Architect:SnhettaLocation: New York CityCompletion Date:2024Brought to you by:Snhetta has created a new home for the Far Rockaway branch of the Queens Public Library (QPL). Located at the point where the Rockaway barrier island meets the mainland of Queens, the new building is the latest in a string of recent renovations and replacements of public library branches across the five boroughs. To mimic the coastal neighborhoods dramatic sunsets, the librarys facade is draped in a reflective yellow-tinted glass that has been decorated with a digitally printed composition by artist Jos Parl. Artwork from Parl is visble on both the exterior and interior of the library. (Jeff Goldberg)Doubling the usable area of its predecessor, the new building will better support Far Rockaways large and diverse community. A press release from Snhetta notes that the library project coincides with additional city initiatives and investments designed to catalyze growth in this historically underserved part of New York City. The design of the library capitalizes on its corner lot at the intersection of Central and Mott Avenue, exaggerating this condition through a ubiquity of triangular forms. Visitors enter through a three-sided cut-out in the exterior mass and are immediately greeted by a triangle-shaped double-height atrium that connects the structures two floors.Another design motif is transparency and the use of colorful glazing. To that end, the upper level of the atrium is lined with a diachronic glass railing that creates complex, iridescent effects as it receives light from the semi-permeable facade and reflections from the interior. Light also cascades down from a skylight at the top of the atrium.The entrance opens to a double height atrium that connects both floors of the library. (Jeff Goldberg)In reference to the physicist Richard Feynman, a Far Rockaway native, Mexican artist Pablo Helguera has installed his work Feynman Code on the second floor. Based on the physicists famous Feynman diagrams, which use symbols to denote mathematic formulas and expressions, the artist has created an alphabet that spells out a line from an Emily Dickinson poem as well as a quotation from Feynman. This artwork, along with other features on the interior, interacts with the diachronic glass railing, casting Feynmans symbols across the floorplate.Snhetta selected Jos Parl, a Brooklyn-based artist, to create a mural for the facade of the library. The firm has collaborated with Parl previously, designing the artists studio from a converted warehouse in Gowanus and collaborating with him on a stool and table set. For Far Rockaway Library, the artist created a work titled Style Writinga sprawl of abstracted handwriting that cloaks the facade. Initially hand-drawn on a large canvas, the architects digitized the work and printed it by applying colored powder to the glass panels. The panels were then heated in a kiln, permanently joining the powder to the glass. The resulting frit works to reduce solar heat gain on the interior of the building while also acting as a dramatic decorative element.Since Snhetta was founded, collaborating with artists has been an important part of our work, Nathan McRae, director at Snhetta, told AN. We really wanted to create a vibrant, unique building for the community. Something that would stand out, but also welcome people inside.Color and the interplay of light were central to the new librarys design. (Jeff Goldberg)Working closely with the glazier, Snhetta specified exterior glass that precisely balances the presence of color, transparency, and Parls artwork while also achieving high energy performance. The yellow-orange tint of the glazing is meant to evoke the buildings locale along New York Citys Atlantic coastline, specifically referencing the remarkable sunsets that occur along Rockaway Beach. Far Rockaway Library has achieved LEED Gold certification through a combination of energy strategies, including the aforementioned high performance glazing as well as an automated system on the interior that optimizes HVAC usage. To contend with the coastal neighborhoods propensity for flooding, the library features a blue roof, which retains storm water, releasing it slowly through constricted drains and thereby relieving the streets flooding and drainage infrastructure.The architects specified a precise balance of reflectivity and transparency in the glass that keeps the space illuminated during daylight. (Jeff Goldberg)Alongside other upgrades to the citys public library branches, Snhettas Far Rockaway Library demonstrates a 21st-century approach to the improvement of public spaceappropriately balancing energy concerns and climate resiliency with formal considerations such as aesthetic beauty and spatial quality. Ultimately, it argues that New York Citys great public architecture should not just be reserved for Manhattan, but rather exist in equal proportion within the outer boroughs.Project SpecificationsArchitect: SnhettaStructural Engineer: SilmanElectrical Engineering: Altieri Sebor WeiberCivil Engineer: LanganLighting Design: Atelier TenAV/Acoustics: SH AcousticsSignage/Wayfinding: T-Squared DesignGeneral Contractor: E W HowellClient Representative: NYC Department of Design and ConstructionGlazing Contractor: AFI Glass and Architectural MetalsFacade Installation: AFI GlassMetal Panel Installation: EDA ContractorsFacade System: KawneerMetal Rainscreen: Alpolic Metal Composite PanelsGlass: CristacurvaWindows: Kawneer

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has announced the six architecture firms shortlisted for a major expansion to its grounds in Kansas City, Missouri. The six shortlisted firms are: Kengo Kuma & Associates, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Selldorf Architects, Studio Gang, Weiss/Manfredi Architecture, and WHY Architecture. The competition, organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants, was first shared in May, as reported by AN. Then, the open call for international architects to submit happened in early October. By the numbers, 182 teams entered the competition from 30 different countries. Because of the high volume of entries, and the quality of entries, six firms were shortlisted instead of five, museum officials noted.The Selection Committee was faced with a daunting task to select the best from over 180 submissions, Malcolm Reading Consultants said in a statement. So, in the end, what shone through? The six teams presented outstanding credentials combined with creative leadership and forward-thinking. This list encompasses diversity, experience and design excellence. The next stage will test not only the teams pure design thinking, but also their ingenuity in how to draw and energize new audiences.The six shortlisted firms are: Kengo Kuma & Associates, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Selldorf Architects, Studio Gang, Weiss/Manfredi Architecture, and WHY Architecture. ( Malcolm Reading Consultants)The overall project cost is between $160 million and $170 million. Moving forward, the Architect Selection Committee, chaired by Evelyn Craft Belger, will invite the six shortlisted firms to the museum for a detailed briefing and begin working on their concept designs over the next three months. On December 12, Julin Zugazagoitia, Nelson-Atkins director and CEO, will give a presentation introducing the competition and project. At that presentation, one representative from each team will outline their general approach to architecture. After that happens, a campaign will kick off to raise money for the museums construction, which will be mostly paid for by private donors.The winner will be announced in spring 2025. That firm will go on to design a new a vibrant space to host more art, and new creative, immersive and energizing experiences.The last addition at Nelson-Atkins Museum came in 2007 when Steven Holls iconic design transformed the heralded campus, built in 1933 by Wight and Wight, a Kansas City office.

In San Francisco, the bay is something most people look at but dont really use. SCAPEs design for China Basin Park, wrapping the northeast edge of Mission Rock, is seeking to change that. On the September afternoon I visited, the Bay Trail was a-rush with people on postwork runs and the grove of native strawberries was in flower. A landscaped path leads uphill from there to a section of native and adaptive plants, fed by the projects blackwater system. From the top of the park, a grass glade slopes down toward the water, which now has a beach of sand and crushed oyster shells.The public bathroom pavilion is clad in wood. (Ty Cole)The restroom, by Min Design, appears like a pavilion in the park. Tucked beneath the raised lawn, the doorless, curved opening is lined with green tile. We just couldnt see making it one of those dark, little structures in the landscape, said E. B. Min, founder of Min Design. The facility is all-gender: We are changing the way we think about and engage with the edges, she explained.The challenges faced in designing China Basin Park were familiar to SCAPEs founder, Kate Orff: Filled and artificial land floods because water wants to go where it wants to go. The memory of the water and marine species is still there. Designing for climate adaptation, as SCAPE does, reorients a project toward the landscape as ground for the relationships that bring a place alive. China Basin Parks partners seem uncommonly aware of this and made ecologicaland with it, socialresilience a core principle. Partnering landscape design firm CMG explained how much is happening beneath the ground: To counter sinking, a grid of stone-filled piles about 10 feet deep was designed to interact with the bay mud, and stormwater systems are aggregated into plantings and habitats across the park.Inside green tiles are used to illuminate the walls. (Ty Cole)A lot of new design in the Bay Area disappoints, but this doesnt. The work at this corner of Mission Rock looks like a future thats aware of what has always made the city a destination. The beautiful bones, Orff said, might help San Francisco take the lead with a more integrated and nature-based approach.Elizabeth Snowden is a writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she also runs the Pallas Gallery.Project SpecificationsDesign architect: Min DesignLandscape architect: SCAPE, CMGFixtures: Evero, TotoInterior finishes: Bradley, Bobrick, Daltile, Fireclay, ASI

Failure is not an option. These were the foreboding words shared by UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres in Baku, Azerbaijan, to set the stage for COP29, the UNs annual climate conference. (Whether Guterres knew he was quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger is anyones guess.) The climate summits last day is today, and for many people, it couldnt come soon enough. COP29 started with a kerfuffle. On November 11, Greta Thunberg wrote a scathing op-ed in The Guardian about the strange choice to host COP29 in Azerbaijan, a country whose economy is enormously dependent on the fossil fuel industry with a long list of human rights abuses, most recently the horrid Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Thunberg didnt mince any words when she said Azerbaijan is an authoritarian petrostatewithno respect for human rights.COP29 gathered dozens of world leaders. (The Presidential Press and Information Office of Azerbaijan/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0)The UNs climate conference happened the same week as the 2024G20Rio de Janeiro summit. At both events, those who visited noted that the recent U.S. presidential election hovered over the discourse, casting an uneasy feeling of uncertainty about the next few years. Here are some of the most notable takeaways from the important global summits: Nationally Determined Contributions could have new language about urban design and architecture.Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, spoke at COP29 about how Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)the commitments countries make to slash carbon emissionsneed to have more language in them pertaining to the built environment, which, as we know, contributes 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.In Glasgow, just 18 per cent of our NDCs have quantifiable targets for mitigation objectives in the building and construction sector. We can surely do better this time around, Andersen said in a session with Ahmed Mohammed bin Thani, Dubai Environment and Climate Change Authority director general.Toward that end, Esther An, chief sustainability officer at City Developments Limited, suggested including language in NDCs about green roofs, living walls and urban rewilding. An noted: These features provide habitats for various species of native birds, insects, and plants, while isolating carbon and reducing the urban heat island effect. Research from the European Environment Agency indicates that green roofs can reduce a buildings energy use by up to 15 per cent.Carbon markets could help fund climate projects.The phrase carbon market connotes a financial system where countries and corporations sell and buy carbon credits. One carbon credit equals one tonne of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas reduced, sequestered or avoided. Carbon markets are upheld by Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. At COP29, climate leaders discussed the potential for carbon markets to fund climate projects in the Middle East and North Africa (the MENAP region). These negotiations culminated in a landmark deal between Tawazun, an independent government entity that works closely with the Ministry of Defense and security agencies in the UAE, and Cloverly, a U.S. company at the cutting edge of digital infrastructure for carbon markets. Singapores Ministry of Trade and Industry signed an agreement with Peru that brokered a similar deal. Previously, Singapore signed similar agreements with Bhutan, Vietnam, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Zambia, and Ghana.At the G20 summit, Lula pledged that deforestation will end in Brazil by 2030. (Amaznia Real from Manaus AM, Brasil/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0)The Amazon Rainforest will stop being plundered by 2030.Before COP29 wrapped up, Brazil president Luz Incio Lula da Silva announced that, by 2030 there will be zero deforestation in Brazil, marking a huge win for Amazonian climate activists. Its well understood that the Amazon Rainforest plays an immense role in the planets health, but it was ravaged under the Bolsonaro administration, perhaps best captured in that photo Bjarke Ingels probably wishes could be scrubbed from the internet.Thanks to Lula, this vital natural resource will be protected, for good. We need to take care of the largest forest reserve in the world, he said, which is under our care. Trying to make people understand that keeping the forest standing is an economic gain.Theres a new global alliance to fight hunger.Questions of hunger, poverty, and famine dominated much of the 2024 G20 Rio de Janeiro summit. There, Lula proposed a new partnership that would be charged with finding ways to implement pubic policies and develop social technologies that combat hunger. The Task Force for a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty will be open to all countries, not just ones in the G20, officials said. We need $1 trillion a year to protect the Global South from climate change, which could come from grants, loans, and tax levies.The Global Solidarity Levies Task Force (GSLT) is a coalition led by France, Barbados and Kenya that aims to connect developing countries with capital in order to finance projects that will help them reach the 1.5-degree Celsius target. GSLT said its necessary to raise at $1 trillion or more every year by 2035 to meet that goal.Pact for the Future was passed at the UN in New York in September, which is a start. Gutteres also announced that international banks have agreed to provide $120 billion annually by 2030 to help the cause. There would also be a new levy imposed on the shipping industry, which accounts for 3 percent of global emissions, and also the aviation industry, accounting for 2 percent. Its a down payment on a safer, more prosperous future for every nation on Earth, not a handout, Gutteres said.This pledge however doesnt go far enough, critics said. Amb Ali Mohamed, Kenyas Special Envoy for chair of the African Group of Negotiators, said: The proposed target to mobilise $250 billion per year by 2035 is totally unacceptable and inadequate to delivering the Paris Agreement. The Adaptation Gap Report alone says the adaptation needs are $400 billion; $250 billion will lead to unacceptable loss of life in Africa and around the world, and imperils the future of our world. Moreover, it is no longer developed countries who are responsible under this formulation. It is rendered as a target for which all countries are responsible and where developed countries are taking the lead. This is unacceptable.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude shared a birthday: June 13, 1935. The couple were collaborators to such a degree that we know them by their first names, paired together like a multisyllabic stage name. Starting this month, the late artists are being recognized in two ways for what would be their 90th birthday: A meticulous retrospective is being mounted at the Museum Wrth in Knzelsau, Germany and The Shed in New York will be the host of a multiplatform retrospective specifically looking at the duos landmark Central Park showcase, The Gates, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Christo and Jeanne-Claude at The Gates in New York City, February 2005 (Wolfgang Volz 2005 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation)These two exhibitions are fuel enough to revisit the legacy and architectural leanings of the iconic artists. The Wrths Wrapped, tied, stacked. Christo and Jeanne-Claude displays the extensive collection of works by the artists owned by longtime collaborator and friend Reinhold Wrth. More than 120 pieces of process-oriented ephemera will be on display. While these arent the same vein as the monumental public works we know and love, it shows the thinking and meticulous planning the artists executed behind the scenesoften for decades before full realizationthat takes on an architectural scale. Collages, photographs, sketches, scale models, and videos are just some of the media to expect at the show, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the creative gestation that architects definitely love.Lower Manhattan Packed Building (Project) 20 Exchange Place scale model (1964). Property of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation. (Andr Grossmann 1964 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation)Sylvia Weber, director of the Wrth Collection and joint curator along with Kirsten Fiege, said that Christo and Jeanne-Claude undoubtedly shifted the dimension of what had been conceivable as a work of art. The second skin he put over the objects triggers our imagination.Installation view of Wrapped, tied, stacked. Christo and Jeanne-Claude at Museum Wrth. (Ufuk Arslan)Perhaps best-known for their wrapping of landmarksthe Pont Neuf (1985) and Arc de Triomphe (2021) to name just twoChristos oeuvre is unique for its architectural sensibility; for taking an existing piece and allowing the public to see it anew. As the New York Times wrote in Christos obituary, he generated no small measure of happiness and awe. That palpable joy is a thread running through each work, and undoubtably for those here in the U.S. familiar with the 2005 installation in Central Park, The Gates. Marking 20 years since the groundbreaking work, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation is collaborating on a multiplatform exhibition titled Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City. A collaboration between The Shed, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Central Park Conservancy, and NYC Parks will include a gallery exhibition at The Shed as well as an AR app-based experience in Central Park where users can recreate gates as they traverse the park, and learn more about the work through the Bloomberg Connects app.Sketch in advance of The Gates, 2002. Property of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation (Andr Grossmann 2002 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation)The gates in question were designed by Christo and Jeanne-Claude at an architectural scale, with an architectural purpose: 7,503 saffron-colored gates were created by securing poles to the parks sidewalks and hanging saffron-colored fabric between them. The energetic color cut through the wintery mix that descends upon the park each February in New York, albeit for the shortest possible window of time: the installation was up for a mere 16 days. Even after 20 years, the unforgettable visual memory of Christo and Jeanne-Claudes The Gates is still in the minds of the many people who experienced it in person or viewed it from afar, said Vladimir Yavachev, Christo and Jeanne-Claudes director of projects and Christos nephew. Credited with revolutionizing New York Citys relationship with participatory and community-based art and igniting dialogue about the importance of public art globally, The Gates captured the imagination of millions and helped revive a city that had been transformed by the tragedy of 9/11 four years earlier.The Gates installation photography in Central Park, New York City, 2005. (Wolfgang Volz 2005 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation)What stands out to this critic when reflecting on Christo and Jeanne-Claudes oeuvre, however, isnt only the work of wrapping or activating itself: its also the ethos and politics behind the decisions of where and what to wrap. Christo was born into Soviet Bulgaria and never let his anti-fascist views shake. He and his wife staunchly vetoed private funding of their works: I came from a Communist country, Christo told the New York Times. I use my own money and my own work and my own plans because I like to be totally free. This stance in an art and design world increasingly reliant on public-private partnerships, brand sponsorshipsas well as censorshipreads like a breath of fresh air. Christo and Jeanne-Claude really walked the walk. A famous example of this ethos occurred in 2017, when the couple was readying to culminate a decades-long project to bridge the Arkansas River in the mountains of Colorado with signature a fabric canopy. Christo walked away from the work at the 11th hour after he realized the land was federally ownedmaking Donald Trump his landlord. The sunk cost of millions of his own dollars didnt matter to him. His work reflected his beliefs, making this project incongruent.Press Conference by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announcing the realization of The Gates in New York City, January 22, 2003 (Wolfgang Volz 2003 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation)My uncle always told me that if you are accountable to anyone, you dont have freedom, said Yavachev. Remember, in art school in communist Bulgaria, he was criticized by the authorities because the peasants in his painting did not look happy enough! That was too much for him. At every turn, even at the height of his practicing fame, Christo was embattled by bureaucratic processes hindering his large-scale dreams. Unlike a painter responsible for a single canvas or a musician recording a single song, Christos work hinged on high-visibility, public access, and government collaboration to achieve the scale he desired. Despite these hinderances, he never bowed to the expectations of the institution nor amended his ethics to complete a project. He was persistent, unrushed, and visionary.Fragment of the oil barrel mockup used to create Christos Mastaba visions, on view at the Museum Wrth. (Ufuk Arslan)Early image of The Gates AR Experience to be available in Central Park through the Bloomberg Connects app in February 2025 ( 2025 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation)Christo and Jeanne-Claudes final work is set to be the Mastaba in the Liwa desert outside Abu Dhabi. The couple first visited the site in the 1970s, documented by a series of playful photographs, scale models, and countless drawings of the awe-inspiring mass and scale of the proposed work. Christo worked with Emirates officials directly to select the site and collaborated with ETH Zurich professors on feasibility studies to stack and secure a permanent artwork of hundreds of thousands of oil barrels. While this vision is yet to be realized, the optimism is clear on the Foundations website. If we live to see the day this posthumous work comes to life, surely the world could be a better place with a permanent monument to Christo and Jeanne-Claudeor maybe their ephemeral works are meant to live only in our memory.

Joya is a new jewelry fair that opened this week in Monaco. The grand occasion invites 15 exhibitors and multiple cultural institutions to participate. The festivities take place inside the Richard Rogersdesigned Socit des Bains de Mers flagship building. Joyas goal, according to its cofounders Vanessa Margowski and Delphine Pastor-Reiss, is to put jewelry in an historical context, past and present. Inside the One Monaco venue, Christ & Gantenbein has completed 15 temporary installations, one for each of Joyas 15 participants. The booths are just over 8 feet tall and spread across two large rooms. In plan, the semi-circles interlock, forming a sinuous series of nooks and crannies that make navigating the voluminous chamber a labyrinthine endeavor.Joyas 15 exhibitors include Ciaudano, Dorothe Potocka, Eliane Fattal, Elie Top, Gabrielle Greiss, Galerie Zink, Gioielleria Pennisi, Karry Berreby, Tatiana Verstraeten, and Venyxworld.Christ & Gantenbein called each of the 15 installations individual crins, the French word for jewelry boxes.The booths also have custom furniture and circular glass tables by NM3, the Milanese brand. ( Luca Fontana)The crins are made of reflective, galvanized steel skin backed by an aluminum frame. Lighting fixtures are placed on every other vertical frame, piercing the skin. This assembly makes dismantling the installations quite easy and sustainable, allowing for their future reuse. Christ & Gantenbeins project lead was Victoria Easton. This interlocking approach was meant to provide contrast between Joya and other art fairs, where booths are often arranged in an orthogonal, predictable manner, a monotonous experience. The booths also have custom furniture and circular glass tables by NM3, a Milanese brand.Plan view ( Christ & Gantenbein)For Joyas debut, it wanted to transcend other commercial trade shows so common in the jewelry industry. Toward that end, Joya aimed to make its kick off a cultural and artistic event, so they partnered with artists like Julien Carreyn. Lcole, School of Jewelry Arts, an educational program supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, helped plan Joya, among other partners. All in all, the booths assembly system reflect Christ & Gantenbeins commitment to material reuse and sustainability.Joya is open through November 24.

Flexjet is offering a $100,000 prize to the winning designer of the companys next aircraft interior through its Project LXiDesign the Ultimate Private Jet Interior competition. Beautiful design can completely transform an experience and I have always enjoyed studying design, whether in clothing, architecture or aircraft, said Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci. When it comes to the Flexjet fleet, we created a number of themes, just as boutique hotels often do with their rooms. It makes Flexjet unique. Each aircrafts interior design captures interest and speaks to our fanatical attention to detail. Flexjet is looking to uncover new inspiration, bold expression, and authentic artistry to complement its nearly 50 custom interiorseach of which tells its own story. Specifically designed to transport private jet travelers well beyond their destination, our LXi Cabin Collection of custom private jet interiors has set an inspiring aviation precedent.Since 2015, in-house artisans have collaborated with aircraft manufacturers to create one-of-a-kind fold-down ottomans, pop-up kibitzer seating, custom divans and credenzas, as well as dedicated lounges and staterooms with equal parts utility and elegance.Flexjets panel of judges will narrow the submissions to 10 semi-finalists for the public to vote on. From there, the top three entrants with the highest numbers of votes will present their designs to Flexjet Chairman Kenn Ricci at Flexjet Global Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. He will choose the grand prize-winning design. For Project LXiDesign the Ultimate Private Jet Interior, the theme is completely up to the designer. And there are many elements inside the aircraft cabin they can use to pull together the story they wish to tell to illustrate their theme: from the carpet pattern, the seating materials, color and accents, the type of wood veneer, the sidewall color and material. In addition, the Flexjet Gulfstream G650 is divided into four distinct zonesworking, dining, sleeping, and the family room.Then there is the name of the designwhat the designer calls their interior is also an essential element to consider. Flexjets interior names include Capris, inspired by the Isle of Capris, art deco, the Roaring 20s, Santa Fe, and a crowd favorite Boardroom inspired by The Thomas Crown Affair.The LXi Cabin Collection is just one element of theRed Label by Flexjet program. Also unique to Flexjet is its ultra-modern fleet, flight crews assigned to a single, specific aircraft and extraordinary experiences. Every year, Flexjets design team develops fresh interiors to outfit the companys growing fleet of nearly 300 aircraft. In the last few years, Flexjet has partnered with like-minded luxury brands on cabin interior designs. Flexjet has collaborated with Bentley Motorcars in designing interiors for a Flexjet Gulfstream G650 and a Sikorsky S-76 using the Bentley Bacalar as its muse. Those aircraft then embarked on a nationwide tour including appearances at Monterey Car Week at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Carmel, California; at the International Boat Show in Palm Beach, Florida; at several invite only events in Miami, Florida and in New York.This year, Flexjet connected the pinnacle of luxury from sea to sky via a partnership withFerretti Group. A world leader in the design, construction and sale of luxury yachts and pleasure vessels, Ferretti Group possesses a unique portfolio of prestigious and exclusive brands. The partnership will come to life in a new Flexjet Gulfstream G650 interiorset to premiere in 2025 andinspired by the iconic design and craftsmanship of a Riva motoryacht.Prospective designers can learn more about the overall contest rules, layout of the Gulfstream G650 cabin and entry process on theFlexjet Project LXi page.

On Thursday, December 5, ANs Facades+ conference series returns to Seattle. The event will feature a symposium with six expert-led presentations as well as a building product expo, connecting architects to leading manufacturers. To assemble the days program, AN worked with Julia Nagele and Sean Ludviksen, senior principal and principal, respectively, at HEWITT, a Seattle-based practice. Click here to find more information and register. Skyglasss complex glass envelope changes appearance based on perspective. (Lara Swimmer)Skyglass: Minimal Moves, Maximum ImpactThe first presentation of the day spotlights Skyglass, a new residential tower in South Lake Union designed by HEWITT. Julia Nagelewill be joined on stage by Brad Glauser, design and technical consultant at Edify Studios, to discuss the buildings unique shifting glass facade, which zig-zags in depth. The pair will delve into the projects technical details, sharing how they achieved the unique facade by using a robust structural system and while managing a tight budget.Miller Hull will share its recent work for the U.S. State Department including the recently completed U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. (Gabe Border)Designing Diplomacy: Integrating Culture, Climate, and PerformanceNext, Mathew Albores and Brian Court, principal and senior principal, respectively, at Miller Hull, will take the stage to share the firms recent work for the U.S. State Department, specifically focusing on two projects: the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, Guatemala and the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico. For this type of work, the architects focus intently on local climate, site, and context, producing built forms that are specific to their locale.The PDX Terminals mass timber roof was integrated with large spans of glazing that face the runway. (Dror Baldinger)Resiliency Takes Flight: Hanging the Curtain Wall at PDXIn the following session, Glen Justice, principal at ZGF, and David C. Young, principal at RDH Building Science, will present the complex curtain wall design for the expansion of the Portland International Airport. This new terminal features a large mass timber roof that was carefully integrated with spans of glazing that face the runway. The panelist will share technical challenges and lessons learned from this exciting and groundbreaking project. Sourcing, Supply Chain, and Procurement: Lessons from the FieldAfter lunch there will be a roundtable discussion on the procurement process for facade materials, looking at recent trends post-pandemic and in regard to the staggering costs due to inflation. Join Richard Green, principal and owner of Green Facades, Louis Mark, founder of Window Installation Specialists, and Luis Martinez, project executive at Swinerton, for this exciting conversation.The Seattle Central Librarys all-glass envelope was innovative at the time of its completion. (Lara Swimmer/Esto)Kind of Blue: Seattle Central Library at 20The days final panel looks back on the design and construction of the Seattle Central Library on the 20th anniversary of its completion. Jay Taylor, senior principal at MKA, Steve DelFraino, principal at LMN Architects, Marc Simmons, founding principal of Front, and Joshua Ramus, founding principal of REX, will share stories and memories from the project, imparting how the buildings completely glass envelope with its diagrid mullions is still relevant and innovative today.

The first phase of an extensive rehab at Gund Hall by Bruner/Cott, reported on by AN last December, is now over at Harvard GSD. The job entailed negotiating an iconic 1972 Brutalist building by John Andrews and making it perform better. The Boston office reskinned Gund Hall with a new high-performance envelope, helping it cut down energy costs and improve usability while providing other ancillary benefits. By the numbers, 1,617 glazing units were swapped out with new ones. Gund Halls east curtain wall and clerestory windows now have triple-pane glass, and the north and south curtain walls are stocked with hybrid vacuum-insulated glass. Motorized window shades now mitigate heat gain from direct and reflected sunlight; this gadgetry reduces glare for students toiling in the trays and the pit.Gund Halls east curtain wall and clerestory windows now have triple-pane glass, and the north and south curtain walls are stocked with hybrid vacuum-insulated glass. (Chuck Choi)Exits to the terrace were also widened to make Gund Halls outdoor spaces accessible to those with reduced mobility, marking the first time in the GSDs history where those egress points have been wheelchair accessible. Outside, concrete that was deteriorating was patched up by construction crews. Bruner/Cotts design team, which include George Gard and Jason Jewhurst, made the conscious decision to keep Gund Halls 50-year-old facade support steel within the buildings original glazing system. For Sarah Whiting, Harvard GSD dean, the renovation is cause for celebration. In a statement, Whiting said for the first time in over 50 years, the trays will be warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and we wont have rain leaking onto our desks.When John Andrews was originally tasked to design a new facility for the Departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design, he surprised his clients with a unique building that was at once solid and transparent and prioritized the student body, united within an enormous, light-filled, single space, Whiting continued. Though much has changed since Gund Hall first opened in 1972, the careful rehabilitation of the structure underscores the schools commitment to this same priority: our students.Navigating An Enormous, Light-Filled, Single SpaceHow did Bruner/Cott, engineers, and consultants make Gund Hall more energy efficient and less leaky? The new envelope adds another layer of conventional insulating glass, creating a sandwich thats just a few millimeters thicker than your average double glazing.This extra few millimeters may seem small, but it pays dividends: Triple-pane glass is almost ten times more efficient than single-pane glass, Bruner/Cott said. This technology, architects added, is already popular in Europe. Gund Hall is now one of the first buildings in the U.S. to employ it on a large scale.An exterior detail shows the improved glazing. (Noritaka Minami)The windows meet advanced energy codes. (Noritaka Minami)At Gund Hall, the new special window assembly system meets advanced energy codes while conserving original design elements. Designers at Bruner/Cott used BIM software for slashing carbon emissions and energy consumption, making the building more storm resistant. The natural light is also now much better inside the trays, Bruner/Cott noted. The renovation exceeded Massachusettss stretch energy code for alterations. According to calculations, the renovation will save about 18,000 kilograms of CO2 emissions per year, meaning a nine-year carbon payback as a result of the project. Gund Hall will also realize 22.2 percent reduced energy use intensity and a 19.1 percent reduction in utility costs.David Fixler, a GSD lecturer who chairs the departments Building Committee, said that the idea to upgrade the trays glazing had been in and out of the GSDs eye for the better part of two decades, and this latest renovation makes Gund Hall a more environmentally friendly place.Project SpecificationsDesign and Executive Architect (Prime Consultant): Bruner/Cott ArchitectsBuilding Envelope Consultant, Structural Engineer: SGHOwners Project Manager: RedgateDaylighting Consultant: LAM PartnersSustainability, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer: Vanderweil EngineersSpecifications: KalinBuilding and Accessibility Code: Jensen HughesBuilding Envelope Consultants: HeintgesConstruction Manager: Shawmut Design and ConstructionGlazier (Key Sub-Contractor): A&A Window ProductsCurtain Wall and IGU Fabricator (Key Supplier): Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope (OBE 360)Vacuum-Insulated Glass, Glass Substrate, and Glass Coating Supplier (Key Supplier): Vitro

When Cummins Technical Center opened in 1968, it elicited comparisons to Eero Saarinens General Motors Technical Center, and other midcentury corporate campuses overlooking serene artificial lakes and manicured grass lawns. This particular campus in Columbus, Indiana, hosts 1,200 Cummins employees. It was designed by Harry Weese and Associates and consists of two Brutalist buildings made of steel, glass, and pre-cast, modular concrete. Dan Kiley was the landscape architect. HOK recently renovated the 6-story tower at Cummins Engine Technical Center, adding significant upgrades to the interior while maintaining the fortresss Brutalist integrity.Cummins Engine Technical Center designed by Harry Weese Associates in 1968. (Library of Congress)The rehabilitation touched all 72,000 square feet of the midcentury modernist ensemble. Jennifer Rumsey, Cummins chair and CEO, said the renovation will help the lauded corporation research and develop our next-generation power solutions [that will] start right here in this very hub.Tim Frazier, Cummins vice president of research and technology, said the renovation helps bring the companys engineers, technical specialists, and innovations together again under the same roof working as a coordinated team, close to the technology and testing being executed here.There are new conference rooms and breakout spaces. (Courtesy HOK)The renovation modernized the tower while paying tribute to its important place in modern architectural history, designers from HOK noted. New features like a new staircase, two social hubs, and over 90 differently-sized conference rooms were interspersed throughout. The building also now has gender-neutral restrooms, nursing rooms, quiet spaces, and even treadmill desks. There are also integrated soft lab zones and more collaboration areas. Plus symbols on the walls ideated by HOK pay tribute to graphic designer Paul Rand. (Courtesy HOK)Our design respects Weeses modernist legacy while creating the dynamic, flexible workspace Cummins needs for innovation, Kelly Lott, practice leader for HOKs interiors group in St. Louis, said in a statement. The result maintains the buildings architectural integrity while supporting the collaborative culture essential to Cummins engineering teams.HOK further elaborated that branding elements within the rehab also acknowledge renowned graphic designer Paul Rand, who designed logos for Cummins. The upgraded spaces feature Rands memorable plus symbols he liked to use, embossing them on glazed partitions and as textured, decorative elements on a statement wall.The renovation added new stairs between floors, among other upgrades. (Courtesy HOK)Circular light fixtures nod to the Weese buildings midcentury past, albeit with a contemporary take. Light-colored materials were used throughout: Pale woods can be found on the railings and dividers, and glass panels form the staircase located in the center of the office. On each floor, oversized numbers indicate the level, making wayfinding very clear.The renovation started in 2021 and took three years to complete.

The simple truths of the color wheel are dramatically upscaled in a new installation within the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky. Realized by Los Angelesbased office DOMM, it is part of L+A+N+D, a new dedicated area of the Bernheim site that supports large-scale, immersive land art. Bernheim was founded in 1929 and is fast approaching 100 years of active programming in alignment with a mission to connecting people with nature. The arboretum is unique in its robust focus on art: Each year, artists-in-residence are welcomed to create site-specific work inspired by the forest, and an open call for 2025 residents is now active. But there are also long-term installations throughout the park area, including Forest Giants, Acre, and L+A+N+D (Landscape + Art + Nature + Design). The latter is the newest initiative at Bernheim: Its a new area of the forest dedicated to immersive installations that visitors can discover.The electric-orange artwork wraps a trio of trees in stacked bands of netting. (Tag Christof)Currently on view in the L+A+N+D section is Within the Forest: Without the Forest, crafted by DOMM cofounders Raffy Mardirossian and Paul Matevosyan, is an electric-orange artwork that wraps a trio of trees in stacked bands of netting. When developing this project, we realized that theres a moment here where youre leaving the nature youre innot physically, but because youre seeing it through a different lens, Mardirossian said in a video about the installation. The orange layers act as a monumental filter, or photographers gel, that transforms the forest into a room. The scrim is PVC-coated debris netting. (Tag Christof)The scrim is PVC-coated debris netting, a familiar material for architects. This textile is commonly found in urban construction sites, but its hung so intentionally from the studios imaginatively assembled rigging equipment that it takes on a partition-like quality. Suspended on aircraft cable and accessible by ducking under the fabric, the forest room borrows influence from artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude and Robert Irwin. Its an architectural tool that allows an enhanced and saturated experience to occur, Matevosyan explained.The fabric transforms the forest into a room. (Tag Christof)DOMM has envisioned how the room will change with the seasons. (Tag Christof)Of course, orange is also the opposite of green on the color wheel, ensuring that this wrapping is visible to Bernheim visitors from a distance, which no doubt draws them closer to appreciate its peaceful courtyard. Its easy to imagine how DOMMs room will change with the seasons, and even throughout the course of a day: The installation was photographed in a dusky light, showcasing how the neon orange cuts through the gloom of a quiet afternoon. But I also imagine how striking the piece will feel in the winter, surrounded either by snow or by a wholly different color palette off which to play.

Durable cladding options in natural, sintered, and composite stone.(Courtesy Solancis)LimestoneSolancisCompleted in 2022, the Lantern project in London (formerly known as Stephenson House) uses a ventilated exterior facade in Solancis Rosal Dunas natural limestone from Portugal.(Courtesy Megaker)Natural & Sintered Stone FacadesMegakerMegaker offers high-performance natural stone and sintered stone facades that deliver a diverse range of construction solutions, including ventilated walls, cladding, and curtain walls. (Courtesy Neolith)Sistema StrongfixNeolithThe Strongfix system is a mixed hidden longitudinal fastening system that works by the compression exerted by the system on the back of the Neolith tile. The combination of the Strongfix system and the sintered stone panel creates a rainscreen system that is fireproof, waterproof, graffiti-proof, and maintenance free.(Courtesy Lapitec)Sintered StoneLapitecMade in Italy, this 100 percent sintered stone is resistant to extreme temperatures, thermal fluctuations, UV rays, and corrosion from saltwater or chlorinated water. Its large slabs can reach up to approximately 5 x 11 to reduce joints and seams. (Courtesy Petrarch Panels)Petrarch Composite StonePetrarch PanelsPetrarch Composite Stone Rainscreen Cladding is composed primarily of reconstituted marble that is recycled instead of discarded. Like natural stone, Petrarch exterior architecture panels will endure extreme environmental conditions, vandalism, and exposure for years.

A new international architecture competition that asks designers to ideate housing atop Tempelhofer Feld has sparked outrage in Berlin. The 940-acre green space about the size of Central Park is frequented by 200,000 people every week. A referendum was passed in 2014 that was supposed to stymie new buildings on the former airfield, but Germanys ruling coalition made up of center-right (CDU) and center-left (SPD) parties is intent on developing the park to allegedly help quench the capitals housing crisis. Tempelhofer Feld sits beneath the defunct Berlin Tempelhof Airport, a gargantuan complex planned in the 1930s by Ernst Sagebiel, one of Albert Speers stooges. The airport was shuttered in 2008its runways werent big enough for todays jumbo jets and it was too close to the city center. Its replacement, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, opened in 2020. Still, Berlin Tempelhof Airport is among the 20 largest buildings on earth, a place that Norman Foster called the mother of all airports. Tempelhofs dubious history aside, the adjacent park is cherished; on any given day its regular to see visitors fly kites, have picnics, go on dates, read books, and find respite there.A kiting skateboarder at Tempelhofer Feld circa 2021 (Mitch Altman/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0)Now, developers and government leaders want to change all that. Last week, the Senate Department for Urban Development, Building, and Housing announced its Tempelhofer Feld Ideas Competition which asked designers to consider how the park may be opened up to thoughtful peripheral development. This is happening despite the Tempelhofer Feld Law that was passed in 2014 thanks to a group called 100% Tempelhofer Feld Initiative, who fought for the referendum. A Vital Ecological HabitatToday, opposition groups like Architects4THF have teamed up with 100% Tempelhofer Feld Initiative to stop development from happening. The need for more housing in Berlin is real, opposition leaders say, but commodifying a beloved public utility isnt the right way to go about it. This echoes a similar story unfolding in New York where activists are fighting to stop development from coming to Elizabeth Street Garden in Manhattan, albeit whats unfolding in Berlin is on a much larger scale.Tempelhofer Feld is one of Berlins most significant green spaces and a vital ecological habitat, said Bika Rebek, a Berlin-based architect and educator, , and organizer for Architects4THF. Rebek said that the ideas competition which entails permanent construction at Tempelhofer Feld undermines the democratic mandate instilled in the 2014 law and opens the park to real estate speculation.Cyclists at dusk on Tempelhofer Felds runway (Lukas Beck/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)Tempelhofer Feld first opened up for public use in 2010, two years after Berlin Tempelhof Airport closed, thanks to a master plan by McGregor Coxall, a landscape architecture firm with offices in the U.K. and Australia. After the ribbon cutting, the park quickly took on a new life as the largest public space in Berlin. But loopholes still allowed for buildings to be built on the parks fringes, a gray area that was plugged in 2014 when the Tempelhofer Feld Law was passed. Still, it wouldnt be difficult for the Berlin House of Representatives to overturn the referendum, protesters note. They would just need a simple majority vote, like any other law.CDU officials say they want to build housing for working families, but many arent so sure about the ruling coalitions motivations.Emptiness has a space and silence has a voiceBerlin needs another 194,000 additional apartments by 2030, according to its 2019 urban development plan, in order to meet current demand; but how exactly to fix that problem has created the usual striations (and Twitter/X fights) between YIMBYs and NIMBYs. For years after World War II, there were bombed out land parcels all over Berlin where new buildings could go up, but now it seems those are depleted. What is to be done?Community garden at Tempelhofer Feld (Joe Mabel/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)The pro-development bund says the answer is seemingly obvious: Build up areas where there arent any buildings, like public parks. Those on the left however have taken a more anti-capitalist approach by vying for things like rent control: In 2020, the city government passed a rent control law, but that ruling was declared unconstitutional in 2021 after stiff pushback from the real estate lobby. Thousands of Berliners took to the streets to protest the ruling.Today, Berliners like Rebek are working to keep Tempelhofer Feld public, permanently. Rebek said that Architects 4THF and 100% Tempelhofer Feld Initiative teamed up to call attention to this critical issue and advocate for the continued protection of Tempelhofer Feld as an irreplaceable public and ecological asset for the city, she noted. The decision not to build can also be an architectural statement: Emptiness has a space and silence has a voice.

Manzar: Art and Architecture from Pakistan, 1940s to TodayThe National Museum of QatarThrough January 31, 2025The promise of formally daring buildings extends to their contents. What happens inside must be bold and unusual too, right? The National Museum of Qatar opened in 2019, designed by Jean Nouvel after the form of a mineral crystal that blooms in intersecting clusters of flattened disks. It is an extraordinary object: its matte, sand-colored concrete surface absorbs daytime shadows and reddens beautifully in the dusk. Of course, the closer you get, the more the illusion of an impossibly big mineral resolves into a building, and once you go inside, the wild promise of the exterior normalizes into gently angular spaces, which are less of a headache to fill with people and art. Today these interiors host Manzar: Art and Architecture from Pakistan, 1940s to Today, the first survey of its kind. The ambitious project covers 80 years of Pakistani history, from before partition to today, and it is a kind of manifesto by the Art Mill Museum, a Qatari institution that plans to open in 2032, and its intent to be international and multidisciplinary. Manzar was curated by Caroline Hancock and Zarmeene Shah for art, and Aurlien Lemonier for architecture, as a linear chronology that is about two-thirds art, one-third architecture, in distinctly separate segments embedded with vitrines of historical materials like newspapers.Community Centre (2024), by Yasmeen Lari (Kuzey Kaya Buzlu/ Qatar Museums)It is packed with discoveries, from the easily-appreciated zip of Bani Abidis video works to the multidisciplinary and multimedia range of Imran Mir and Shahzia Sikander, and subtler choices about how to tell the story, like acknowledging the long partition and including material on the Bangladesh independence strugglethough a Western visitor might miss the bravery since the display is tucked into a corner. It took a Pakistani acquaintance to point out that we still arent taught about it in school. Im astonished that they included it.It must have been a challenge to imagine what kind of visitor the exhibition would be talking to in an exhibition where most of the artworks, names, and stories will be unfamiliar to most. That could be why this exhibition feels scholarly; and it is a scholarly achievement to put so many names in broader international circulationtimely too, when many of the protagonists are in their 80s and 90s, and their archives in need of long-term homes. The video interviews and the accompanying publication (especially its bibliography) are intended as material for future work, and sustain the curators claim that this is only a first step. The modesty is encoded in the title: Manzar can mean a scene, a view, a landscape, or a perspective in Urdu. But exhibitions are not tentative in their nature; cram all that effort and expertise and history in a series of rooms and it cant help but be convincing, which is a problem for a project that wants to be foundational and propositional all at once. The space, the vitrines, the materials, the labelsmuseums speak with weight and authority that contradicts an open project. This intent is correct and it is very contemporary. But its implementation still uses old-fashioned tools and conventions, and Manzar stumbles over this gap, which is most noticeable in the architectural parts of the exhibition.The first building we see is the Tarbela Dam, which is presented as a historical note instead of as the kind of project thats typically excluded from architecture. Its a detail, but for a new institution with the ambition to claim its place and the freedom to define itself and its methodswhy not cross the line? And once you notice one conventional choice, you see them everywhere.Behrupiya (2024) by Mariah Lookman (Kuzey Kaya Buzlu/ Qatar Museums)Weaving art and architecture into one exhibition is difficult, and Manzar illustrates how much architecture suffers when architectural objects are treated like artworks, conventionally. Its as if the exhibition wasnt made by a new institution at all, but had come direct from MoMA or Pompidou.Plastic art hides less from visitors than do architectural drawings, photographs, and publications that can only represent processes, so architectural objects sit alongside artworks like shy cousins at the partypresent, but a lot of effort to talk to. So half the exhibition speaks, the other half is silent, and the multidisciplinary promise of the title, the and between Art and Architecture, remains a tempting idea. Weaving together two disciplines and narrating the complexity of architectural stories for a contemporary audience requires more than wee labels and a wall text far away. Thankfully there are the videos: groups of interviews are presented separately from the objects they reference. But as fascinating and charming as it is to hear artists and architects speak, these interviews can only do so much because they, like everyone else, tell the stories they want people to know. Should curators challenge self-narratives? Convention says, no.After a few rooms of art and historical introduction, the first section dedicated to architecture occurs about midway through the exhibition, with midcentury projects by some of the expected namesEdward Durell Stone, Neutra, Doxiadis, cochardas well as by new ones like Muzharul Islam, Medhi Ali Mirza, and Mohammad Abdul Ahed. Yasmeen Lari appears too, as the only woman in a group photo from 1956. This is the first architectural island, titled Nation Building and two stories in this section could have had obvious contemporary relevance: mass migration and new cities.Hasan Homes (1972) by Arif Hasan (Courtesy Arif Hasan)Migration could have been discussed through the spatial stories of post-partition refugees who arrived in incredible numbers to cities like Karachi. Their adaptation and accommodation produced teachable mistakes like Doxiadiss masterplan and Korangi development. And new cities could have been approached through a case study of Islamabad, which seems like it should have resonated with local Qatari visitors as well as viewers from other Gulf states. But the visitor is left to make the connections for themself. The second room dedicated to architecture is based on 70s regionalism, around the time of the Zia coup, and it introduces more names like Habib Fida Ali, Kamil Khan Mumtaz, and Nayyar Ali Dada. The latters Alhamra Arts Council gets a handsome new model for the show, surrounded by abundant original material it is the most detailed project in the exhibition, but we arent told why its important. Laris handsome drawings for the Angoori Bagh People Housing Programme 1975 and Experimental Building from 1981 are also treated like puzzle boxes, intriguing and silent.Only the videos tell stories. In one of them, Arif Hasan said: Doxiadis did not understand sociology, and goes onto explain continuing effects of the optimistic Greeks early planning mistakes. Hasan also talks about racists and refugees, and of stepping in to stop displacements that would have been catastrophic. Since the video is around the corner from the relevant display, you have to make the link yourself, if you know the projects well enough to remember which is which. All the contemporary reading that a critical and informed visitor expects is in these videos. The architects talk about context and process, their personal experiences of turning away from personal ego and from powerful people, or crossing class boundaries. Lari recalls being asked: Show us where the chickens will go?Fathers House 18981994 (1994) by Zarnia, courtesy Taimur Hassan Collection. (Kuzey Kaya Buzlu/ Qatar Museums)Memory of a Pink (2012) by Huma Mulji, courtesy Taimur Hassan Collection. (Kuzey Kaya Buzlu/ Qatar Museums)When artarchitectural contact does happen it is through artworks like Zarinas somber floor plans from memory and Huma Muljis pink painting of a wall fragment, both of which summon lost places. The more recent works at the end of the exhibition most naturally blend art and architecture through urban Karachi pop, cinema ads, bazaars, and stickers. So do artworks on the politics of land and human and nonhuman bodies: Seema Nusrats collages of blast sandbags and Naiza Khans long presence on Manora Island both pull on threads that lead from the colonial era through globalization to American drone strikes.The exhibitions final act is a courtyard where the stars are a group of charming and hopeful pavilions designed by Lari and made of natural materials by Pakistani craftswomen brought to Qatar. Here, at last, are architectural objects that can stand on their own.Lev Bratishenko is writer and recovering curator.

Its been decades since the mighty Don River fed into Lake Ontario through Torontos Inner Harbor. A levee, aptly called the north plug, stood in the way, that is until last week when the stop was removed, and the water sources were reunited at last. The north plug was taken out on November 8 at a ribbon cutting ceremony, eliminating the barrier between Keating Channel and the Don River, south of Lake Shore Bridge. The occasion marked a major milestone for federal, provincial, and city leaders looking to transform the Port Lands, an area on the eastern shoreline ravaged by settler-colonial industrialization.A crane removes the last remnants of the north plug (Waterfront Toronto/Vid Ingelevics/Ryan Walker)The project to rectify Torontos eastern shoreline, the Port Lands Flood Protection and Enabling Infrastructure Project, constitutes the largest public works project in Canadian history. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) is leading the $1.4 billion program. MVVAs master plan also extends public transit and cycling options along Queens Quay East, opening up the eastern shoreline to development. Now that the north plug has been removed, and with new transit options underway, the city has its sight set on a new island, Ookwemin Minising, where it hopes to build homes for over 100,000 people and createnew parkland.The restoration project is sited near a new bridge. (Waterfront Toronto/Vid Ingelevics/Ryan Walker)Today, much of Torontos eastern shoreline is infill land. But for thousands of years, before industrialization, the area was First Nations territory, and home to countless wildlife species.That all changed in the 19th century, when the city of Toronto was established, and the eastern shoreline saw its coast dotted with petroleum factories, and other industrial uses. The Don River quickly became one of the most polluted water sources in the world. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel flooded much of Toronto, revealing the downsides of infilling marshland to make buildings. Three decades later, in 1989, federal, provincial, and city government leaders got serious about fixing the problem, put their heads together, and began ideating solutions.The restoration also includes new playgrounds for children (Waterfront Toronto/Vid Ingelevics/Ryan Walker)MVVA first joined the project in 2007, after beating out two other firms in a competition for the commission. Its master plan will deliver new public parks, restored habitats, and mixed-use development informed by leading-edge sustainability and smart growth principles, designers said.Ookwemin Minisings planning is part of Toronto Mayor Olivia Chows Reconciliation Action Plan, which centers First Nations peoples in development processes.

You know John Wongs work even if you dont. Youve seen it if youve ever visited the Stanford University campus, where over a span of 30 years Wong has evolved and modernized Frederick Law Olmsteds historic landscape. Or if youve stumbled upon Tulsas Guthrie Green, an urban park and outdoor amphitheater that supplies district heating and cooling to the surrounding buildings. Or if youve ever seen Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, in which Tom Cruise is framed by the elliptical landforms of Wongs groundscape as the actor scales the Burj Khalifa. Wong is a design principal in SWAs Sausalito office, where he has worked since 1978. His legacy in the field of landscape architecture is freshly evident thanks to a new book, Selected Works of Landscape Architect John L. Wong: From Private to Public Ground, from Small to Tall, a monograph that, at 588 pages, shares something with Wongs oeuvre. Spanning cultures, climates, and scales, the Hong Kongborn landscape architects work has been an influential part of a growing movement to bring the natural landscape back into urban centers and to dissolve the artificial barrier between cities and nature. Timothy A. Schuler spoke with Wong to learn more about the making of the book and its resonance.Cover design of Selected Works, published by Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers (Courtesy Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers)Timothy Schuler: Did the book project reveal any new insights about your own body of work?John Wong: Absolutely. Most of the projects are large-scale, mixed-use and have a major impact on urban living. Many were completed during a period when the world was growing. As you know, landscape architecture began in the United States back in Olmsteds day, and many of the skills have only been passed on internationally over the last 30 years. Oscar [Riera Ojeda, the books publisher] was trying to capture how I developed a body of work that spans not just the local or regional but the international scene. He hadnt seen someone like that, until recently. In the last ten years or so, a lot of landscape architects have gone overseas. But I started in the 1980s. I was very fortunate to be part of that opportunity, riding the waves and working with many different clients, engineers, and architects. It taught me a lot about how to design in a different culture, in a different setting. What have you learned over the years about designing in not just climatically responsive but culturally grounded ways?I approach projects with one general design methodology, and that doesnt change from one place to anotheralthough the application will be different. I try to teach our young people, as well as students, that you want to have a full understanding of the place. You need to go there. You need to walk it, learn it. What is the vegetation? What is the topography? Is there something that is part of the overall ecological system? When I was at graduate school, I had lunch with Dan Kiley many times, and he always said, John, whenever I go to a place, I just walk around the block and look at what trees do the best. And thats how I develop my plant palette. I do that too. But I go beyond just learning about a palette of trees and shrubs. I learn about materials, about weathering. You know, this handrail, how come its falling apart? For me, theres no boundary between culture and environment. Its about the importance of the place. You have to respect it. You have to learn from it.SWAs public realm design for Expo 2020. (David Lloyd)The books title is The Selected Works of Landscape Architect John L Wong. Many people might know that these are SWA projects but not associate any one name with them. Has the anonymity that came with working at SWA ever been a struggle?I decided to do the book to highlight that, yeah, I was part of SWA, but for all the projects that are showcased, I was the principal in charge, meaning these are projects I brought in myself, through my own work and through my own [relationships]. Its a little bit of ego on my part, right? But I also wanted to show that you might be working for a company, but that doesnt mean that all the work is designed in a certain way or under a single direction. You have a lot of say. You can be your own person, and you can provide your point of view.When I look back, the most important thing I hope the book does is inspire students and young professionals. We need more young practitioners. The field is overwhelmed with opportunities, and were just not able to meet the challenges with the talent that we have. Wong has worked on the Stanford University campus for over a span of 30 years. (Jonnu Singleton)How many of the comments from colleagues and friends have been about the weight of the book? Its very big.[Laughs] Everybody weighed it. It varies between 9.5 and 9 pounds, 7.5 ounces. The good news is I made it to all their coffee tables. I consider that a success.Timothy A. Schuler is an award-winning writer and design critic whose work focuses on the intersection of the built and natural environments. He lives in Manhattan, Kansas.

Construction has begun on a major $65 million expansion to Indianapoliss White River State Park, smack dab in the middle of downtown, where a sea of automotive manufacturing factories used to be. The project is by DAVID RUBIN Land Collective of Philadelphia and Indiana-based Rundell Ernstberger Associates (REA). The expansion adds another 13 acres to an urban living room that, today, measures 267 acres. Its happening next to a former General Motors stamping plant atop a critical levee. Designers noted that the expansion both adds wiggle room to the park and helps safeguard Indianapolis, Indianafrom flooding.The addition will bring another 13 acres to the existing 267-acre park. (Courtesy DAVID RUBIN Land Collective)It calls for multiple event pavilions, including a new theater with a backdrop of the citys skyline. The elevated platform will straddle the sloped embankment. A new river beach will elongate the existing 5-mile White River Trail. These accessories will connect to neighboring communities, namely the Valley and Westside neighborhoods, and the citys growing Innovation District tech and research hub, architects shared.There will also be a connection to the new Henry Street Bridge, added Daniel Liggett, a partner and project lead at REA.The park will connect with the new Henry Street Bridge, shown to the left in this rendering. (Courtesy DAVID RUBIN Land Collective)David Rubin, founder of DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, said in a statement,This new landscape addition will offer the people of Indianapolis, the State of Indiana, and their visiting friends a new perspective of the White River, which is the extraordinary natural feature that informs so much of the States character. In this project, infrastructure, rejuvenated riparian ecology, and year-round experience are seamlessly integrated to inform identity. The role of the levee in this project cant be emphasized enough. The critical infrastructure, government officials noted, cannot under any circumstances be compromised. So designers worked closely with Indianapolis Department of Public Works, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and other agencies to ensure the addition is up to snuff, and will not create complications.New pavilions offer shade and places to sit. (Courtesy DAVID RUBIN Land Collective)The project also possesses a broader historical component, designers shared. Indianapoliss park and boulevard system was ideated by George Kessler in 1913. The new addition to White River State Park helps manifest Kesslers vision, which was offering open spaces, providing recreation and fresh air for all.DAVID RUBIN Land Collective first got involved in the project in 2019, when it participated in the White River Master Plan. The office then paired up with REA and White River State Park Development Commission to develop strategies based on three factors: river infrastructure, ecological rejuvenation, and social impact.The expansion is slated for completion next year.

The snazzy abode late PoMo kingpin John Portman used to call home in Sea Island, Georgia, is up for sale. For anyone with an extra $40 million lying around, Entelechy II can be yours. Just call Sothebys. The estate, Entelechy II, was finished in 1986 on the isle between Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. It gets its name from a philosophical concept by Aristotle, Entelechy, or , that pertains to form giving and realizing potential.Vegetation adorns and is draped across much of the exterior. (Bartolotti Media)Portman himself was enthralled by the concept his entire life, or with having ones end within. He was also a self-described Emersonian, or student of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He worshipped Kant but also Tom Wolfe, namely the main protagonist in his 1998 book, A Man in Full, Eva Hagberg wrote in her review of Entelechy II for Wallpaper. Entelechy I was completed in 1964 in Atlanta also for Portman and his family. Entelechy II was built two decades later. The latter consists of a main residence, but also a private 3,400-square-foot guest cottage.Sothebys was sure to include the estates philosophical underpinnings in its description: Entelechy II transcends the conventional, standing as a harmonious interplay between architectural form and the natural grandeur of its oceanfront setting, Sothebys said in its ethereal sales pitch, stocked with references to the Enlightenment. It added, This is not merely a home; it is a sanctuary of enlightened living.A living space features stark white walls and decorative, rounded fireplace. (Bartolotti Media)A dining room with brick pavers and circular bench seating on its perimeter. (Bartolotti Media)The sellers further noted that Portmans genius is evident in the meticulous orchestration of space, light, and materiality. The international auction house added that the estates glass facade blurs the line between interior and exterior, opening up spaces throughout the house to views of the Atlantic Ocean.This sculpture, Mickey, was completed by Portman in 1986. (Bartolotti Media)Whether Entelechy II is what Aristotle had in mind when he put his pen to paper circa 300 BCE is anyones guess. Nevertheless, Entelechy II is stocked with original sculptures Portman made, including Dooleys Dance (1986), Mickey (1986), Reclining Figure (1986), Totem (1987). From a birds eye view, Entelechy IIs roof is square. But a mind boggling series of axes break up the volume into sinuous nooks and crannies, not unlike the plan for Entelechy I. Outside, vegetation masks much of the facade.An indoor-outdoor water feature. (Bartolotti Media)A cavernous exterior room with water on the ground proportionally recalls the Temple of Karnak. The pool area is where things really get bonkers, where a sculpture by Portman cantilevers out toward the Atlantic Ocean. It recalls the house by Myron Goldfinger where Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill slammed quaaludes in Scorseses The Wolf of Wall Street.In describing its relationship to Entelechy I, Sothebys shared: This aesthetic is reminiscent of his work on Entelechy I and II, where the synergy between the built environment and its context elevates the residence from mere habitation to an immersive, sensory experience.

As Houston inches into the more comfortable space between summer and fall, I find myself at the Memorial Park running track to get a couple miles in. Breathless and sweaty, I walk over to Vibrant, the parks new health-conscious food option. Theres no better reward after a solid run than only having to walk 50 feet to fuel my coffee addiction. Designed by Schaum Architects as a second location for the original cafe in Montrose, this building is intentionally made to integrate seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. The pavilion features a gabled steel roof that boasts a 30-foot cantilever. (Leonid Furmansky)A vaulted ceiling ensures no columns interrupt the space below. (Leonid Furmansky)The most notable element of the cafe is the generous patio facing the park. This features a gabled steel roof that boasts a 30-foot cantilever. The structure resolves in a vaulted ceiling that ensures no columns interrupt the space below. As I walk along the building, I also notice that small squares push out of the brick to create a textured facade.Textured brickwork was applied to the building. (Leonid Furmansky)The interior is split into three bays by exposed beams: kitchen, serving counter, and seating area. (Leonid Furmansky)Inside, floor-to-ceiling glazing frames views of the park, and a color palette of white and light-toned wood complements the steel structure and window mullions. An operable glass wall connects the interior to the exterior, strengthening the seamless line to the park. This combination of color and glazing also allows the late summers pale-yellow sunlight to subtly transform the otherwise cold color scheme into a warm and inviting one. The interior is split into three bays by exposed beams: kitchen, serving counter, and seating area, with the kitchen housed within the larger brick mass at the front of the building. The second is thinner and hollows out inside to create an invisible separation between the serving and seating areas. As a testament to the intentional design, the patio even features benches instead of chairs with backs at the perimeter of the space to bring the nature in unobstructed.Pooja Desai is a writer and researcher at the Community Design Resource Center at the University of Houston.Project SpecificationsArchitect: Schaum ArchitectsLandscape architect: Nelson Byrd WoltzInterior design: Kelly Barnhart, Schaum ArchitectsStructural engineering: H2B EngineeringElectrical engineering: GK EngineersCivil engineering: GundaLighting design: G2LDGeneral contractor: TellepsenCladding: Resawn Timber, Acme, OrnamentaGlass: VitroWindows: KawneerDoors: NanaWallInterior finishes: La Nova TileLighting: Noguchi, Axis, Lithonia, Luminii, ArtemideFurniture: Herman Miller Eames, Vaarnii

Good FormBryan Costello and Raleigh Architecture combine curves and grids for North Carolinas restaurant, MadreByKelly Pau November 18, 2024Interiors, Southeast (Keith Isaacs)SHAREWhat people love about Madre, a new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant in North Carolinas Raleigh is, yes, the food helmed by executive chef Matt Bounous, but even more than that: It doesnt feel like its in North Carolina. The immersive and romantic ambiance isnt expected of the area, much less the heavy, multi-use building its slotted in.Raleigh Architectureand designerBryan Costellowere challenged with turning the giant concrete box into a warm and inviting restaurant which they carried out with a transportive effect using what Costello calls a curves-meets-grid concept. The clients wanted an interior that feels welcoming, lush, and romantic and that also tied to the menus Mediterranean roots. This is where the curves came in. The duo rounded out any wall corners, soffits, and pre-existing columns. Then, they covered it in lime-wash which local painters spent two weeks adding abstractly circular texture to by hand. Even the backs of the wooden dining chairs, edges of the tables, and wood and velvet banquettes were rounded out to continue this motif. It brings to mind the arches and curves in architecture along the Mediterranean.Read more on aninteriormag.com. North CarolinaRestaurants

Brought to you by:Architect: INC Architecture & DesignLocation: New York CityCompletion Date: 2024INC Architecture & Design, a New York Citybased practice, has completed work on The Treadwell, a residential tower located on the threshold between Midtown and the Upper East Side. Designed to fit in with its surroundings, the building blends two classic Upper Manhattan architectural styles, art deco and Romanesque revival, achieving these references with modern construction techniques and materials. To approximate the rich materiality of these historic precedents, The Treadwell is clad in fluted terra-cotta panels and features a quartzite-clad entrance. The building is sited on 2nd Avenue, a busy corridor punctuated by vertical residential towers. (Ivane Katamashvili)Rising 28 stories, The Treadwell is sited along 2nd Avenue, a thoroughfare that is defined by tall condominium towers. The building is named after the Treadwell Farms Historic District, a small landmark-designated neighborhood along 61st and 62nd street. Two primary styles drove the design of the project. Namely, the work of Rosario Candela, a famed early-20th century architect known for his Romanesque structures such as One Sutton Place and 834 Fifth Avenue, as well as the iconic art deco residences located near Central Park including The Ardsley and The Majestic. INC borrowed from both sources, resulting in a tower thats silhouette is distinctly art deco, while its facade is composed of warm colors evocative of Candelas work.Bronze-colored trim between the terra-cotta panels helped to achieve the overall warm tones of the facade. (Ivane Katamashvili)The Treadwell was about bridging the cool modernism of midtown with the rusticated materiality that you see on the Upper East Side, said Hilary Fulmer Kroll, principal at INC. So when we were looking at the cladding materials, we were trying to balance those two concepts. Terra-cotta felt like a nice middle ground because it has this handmade quality to it, she added. To add texture and dimension to the towers elevations, a fluted surface was manufactured for the panels. By implementing a standard fluting across all of the panels, the architects were able to minimize costs and simplify the extrusion process.We fought tooth and nail to keep terra-cotta on the project, added Fulmer Kroll. [The Treadwell] was developed during the pandemic so the market was a little unsteady. But in the end, they sprung for the terra-cotta and the building is selling really well.The tower terminates in a decorative crown. (Aerial VP)The Treadwells massing and decoration leaned primarily toward art deco precedents. To emphasize the verticality of the building, protruding vertical mullions and a darker finish were applied to the panels near the center of the buildings mass. The top of The Treadwell is adorned with a large cross-shaped crown, a classic feature of the style.INC Architecture & Design specified fluted brown quartzite for the buildings residential entrance. (Ivane Katamashvili)A separate residential entrance is located on 62nd street. The entrance was clad in ornate brown quartzite with oversized fluting that dwarfs that of the terra-cotta panels above. A darker color was selected to match the panels running up the center of the structure. The other end of the structure, located on 2nd Avenue, features a ground-floor retail space. The warm mineral palette of the exterior is continued inside the project, where the architects specified a range of materials including limestone, wood paneling, and metal trim. Overall, the building demonstrates the importance of materiality in modern construction. Though unable to replicate the decorative excess of the past, working architects can still imbue structures with a sense of solidity and history by using natural materials like stone and terra-cotta.Project SpecificationsClient: Dart InterestsClient Representative: Zeckendorf DevelopmentDesign Architect: INC Architecture & DesignArchitect of Record: SLCE ArchitectsLandscape Architect: John MiniInterior Design: INC Architecture & DesignStructural Engineer: McNamara SalviaMEP Engineer: ICORGeotechnical Engineer: LanganLighting Design: One Lux StudioAV/Telecommunications: The Clarient GroupAcoustics: Longman LindseySignage/Wayfinding: Crown SignageZoning Consultant: DCS ZoningFacade Consultant: AJLPConstruction Manager: CMAGlazing Contractor: Skyline WindowsFacade Installation: PG New YorkTerra-cotta: ShildanACM Metal Panel: AlucobondWindows: Skyline WindowsIGU: Guardian GlassEIFS: Sto Corp

The Detroit Cultural District was honored with the prestigious Partners in Progress Award at the 2024 Bay Urban Visioning Awards on October 9. The award was presented at the iconic Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain during the WRLDCTY global forum and Bay Awards Summit, celebrating pioneering urban initiatives that demonstrate visionary collaboration and long-term impact. Winning the inaugural Bay Award for our Cultural Center Guiding Plan is an incredible honor, recognizing the collaborative spirit driving Detroits revitalization, said Susan Mosey, interim executive director of the Detroit Cultural District. This award affirms that our partnership stands among global leaders, demonstrating how public and private entities can unite to shape a future centered on inclusivity, culture, and sustainability.Bilbao Metropoli 30, a public-private association comprising over 140 stakeholders, launched the inaugural edition of The Bay Urban Visioning Awards. These awards aim to recognize and commend international urban projects with the potential to inspire and motivate professionals involved in urban development. Bilbao, the host city, is globally acclaimed for its remarkable ability to reinvent itself, having transformed from an industrial center into a world-renowned cultural metropolis. The Partners in Progress award aims to find projects from around the world that have developed public-private collaboration initiatives that substantially improve the competitiveness and well-being of their citizens. The Bay Awards received more than 130 international project entries, representing all five continents. The jury members carefully selected 15 initiatives and projects that have shaped a long-term, sustainable, and collaborative vision for their urban environments. The other two finalists in this category included:PazosPeace and Opportunities Strategy Colombia | Valle del CaucaPalmiraRamallahs Active Aging Initiatives Palestine | RamallahThe award-winning project, the Cultural Center Planning Initiative, exemplifies the power of public-private collaboration. The initiative brings together 12 leading cultural institutions, local government, academia, and private partners to reimagine Detroits 83-acre Cultural Center. With a focus on sustainability, public space innovation, and digital connectivity, the CCPI addresses critical challenges such as climate adaptation, social inclusion, and equitable access to technology.(Courtesy Detroit Cultural District)Building on this collaborative momentum, the initiative is designed to actively engage residents from the City of Detroit and outlying counties through community workshops, design presentations, and public events. This commitment to public involvement ensures that all Detroiters play a central role in shaping the districts future.As Anya Sirota, principal of Akoaki and lead architect of the project, reflected: This recognition highlights the CCPI as more than just a collection of designed spacesit represents a governance framework that brought together diverse partners around a shared vision. Collaboration, though complex, was crucial in creating public spaces that reflect the values and aspirations of our community. The CCPIs impact extends through events like DLECTRICITY, Educators Night, and the New Standards Jazz Series, which infuse Detroits Cultural Center with new energy and innovative programming. The launch of the Detroit Cultural District in March 2024 ensures that these efforts will continue to foster regional culture, innovation, and inclusivity.Recognizing Global LeadershipThe award was judged by a distinguished panel of urban thought leaders, including:Christian Basonformer CEO of Danish Design CenterGabriella Gmez-Montfounder and CEO of ExperimentalistaSophie HoweFirst Future Generations Commissioner for WalesGeci Karuri-SebinaAfrican Centre for Cities; associate professor at Wits School of GovernanceBruce Katzcofounder of New Localism Advisors and received the Heinz Award in Public Policy (2006)David Millermanaging director of C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and EconomyCarlos Morenoassociate professor at Paris IAEPanthon Sorbonne; cofounder of ETI Chair; and promoter of 15-Minute CityFarah Nazhead of innovation and ESG in Middle East and AfricaLarry Ng LHformer managing director of World Cities Summit and former prize secretary of the Lee Kuan Yew World City PrizeCarmen Santanaarchitect and partner of ARCHIKUBIK and cofounder of @kubikCharles Landryexpert on creativity and urban changeGreg ClarkGlobal Fellow of Urban Land Institute and former chair of OECD LEED Forum of Cities and RegionsThe jury praised the CCPI for being an ambitious, holistic, and transformational project that showcases what can be achieved when diverse stakeholders unite around a shared vision. It highlighted the initiatives role in reimagining Detroits future by promoting sustainable mobility and shifting away from car-dependent urban models. Its gratifying to receive the award from such a distinguished juryindividuals who are at the forefront of global conversations on urban regeneration, cultural infrastructure, and public space design, said Olivier Philippe, principal of Agence Ter and lead landscape architect of the CCPI. This award is a reminder of the plans enduring relevance and its potential to shape Detroits future as it evolves.Fundraising Efforts for the CCPIThe Cultural Center Planning Initiative was originally incubated under Midtown Detroit, Inc., over the past seven years before transferring to the Detroit Cultural District in March 2024. As the initiative enters its next phase, the Detroit Cultural District is fundraising to redevelop the underground parking deck at Woodward Avenue and Farnsworth Street, owned by the Detroit Institute of Arts. This first capital phase includes the installation of a green roof, aligning with the CCPIs sustainability goals.(Courtesy Detroit Cultural District)To date, the initiative has raised $29.15 million toward the master plan, public wi-fi installation, cultural programming, and parking deck redevelopment. To fully realize this transformative vision, the Detroit Cultural District must raise an additional $18 million to complete the redevelopment of the underground parking deck. This project is critical to supporting the districts infrastructure needs, while the planned green roof installation will further align with the initiatives environmental sustainability goals. Current funders of the CCPI include:State of Michigan AppropriationWilliam Davidson FoundationFred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family FoundationKnight FoundationGilbert Family FoundationHudson Webber FoundationCommunity Foundation for Southeast MichiganRalph C. Wilson, Jr. FoundationThe Kresge FoundationWalters Family FoundationWayne State UniversityNational Endowment for the ArtsMichigan Arts and Culture CouncilFor more information about the Detroit Cultural Center Association and the Cultural Center Planning Initiative, please visit https://www.midtownculturalconnections.com or contact Annmarie Borucki at [emailprotected].About Detroit Cultural DistrictLaunched in 2024, Detroit Cultural District is a nonprofit organization that represents 12 of Detroits arts, cultural, and educational organizations, including The Carr Center, College for Creative Studies, Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Public Library, Hellenic Museum of Michigan, International Institute of Metro Detroit, Michigan Science Center, The Scarab Club, University of Michigan, Wayne State University and The Wright Museum.About The Bay Urban Visioning AwardsThe Bay Urban Visioning Awards, organized by Bilbao Metropoli 30, celebrate global urban projects that address todays most critical challenges and drive long-term transformation. The awards spotlight initiatives that foster collaboration, sustainability, and urban well-being, offering inspiration for cities worldwide.

Marymount School of New York is a prestigious Catholic day school on New Yorks Upper East Side. Its flagship on Fifth Avenue is a handsome 1901 abode by Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert. For nearly one century, its operated a second campus out of three conjoined townhouses overlooking Central Park. Now, Marymount School has a new 10-story building for its Upper and Middle Schools (Grades 6 through 12) designed by COOKFOX Architects between Park and Lexington Avenues on 97th Street. Terrain NYC was the landscape architect.The lobby has columns that sinuously fold into the ceiling plane. (Ines Leong)The new building is 155,000 square feet. From the street, its defined by the facades terra-cotta piers meant to evoke Upper East Side townhomes. Operable windows are interspersed between the piers, providing passive cooling. Seven of the additions stories are above grade, and three are below. The bottom, subterranean floors contain a full-size gym, among other programs that dont necessitate natural light.The new addition has a multi-purpose, 300-seat theater. (Ines Leong)The ground floor lobby is anchored by a grand stair that, according to COOKFOX, is the buildings organizing element. The lobbys columns that sinuously fold into the ceiling plane are gleaming white. A 300-seat theater is sited above the lobby level that can accommodate plays, school events, and more.The chapel, COOKFOX said, is one of the new buildings most thoughtful spaces. (Ines Leong)In total, the new addition has five gardens, designed in collaboration with Terrain NYC. These spaces can function simultaneously as classrooms and outdoor labs, aside from leisure. One terrace is specifically catered for dining, another is for prayer. One-hundred different types of trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, sedums, and vines were planted. The chapel, COOKFOX noted, is the additions most iconic space thanks to its domed apse, slender pilasters, and attractive lighting features. The space is meant to provide room for respite and contemplation.Terrain NYC ideated five gardens at the new building, including on its rooftop. (Ines Leong)Marymount Schools new addition achieved LEED Gold certification.

The lyrics of Kendrick Lamars 2012 single Poetic Justice express a duality between belief and skepticismIf I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room would you trust it? When the artist takes the Super Bowl LIX halftime stage in New Orleans this coming February, he will be enveloped by the Superdomes half-billion-dollar renovation, led by Trahan Architects. Significantly, 2025 will mark both the 50th anniversary of the buildings opening and the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrinas landfall. With updates to materiality, accessibility, and user experiences, the landmarked stadium is finally flourishing, albeit within a hard-bitten city still germinating after decades of convalescence. The Superdome is closely associated with New Orleans itself, but when the two are referred to interchangeably, praise for this state-owned building (its leased to the NFL) can misrepresent challenges that still lie ahead for the city. The Superdomes longtime operator exemplified this merger when speaking of the post-Katrina restoration effort: The minute we turn that roof white again, people are going to believe in this recovery. Trahan was chosen to repair the Superdome in 2005 during its temporary closure. However, the most recent improvements required the local project team to safely navigate a busy event schedule that remained active during construction. The undertaking was tackled incrementally, leaving behind freshly finished amenities for spectators, operators, and athletes. Roundly recognized for curated material applications in award-winning theater and museum projects, Trahan Architects made no exceptions for the arena. Extruded aluminum tubes hug the complex forms of three new atria that guide the majority of fans to their upper-level seating. A subtle shift from polished concrete to terrazzo in exclusive club areas maintains a minimal palette while providing a noticeable value-add for VIP ticket holders. Sleek-edged profiles, elegant textures, and dark metal accents take cues from the hospitality world, providing a subdued luxury for premium game experiences.The architects leveraged unused vertical spaces to install escalators and elevators in place of the old ramps.Finish upgrades also coincided with updated branding. Caesars Entertainment doubled down on its investment in the Poydras Street corridor, anchored by the stadium on the lake side and by a freshly pedimented Caesars Hotel & Casino on the river side. Now emblazoned with the silhouette of its imperial namesake, the Caesars Superdome has come full circle, in a manner of speaking. Curtis and Davis Architects and Engineers, the stadiums original designers, paid homage to the Superdomes ancient forebears, proclaiming that the Superdome seeks to do for New Orleans what the great amphitheaters and stadia of antiquity did for their communities. Their implication was that the arena would serve as a civic center rather than a dedicated sports venuean innovative concept at the time. The building can fit 1.5 Colosseums beneath its impressive 9.7-acre roof, providing space for monster truck rallies, Mardi Gras balls, and three consecutive nights of Taylor Swifts Eras Tour. While the 1970s design debuted new ideas like adaptable seating, its circulation eventually became antiquated by contemporary standards. Trahans removal of a space-hogging ramp system allowed the architects to reclaim 100,000 square feet of usable space without expanding the buildings footprinta remarkable example of creative preservation in practice. The operation allowed for concessions to breathe new life into widened sideline concourses, freeing up space in the corners for modernized vertical circulation. Some ramps still remain at each end zone, but new elevators and express escalators now take fans to their destinations in a fraction of the timeall critical infrastructure for ushering in the full-capacity crowd expected for the championship game in February.The clever use of vertical elements in details like these screens draws the eye upward, like in a religious space. (Tim Hursley)Super Bowl LIX and its venue are primed to enter the canon of New Orleanss most storied events, but the Superdome still characterizes many Americans remembrances of the paradigm-shifting storm that flooded 80 percent of the city and claimed 1,392 lives (including six inside the stadium itself). Todays visitors would be hard-pressed to find any acknowledgment of the disaster, partly because of the removal of a small documentary display that chronicled the event during a recent phase of improvements. Decades of work have significantly updated the half-century-old stadium, decidedly encasing troubling histories beneath layers of applied finishes. Is this the same stadium where disempowered and dispossessed New Orleanians were left to languish, or like the Ship of Theseus, did replacing its constituent parts succeed in creating the structure (and, as some suggest, the city) anew?Modern luxe finishes like brass and silver tones offer optical upgrades. (Tim Hursley)To forge ahead or to dwell on the past is a persistent question just behind the tableau of The Big Easy, in which the Superdome gets placed front and center. Which way one leans largely depends upon whether past injustices continue to impact their communities. On opening day 200613 months after 30,000 refugees were abandoned withinESPNs Mark Schwartz reported that perhaps the most daunting task is to scrub away memories of the Superdome as a cesspool of human misery. This view denied its human-made causes while sanitizing its inconvenient juxtaposition with sporting fanfare. At the Saintss 2024 home opener, a Fox NFL commentator again marveled at the efforts being made to prepare the city for the upcoming occasion: They are rebuilding this city for the Super Bowl. Road and drainage projects have certainly accelerated across New Orleans, yet intermittent power outages have spiked in recent months, including one that interrupted the writing of this very article. In August, the entire city was subjected to a multiday boil-water advisory (a frequent hassle for some areas) when a Mylar balloon drifted into power lines near a treatment plant, disrupting the citys potable water system. The state legislature recently denied New Orleans $29 million for a more resilient power station. The state eventually negotiated down to $17 million in matching city funds, amounting to a $55 million state investment in the project to date. Meanwhile, at least $90 million in renovation costs and debt forgiveness have been dispensed to the Superdome, a small example of the stadiums primacy as an economic investment over critical municipal services. For its part, the city government occasionally fumbles its obligations to bolster New Orleanss wider resiliency. This year, a federal watchdog cited the failure of Mayor LaToya Cantrells administration to start on eight green infrastructure projects that were funded back in 2017. Its report, After More Than Six Years, the City of New Orleans National Disaster Resilience Project Activities Had Made Little Impact on Resilience, expressed skepticism that the city could complete any of the designated projects.A section drawing shows how the stadium reaches to meet the street and incorporates modern vertical circulation. (Courtesy Trahan Architects)If recovery is defined as returning something to its former state, then New Orleans may never recover from Hurricane Katrina on those terms. The citys population remains below prestorm levels, and more than 100,000 Black residents found themselves putting down roots elsewhere after the conditions for their return were not equitably facilitated. New Orleans closed 85 percent of its public housing from 1996 to 2007 in favor of mixed-income projects and vouchers, displacing many low-income residents. Housing costs are still trending upward today, but the catastrophic storm and equally catastrophic response did not eradicate the culture of those who were able to return once the water drained.Views of the field are the most important: Even from the nosebleeds, viewers get a full view of the action. (Tim Hursley)The vibrancy of celebrations like Black and Indigenous walking parades on Super Sundays should not be taken for granted but should be protected with requisite investment in the longevity of the communities that perform them. The Superdomes renovation might best be used as a goal rather than a gauge of the citys prosperity. City officials seem to share this sentiment, marking their intention to maintaining improvements beyond the Super Bowl and build on their momentum. Trahan Architects was thoughtful enough to future-proof the building, anticipating the replacement of its elevated entry plinth with street access thats more publicrepresenting the belief that the citys street life will eventually grow outward to meet it. If New Orleanians are provided with equivalent resources, then it just might.Page Comeaux is an organizer, architect, author, and educator.

In late September, The Met gave an early look at the newly renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Closed since 2021, the 40,000-square-foot wing on the museums south side underwent a $70 million renovation led by WHY Architecture in collaboration with Beyer Blinder Belle. The wing will reopen in May 2025, when visitors can view pieces spanning five continents staged across three sections: Arts of Africa, Ancient Americas, and Oceania. In addition to brightening up the galleries, renovation work also centered on retrofitting the window that envelops the museums south face.A rendering by WHY Architecture of The Arts of Oceania Galleries alongside the angled windows. (Courtesy WHY Architecture)An impetus for creating the wing was American philanthropist Nelson Aldrich Rockefellers 1969 gift of more than 3,000 pieces. Back then, these works were seen as the non-Western, the other, Max Hollein, The Mets director and chief executive, said in an interview with the New York Times, adding, our perspective has evolved.The Arts of the Ancient Americas Galleries in the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met. (Paula Lobo/Courtesy The Met)The wing was named after Rockefellers son, Michael, who was also an avid traveler and disappeared in 1961 while on an expedition in New Guinea. The new wing opened to the public in 1982 with the creation of a new department. It was designed by The Mets master plan architects, Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates. At the time there was a tug-of-war between the design team and Rockefeller over the display of items and the expansive floor-to-ceiling, angled glass wall, a seminal design component of the wing. The Met sought to display 30 percent of the collection, Rockefeller envisioned 80 percent of the collection on display. In the end nearly 2,000 objects were placed on view without it seeming too crowded. These considerations were again integral in the latest Rockefeller wing revamp, but updated with modern application.Within the wing, clean white walls are coupled with curved ribs. (Paula Lobo/Courtesy The Met)Statues, decorative objects, apparel, and other artifacts are staged across the 16 revamped galleries. Within the wing, clean white walls are coupled with curved ribs that span across the ceilings, as seen in the Arts of Africa portion, where the dark, cavernous, and dimly lit galleries of the 1980s renovation have been replaced with stark white walls and new glass display boxes. As one would expect in a museum setting the ribs were crafted to not draw attention away from the pieces on display.The visual connection between the new ceiling structures and the existing architectural conditions is perhaps most prominent in the Arts of Oceania section, where the floor-to-ceiling windows are located. Here, the ribs span downward to line up with the mullions on the angled windows.The iconic angled glass wall in the wing was retrofitted. (Paula Lobo/Courtesy The Met)In a press release The Met noted how the curved ribs recall regional African architecture, specifically the Great Mosque of Jenne in Mali. These ceiling elements offer a distinct difference between the new wing and the adjacent Greek and Roman Art and European Sculpture and Decorative Arts portion of the museum. They create a new backdrop for highlights of the Rockefeller Wings collection.A sculpture on display in the Arts of Africa Galleries in The Mets Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. (Paula Lobo/Courtesy The Met)Kulapat Yantrasast, founder and creative director of WHY Architecture, said working on the Rockefeller Wing affirmed his practices belief that museums are true sites of empathy. He added Through our design with The Met, we hope to highlight the diversity and distinction within these rich collections while providing a welcoming and memorable sense of place.Capital Projects, who led the design and construction process of the renovation, shared the intricate operation used to completely revamp the glass wall in the wing, where Beyer Blinder Bell was the executive architect on the effort. Preserving the integrity of the glazing was a balancing act: how to maintain the original design while shielding the art from UV rays and still allowing ample natural light to seep into the space.The redesign of the wing addresses the most crucial issues of our time, from carbon footprint reduction to the emphasis on local materials and artisanship, said Jhaelen Hernandez-Eli, vice president of Capital Projects. Hernandez-Eli added that the entire design and construction team, prioritized job creation and workforce training, reuse of materials, and the reduction of energy consumption while enduring that the resulting architecture supports our collection and inspires our public.When the Rockefeller Wing reopens in the spring over 1,800 artifacts will be on display. (Eric Petschek/Courtesy WHY Architecture)The Ceremonial House Ceiling created by the Kwoma people, located in the Arts of Oceania Galleries. (Paula Lobo/Courtesy The Met)When the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing opens this spring over 1,800 artifacts will be on view, among these are the ancient American textiles and featherwork spanning over a 3,000-year history; the Ceremonial House Ceiling created by the Kwoma people of Papua New Guinea, located in the Oceania area; and in the African section, clay and wooden sculptures dating back to the 12th century be found, among other artifacts from across the three regions.

Finally, after 15 years of speculation and a variety of architectural proposals, a plan is in place to transform Houstons beloved Astrodome. Dubbed Vision: Astrodome, the new plan from Gensler and the Astrodome Conservancy, a private nonprofit that advocates for the structures reuse was unveiled this week. It largely maintains the structures original use as an entertainment venue, while also introducing new supporting programs including offices, retail, and restaurants. The redevelopment is also designed to engage NRG Park, Houstons major sports and conventions complex, transforming the area into a more walkable urban space.The new proposal creates a pedestrian boulevard that the architects compare to New York Citys High Line. (Courtesy Astrodome Conservancy)Genslers intervention hinges upon an arc-shaped path that will be carved through the existing structure. A new events stage will be constructed at the midpoint of the arc, while its respective arms, which reach outside of the Astrodome, will connect pedestrians to its neighbors: the NRG Center and NRG Stadium. This parabolic boulevard was inspired by New York Citys High Line. The Astrodome can and should be the heartbeat of a new, global entertainment destination at NRG Park, said Judy Nyquist, founding board member of the Astrodome Conservancy. It will serve as an exciting catalyst for future development in and around the Park.Gensler has designed four new structures to be constructed within the dome. (Courtesy Astrodome Conservancy)In total, four new structures will be constructed within the dome. The aforementioned event center is the most prominent, rising above the stands, while the othersa rodeo experience, the NASA Center, and a food hall for local vendorswill be embedded within the grandstand and the connecting corridors beneath. In addition, a retail village will be built along the exterior of the stadium.According to a press release, these interventions will add 450,00 square feet of revenue-generating space, justifying the projects expected $ 1 billion price tag. Two unidentified primary tenants will occupy the structure once the renovation is complete.The pedestrian corridor extends through the building. (Courtesy Astrodome Conservancy)To further rationalize the expenditure, the Astrodome Conservancy has commissioned a feasibility study for the new plan and also cites a 2020 poll that found that 86 percent of Harris County residents support the preservation and reuse of the Astrodome. Ultimately, the development will be bankrolled by some form of public-private partnership although exact detailsincluding the cost to Harris County taxpayersare still forthcoming.Earlier in the week, Houston Chronicle reported that the conservancys plan does not have the support of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a major player in NRG park, though it has garnered endorsements from local Harris County politicians.The Astrodome was a symbol of technological progress in the 1960s. (Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)A Look Back at the Early AstrodomeWhen it first opened to the public in 1965, the Astrodome was revolutionary. It was the first indoor air-conditioned stadium in the world, a precedent for sporting complexes as we know them today. Jokingly referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World, the stadium bolstered Houstons image as a space-age city. A few years earlier, NASA had selected Houston as the site for its Manned Spacecraft Center (later renamed after Lyndon B. Johnson).Designed by Hermon Lloyd and W.B. Morgan and engineered by Walter P. Moore, the Astrodome first opened to the public in 1965. (Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)With its 18 story height and 700 foot diameter, the Astrodome introduced a new scale to live professional sporting events. Due to the great distance between the upper grandstands and the field, the stadium was the first to implement an electronic scoreboard, known as Astrolite. The so-called exploding scoreboard, with its animations of charging bulls, cowboys, and shooting starsthe result of thousands of programmable lightswas a forerunner to the now ubiquitous jumbotron. As stadiums have continued to expand in size, the live sporting experience is increasingly mediated by technology. The building is perhaps best known for the invention of Astroturf, a synthetic grass named for the Houston Astros. During the teams first season in the stadium, the natural grass on the field had quickly died out, starved for sunlight despite the glow of the arenas large fluorescent lights.Over the years, the stadium was home to the Houston Astros, Oilers, and Livestock Show and Rodeo. Impressively, the field could be converted quickly to accommodate any of these events.The Astrodome reopened briefly in 2005 to serve as a temporary shelter for victims of Hurricane Katrina. (Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)By the early 2000s, stadium design had progressed far beyond the mid-century feats of the Astrodome, and the structure was largely abandoned by Houstons sports teams and local events for new venues that had been constructed in NRG Park. Bud Adamsthen owner of the Houston Oilersmoved the team to Tennessee in 1998 after Houstonians rejected his plea to use public funds for the construction of a new football stadium. A History of Speculative ProposalsIn the 15 years since its abandonment, the disused structure has captured the imagination of the architecture profession, inspiring a litany of proposals for its reuse.AN itself participated in this frenzy, hosting a competition in 2013 to reimagine the structure. From 23 submitted proposals, which spanned a variety of intended uses, our jury awarded first place to one of the more conservative entries that would transform the structure into a massive parking garage.Speculative plans for the building were incoming even as late as last year. AN covered a proposal from the University of Houston that would turn the space into a hotel and botanical garden. The design won ASHRAEs 2023 LowDown Showdown Competition.A new events center and stage will anchor the revamped interior. (Courtesy Astrodome Conservancy)Though certainly not as imaginative as previous speculations for the site, the new plan from Gensler and the Astrodome Conservancy isat least hypotheticallydesigned to make financial sense of the massive undertaking. To make this proposal a reality, the team will need to satisfy a large contingent of public and private stakeholders.In a 1965 Texas Observer essay Love, Death, and the Astrodome, Larry McMurtry quipped Houston is the kind of boom city that will endorse almost any amount of municipal vulgarity so long as it has a chance of making money. Hopefully, by engaging the public and enhancing NRG Park, this new proposal can tone down some of the commercial vulgarity.

For the 17th iteration of its Love & Design Competition, Times Square Arts partnered with The World Around and tasked designers with ideating an installation that addresses through its own creation the lifecycle of materials that go into the making of thespacesaround us.Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio, a New York Citybased practice, was selected for the project slated for Times Square. The firms installation, Love Ever After, will temporarily repurpose metal gabions typically used for oyster reef cages as a dynamic art piece. Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio teamed up with the Billion Oyster Project for Love Ever After. The nonprofit is dedicated to restoring oyster reefs in the city. Its work includes collecting discarded oyster shells from restaurants and using them to build reefs that clean New York City water. Following its debut in Times Square, the structures used for Love Ever After will return to the waterfront.The installation is both in contrast with and harmonious with the urban context of Times Square. (Courtesy Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio)Love Ever After will be largely formed by the metal mesh gabion used to store oysters in the water. These volumes will be assembled so as to form geometries of a heart, a press release stated. Pernilla Ohrstedt Studios vision entails a central heart icon displaying vibrant colors. Since the metal cages will be returned to the water, its paramount the paint used to color the art piece be water-safe. The studio is considering using mineral-based paints, including oyster-derived options. Pernilla Ohrstedt told AN that Love Ever After is about creating beauty with minimal means. In an interview she mentioned how she views the work as a 3D low-tech screen sited in contrast and conversation with to Times Squares ultra high-tech nature. With Love Ever After, Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio is setting out to make an object that recalls the hyperbolic qualities of Times Square but with a lot less material, wiring, and LED.The installation will repurpose metal gabions used to store oysters. (Courtesy Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio)The design team is still brainstorming how to make Love Ever After interactive for the public. Past installations of the design competition have encouraged visitors to leave a rose behind and engage with mirrors for a perfect selfie moment.Love Ever After will be installed in Times Square on February 4, 2025.

The inimitable architect, educator, mentor, and feminist Debora Reiser passed away just over a year ago, after a 75-year career in architecture. A new retrospective at Pratt Institute, Her Practice: the Architecture of Debora Reiser, celebrates the late trailblazers life and all that she contributed. The exhibitions location inside the Hazel and Robert Siegel Gallery at Higgins Hall is fitting: Reiser graduated from Pratt Institute in 1948, where she was one of just a few women in her class. She went on to lead RUR Architecture together with her son, Jesse Reiser, and daughter-in-law, Nanako Umemoto.Both Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto helped bring Her Practice: the Architecture of Debora Reiser to life as curators and exhibition designers, respectively.Her Practice: the Architecture of Debora Reiser has ephemera which introduces Debora Reiser to the public. (Courtesy Pratt Institute)Her Practice formally opened on September 12. That night, Reisers friends and family members sat down with Pratt faculty and students to discuss her legacy.At Hazel and Robert Siegel Gallery, visitors can see photographs of the late architect when she was just out of architecture school, around the time she worked in the office of George Nemeny and Abraham Geller, two contemporaries of Marcel Breuer. Other ephemera including publications, drawings, and furniture share details of her life story. The exhibition is meant to pay tribute to Reisers unwavering belief in modernisms aspirations to a free architecture of light, air, and movement, the curatorial statement reads. Standing just short of five feet she nonetheless projected a commanding presence to clients and contractors especially necessary in the context of male-dominated mid-century America, it continued. As a woman architect in the early 50s she had to be relentless.The exhibitions features photography and news clippings of Reisers work (Courtesy Pratt Institute)Jesse Reiser designed the exhibition with Nanako Umemoto, Tyler Armstrong, Hisa Matsunaga, Tilok Costa, with assistance by Logan West, Linus Coersmeier, and Austin Hsu. Logan West produced the film that accompanies the exhibition. Her Practices timeline diagram was by Dana Cupkova.In contrast to the singular genius of the so-called Modern Masters, Reisers practice of Total Design always embraced the heterogeneous and the open and always built upon a continuous dialogue between architect and clientform and space, Jesse Reiser said.Her Practice: the Architecture of Debora Reiser is on view through November 15.

The University of Chicago (UC) John W. Boyer Center in Paris is now open, marking Studio Gangs first built project in France, where it operates a satellite studio. The 25,460-square-foot building provides UC students and faculty classrooms, study spaces, and more in the citys illustrious 13th arrondissement. The new building occupies a prominent corner lot. From the street, its defined by Brise-soleil made up of 900 cylindrical stone batons. These batons were coated in Lutetian limestone, a common building material in Paris dating back to antiquity.The Center in Paris is designed as a vertical campus. Its multilevel atrium provides all the spaces with light and offers visual connections across programs, Jeanne Gang said. We wanted the building to amplify social interactions, scholarly collaborations, and cultural exchange between the University and the City of Paris.The facade is defined by Brise-soleil made up of 900 cylindrical stone batons. (Fabrice Fouillet)Aside from its Brise-soleil, the buildings general massing was engineered to fully harness the suns energy. It was designed according to the suns path to maximize daylight. The structure is made of mass timber which overall, alongside its stone masonry facade, makes for a sustainably harvested composition. The masonry was sourced from a quarry just 25 miles from the building site, further reducing embodied carbon. Photovoltaic panels were interspersed on the roof, generating clean energy and reducing the Boyer Centers reliance on the grid.Writing for AN last May, William Richards said the stone masonry facade is meant to evoke UCs campus, 4,100 miles west in Chicagos South Side.The structure is made of locally sourced mass timber, as seen in this progress photograph taken before the facade was installed. (Corentin Lespagno)As noted, Studio Gang described the John W. Boyer Center as a vertical campus anchored by a central atrium that ties the structure together, physically and visually. Inside, there are nine classrooms, a laboratory teaching space, a research institute for visiting academics, and an amphitheater for lectures, conferences, and large classes. Outside, the Boyer Center has a shared courtyard, terraces, and a loggia; providing visitors a verdant escape from the metropolis. An RER train station sits directly below grade, which pedestrians can access through a portal. The train station is emphasized with a new artwork by Chicago-based artist Tony Lewis.A double-height event space is sited on the Boyer Centers top floor. There, an adjoining biodiverse rooftop garden is also located, offering a vibrant milieu with stunning views of Paris for guests during conferences, cultural events, and social gatherings.The building has myriad spaces for social gatherings. (Corentin Lespagnol)Timber details and construction are always a part of the classroom design at the Boyer Center (Fabrice Fouilleet)A rounded wood reception desk makes a statement when students and faculty enter the building. (Fabrice Fouillet)Studio Gangs project was part of a new development by PARC Architectes that brings a new mixed-use residential building to Pariss Left Bank, a neighborhood known for its high volume of students and higher education spaces.The Boyer Center isnt Studio Gangs first collaboration with UC. In 2016, the Chicago office completed a 400,000-square-foot residential building atop UCs South Side campus.Looking ahead, Studio Gang is working on a new mixed-use tower in Pariss La Dfense.

Hey Big Duck out on Long Island: Move over, the chickens have come home to roost. In the Philippines, a new 114-foot hotel shaped like a rooster recently opened its doors, dwarfing the iconic avian structure built by duck farmer Martin Maurer in Flanders, New York, that Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown loved to write about. The gargantuan rooster-hotel is sited in Talisay City at Campuestohan Highland Resort, perched above the central mountainous province of Negros Occidental. It was ideated by the resorts owner, Ricardo Tan. Today, locals colloquially refer to the hotel as Handsome Canos Chicken, Gabrielle Andres reported in The Straight Times.As to be expected, the rooster has already made the rounds on TikTok.The rooster is 114 feet tall. (Courtesy Guinness World Records)In section, Tans hotel echoes Charles-Franois Ribarts unbuilt Elephant Monument to Louis XV from 1758. It also calls to mind a chicken-shaped church, Gereja Ayam, on the Indonesian island of Java, built by Daniel Alamsjah.After the rooster hotels completion in September, Guinness World Records recognized it as the largest building in the shape of a chicken. Upon receiving his new accolade, Tan told Guinness World Records officials, I had a vision to make something with a wow factor.Elephant Monument to Louis XV by Charles-Franois Ribart (Charles-Franois Ribart/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)Tan added that the rooster pays homage to Negros Occidentals robust agricultural sector. I feel proud and humbled at the same time, Tan shared. Im proud to have put my province and my home country on Guinness World Records. Humbled as I am from a poor upbringing where I had to work as a shoeshine boy to earn a living and go to school. I have made my family, my province and my country proud. In total, Tans creation has 15 rooms that can accommodate solo travelers or families. It also has a wave pool, a restaurant, a cafe, three swimming pools, bonita huts, and hundreds of dinosaurs and cartoon figures. So as to maintain the roosters aesthetic integrity, the rooms dont have windows.Typical hotel room (Courtesy Guiness World Records)Negros Occidental has a gamefowl industry that employs millions of people in the Philippines. If you look at a rooster, it looks calm and commanding, imposing and strong which reflects the attitude of our people, the hotel owner and visionary continued. The rooster can stand against strong winds and can withstand pressure from other roosters, an attitude of Negrense people with resilience to recover quickly from any form of difficulties and hardships in life, one trait that their people have in times of crisis and challenges.The region regularly experiences storms and typhoons, natural occurrences Tan took into account in the design process.Construction on the building started in June 2023.Rooms at the rooster-hotel go for about $100 a night.

A new bill that does away with broker fees for renters in New York passed today. The Fairness in Apartment Rentals (FARE) Act, shepherded by City Councillor Chi Oss of Brooklyn, was approved by the New York City Council this afternoon. It goes into effect in 180 days. New Yorkers regularly pay brokers on average 15 percent of the annual rent on an apartment for simply turning a key, detractors of the system often say. And when you add last months rent and a security deposit to the equation, a new flat might cost you upward of $10,000 before you can even set up your mattress frame.The FARE Act changes this. Now, property owners looking to rent out their units will have to shoulder the broker fees, not the tenants. (But tenants who hire brokers will still have to pay for those services.) Landlords will also be required to disclose all upfront fees to prospective tenants. The legislation had 32 sponsors from New York City Council, which has 51 seats. On November 13, FARE Act earned a veto-proof majority. It stands to free up thousands of dollars in cash for millions of renters.Mayor Eric Adams, who was once a real estate broker, didnt support the measure. Previously, Mayor Adams argued that the bill would drive up rents because, in his view, landlords will make their money back by charging more on every flat; a critique thats similar to what Elon Musk said about Kamala Harriss plan to build 3 million new homes. The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) also fought against the bill. In a statement issued before todays approval, REBNY said: Wednesdays vote is yet another instance of prioritizing ideology over economic and practical reality when it comes to the citys rental housing stock.The FARE Act will make it harder for tenants to find housing, raise rents, and make the hard work of real estate agents even more difficult, the Real Estate Board of New York continued. REBNY will continue to pursue all options to fight against this harmful legislation on behalf of our members and the renters they serve.The FARE Act was approved one day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a challenge from the real estate lobbyto a rent stabilization law from 2019, marking another big win for the citys rentier class, which constitutes about 5.8 million people, or 69 percent of the populace.

As part of its master parks plan for The Village, Oklahomaa city of less than 10,000 peoplelandscape architecture firm LAUD Studio rehabilitated six residential parks. But demolishing a dilapidated apartment complex between the library and city hall created an opportunity to build a connector between them as well as a new plaza in collaboration with local design firm Common Works. Its called Village Park. The city just never had the classic town square, said LAUD Studio founder Brent Wall. The park is an attempt to create a hub in the heart of the city.Common Works Architects designed two rectangular cedar-clad, pale green pavilions around a concrete stage. (Leonid Furmansky)Common Works Architects designed two rectangular cedar-clad, pale green pavilions around a concrete stage for programming on the plaza. We wanted consistency along the whole park and to maintain that traditional park feel, designer Chandler Brown said. The choice of cedar versus concrete or steel and softer colors lends warmth and references a more traditional park setting that is also more approachable. A U-shaped pavilion envelopes an outdoor gym. (Leonid Furmansky)While only a few hundred feet apart, each pavilion is tailored to its specific location. One, at 60 feet long and 20 feet wide, is narrower and airier, with open seating under four shed-shaped structures with 14-foot roofs. The other pavilion measures 100 by 20 feet, offering more space for picnic tables and a public bathroom under pitched steel roofs complete with hanging lights and ceiling fans.There is ample space for play and family outdoor recreation. (Leonid Furmansky)The citys goal to promote physical and mental health also shaped the design for a final white pavilion. Set farther back from the main plaza, a U-shaped structure envelopes an outdoor gym and play area serving children, young adults, and family outdoor recreation. For Brown, a big concern was creating visual privacy during the day while still connecting to the landscape. As a solution, metal fins serve as a buffer between the visitor and the street, allowing kids to play and adults to exercise without prying eyes.James Russell is a freelance writer in Fort Worth, Texas, who writes about art, the built environment, and politics for multiple outlets, including Arts and Culture Texas, Texas Architect, and Landscape Architecture Magazine.Project SpecificationsDesign architect: Common Works ArchitectsArchitect of record: LAUD StudioLandscape architect: LAUD StudioStructural engineering: 360 EngineeringElectrical engineering: CECCivil engineering: Johnson & AssociatesLighting design: HessPlay equipment: Greenfields Outdoor Fitness, Lappset, PoligonWater fountains: Most Dependable Fountains, Delta FountainsOutdoor furniture: Fermob, Kim, 3Form, Forever Lawn, Landscape Forms, Santa & Cole, Belson Outdoors, Vestre, mmcit

The JFK Community Center in Buffalo, New York, designed by Robert T. Coles, the first Black Chancellor of the AIA, is just one of a handful of projects that has received funding from the National Trust for Historic Preservations Conserving Black Modernism campaign. The program now entering its third iteration is a part of the National Trusts larger African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Today, the foundation announced a third round of funding for the Conserving Black Modernism program. An additional $1.55 million will be allocated to support modern buildings designed by Black architects and designers. This brings the total investment for the program up to $4.65 million. Launched in 2017, the National Trust for Historic Preservation launched its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, in an effort to invest in and restore cultural assets to use preservation as a force for enacting positive social change. Conserving Black Modernism, the campaign within the Action Funds National Grant Program, supported by the Getty Foundation, is dedicated to persevering historic modernist buildings created by. To date, the Action Funds National Grant program has funded 304 Black historic sites across the country.Many of the current funded projects include churches and university buildings, such as the Ira Aldridge Theater at the College of Fine Arts at Howard University. Completed in 1961, the theater was designed by Black architects Paul R. Williams, and Hilyard Robinson. Robinson was the first Black graduate to earn an architecture degree in Columbia GSAPPs history. Important buildings continue to be threatened, and a third year of Conserving Black Modernism will deliver much needed project support and critical training in communities across the country to ensure a robust network of professionals are in place to care for this heritage into the future. said Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation in a statement.The Getty Foundation grant will fund renovation and preservation projects and facilitate educational opportunities and professional networking at the various sites. Additionally, it aims to strengthen partnerships among the Action Fund, Getty, Black heritage networks, grantees, and national stakeholders dedicated to preserving sites of Black-designed modern architecture. African American architects and designers have been left out of the modern architecture movement for over a century. Because of this, many pioneers of the Black modernism movement remain unknown, despite the incredible work they have done to fuel innovation, experimentation and push the limits of how people interact with the built environment, said Brent Leggs, executive director of the Action Fund and senior vice president of the National Trust. With the support of the Getty Foundation, the Action Fund will continue to leverage historic preservation as a force that ensures the contributions of Black people and culture are protected and included in the narrative of our nations heritage.This is the Getty Foundations 18th grant to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Applications for this next round of Conserving Black Modernism grants will be accepted beginning January 10, 2025. Grantees will be announced in July 2025. For more information, you can click here.

Driving up the steep gravel driveway at Forge Projecta nonprofit Indigenous arts initiative in Ancram, New Yorkfirst you see, then you hear, the landscape. In the late-summer sun, black-eyed Susans, shoulder-high goldenrods, and wispy native grasses appear to shimmer as they catch the light when the breeze ripples through. Open your car door and you hear the chirping of birds and buzzing of crickets, katydids, and bees. Just a few years ago, the scenery at Forge was different: It was a neatly shorn lawn like youd find in the suburbs. The ongoing transformation of that lawn into a biodiverse meadow is the result of Forge Project restoring the principles of Indigenous land stewardship to its 60-acre site. As beautiful as the meadow is today, aesthetics are secondary to the mission of the organization: Forge is committed to developing a mutually beneficial relationship between the land and the people who use it.Forge Project is notably home to Chinese artist Ai Weiweis sole work of architecture in the U.S. (Courtesy Forge Project)This work is really meant to interrupt the ways that Western understandings of conservation often still reproduce an extractive relationship with the land rather than Indigenous worldviews that understand our interdependence with it, said Sarah Biscarra Dilley, director of Indigenous programs and relationality at Forge and a member of the Northern Chumash tribe.Forge is located on the ancestral lands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, a tribe that lived there until the United States government forced them to relocate multiple times in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most people know the area as the Hudson Valley, one of the most influential regions in the United States with respect to instilling Eurocentric ideologies about land and landscape in the West. Here, artists like Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and other Hudson River School painters portrayed sublime landscapes that romanticized myths about untouched wilderness and national expansion. Meanwhile, European settlers clear-cut the regions forests to supply timber and fuel and to make space for farming. This history is expressly visible at Forge Project from the position of its headquartersa residence that Ai Weiwei designed for an art collector in 2006. Most of the landscape around the house was either European lawn grass or hay (evidence of agriculture) with a few ornamental trees. Just beyond the homes roughly 30-acre clearing is forest.Earlier this year, Forge Project, which was founded in 2021, transitioned its leadership model to be Native-led, which included forming an Indigenous steering council and developing a memorandum of understanding with the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council. The organization took a similar approach to its landscape. It developed a vision and goals document for the land remediation work in consultation with the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council; Misty Cook, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe and herbalist; landscape architect Jamie Purinton; botanist Claudia Knab-Vispo; and meadow specialist Beth Romaker.Dramatic sunrises and sunsets make for spectacular performances over the hills. (Courtesy Forge Project)Biscarra Dilley explained that developing a process for managing the site was a structural response to the structural problem of colonization. While land acknowledgments reference the violence of colonialism, the reparative work Forge is doing is an example of what might come after.Were building on a relational way of doing things, which is central to how we work, Dilley said. Its understanding the land not as it has been conceptualized through settlement something inanimate or somehow objectified but understanding place as an interlocking and interdependent set of relations. Were not just talking about the plants; were talking about all of the life that the land supports.Its a metaphorical way of exploring what land back might look like. While the Stockbridge-Munsee have sought the return of their land, like at Monument Mountain, they have not requested the same of Forge Projects site. But if they do, we will have been stewarding the land in alignment as best we can with their protocols, said Paloma Wake, strategy and operations manager at Forge. So if it does come back to them, itll be in a better place. Forge and the landscape designers mapped the landscape and took account of the plant communities in various zones. Then they thought about how native plants could be invited into the landscapea term that comes up often when discussing Forges remediation work and speaks to the relational method of caring for the land. Cooks 2013 book Medicine Generations influenced the plant mix. We drew up this long list of plants that theoretically would be acceptable, Knab-Vispo explained. And then it was really a matter of looking at the site conditions and who would actually be happy there.Some areas, like the lawn, had no native plants, so the team decided to take a high-intervention approach to that area. This entailed the complete removal of all the grass (mostly Kentucky bluegrass, which is of European origin), tilling the soil, applying a horticultural vinegar, and reseeding it with a custom meadow mix. The plants of European origin were a profound reminder of the hard and painful history of colonialism, so their removal felt like a significant act of reclamation as much as remediation, Purinton said. For this reason, the landscape design team also decided to part with the ornamental weeping cherry trees and yellow magnolias that lined the driveway.A volunteer learns about a native plant species. (Courtesy Forge Project)Other wetter, rockier parts of the site had more biodiversity. Here, the team opted to remove plants they didnt want to seelike purple loosestrife and multiflora roses, species that grow aggressively and crowd out native onesand nurture or add the varieties they wanted to see. Theres an understanding that even though some of the plants might not be native to the area, they are playing a role in the landscape. Small yellow trefoils, for example, act as nitrogen fixers. Plants will grow where theyre needed, even if were not ready for them, Wake explained.Today, much of the removal process takes place slowly, by hand. It mostly happens during Meadow Work Days, which Forge Project, Knab-Vispo, and Purinton lead. During these afternoons, volunteers come to help selectively remove discouraged plants. In exchange, they learn about the landscape. This type of relationship building is at the heart of the remediation work. Were learning alongside the land and inviting people into that process, Wake said. Instead of putting culturally significant plants on display, like in a clearly labeled medicine garden, the Forge Project landscape encourages people to take the time to learn about them and add dimension to the richness they are experiencing.Volunteers work during the institutions Meadow Work Days. (Courtesy Forge Project)While parts of the meadow might appear to be uncultivated by Western standards, it is still tended. If left alone, the surrounding forest would grow back into the cleared meadow. Part of the ground maintenance includes cutting back saplings that might crop up. But what exists now are more plants that help pollinators and reflect the culture at Forge Project. I always like to point out that the term restoration gets used with different reference points, Knab- Vispo shared. At Forge Project, we dont try to restore an ecosystem that has never existed there before. Were inviting more native plants back into the current landscape, which reflects centuries of European-style land use andin some placesis dominated by European plants.Forge is still experimenting with its model. Its been a little over 18 months since it embarked on this remediation work, and as time goes on, the model will evolve as the organization learns and listens to what the land wants to do. As Biscarra Dilley reminds us, The land has agency.Diana Budds is a design journalist based in Brooklyn, New York.

After last weeks conclusion to the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, professional organizations from the architecture, construction, climate, and real estate sectors issued statements on what the transition could mean for the environment, economy, and racial and gender equity.While architecture groups have socioeconomic and environmental concerns, some building associations see an opportunity for slashing away at construction and rent regulations. AN rounded up a series of statements from organizations to capture the spectrum of public opinion. National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)NOMA issued a statement on social media from its executive board and board of directors summarizing the advocacy groups discontents with the latest presidential election. NOMA said that the realities facing women in our profession, including barriers to career advancement and challenges related to motherhood and mentorship will be exacerbated by President Trumps administration; DEI initiatives and HBCUs will see a rollback in support from the federal government; and DBE and MWBE will see less opportunities.The advocacy group also said the effects of tariffs and rising construction costs will worsen, placing a heavier burden on communities and reducing opportunities for equitable development. It also emphasized the need to recognize the profound implications of expanding policing and prisons in the years ahead, and to acknowledge the magnitude of global conflicts, such as those in Sudan and Palestine. The full statement can be accessed here.National Association of Realtors (NAR)Today, the National Association of Realtors is one of the most powerful lobbying groups on Capitol Hill. The Super PAC regularly squashes ballot initiatives for rent control, eviction protections, and so forth. In 2022, NAR invested $84.11 million on lobbying politicians, outspending virtually every other Super PAC in the U.S.Ahead of the 2024 election cycle, NAR spent $13.6 million on independent expenditure campaigns, and an additional $5.5 million went to state and local associations fighting against rent control, and other tenants rights efforts. According to NAR, 98 percent of congressional candidates who received NARs support won their districts. Looking ahead, NAR will advocate for tax cuts, such as the ugly 11 tax proposals from the Biden Administration it fought against, and won. Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN)ACAN is a nationwide organization that works at the intersection of ecological and climate crises. On November 6, the day when Vice President Harris conceded the election, ACAN called this election seasons results a setback but vowed to maintain its advocacy work. ACANs words are shared below:The US election results may feel like a setback in driving substantive climate action, but history has shown that even in challenging times, we have the resilience and capacity to transform our communities, our institutions, and our future. Now is not the time to despair; its the time to organise strategically and take meaningful climate action.The work we do on the groundin our local communities, in our universities, and in every place where people gather for a better world will drive the change we need. Lets channel any disappointment into determination. We are part of a growing movement that cannot be silenced or sidelined. The climate crisis waits for no one, and the solutions we fight for are critical for all life on this planet.In the face of this moment, one thing is clear: we cannot lose sight of the power we hold when we come together.Lets come together in solidarity and seize this moment to intensify our efforts. From grassroots networks to international forums, our collective action is unstoppable. This is our opportunity to build even stronger alliances, hold leaders accountable, challenge disinformation, and inspire others to join in protecting our planet and achieving climate justice.Were not giving up. Were just getting started.AIA New York | Center for ArchitectureExecutive director of AIA NY, Jesse Lazar, wrote a letter to members, colleagues, and friends of Center for Architecture. This is what it said:Today is a sad and challenging day for many of us. Although our community is broad, with varying social and political priorities and perspectives represented, we acknowledge and empathize with the pain, concern, and fear that so many are experiencing. We are particularly mindful of those who identify with or love others who are part of communities that have been targeted during the presidential campaign.Both AIA New York and the Center for Architecture will continue to pursue action to honor our shared vision of advancing the value and practice of architecture to promote just and sustainable communities. We look forward to sharing more plans for how we will do that work together. In the meantime, all are welcome here at the Center for Architecture, wherewe are committedto providing a safe and enriching environment that celebrates community, collaboration, and learning.The institutions in which we participate, the groups to which we belong, and the civic engagement we do together are vital tools for change and empowerment. We hope you will find your ongoing connection to AIA New York and the Center for Architecture especially valuable in challenging times. Below is a list of some upcoming opportunities to be together as a design community in the next few days. We hope we will see you, and in the meantime, take care of yourselves and others. Association of Builders and Contractors (ABC)Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO, welcomed last weeks results, calling the outcome an exciting day for our industry. Bellamans full statement is shared below:ABC is optimistic about the future of Americas construction industry and the opportunities to advance policies that protect free enterprise, reduce regulatory burdens and expand workforce development. With leaders and lawmakers committed to promoting economic growth and supporting the principles of fair and open competition, we are confident that the construction industry will thrive and all workers will be given the opportunity to build America with fewer obstacles.ABC looks forward to working with the Trump administration and Congress to advance policies that solve the issues that the construction industry faces, including the skilled labor shortage ofmore than half a million, widespread regulatory burdens and inflation and tax challenges, said Bellaman. We also welcome the opportunity to work with a president who is willing to welcome all of the U.S. construction industry to rebuild America.U.S. Green Building Council California (USGBC)Ben Stapleton, executive director of USGBC California, said that, after this latest election season, the path for climate experts has become steeper and more rugged,but also, in some ways clearer and more in focus. In Stapletons letter, he told his constituents that the struggle is real, and we and they need you now more than ever. And you are not alone. Stapleton proceeded to lay out clear cut initiatives he said need advocating for, such as scaling USGBCsNet Zero Accelerator and 50L Home initiative, building up a green workforce, and the Green Homes California program.National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA)Since 1964, the National Utility Contractors Association has been a non-partisan group with thousands of members involved in building and maintaining water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, and electric infrastructure. Doug Carlson, NUCAs CEO, congratulated Trump on his victory while outlining his main priorities moving forward, with a strong emphasis on clean drinking water, but also roads, bridges, energy, and broadband infrastructure. Carlsons statement is shared below:Washington, D.C. must face the fact that there is an estimated $1 trillion in essential water infrastructure needs across water and wastewater systems over the next 20 years. Congress must appropriate funds at the levels signed into law through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. And it must start planning for what comes next after this funding ends in FY2026.Americas infrastructure issues are nonpartisan. A leaking water service main, or Americans without clean water is everyones concerns. And that is just the start. Americans are counting on Congress to responsibly deliver the billions of dollars in construction for the roads, bridges, energy, and broadband infrastructure our nation needs.The longer we wait to invest in our water infrastructure needs, the greater that number grows. Eventually, the bill will come due. Water systems all around the country rely on federal funding to help them meet their clean water goals. Our view is simplecutting water funding is a mistake our next President and the coming 119th Congress cant afford to make. Americans are counting on their newly elected leaders to invest in clean water. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA president and CEO, was also congratulatory. Hopper said her team hopes to work with the Trump administration, and building out the countrys existing solar and storage industry.Domestic solar manufacturing has grown four-fold under pro-business federal clean energy policies, and soon, we will have enough American-made solar panels to meet our demand for solar deployment. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans support these policies, which are uplifting communities in states like Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina with thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investments.SEIA looks forward to working with the new administration and members of Congress to build on the progress of the last four years. Together we can secure a future of clean energy abundance and prosperity.Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL)Rachel Kerestes, CCLs executive director, said in her statement that the American people have spoken. In January, president-elect Donald Trump and, likely, a Republican-controlled Congress will take office. Kerestes continued that CCLs advocacy work must go on, much like ACANs sentiments.We are clear-eyed about the challenge this result presents for climate action. This moment in American politics will require a lot from climate advocates. It will require a vigorous, focused defense of what our movement has achieved so far. At the same time, it will require a willingness to find opportunities to achieve additional, meaningful progress.Citizens Climate Lobby is ready to meet this moment. Our long history of working respectfully across the aisle means we have earned a seat at the table with lawmakers in both parties. Even now, we are well positioned to make progress on evidence-based climate solutions. With the support of our dedicated staff and grassroots volunteers nationwide, we intend to do just that.AN will continue to update to this list with statements from other organizations involved with the built environment.

If Le Corbusier saw houses as machines for living, then I see this house as my machine for skiing, said Rick Cook, cofounder of COOKFOX, of his newly designed project in upstate New York. That skiing machinemeasuring a little over 3,000 square feet across three storieswas designed by the architect himself. Sited deep in the North Country, the alpine-inflected contemporary home rests on a wooded acre within Bear Valley, a ravine next to the rolling hills of Titus Mountain and directly in the path of a ski trail. When the opportunity to purchase a parcel of land in the valley came up, Cook jumped on the chance to create his interpretation of a family-oriented, purpose-built machine for Adirondack living.The home is nestled in the forest but sited intentionally to offer ski in, ski out access. (Francois Dischinger)Ours is the first modern structure in the valley, so we had to balance our aesthetic inclinations with a sensitivity to the context and history of the site, Cook explained. To do that, he looked at the historic Adirondack homes neighboring the property, copying their basic shapes and forms, echoing their deep dormers and front porticos. These architectural elements also reminded Cook of other styles of homes found in snowy climes, specifically Swiss chalets and Nordic lodges. Cook used cedar inside and outside the house to maintain the traditional wood material of those typologies. He wrapped the exterior in blackened cedar paneling and outfitted the soffits, railings, and outdoor staircase in clear-coated cedar boards. However, a subtle decorative touch was introduced, though still in keeping with his modernist inclinations: Cook cut ski marker shapes (diamonds, squares, and circles demarcating trail difficulty levels) into the buildings balustrades. The geometric motif cleverly broadcasts the homes raison dtre more than typical stencil-cut hearts and evergreen trees. The home stretches across the sites dramatic slope, meaning the living room is lofted above a boot-on mud room. (Francois Dischinger)That explicit connection to skiing wasnt relegated to mere decoration, though. The lowest level of the house was designed to be ski in, ski out. Cook embedded the home into an incline, meaning a pit stop while descending the mountain via the trail would be easy. A covered terrace with storage for skis opens to a boot-on hallway (furnished with commercial-grade carpet) that leads to a tiled powder room. Having a bathroom you can run into with your boots still on is a huge luxury. Every ski family would smile knowing this exists, said Cook. Architectural details found on Swiss chalets and Nordic lodges, such as pitched roofs and small balconies define the house. (Francois Dischinger)Walk up the stairs, and youre in the heart of the home: a double-height, open-concept floorplan with room for cooking, eating, and lounging. Cook used cedar again for the interiors, shellacking and staining them all whitehe is a modernist, after all. To combat that monochrome abundance, he made several openings along the east, north, and west sides for picture windows and sliding glass doors connected to a covered balcony, which looks out over the forests canopy. When it snows, being in there is like what I imagine being inside a snow globe would feel like, Cook said. Two ancillary bedrooms and a full bath complete the first floor. The primary bedroom and bathroom, shared by Cook and his wife, Ellen, occupy the top floor.The living room enjoys generous windows that dont compromise on energy efficiency, and it connects via an open plan to a green-tiled kitchen. (Francois Dischinger)In keeping with Cooks professional reputation as a leader in sustainable design, he ensured his ski home reached the highest possible metrics of efficiency and thermal comfortwithout breaking the bank. An energy recovery ventilator and R60 insulation in the ceiling keep the air in the house clean and comfortable year-round. High-performance window panes filled with argon gas keep drafts from seeping through the large aluminum-clad wooden frames. The front door reached an impressive 1.48 ACH50 when a blower door test was performedtwice as efficient as what code dictates for a home in this northern climate zone (6a). Budget is always a concern when trying to DIY sustainability, explained Cook, but we got the house pretty close to Passive House standards at less than $400 per square foot.The house in Bear Valley was completed on a short timeline of just 16 months. (Francois Dischinger)Unlike Cooks primary residence downstate, which took 20 years to complete, the Bear Valley house was move-in-ready in just 16 monthsCOVID-19 supply troubles notwithstanding. Cook and his family have enjoyed two winters in it now. Every housewhether for yourself or a clientis about fulfilling hopes and aspirations beyond mere shelter, said Cook. For our family, this house perfectly articulates its purpose: a place for having a great time together.Anna Gibertini is a freelance design journalist, copy editor, and sometimes marketer.

Brought to you by:Architect: Weiss/ManfrediLocation: TorontoCompletion Date: 2024A pair of flat-top concrete pyramids designed by New York Citybased architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi now anoint the entrance to Torontos Queens Park. Known as the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Center (SRIC), the new structure will serve as a technology and artificial intelligence incubator for the University of Toronto, connecting students and researchers to local start-ups and corporations. To bring light down to the street level, Weiss/Manfredi designed a sloped facade for the SRIC and clad the building in white-colored precast concrete, brightening its appearance. Weiss/Manfredis SRIC rises 13 stories and affords 200,000 square feet of space for the universitys technology and entrepreneurship programs. (Younes Bounhar)The SRIC is sited in a peculiar location at the convergence of the University of Toronto, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and Toronto General Hospital campuses. Weiss/Manfredi, a firm known in part for its academic work, brought their prior experience working with unusual sites to bear on the project. We were fortunate to have worked on some other projects that dont fit neatly into the heart or center of the campus, said Marion Weiss, one of the firms founding partners.The architects were also faced with a range of surrounding architectural styles to respond to. There are nearby Brutalist structures, such as the University of Torontos medical sciences building, and Ontarios Ministry of Finance, which is directly adjacent to the site. Queens Park creates a dramatic view corridor to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, a massive red-sandstone building in the Romanesque style, and directly to the south is the Toronto General Hospital, a campus with a variety of architectural styles.The SRIC is located to the southeast of Queens Park, a large green space that fronts the Ontario Legislature. (Courtesy Weiss/Manfredi)One strategy to engage the adjoining urban fabric was the firms implementation of a series of outdoor balconies or winter gardens across the surface of the building. Each balconys height corresponds to that of a nearby structure. For example, the highest winter garden is in line with the Ministry of Finance.These spaces were afforded by insets in the facadeglazed cut aways that snake across the surface of the SRIC. The open slices of glass correspond with the buildings circulationits fire stairs and elevatorsas well as event and gathering spaces on the upper levels. Furthermore, glazing encases the ground floor lobby establishing connection to the Ontario Fire Fighters memorial, an adjacent pocket park.Massing diagram (Courtesy Weiss/Manfredi)The connections are made less through the material expression and more through the form of the building, Michael Manfredi, founding partner of Weiss/Manfredi, told AN. If youre moving through the building, youre always aware of the geography of the building and the context. Consideration of sunlight also shaped the SRICs design. The buildings slanted faces and pyramidal form are functional, allowing light to reach the street level. In addition, the height of the buildings western mass was reduced to accommodate the sites zoning, which forbid the creation of new shadows across Queens Park.The precast panels are faceted in form, creating a cascade of shadows that change throughout the day. (Courtesy Weiss/Manfredi)Faced with many nearby precedents for exterior expression, such as glass, stone, and brick, Weiss Manfredi ultimately selected precast concrete to brighten the buildings appearance and avoid an overbearing presence. A lot of people think that glass buildings are going to be the brightest building you can come up with, but by day, theyre often very black on the outside, and we wanted the building to feel as if it was luminous at all times, Weiss added.Precast concrete was also chosen due to its abundance in Ontario. The province is home to a number of fabricators and installers that work with the material. By leveraging local industries, the firm hoped to reduce the projects embodied energy.An oak paneled event space sits on the second floor of the SRIC. (Albert Vecerka)The interior of the building contains conference rooms, dry labs for computation and robotics, classrooms, and multiple event spaces, programs that will support the University of Torontos Entrepreneurship program, Innovations and Partnerships Office, and Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. In reference to Canadas position as a major exporter of timber, the SRIC has been furnished throughout with amber-stained oak paneling, a feature that is perhaps most dramatic inside the buildings main event space.University of Torontos SRIC is the result of a $100 million donation by Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reismanthe centers namesakesthat currently stands as the largest contribution in the schools history. A further expansion of the centeralso designed by Weiss/Manfrediis planned for the future.Project SpecificationsDesign Architect: Weiss/ManfrediArchitect of Record: Teeple ArchitectsMEP Engineer: Crossey EngineeringStructural Engineer: Thornton TomasettiCivil Engineer: Cole EngineeringAcoustics: NOVUS EnvironmentalWind: SLR ConsultingLighting: Lighting WorkshopConstruction Manager: EllisDon CorporationFacade Consultant: RJC Engineers, HeintgesFacade Access: ProbelConcrete: Tri-KreteFacade Installation: TKL GroupCurtain Wall: ANTAMEXLandscape Architect: DTAHHeritage Consultant: ERA ArchitectsTraffic: BA Consulting GroupVertical Transportation: Van Deusen & AssociatesSustainability Consultant: Atelier TenCost Estimation: HanscombCode Consultant: LMDG Building Code ConsultantsCivil Engineer: Cole EngineeringSpecifications: Teeple ArchitectsGeotechnical: OHE ConsultantsCommissioning: RWDIArborist: Bruce Tree

The California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco has long been a hotbed for creative expression in the Bay Area. There, Studio Gang has completed a new mass timber building that offers artists and designers more space to explore. Surfacedesign ideated the landscape component, crafting exterior space for leisure and learning. The 82,000-square-foot addition by Studio Gang and Surfacedesign contains art-making facilities, learning spaces, and terraces. The ground level has both indoor and outdoor workshop spaces catered for large-scale fabrication, as well as two large maker yards with additional workshops, helping bring natural light into the interior.The terrace is accessible to students and faculty, providing outdoor learning space. (Jason ORear)The design intends to create a dynamic environment for art and design education, while also inspiring new forms of making through unexpected interactions between disciplines, Jeanne Gang said in a statement. The firm first unveiled renderings of the project in 2018. From afar, the expansion is defined by its braced frame system, marking what Studio Gang said is among the first exposed mass structures in California. The overall ensemble can be understood as a robust plinth topped by two pavilions where classrooms and studios are sited.The design reduces the new buildings embodied carbon footprint by about half of what typical baseline buildings consume, Studio Gang noted. The heaviest equipment was placed on the ground plane; this both reduced the structure necessary on upper levels and allowed for adaptation over time.The fabrication equipment and heavy energy systems are located on the ground level. (Jason ORear)The exterior envelope is mostly defined by a natural wood palette while the interiors have splashes of color. (Jason ORear)Above the base, two mass timber pavilions host classrooms, art studios, and the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts. These pavilions lead to a green terraced landscape that unifies upper and lower levels. This portion takes advantage of the Bay Areas temperate climate, conducive for outdoor learning.Self-shading facades and night-flush ventilation naturally cool the building, further reducing energy consumption. Architects further noted that, in the future, the building has infrastructure in place that will allow it become a closed-loop, net-positive structure.

Joyspace is a new book by Adam Rolston. His ambitious text, in part a response to Rem Koolhaass 2002 essay Junkspace, surveys modernisms discontents, contemporary media addictions, and the dissolution of the binary fields of architecture and interior design. The two sections below bookend the publication: After quite literally asking How did we get here? Rolston provides expert answers before filing a final chapter that illuminates how Joyspace is resistance. I Like Therefore I Am (Disrupting Forces) I have been up all night with my smartphone gleaming on my face, casting inverted, gravity-defying shadows on the walls. I am as bright as the dopamine rushing through my synapses. I have been wrapped in the limits of logic, posting feverishly to the ends of the Earth, connecting across space with time-bending speed, love, and endless hope for a blindingly bright and beautiful future.Social media is the end of authorship again. Authorship is deadlong live authorship. On the superhighway of digital image exchange, there is no speed limit. Every pixel is curated, edited, and thrust forth in an endless visual thirst trap. Online, there is an unceasing tsunami of taste. An arms race of the aesthetic is on. A global feedback loop has created subculturally defined communities. We all look at and like images in a self-affirming orgy of autonomic admiration. It is a searchable firehose of beauty. Here, the spectator and the maker alike circulate art, architecture, and design in an infinite stream. Everybody is an author, and nobody is an author in a flood of influence. A tidal wave of ideas is up for grabs. Ideas that exist before we have them. Virtual spaces.Buildings of the mind. Unimagined art and artifice. All these ideas belong to all of us and no one. In the future, everyone will be famous for a fraction of a second. Taste is in the eye of each community of beholders. The consensus of aesthetic opinion is roadkill on the virtual asphalt of the internet. We have never been more connected and self-sorted into cul-de-sacs of aesthetic affinity that we define and are defined by. In the future, innovation will only be situational. We will have a global view but create locally. We will ride the wave of ideas and images across the planet but surf it home. I like; therefore, I am.A wormhole in your pocket collapses and warps all time, place, and history. There is no now or later, nor here or there. Past and present have been bent upon themselves. We live in a world where binary code has made the collapse of ridged binaries possible.We live in a fourth dimension with almost all of human history, culture, and fantasy available in the palm of our hands. Our smartphones are a prosthetic memory palace that contains and spreads our histories and dreams infectiously across a planet of cultures to be consumed, sampled, absorbed, reconfigured, and reincorporated into a global creative production that reaches ever more deeply into our collective unconscious. It is a glorious, unstoppable wave of imagination.Like a fever dream, the twenty-four/seven digital image distribution of imagined and in- real-life architecture and design has distorted the field of play. Buildings have begun to look like renders. Renders are indistinguishable from real-life objects. The design of an interior in Bahrain shared on social media can influence one in Baltimore in real- time. Intellectual property in the designed and built environment has become risible in the context of digital all-access. Social media and digital collaborative tools are transforming how we work and create with yesterdays top-down strategy of aesthetic leadership, giving way to new forms of collective creativity. A new networked model of the twenty-first century has replaced the hierarchical, linear, siloed, industrial production model of the nineteenth. AI has changed the game. Our creative cultures are shifting. Disruption is the zeitgeist. Do we need to rethink our definitions of value in the built environment? How is the role of the architect and designer changing in this new, radically different context, and how did we get here? Joyspace (Possible Futures) Aesthetics are the new non-planimetric nationalism. We love to murder to dissect. In a blink, we unconsciously divide our world into tribes within tribes. Today, form follows habitus. Taste is the new world order. Our habitus is the passport to territories of enfranchisement. We wear our boarding passes on our backs. We fashion fashion to communicate access and belonging. We journey to Joyspace. We congregate in places that reflect our inner selves. Joyspace brings us together. Creative selfhood is the vaccine for the ubiquity of the techno-capital pandemic of sameness. Joyspace is the immune system of subcultural coherence. A radical disruption in the fabric of dominance has emerged. Joyspace is resistance. Joyspace is time travel. Joyspace is polymorphous.Positive space is the new negative space. We dream ourselves into the spatial languages of the unconscious. Hyper-referential, self-constituting physical and virtual environments manifest ideas about ourselves materially. Joyspace is a field of thought and action. I occupy Joyspace; therefore, I am. Joyspace is the libidinal weaponization of habitus against the corporate war on humanness. It is the erotic iron dome that defends against the monetization of desire. It is impossible to bomb Joyspace out of existence. It is noncontiguous, transferable, and peripatetic. We move between our social territories, inhabiting culturally defined spatial configurations born of our collective unconscious. Search engines connect us globally in a strategic network of spaces, places, signs, and symbols. We find each other through form. We see ourselves through symbols. Our bodies are a battleground. Our spaces are our ramparts. Joyspaces are the SPF that protects us from the monetization of our corporal habitus, our bodies, and ourselves.The exponential explosion of taxonomies of beauty is rendering the corporate anatomical averages of Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, and Beyonc Knowles meaningless. In the future, plastic surgery, Ozempic, collagen injections, wrinkle cream, and liposuction will be the stuff of art, not artifice. The corporate conversion loop that transforms economic capital into symbolic capital via the invasive processing of physical appearance will be rendered impotent. We will craft our corporal image out of joy, not transactional necessity. When all bodies have secular worth, the religious financialization of singular physical value definitions will lose meaning. When all bodies are a Joyspace, no bodies are an ideal. In Joyspace, our bodies are a playground. Junkspace is what happens when Modernism loses its mission, when negative space becomes a negation. Modernism without joy is a skinned rabbit walkinga Lagomorpha emperor without clothes. Joyspace is the proprioceptive skin animated by the internal organs and the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems of HVAC, concrete, steel, conduit, fiber-optic cable, and insulation of the endless global built environmentthe invasive species of Modernism withers and retreats when Joyspace provides life, coherence, and form. The corporate, scientific, and data-driven guts of techno-capitals planetary construction infrastructure, immunized by Joyspace, become the lifeblood of cultural coherence. Wherever there is air-conditioning, Joyspace can grow. There is a contest for the survival of the fittest among a spectrum of agents, from the ad hoc habitus of vernacular Joyspace to the monetized anti-Joyspace of the techno-capital network. Anti Joyspace cannot metastasize where Joyspace flourishes. Joyspace gives. Junkspace taketh away.Joyspace is in the liminal architectures of everyday life, like a colorful blanket spread out for a picnic, a childs pillow fort, a hot dog cart, a street fair tent festooned with catenary lights, a chuppah swathed with flowers, a stage set on Broadway, a decorated food truck, the lost graffiti-covered 5 Pointz building of Queens, a Burning Man structure, Fusterlandia in Havana, Ferdinand Chevals Le Palais Idal, Freetown Christiania, or any other place where human joy and self-expression collide with public space.Empathy is the scalpel that sculpts the architecture of the body politic. Today, designers are Bordieusians. Joyspace is the surgical manifestation of physical habitus, a subjective but not individual system of internalized structures, schemes of perception, conception, and action common to all members of a tribe. There are over six thousand languages spoken on this planet. At least as many nonverbal, visual, symbolic frameworks expressive of specific cultural subject positions exist and are evolving worldwide right now. Designers of Joyspace are aesthetic polyglots. They are conjurers of symbols, close-readers of desire, and translators of positive space. Joyspace is always negotiated with its creators, patrons, and audience regarding the past, present, and future. It is a battleground that wins an audience only through representation. There is a new ambition to connect and negotiate across cultures. An aesthetic xenophilia that is open, global, and polyvalent has emerged. Emotion is now a bona fide source of aesthetic inspiration and a functional requirement. Form now follows feeling. Joyspaces emphasize awe and wonder, especially concerning new aesthetic categories of the natural and human-made sublime. The aestheticism of Joyspace differs from its romantic predecessors because it does not relegate formalism (or form) to a secondary status but mobilizes it as the foundation of more robust, muscular, visually symbolic languages that would be impoverished without it. Here, architecture and design are approached as neither pure sculpture nor pure scenography but rather in a liminal space that can synthesize the two. Designers are now empaths and forensicists, close-reading audiences as the stuff of aesthetic drivers, both form-giving and symbol-generating.The aesthetic pendulum swing that now travels globally at the speed of light has fostered partisan globophobia and its kinder sibling globaphilia. Petulant, fragile aesthetic xenophobia mirrors its opposite, exuberant libidinal xenophilia. This race to the extremes of isolationism and multiculturalism reflects the disruptive rush of global connectedness. But, a new nonbinary approach has emerged that fosters nuanced respect for ever-evolving cultural specificity and the hybridity born of all access. In these new ecosystems, some aesthetic species or languages flourish, some are lost, and new species are created daily in a libidinal mating of ideas flowing across the planet at previously unfathomable speeds; creating Joyspace everywhere, these ecosystems infectiously spread. Joy will out. Us is more. Ive seen things I couldnt believe: metal turned to stone spinning in the Bahraini sun, a flying dome evaporating into a grass field off the coast of Alqueva Lake. Ive seen phantoms from marginalized pasts made material in Covent Garden. All those moments across the multiverse will be captured forever in code-like tears of joy in an endless ocean of data. We are riding a swell on the outside break mid-journey toward a post-xenophobic drop where no universalisms will be needed. The craving for humanity, significance, and coherence will drive deep situational action to create architectures that are the stuff of power, poetry, symbol, and transformation. We are balancing on the crest of a bright, beautiful binary wave. We cut a line once again into a brave new nonbinary future.Joyspace is published by Pacific Books and was released on October 1. The title is the inaugural publication in the Pacific Design Series and is available on pacificpacific.pub. Adam Rolston, senior founding partner of INC Architecture & Design, has been shaping the built environment for over three decades. Raised in Los Angeles and educated in Connecticut, New York, and Florence, Rolston has lived and worked in Asia, Europe, and the United States.

News broke this week that an office building in Houston designed by I. M. Pei sold at a bankruptcy auction for $27 million. The 11-story building, completed in 1980, features a striking glass-enclosed atrium. TwentyFour25, its official name that refers to its numeral address along West Loop Street, is a 285,000-square-foot office building. For many years it housed department store Stage Stores, the retail conglomerate that owned now-shuttered brands such as Bealls, Goodys, Gordmans, Peebles, and Palais Royal. Positioned in the heart of Houstons premier retail district, TwentyFour25 is close to the Galleriathe largest mall in Texas. The surrounding area is more than just a retail paradise, over 2,000 companies and more than 11 percent of Houstons total office space are concentrated in the area.The Pei-designed commercial building filed for bankruptcy in December 2023. Hilco Real Estate Sales (HRE), was engaged by Galleria 2425 Trustee, Jones Murray, to manage the sale of the property. It was put up for auction in May with a tight bidding period that lasted just 30 days. In addition to its glass-enclosed atrium, TwentyFour25 boasts expansive windows with views out toward the Houston skyline. Building amenities include, a fitness center on-site cafe, and a multi-level parking garage.The building recently underwent renovations. In its listing HRE said the upgrades pay homage to Peis visionary work. They include the new fitness center and lounges, as well as new signage throughout and a revamped reception area and courtyard. La G Studio, a design and branding agency, was tapped to create a visual identity for it that aligns with the buildings architectural significance and its future purpose, whatever that may be.