around the piece to make way for its removal. The Des Moines Art Center was prompted to destroy Greenwood Pond: Double Site because its wood and other building materials were deteriorating due to exposure to water and other environmental conditions.The piece conceived by Miss as a green city comprises a covered pavilion, a sunken seating area, wood trellis, bridge, and tiered terrace. The structural integrity of many of these components was at risk. In a statement, the Des Moines Art Center declared sections of the installation were dangerous and unsalvageable. On April 4, 2024, Miss filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Art Center in federal court. She claimed the museums actions go against the terms outlined in the 1994 contract signed by the artist prior to its installation. The Des Moines Art Center had failed to protect the piece from the ravages of time and the elements, Miss said. As per Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) of 1990RA, through the lawsuit Miss sought monetary damages.A judge subsequently ordered a temporary stop order on the dismantling of Greenwood Pond: Double Site, a ruling which went into effect on April 8, 2024. In the months after, the public was made aware of the potential loss of the artwork. Other museums, artists, architects, and art enthusiasts then wrote to the Des Moines Art Center making clear their dissatisfaction with the decision to demolish the structure. The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), which had previously named the work on its Landslide list of at-risk landscapes, was also integral in leading the charge to save the installation.Following the recent settlement, Miss said in a statement: I hope the resurrection and reconsideration of this project will lead to further reflections on the relationships between artists, environmental issues, communities and our public cultural institutions. I trust this experience can help to develop stronger bonds moving forward.

The U.S. and Canada share 5,525 miles of borderand there are just over 100 border crossings between Washington and Maine. These portals between countries facilitate the flow of goods and people. Theyre also harbingers of diplomatic relations more broadly, where international policy choices play out in space. Siegel, a New York City office, recently completed a new U.S. Land Port of Entry (USLPOE) that connects Madawaska, Maineand Edmundston, Canadaa small town in New Brunswick with about 16,000 people. That firm was tasked with ideating a replacement structure on the road between the two towns.Separate bays divide traffic under the canopy, which is tall enough for B-Train size trucks. (Paul Warchol)The first station between Madawaska and Edmundston was built in 1959, a building which over time became ill-equipped for modern needs. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) eventually stepped in, and sought out architects to replace it. The new USLPOE by Siegel is 52,000 square feet and sits on an 11-acre site. It hosts a bevy of uses, including administration, training, staff support, processing, enforcement, agricultural inspection, and general inspection.The building, Siegel said, more broadly serves as a symbolic representation of America as the first and last interaction with the country for those who travel through it.The interiors are sheathed in wood finishes. (Paul Warchol)The training room sits next to a gym. (Paul Warchol)Siegel opted to give the USLPOEs exterior an industrial look, a nod to the corrugated metal siding common on nearby warehouses. The interiors are sheathed in warm wood finishings. The roof has only a slight pitch and recessed canopies. These features were safety precautions to prevent snow and ice hazards. It is cold there, after all. The expanse between the ground and roof plane had to be large enough for B-Train size trucks (which are about 15 feet tall) to easily go through, so the design by Siegel responds accordingly. This is essential for trucks going to and from a nearby paper mill in Maine. The glass and concrete is quite thick to ensure ballistic resiliency.Concrete was used in the warehouse (Paul Warchol)A coffee room, break room, conference room, and lockers for border guards are interspersed throughout the building, whose pronounced canopy makes for its defining feature. It also has a large warehouse for processing goods.The design by Siegel achieved SITES Silver and LEED Gold certification.

Vinyl FantasyJJ Boooth designs furniture for DJs, fine-tuned to the needs of audiophilesByJesse Dorris January 16, 2025Design, International (Courtesy JJ Boooth)SHAREWhen the designerJJ Booothwas first honing his mixing skills, he did it the way almost every DJ does: endless practice over turntables and a mixer perched atop the classic IKEA Expedit. It was just a nightmare to play bent over the turntable for hours, he toldAN Interior.He mounted the setup on legs, then recessed the turntables to further improve his DJ posture. That led to adding crates on the sides of the turntables to hold records, making them easily accessible, he explained. Later, I included lighting for playing at night. Boooth dug into his own training for this early demo: a 2015 graduate of ENSA Paris-Belleville, hed worked for years in various architecture studios and real estate developers. Having been good at making models, transitioning to furniture design felt like just a larger-scale project. By 2019, hed segued into his own eponymous firm, crafting cabinets like his Unit 010, an elegant yet functional monolith. The piece integrated wells for a pair of Techniques 1200s, a kind of rhomboid pitch for a Rodex mixer, as well as voids for records and below-deck storage.Read more on aninteriormag.com. Furniture DesignMusic

In New York City, life unfolds on the stoops of rowhouses. There, residents and their guests filter in and out of the front door. In a pinch, the steps sub in for seats, on sunny Sunday afternoons they play host to sidewalk sales.Arguably one of New Yorks most famous stoops is at 66 Perry Street. The Greenwich Village residence made its big screen debut on Sex and the City, as the exterior of protagonist Carrie Bradshaws residence. Fast forward nearly 30 years, daily visitors make pilgrimages to the Italianate edifice lined with black iron railings to pose for photographs, recreating popular scenes from the television show that debuted in 1998, and was recently rebooted.66 Perry Street, and its steps, where Carrie liked to take smoke breaks and daydream about Big and Aidan, have been the subject of much controversy as of late, and preservation proceedings. The longtime owner of 66 Perry Street has been more than patient in dealing with the regular onslaught of onlookers who gather on her stoop day to night. This week, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) reviewed and approved a proposal to add a gate to the front of the stoop. This is meant to protect the residence and privacy of its residents amid its tourist-attraction appeal.A chain link with signs wasnt enough to stop some from climbing up onto the stoop steps. (Courtesy Landmarks Preservation Commission)In the hearing, the owner, who purchased the 1866 rowhouse in 1979, considered herself stubborn, saying for decades she had hoped her stoops popularity would drop in interest. She tried a simple chain link with a sign to prevent people from climbing onto the steps, peering into the windows, and ringing the doorbellit didnt work.In a statement, submitted to the LPC with the application for the gate, the owner recalled saying yes to the young film scout who showed up on her doorstep inquiring if it could be used in an upcoming television show: At the time, no one knew the show would turn into anything long lastingmuch less, the iconic fantasy vehicle and touchstone for NYCs magic that it has become. My home is now a global tourist destination, she wrote. Local architect Isidoro Cruz designed a gate for the stoop. Handco Welding will also work on the project. The owner statement shared that the design intent is to create a gate that blends with the existing stair railings, areaway fence and late Italianate facade we restored in the early 1980s.The proposed gate features an arched top and its panels mimic those of the existing fences. (Courtesy Landmarks Preservation Commission)In a presentation during the LPC hearing, Cruz explained the detailing proposed for the steel and cast iron gate. The arch swooping over the top was modeled after the arched pediment and windows, he said, while the gate panels are envisioned as near identical matches to those decorating the low-lying, existing fences lining either side of the stoop.In the hearing with LPC, several commissioners noted a dislike for the arch, saying it may draw too much attention to the gate, adding that leaving it flat may work just fine.It was unanimous among the commissioners that a design solution is more than necessary at 66 Perry Street. The addition of a gate was swiftly approved, albeit with a design that may be slightly tweaked, however, I couldnt help but wonder what would Carrie Bradshaw think of it all?

Plummeting birth rates, a drop in federal subsidies, and declining enrollment have contributed to the closure of at least twenty small colleges around the U.S. in recent years. This has left vast swaths of land and buildings vacant. The recent closure of Wells College for instance threatens a number of historic buildings at the upstate New York campus, which no longer serve a purpose. To help buck this trend and meet pent up demand, Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) recently transformed a former college building in Massachusetts into senior housing. The adaptive reuse project in Brookline happened after Newbury College closed in 2019 due to financial difficulty.The Newbury of Brookline opened last month. The dormitory building once hosted students; now its used for independent, assisted, and memory care living for seniors. RAMSA repurposed an existing historic building, Mitton House, at the former college campus and also designed new ones for it.The new building was inspired by vernacular Boston architecture. (Francis Dzikowski/OTTO)All in all, the Newbury of Brookline is posh, just like the wealthy Boston suburb where it was built. Aesthetics aside, the project by RAMSA offers a potential case study for what to do with other defunct college buildings spread across the country. The senior living community spans 190,000 square feet and contains 160 residential units. Of those 160 flats, about 80 are for independent living, 40 for assisted living, and 40 for memory care.These units coalesce near dining, housekeeping, and flex spaces for structured activities. A salon, lounge, indoor swimming pool, fitness center, library, upper-floor sky bar, and large dining room, with an adjacent great room, are also at the Newbury of Brookline.The Newbury of Brookline has verdant courtyards, and other shared amenities. (Francis Dzikowski/OTTO)The new building mimics the architectural character of the old one. The buildings massings and architectural expression, RAMSA said, is derived from Mitton House, but also the fabric of Brookline and old Boston more broadly. Gambrels, undulating heights, bay windows, and hipped roofs break up the new building into intimately scaled volumes. Meanwhile, one- and two-story porches jut out to enhance the pedestrian experience.The building is sheathed in clapboard siding, just like the old days, as one may expect from a RAMSA project. Entrances from the old and new building spill out into generous courtyards lined with trees. Myriad existing street trees were preserved on the site.The Newbury of Brookline leverages its topography. (Francis Dzikowski/OTTO)Brooklinehas been a place of distinguished design since the days whenFrederick Law Olmsted and H. H. Richardson lived in the neighborhood, Sargent Gardiner, a partner at RAMA, said in a statement. Our design for The Newbury springs from this rich architectural context, emulating its variety, interaction with the landscape, and domestic feel.The design employs Passive House and WELL strategies, RAMSA said. The development team is now targeting LEED Gold certification.

Every yearThe Architects Newspaper seeks to celebrate the best companies, contractors, and consultants that are moving the AEC industry forward, and the search is now officially underway for 2025. This annual program, ANs Best of Practice Awards, is open for entries until March 28, 2025 at midnight ET. Best of Practice looks into the breadth and merit of firmsincluding architects, contractors, sustainability and facade consultants, engineers, fabricators, interior designers, developers, and landscape architectsto spotlight those who not only champion an aesthetic vision, but also social and sustainable goals. To participate in this program is to join the ranks of honored companies that are moving the needle in the design worldboth in terms of the offices own design and culture and the companys design output overall. Winners receive a trophy commemorating the award, and both winners and runner-ups are featured online, on AN social media channels, and inANs Best of 2025 print issue, promoting the honored practices to ANs audience of over 1 million readers.All types of AEC companies based in North America are celebrated. The architect, interior designer, and landscape categories are each subdivided by seven regions (with some additionally divided by size), while the rest remain non-regional. The full list of 2025 categories are:Architects (Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large and New firms)Acoustic Consultant/EngineerDeveloperFabricatorFacade ConsultantGeneral ContractorGraphic Design & WayfindingInterior DesignerLandscape ArchitectLighting DesignerMEP EngineerPhotography StudioRender & VisualizationStructural EngineerSustainability ConsultantTechnologyGet started on applications now to take advantage of the reduced Early Bird entry fee, offered until February 28, 2025. To uplift new companies of all kinds, AN also offers an additional discount for firms founded within the last five years with the code EMERGING. Learn more about the submission process and details here, and stay tuned for the upcoming 2025 jury announcement.

Regal RetailJakob Sprenger and AZA Studio translate Wall Streets art deco style to Aesops new New York outpostByKelly Pau January 15, 2025East, Interiors (Sean Davidson)SHARECult-favorite hair, body, and skin care brandAesopsretail spaces are perhaps as beloved as the brands scents and lotions. Each store takes on the personalities of its locale without losing touch of the brands own identity. For Aesops new location in downtown New York,Jakob Sprenger, in collaboration withAZA Studio, references the art deco style of Wall Streets historic sites, as well as the 37-story Munson Building, where the retail space is located. The result is a lush, immersive interior, which the brands outpost are known for, but with a regal twist. The new outpost, a former lobby space, is defined by tall ceilings and walls clad in Fior di Pesco marble. The renovation continues the grandeur of the building with pilasters that display Aesops skin care and fragrances, while crown moldings and a coffered ceiling add to the elegance.Read more about the shop on aninteriormag.com.

CambridgeSeven announced that Timothy Mansfield has been named president and CEO. Mansfield, who has practiced with the firm for 31 years, is an architect recognized nationally for his bold design aesthetic and leadership in the profession. With a focus on higher education institutions, aquariums, and sports heritage museums, Mansfield is known for creating powerful architecture and visitor experiences as well as leading the design and management of complex projects for a diverse set of clients. His significant work includes the dramatic Roux Instituteat Northeastern University in Portland, Maine; the Kansas Aquarium in Wichita, Kansas; the immersive San Francisco 49ers Museum in Santa Clara, California; the Broad Discovery Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the Stevens Science and Innovation Center at Westfield State University in Westfield, Massachusetts. In addition to his dynamic project work, Mansfield enjoys mentoring young architects at CambridgeSeven, sharing with them his passion for design and lessons learned in the field. He also serves as a guest critic at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Mass College of Art, and Wentworth Institute of Technology. Mansfield holds a Master of Architecture from MIT, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and English from Wesleyan University.It is an honor to serve as CambridgeSevens new president and CEO, said Mansfield. Having joined the firm when many of the original Seven were still active, I was fortunate to experience the distinctive collaboration and forward-thinking design ethos that is still a driving force and foundation of our practice. I look forward to continuing that design legacy with my partners and at the same time leading our younger, talented design staff in forging new horizons in architecture and further expanding CambridgeSevens impact as a global design powerhouse. As Mansfield steps into his new role, his predecessor Gary Johnson will remain a key leader at the firm devoting his expertise toward project work, design, and mentoring the next generation of architects. CambridgeSeven also proudly announces the promotions of Adam Mitchell to principal in charge of sustainability, Douglas Flandro to director of sustainability, Milad Zabeti to associate, and Brian Stanton from controller to associate.About CambridgeSevenArchitecture and design firm CambridgeSeven was formed by seven visionaries focused on doing whats right not only for clients, but for public spaces. From the precedent-setting design of the New England Aquarium on Bostons waterfront in 1969, to the revitalization of New Orleanss World Trade Center into a world-class luxury hotel and visitor experience in 2022, CambridgeSevens fresh, thoughtful, design solutions transform communities through shared discovery and purposeful architecture. Celebrating its rich legacy over six decades of designing museums, aquariums, hotels, academic and civic spaces across the globe, CambridgeSeven is committed to designing culturally relevant, equitable and sustainable environments for all. https://www.cambridgeseven.com/

PervertsEthel CainDaughters of CainReleased January 8An hour and fifteen minutes into a long winding video tour of her art books on YouTube, Hayden Anhedniabetter known by her stage name Ethel Cainlifts up Etienne-Louis Boulle. 1728-1799. Theoretician of Revolutionary Architecture for the camera. She flips through pages of works by the French Neoclassicist before pausing on Cenotaph to Newton and holding the page to the screen. The familiar sectionincidentally the first building that will appear on slides to my modern history students this spring semesteris shown to the viewers. The massive, implied sphere of the drawing is flattened into a dark ring on the page: a directionless gyre, a black pit that pulls in the eye, and what seems to be a diagram for Cains new EP, Perverts. The follow-up to her hit album, Preachers Daughter, Perverts trades storytelling for spacemaking. Layering instrumental loops and often-lyricless vocals over pink noise and found-sound recordings from southwestern Pennsylvania and the eastern Great Lakes, each track on Perverts feels expansive, nearing on the sublime. The EPs scale and affect is so jarringly different from the emotional intimacy of her debut that the EP might be read as a way to shed fans for a more hardcore audiencea goal that some of the few legible lyrics on Perverts seem to confirm: if you love me, keep it to yourself she repeats on Vacillator, and Such is the consequence of audience, I will claw my way back to the Great Dark and we will not speak of this place again she reads on Pulldrone.Ethel Cain discussing tienne-Louis Boulle (Via Youtube)But rather than an outright rejection of audience, the EP and Cains recent writings on her Tumblr seem more to be rejecting the constant exegesis of contemporary fandom, the seemingly inherent need to say something about everything one experiences. As Anhednia says in the Youtube video reflecting on Boulles work: I dont really care about reasons, I care about does it feel good, does it feel true, does it invigorate, does it inspire, does it captivate, does it enrapture? Sometimes reading the explanations for certain things makes me like it less.The Stars are as Beams Shining through the WheelAttempting to review an album like Perverts that asks so plainly not to be interpreted feels like an imposition on the work. Its clear that Cains intent is to clear space for experience rather than produce content to be read. The expansive scale of the tracks leaves room for personal interpretation and claiming specific meaning feels like a betrayal of the projects desires, like the pin-pricked spherical void of Boulles Cenotaphwhere the stars are as beams shining through the wheelPerverts also leaves the listener to feel their way through the dark. Where Preachers Daughters narrative was analyzed and over analyzed to the point of exhaustion by fans tracking down every reference, Perverts rejects content for pure affect, offering a night and day inversion of the earlier work reminiscent of the interior effect of Boulles Cenotaph. But, the shift from a dark Americana road trip to a noise project pulled from the remains of Pittsburghs rotting industry doesnt seem to play a part in this apparent rejection. It seems more like a shift in priorities, an adjustment toward the undertones of Preachers Daughter that doesnt allow for the cathartic release of analysis or ironic meme-making, and a genuine request for an increasingly rare earnest engagement with art.Perverts album art (Marlee Kula)The ambient turn of Perverts reveals a side of Anhednia that has been running in parallel to her work as Ethel Cain through her side project Ashmedai. Indeed, some of the tracks on Perverts feel directly in line with the full ambient work of Ashmedai (Perverts, HousofPsychoticWomn, and Pulldrone), while others take a more drone/doom sound (Onanist and Thatorchia), or walk between the sounds of this EP and her other work at Ethel Cain (Punish, Vacillator, and Amber Waves). The seventh track, Etienne, named for Boulle, fully erases the boundaries between Anhednias production as Ethel Cain and her other projects by directly sampling Ashmedais track 006, tying the two projects together like a self-cannibalizing ouroboros. So, rather than try to peel apart the few legible lyrics (though the typical richness of Cains writing on the spoken word monologue on Pulldrone begs for interpretation), it feels most appropriate to bring the album into relation with other work on meditation, personal subjectivity, and even death. For an EP that is built both figuratively (via Boulle) and literally (through field recordings) on architecture, it feels most appropriate to search for some other architectural perverts.PervertsBy resurrecting Boulle and invoking a negative sublime via the death rattle hums of southwestern Pennsylvanias industrial behemoths, Cain delivers a project very much in line with the technoclassical aesthetic of Douglas Dardens Condemned Buildings from 1993. These ten buildings explored the possibilities of an architectural anti-canon by cutting into the soft underbelly of the foundational myths of a discipline that Darden perceived as built on falsehoods. Architecture objectifiesdesire, he writes to frame his Sex Shop project that distends the bodies of Adam and Eve through an architecture that works more like a sadomasochistic voyeurs fantasy than a building.Like Dardens allegorical constructions, some explicitly reflecting on his ultimately fatal battle with leukemia, each track on Perverts operates as a meditation on the edges of life and death: religious, emotional, industrial. And like Dardens concept of the underbelly, Cain turns fully away from any mistaken optimism for a full look at the sublime and obscene. There are even times where Cains Pulldrone manifesto seems to be speaking in tandem with Dardens Condemned aphorisms:I. Architecture is the meditation on finitude and failure. (Douglas Darden, Condemned Buildings)Ten, degradation. Nature chews on me. (Ethel Cain, Pulldrone)III. Architecture is the execution of exquisite barriers. (Darden, Condemned Buildings)Three, curiosity. I have always possessed the insatiable need to see what happens inside the room. (Cain, Pulldrone)In her attempt to produce a musical project as a space to host a personally inflected meditation for each listener, Cains work intentionally fades into setting. Resting over ambient noise, the drawn out instrumental loops slowly became background themselves. Cains compositional prowess is on full display here as the hour and a half EP, and multiple 10-minute plus songs are both eminently relistenable and never seem to drag. Tying the work to another spatial pervert, her conceptual intent mirrors that of the Japanese architect Hiromis Fujiis Existential Architecture, best exemplified in the built Todoroki House or his religiously named 1989 exhibition Nave of Signs. Like Cain, Fujiis relentless nesting grids attempted to produce space without content in order to shock the inhabitant into a metaphysical experience of the self. In 1987, Fujii wrote, Thus, the self which drifts about in the hollow interior of the object because of the loss of its perceptual identity will eventuallyfind itself pinned in mid-air, creating a poetic image for architecture that always reminded me of free floating in the Cenotaphs void.Section through Cnotaphe Newton circa 1784 (Etienne-Louis Boulle/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)The list of perverts could go on: the mute critique of Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkins late-Soviet illustrations; the othered, fleshy allo-gore-y of Jennifer Bloomers Tabbles of Bower; or even the literary tunnels of Kafkas The Burrow all come to mind. Cains EP finds good company in spatial precedent.On its own, the EP creates a vision for art that stands apart from cultural context without being disconnected. It rejects the easy didacticism of the content mill, and works to expand the aesthetic repertoire of Cains more-mainstream audience. Where Boulles century-late tombs day/night inversion hints toward the sublime horror of Modernitys supersession of Nature, Perverts invites its listener to look at the mounting horrors of the many intersecting crises and to genuinely experience the emotional landscapes they engender. It cuts through the noise of easy answers to edge nearer to a kind of abject myth-making that crafts an aesthetic politics sorely needed.Adrienne Economos-Miller is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she researches ruins, trans femininity, and other obscene matters.

The facade often serves as a buildings primary civic presence within a city. When AEC professionals design, develop, and deliver buildings, they are serving a client, however, the design of the exterior also impacts the public at large. Thus, facade design is critical to larger conversations about creating the space we share. In addition, the building envelope is at the forefront of the technological push to reduce carbon emissions. It is through the exterior membrane that the light, air, and energy within a building are controlled. For these reasons, a buildings facade communicates the values of the people that build them. It is in this spirit that The Architects Newspaper announces the inaugural The Faces of Our City awards program. Winners will be honored on Thursday, April 3 at the Metropolitan Pavilion following the Facades+ New York City conference. The award celebrates facade design, architectural excellence, and innovation in New York City, honoring the visionaries that shape our citys skyline and urban fabric.These awards recognize the brilliance and artistry of those who design and develop the faces of our city through facades, said Diana Darling, ANs cofounder and CEO. Our goal is to recognize the best in the facades industry and inspire future professional and projects in our community. The awards are divided into four categories: Project of the Year, Emerging Professional, Impact Award (Lifetime Achievement), and Product Innovator.Our esteemed jury of NYC AEC leaders consists of Christoph Timm of SOM; Tali Mejicovsky of Arup; Christine Dunn of Columbia University; Katherine Chan of Walter P Moore; Arthi Krishnamoorthy of TenBerke; Sameer Kumar of Techne; as well as Diana Darling, Jack Murphy, and Marty Wood of The Architects Newspaper.Submission to the awards program is free and open to the public. Click here to submit.Nominations will be open until February 4. More information about the award and the celebration can be found here.

AIANY has named the 23 projects which earned this years New York Design Awards. The projects are split into four different categoriesarchitecture, interiors, projects, and urban design. They celebrate the wide range of exceptional work by New York City professionals today. The 2025 AIA NY Design Awards Jury included Anna Dyson, Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture; Michael Guthrie, INFORM Studio; Lucaster Hall, Studio RAP; Stacy Passmore, Superbloom; Brian Phillips, ISA; Troy Schaum, of Schaum Architects; and Melodie Yashar, ICON.We saw a lot of airport and infrastructural projects that were indebted to this practice as well, Dyson said in a statement. Were awarding this project not only for the excellence of the architecture, its urbanism, and for the very, very complex programs that come together, but also for its contribution to the field in general. A consistent thread is the power of the narrative of storytelling, Guthrie added. Where did the vision start? Where are the diagrams? Give us the illustrative impact because ultimately we hope that these projects are going to impact people. I think we felt like people-centric projects were paramount and important.Of the 23 awards conferred, 17 were in the architecture category, 3 were interiors, 1 was in the project category, and 2 went to urban design submissions. Snhetta and Studio Gang received multiple awards in different categories, to name but a few.We were very impressed by projects that transform the city theyre located in, Passmore noted, and I think this was really the top tier example of that and not just the city, but the harbor and how it interacts with the economy of the city was really important in this project as well.Best in CompetitionKaohsiung Port Terminal street view (Iwan Baan)Kaohsiung Port Terminal, Reiser+Umemoto, RUR ArchitectureA highly anticipated project built in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, took home AIANYs Best in Competition Award. Kaohsiung Port Terminal by Reiser+Umemoto, RUR Architecture DPC, and Fei and Cheng Associates, the architect of record, earned the top prize.ArchitectureHonorsCast Iron House in Tribeca (Michael Moran)Cast Iron House, Shigeru Ban ArchitectsTogether with Dean Maltz Architect and Higgins Quasebarth & Partners, Shigeru Ban Architects struck an honors award for Cast Iron House, a 2-story penthouse that was added to a cast iron building in Tribeca.Interior view of PDX (Ema Peter)Portland International Airport, ZGF ArchitectsThe city of Portlands new airport took home a bevy of awards these past few months, including the 2024 AN Award for Project of the Year. Portland International Airport by ZGF, PLACE, and Terrapin Bright Green was also given an honors award from AIANY.Vesterheim Commons (Michael Grimm)Vesterheim Commons, SnhettaA project in Decorah, Iowa, by Snhetta and BNIM was the third AIANY honors award recipient. Vesterheim Commons is home to the National Norwegian-American Museum and Heritage Center. MeritsInterior view of The Church (Scott Frances)The Church, SKOLNICK Architecture + Design PartnershipOut in Sag Harbor, New York, an adaptive reuse project by SKOLNICK Architecture + Design Partnership and Hollander Design Landscape Architects earned a merit award. The Church, as the name suggests, is an exhibition space sited inside of a 1863 Methodist church.Equatorial School of Architecture (Finbarr Fallon)Equatorial School of Architecture, Pencil OfficeCampus Design Innovations Group, together with CPG Consultants and DP Green, likewise won a merit award for an architecture school they designed in Singapore. Equatorial School of Architecture is also an adaptive reuse project.Aerial view of Kresge Extension (Jason ORear)Kresge College Expansion at UC Santa Cruz, Studio GangStudio Gang, TEF Design, Joni L. Janecki and Associates, and Office of Cheryl Barton were recognized for a new building they added to a 1971 campus by Charles Moore and William Turnbull. Kresge College Expansion at UC Santa Cruz is tucked deep within a redwood forest along the ridges and ravines of northern California.The Lindemann (Iwan Baan)The Lindemann Performing Arts Center at Brown University, REXREX, Stimson, Studio Loutsis, and others on the design team for the Lindemann Performing Arts Center at Brown University were recognized for the campuss new gleaming arts hub.Narrow House (Iwan Baan)Narrow House, Only If ArchitectureOnly If Architectures Narrow House in Brooklyn impressively inserted a home within a plot that measured 13-4 wide by 100 deep. Narrow House also earned a merit award.Pink House (Chris Cooper)Pink House, Roger Ferris + PartnersOut in Sagaponack, New York, Roger Ferris + Partners conceived Pink House, an extension and response to a pink Corian pool in a lush, private residential backyard, earning the office a prize.Qiaochengbei Park Visitor Center (Chao Zhang)Qiaochengbei Park Visitor Center, Atelier XIAtelier XI, together with Shenzhen Wenke Landscape, earned a merit award for Qiaochengbei Park Visitor Center in Shenzhen, China. That award-winning project featured multiple, low lying volumes nestled in a verdant landscape.University of Toronto Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus (Albert Vecerka)University of Toronto Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, Weiss/ManfrediIn Toronto, Weiss/Manfredi completed a handsome campus project with Teeple Architects. University of Toronto Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus links academic research and entrepreneurial endeavors; it was recognized for its aesthetic and design merits. CitationHonorsAllen Apartments (Alexander Severin)Allen Apartments, Adam Sokol Architecture PracticeIn Buffalo, New York, Allen Apartments offer attractive new multifamily housing. The award-winning project in the citation category was by Adam Sokol Architecture Practice and Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect.Casa Celina roof terrace (David Sundberg/ESTO)Casa Celina, Magnusson Architecture and PlanningCasa Celina in the Bronx received a citation for affordable housing. The project was designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning and Terrain-NYC.Far Rockaway Library (Jeff Goldberg)Far Rockaway Library, SnhettaSnhettas Far Rockaway Library in Queens earned a citation for resilience and community impact. Thelibrarys facade mimics the coastal neighborhoods dramatic sunsets,Interior view of Palace Theatre (Francis Dzikowski/OTTO)Palace Theatre, PBDW ArchitectsA theater redesign by PBDW Architects and Mancini Duffy was also recognized. Palace Theatre in New York City earned a citation in the innovation in preservation category.Garden at St. Johns Terminal (Courtesy Google)St. Johns Terminal, COOKFOX ArchitectsCOOKFOX Architects, Gensler, AAI Architects, and Future Green Studio won a citation for biodiversity. The project added verdant outdoor spaces to the tower component added to the recently renovated St. Johns Terminal, now offices for Google. InteriorsMeritExterior view of Manhattan Pet Adoption Center (Alex Fradkin)Manhattan Pet Adoption Center, Studio JosephStudio Joseph won an interiors award for work on the Manhattan Pet Adoption Center in Manhattan, which posited the adaptive reuse of a former warehouse.Interior view of Rockefeller Plaza (Eric Laignel)Rockefeller Center Rink Level Public Concourse, INC Architecture & DesignAlso in Manhattan, Rockefeller Center Rink Level Public Concourse by INC Architecture & Design took home an interiors award in the merit category.CitationWest Village Townhouse (William Jess Laird)West Village Townhouse, JG Neukomm ArchitectureJG Neukomm Architecture, together with Francis Sultana, struck a citation for materials and detailing thanks to a townhouse that pair finished in West Village.ProjectsHonorBiogenic House Sections (LTL Architects)Biogenic House Sections, LTLStudies by LTL Architects, in the offices signature sectional fashion, for biogenic houses took home the sole project award. Urban DesignHonorBlanton Museum of Art Grounds Redesign (Casey Dunn)Blanton Museum of Art Grounds Redesign at UT Austin, SnhettaSnhettatogether with Architexas, architect of recordredesigned the grounds of an art museum at University of Texas at Austin. Those firms took home an honors award in the urban design category.Tom Lee Park (Tom Harris)Tom Lee Park, Studio GangLast but not least, a stunning new waterfront park in Memphis, Tennessee, by Studio Gang and SCAPE earned an urban design award. The project prioritized native species and includes space for play and a pavilion for recreational activities.

Are you thinking about a career in architecture or environmental design? UC Berkeleys College of Environmental Design (CED) offers intensive summer programs that could help you decide if these creative fields are right for you. Whether youre a professional, undergraduate, or high school student, CEDs Summer Programs invite you to explore architecture, urban design, sustainable city planning, and landscape architecture in an academic setting. Discover Architecture and DesignArchitecture and environmental design are not just about creating buildings; they involve crafting spaces that improve the quality of life and address environmental challenges. UC Berkeleys immersive CED Summer Programs are designed to introduce you to these disciplines in an engaging, hands-on way. Through collaborative and exploratory learning, youll gain insight into the core principles of design in a collaborative, explorative, and experiential learning environment.(Courtesy UC Berkeley)DISC: Innovating for Sustainable CitiesDISC (Design + Innovation for Sustainable Cities) is tailored for current college students interested in urban innovation. This full-time program integrates studio work, lectures, seminars, digital workshops, and field trips to provide a comprehensive understanding of how to design and plan for resilient and sustainable urban environments. Participants tackle real-world problems and project sites, exploring intersections between architecture, urban planning, and environmental design. The multidisciplinary approach equips students to consider issues of affordable housing, transportation, social equity, climate change, and livability to create long-term solutions for cities. Summer Institutes: Specialized Tracks in DesignUC Berkeleys Summer Institutes offer specialized programs designed for individuals exploring architecture, city planning, or landscape architecture. These intensive, studio-based tracks provide academic and professional-grade experiences, helping you build a portfolio for advanced academic or professional opportunities.InArch: This track introduces architectural design, theory, and digital design tools. Students also learn from site visits and professional guest lecturers. Ideal for beginners, it helps students develop foundational skills and produce a strong portfolio.InCity: Focused on city planning and design, this program emphasizes a sustainable and equitable urban development. Through collaborative projects and fieldwork, youll learn how to create livable, inclusive urban spaces.InLand: Centered on landscape architecture, InLand emphasizes ecological principles and resilient design. Exploring a selected site in the Bay Area, students learn to craft environmentally sensitive landscapes that serve their communities.(Courtesy UC Berkeley)Studio-Based Learning ExperienceCEDs Summer Programs studio-based learning environment encourages collaboration, exploration, and experimentationkey elements of the design process. In studio, youll work alongside peers from diverse backgrounds, share ideas, and receive feedback from experienced instructors and professionals.Collaboration: Teamwork and continuous feedback is at the heart of the CED Summer Programs. Working in teams and guided by experienced instructors, youll tackle complex design problems, learning to value diverse perspectives and different approaches. This collaborative experience is essential for professional practice.Exploration: Youll delve into various facets of architecture and design, from theoretical concepts to practical applications. This exploratory process helps you understand the breadth and depth of the field, allowing you to discover what truly excites you.Experimentation: Students are challenged to push boundaries, try new ideas, and learn from both successes and failures. This iterative approach fosters creativity, innovation, continuous learning, and adaptation, essential qualities every designer needs.(Courtesy UC Berkeley)Chart Your Career PathAlums who attended one of UC Berkeleys CED Summer Programs speak of a transformative experience. The immersive, hands-on nature of these programs provides a realistic view into these fields, empowering you to make informed choices about your future.For more details and to apply, visit the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Designs Summer Programs website.

Allied Works has been selected to design a new $50 million art museum at Middlebury College in Vermont. The Portland- and Brooklyn-based firm was chosen by the Middlebury Board of Trustees to ideate the future building on the campuss north side near Battell Hall, the Johnson Memorial Building, Wright Memorial Theatre, Sunderland Language Center, and le Chteau. The new art museum is part of the universitys effort to reconfigure and enhance the north side of its campus. Middlebury President Laurie Patton said the institution will promote the arts and democracy and reinforce the power of the arts to communicate and promote the common good.Renderings show a low-lying volume clad in a strirated material that meshes well with the stately, historic architecture that makes up much of the Middlebury University campus. A large void in the block opens to the main entrance and rectilinear apertures puncture the facade. Allied Works said its conceiving the museum as a beacon signaling the importance of the arts on campus.The mission is building a new arts agora, the development team shared. Our goal is to create a place of wonder, where the architecture amplifies the place it occupies and the work it holds and inspiresa place of imagination and exploration for Middlebury and the world, Brad Cloepfil, Allied Works principal and founder, said in a statement. Upon completion, the art museum will house Middleburys approximately 7,000 works from antiquity to contemporaneity, making them more accessible. It will also expand exhibition, teaching, and multipurpose spaces for students and faculty alike. The architects said they will strictly adhere to Middleburys sustainability goals by incorporating energy-efficient practices.The arts have always been essential to democratic life, allowing us to envision new worlds and connect across differences, Patton added. Our student-run arts festival, Nocturne, shows how transformative this can be.Patton continued: The new museum and arts quadrangle will bring that spirit into the heart of our campus, creating a lively artistic hub with spaces for outdoor exhibits, music, sculpture, and performance.Design will begin in 2025. Construction will start in 2027 and the museum is slated to open in 2028.So far, $35 million has been raised to finance the $50-million project.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, a project decades in the makingthat promises an 84-acre riverfront park replete with hiking, kayaking, and other water-based recreational optionshit a major milestone earlier this month, when it was approved by Raleigh City Council. Design Workshops Raleigh office drew up the Neuse River Park Master Plan after an $11.4 million bond was approved by Raleigh City Council last year to finance design and construction.Elizabeth Gardner, a local meteorologist and avid kayaker, was a key driver behind the river park. Gardner has been advocating for the project for more than two decades, along with many other Raleigh residents.Neuse River Park will have bike paths, play areas, and more. (Design Workshop)This park is uniquely positioned to become a key recreational destination, Design Workshop said, serving as the northern trailhead for the Neuse River Greenway and Blueway systems. With its combination of open spaces, forests, and direct river access, the park will cater to a wide range of recreational activities including hiking, kayaking, fishing, and birdwatching.Play Area at Neuse River Park (Design Workshop)Neuse River Park expands upon existing waterfront facilities built for river access, frequently used by paddlers and anglers. The new plan makes way for trails for hiking and biking and new opportunities for wildlife viewing. The vision for Neuse River, ideated by Design Workshop with community input, will feature stepped riverfront reinforcement that doubles as seating which juts into the water. It will also have restrooms, accessible trails, a social lawn and pavilion, a pump track for cyclists, an arrival plaza, play areas, a pollinator meadow, and more. A major thoroughfare, Falls of Neuse Road, divides the future park. To reconcile that, Design Workshop ideated a major point of connection underneath the elevated roadway.The park will be divided into northern and southern sections, connected by a walkway underneath a major thoroughfare. (Design Workshop)The series of river overlooks and gathering spaces along the Neuse River provide vantage points for visitors to enjoy scenic views and connect with nature, Design Workshop said. These overlooks feature seating areas, informational displays, and shaded spots, inviting both quiet reflection and social interaction. Residents will soon be able to enjoy white water rafting. (Design Workshop)The landscape architects continued: Designed to enhance public access, the spaces include gentle pathways and riverbank terraces, allowing for closer interaction with the water. The design encourages community engagement with the Neuse and its history, educational opportunities, and a deeper appreciation of the rivers natural beauty.Neuse River Park is slated for completion in 2028 with construction starting in 2026.

As the fires expanded across the hillsides in Los Angeles toward its center, an anonymous quote was spreading across social media: Climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until youre the one filming it. Climate change has arrived in our living rooms, imploring us to take to the streets to repair our neighborhoods, keep a watchful eye over those who stand to profit from it, and stand better prepared for whatever happens next.My partner and I live in a 10-unit apartment building at the base of the Hollywood Hills, roughly equidistant between the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire. By the early morning of Wednesday, January 8, the Santa Ana winds had increased their rate of destruction with unpredictable speed and intensity. Yet even as late as the afternoon, we were firmly planted at home without an evacuation plan. As the winds howled down our narrow street, we were scrolling to learn as much as we could about the ongoing devastation across the city on a variety of media channels, including the loss of many historic structures in the Pacific Palisades that had once felt so permanent.A house burns in Altadena (Tag Christof)On the other side of the county, the community where the Eaton Fire raged received less immediate media attention. Altadena was home to 42,000 people who lived at the base of the Angeles National Forest. We lived there from 2020 to 2024, originally drawn to the neighborhoods Christmas Tree Lane, a towering row of deodar cedar trees planted in 1883 along Santa Rosa Avenue that have been illuminated with Christmas lights since 1920. Having largely withstood the worst of the Eaton Fire, these historic trees stand tall in visible contrast with the devastation of more than 5,000 structures surrounding them.To the RooftopThere are serious historic losses throughout the area. The Andrew McNally House, built in 1887 for the cofounder of the Rand McNally publishing company at the top of Santa Rosa, was engulfed in flames and is now far beyond repair. So is the nearby Bunny Museum, an exhibited collection of rabbit-themed gifts between married couple Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski that first opened in 1998. And so is our go-to pizza place, Side Pie, along with Altadena Hardware, Rancho Bar, Public Displays of Altadena, the Zorthian Ranch, and many other community spaces that helped make Altadena feel a thousand miles away from the pace of urban life just down the hill. And this says nothing about the losses of homes and personal belongings of its creative residents, including musicians and architecture scholars.Altadena, a historic, diverse neighborhood with many artists, was one of the Los Angeles communities hit worst. (Tag Christof)As an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, Altadena did not receive the immediate nor the reliable attention it deserves. Our former duplex apartment is gone, along with thousands of other working-class residences. Community members noted the absence of fire trucks on their streets for several hours at a time as they filled trash cans with water and made way for wildlife galloping down the slope.By early Wednesday evening, our Hollywood hillside retreat was just outside the mandatory evacuation zone of the Sunset Fire, a fast-moving fire originating in Runyon Canyon. The zone included some of the most recognizable icons of Hollywood itself, including Graumans Chinese Theatre, the Magic Castle, and the Hollywood Bowl. The eastern edge of the boundary was marked by the 101 freeway, just 1,500 feet west of us. (Though freeways are environmental hazards in themselves, they are apparently decent fire barriers.)We packed the car with little forethought while monitoring the situation on Watch Duty, a real-time map of wildfire and firefighting information. Still in need of visual proof before abandoning our home, however, we took to the rooftop with our neighbors, exchanging names in between intimate exchanges of hopes and fears. Finally, on the other side of a hill in the near distance, we saw the flames stretching out and upward with our own eyes, unmediated by any news program or phone app. We drank wine straight from the bottle.Altadena residents inspecting the neighborhood (Tag Christof)A fleet of tandem-rotor helicopters flew overhead, close enough to rattle our apartment building from the 1970s. We watched them scoop up water from the nearby Hollywood Reservoir and then expel it over Runyon Canyon with incredible precision and consistency. The fire was contained by the time we attempted to sleep at two in the morning. We unpacked the car the following morning while leaving our most prized possessions near the front door.The Eternal Infernal SeasonThe infernal season used to more predictably fall between late August and early October. Or at least it did in 1998, when Mike Davis published The Case for Letting Malibu Burn in Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster. The essay is a treatment of the political history of fire in Los Angeles as a faithful reflection of larger class struggles comparing coastal and tenement fires. Critical of the developmental practices of Malibu, where homes are built higher and higher in the mountain chamise with scant regard for the inevitable fiery consequence, Davis settled on letting the nouveaux riches fend for themselves in the aftermath. By declaring Malibu a federal disaster area and offering blaze victims tax relief as well as preferential low-interest loans, he wrote, governmental policies established the precedent for the public subsidization of firebelt suburbs.8 a.m. on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California (Tag Christof)Carnage in Altadena (Tag Christof)Thirty years later, however, there is no longer an infernal season to reliably speak of, nor are the affected areas as clearly demarcated. Climate change has affected the character of urban-scale fires, which can now happen virtually year-round, with unknowable ferocity, in areas long thought to be out of harms way. The threat is no longer in some far-away Malibu: It is here, and it affects everyone, even if they arent directly in harms way. The smoke tanked the air quality in the region, and ash, along with other wind-borne debris, settled like a light snow across the metropolis.In times like these, its easy to paint a bleak picture of the budgetary priorities of public and private powers in a city whose landscape and ecology have historically been the playthings of financial speculation. According to CBS, more than 1,600 home insurance policies in Pacific Palisades were dropped by State Farm in July (along with several more in other fire-prone areas of the region), while some of the wealthiest property owners of the area, such as billionaire developer Rick Caruso, hired private firefighters to protect their own businesses.(Tag Christof)The City of Los Angeles, meanwhile, dispatched nearly 800 incarcerated firefighters (about 30 percent of the total on-the-ground workforce) for as little as $5.80 a dayunsurprising statistics, considering the long-term budget cuts to the fire department that have increasingly hampered its ability to handle wildfires. Many rental listings have increased dramatically in a cruel response to the sudden housing shortage, and the valuation of real estate across the city may predictably follow suit.(Tag Christof)But this sense of administrative collapse only paints half the picture. As the manifestations of climate change reach closer and closer, the larger Los Angeles community has responded with a generosity that defies stereotypes of our great city. While local activists call on city leaders for an eviction moratorium and a rent freeze, Mutual Aid LA is maintaining an extensive list of resources available to those affected by the fires, for instance, while LA Fire Mutual Aid Resources is mapping the donation and volunteer service centers rapidly assembled, many of which are small local businesses. A spreadsheet is circulating for AEC folks to aid in rebuilding.This form of solidarity, which was the subject of Rebecca Solnits book Hope in the Dark 20 years ago, has spread across screens with as much intensity as disaster images. At the time of this writing, the fires have collectively burned more than 40,000 acres, more than twice the size of Manhattan. Twenty-five residents are confirmed dead, and an estimated 12,000 structures have been destroyed.Shane Reiner-Roth is a writer and lecturer on architecture and urbanism.

Community organizers in Philadelphias Chinatown woke up to joyous news this morning after the Sixers announced yesterday the franchise has abandoned its plans for a new stadium in Center Citys Market East corridor. The master plan for the scrapped $1.3 billion mixed-use stadium project, dubbed 76 Place, was by Gensler. Instead of moving to Chinatown, the team will remain in the South Philadelphia stadium district. Wells Fargo Center will be demolished and a new purpose-built home for the Sixers and Flyers will be built in its place. The stadium could also be home to a future WNBA team pending a successful bid for one, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said at a press conference this morning.Parker, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, 76ers Managing Partner Josh Harris, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, and other 76 DevCo. officials such as David Adelman addressed the decision at a press conference this morning. We are still committed to revitalizing the Market East corridor, Adelman said, however what that revitalization will look like minus the stadium is to be determined. This is a curve ball none of us saw coming. Weve been talking around the clock the last 72 hours, Parker said. The Philadelphia Mayor added that a new master plan for the Market East corridor will be fast tracked, and significantly informed by community input. Parker also pointed to The Battery in Atlanta, where the Braves play, as an example of what shed like to see in South Philadelphia for the new stadium.Wanda Sykes, the comedian and actor, was also at the press conference. Sykes is helping lead the effort to bring a WNBA franchise to Philadelphia, and will help broker negotiations with the South Philadelphia stadium team.On Saturday, September 7, almost 4,000 people showed up outside Philadelphia City Hall to protest a new basketball arena by Gensler in Philadelphias Chinatown. (Courtesy Save Chinatown Coalition)The stadium proposal in Chinatown was protested heavily. More than 39,000 people signed a petition against the arena, and a survey showed that 69 percent of Philadelphians opposed the project. The development team behind 76 Place countered this petition by starting their own petition, which garnered over 30,000 names who supported the arena. Groups like No Arena in the Heart of Our City Coalition partnered with anti-gentrification organizations across Philadelphia to stop 76 Place from happening. Were relieved to hear that the nightmare of a Center City Sixers arena will not haunt our city any more, the No Arena Coalition said in a statement.To every Philadelphian who called, marched, testified, and warned City Hall that this was a raw deal: This win belongs to you, and the lesson for politicians is to trust the people, No Arena added. To the five Councilmembers who stood on the right side of this fight: We will not forget.(Courtesy Save Chinatown Coalition)The No Arena Coalition continued: We were clear from day one that it was dangerous to play in the viper pit with billionaires, but City Hall toyed with the snakes, and they got bit. 12 of 17 Councilmembers turned their backs on decades of research on the false promise of stadium developments, common sense, their voters, and the 70% of Philadelphians who opposed this arena.The activist group also expressed discontent with how the stadium planning process unfolded. This sham of a process laid bare what Philadelphians have long known, the group elaborated.Anti-stadium activists rented an airplane to send the development team behind 76 Place a message. (Courtesy Save Chinatown Coalition)Decisions about the future of neighborhoods are not being made by the people of those communities nor with their best interest in mind, but by a select few who represent their own benefits and bank accounts and a City Hall thats bought and paid for, No Arena said. As planning for the future of Center City continues, lessons must be learned, and the city needs a new class of politicians who respond to peoples needs instead of corporate greed.The new stadium in South Philadelphia is slated to open in 2031.Gensler had no comment for this story.

Results of ReduceArtefact Studio blends midcentury and Caribbean influences for pared-back addition, Triangle HouseByPaige Davidson January 13, 2025Interiors, International (Lorenzo Zandri)SHARENestled within a cul-de-sac in Epsom, England, the Triangle House by London-based architecture firm,Artefact Studiostands out from an otherwise neutral street with its unique color palette. The home is an addition to a quiet brick house from the 1950s, filled with several ambitions: to incorporate a bathroom, bedroom, and office/music room; extend the living space; and take better advantage of the new garden, redone by Phenomena whose palms and exotic plants set the scene. The architects realized the brief with dramatic design punches, inspired by the clients Caribbean heritage. The new wing adds fun and flair to the home while working with the preexisting homes ethos, midcentury roots, and awkward plot. Triangle House draws immediate intrigue through the facade, where the additions eggshell colored, street-facing exterior lies pressed up against the original minimalistic midcentury brick house. The two facades are connected by a canopy composed of a blue triangle acting as support for red and white beams.Read more about the house on aninteriormag.com. United Kingdom

The Pasadena Waldorf School, Pierson Playhouse, Andrew McNally House. These are just a few places reportedly destroyed by the fires sweeping through Southern California. More than 10,000 structures have been have been losta significant uptick since January 8, when that number was 1,000and the death toll has risen to at least ten people. AN rounded up relief and mutual aid groups readers can support amid the devastation, lost buildings of note, and efforts underway to preserve architectural landmarks.Lost and Threatened HeritagePalisades Branch Library, Corpus Cristi Church, Palisades Village, and Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, to name but a few, were lost in the waning hours after the fire started this week, as reported by AN. Flames came close to the Eames House and Getty Villa, but those have remained in tact. But many more buildings have been destroyed in just the past 48 hours.Much of the Palisades caught fire. (CAL FIRE OFFICIAL/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)Pasadena Waldorf School, a visionary campus designed in the 1970s by McAnulty + von Sydow Architecture, was harmed, Barbara Bestor shared on social media. And so was the Andrew McNally House, designed by Frederick Roehrig, where the founder of McNally Jackson previously lived. Many Studio City homes have also been destroyed; Studio City is home to at least a few Richard Neutra houses, none of which have been reportedly damaged at this time.The Pierson Playhouse at Theatre Palisades, a beloved 1963 venue designed by John G. Wallis, has also been destroyed, the theater troupe announced on social media. That building isnt far from Rustic Canyon, where the Burns House by Charles Moore sits, and also the home of author Shirley Blum designed by Richard Neutra. Kevin Keim, director of the Charles Moore Foundation, confirmed on social media that the Burns House is OK for now after helping neighbors in the area put out fires. Keim also said that the fence of the Neutra-designed Blum House had caught fire, but those were quickly squelched, and the house itself wasnt impacted.AN contributor Sam Lubell, who recently reported on the devastation for The New York Times, is keeping an informative running list of threatened buildings via his LinkedIn. Lubell said the Zane Grey Estate, Ray Kappes 1991 Keeler House, and a house on stilts by Robert Bridges have been lost, as well as the Will Rogers House.View this post on InstagramA post shared by California State Parks (@castateparks)Relief and Mutual Aid GroupsTopanga Ranch Motel, a 1929 destination built by media mogul William Randolph Hearst, has also been lost. Zeina Koreitem, of MILLINS, is actively coordinating a volunteer fire patrol in Topanga. Koreitem suggested anyone willing to help landscape, cut wood, shovel, and put out small fires reach out to her directly.(CAL FIRE OFFICIAL/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)Likewise, Dori Tunstall has helped put together a new group of volunteers, Design for Disaster Response. The group is actively connecting artists and designers with the support they need. Design for Disaster Response is just forming; a Zoom call will be held today, January 9, at 5:00 p.m. PT for anyone interested in getting involved.USGBC CA has taken to Instagram to spread awareness about best practices for evacuation and emergency preparedness. USGBC CA told AN that two of its members have lost their houses so far. For more on preparedness, Wildfire DefenseandExtreme Heat also offer trainings. Eaton Fire Relief Drive is actively accepting clothes, shoes, and books. Donations can be dropped off at 455 South Lake Avenue in Pasadena, and questions can be addressed to [emailprotected].Mutual Aid Network Los Angeles is a trusted resource for finding groups to support and volunteer with.Westside Food Bank, Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, and CAL FIRE are also good resources.AN will add to this list as the fires continue. Please send inquiries and tips to [emailprotected].