Summer seems to be the season to demolish old schools. There’s nothing that makes people madder than when a neighborhood school is reduced to rubble. One Portland blogger compared the wreckage of a 1920s school to Dresden. People in Beaumont, Texas, took the local school district to court to save their 87-year-old high school, and those “Greenies” are fired up on Facebook.
Architecture
Elevated Train Stations Prove Controversial
In Honolulu, plans for 21 train stations on the new Kapolei to Ala Moana rail are raising eyebrows, primarily because of their significant size. Designers have taken steps to hide the bulk through landscaping and camouflage.
The Honolulu Advertiser
How to Build Chicago
This video from WTTW looks at a huge new model of the city of Chicago, and shows how it was built.
WTTW
Understanding Atlantic Yards
Katherine Melia explains the relevant points on the Atlantic Yards controversy in Brooklyn for those not embroiled in the controversy over eminent domain, starchitecture, and more.
Next American City
A Unique Condo for a Difficult Site
In Copenhagen, architect David Zahle faced with a problem site. They needed to build 215,000 sq. ft. of parking and 108,000 sq. ft. of housing on one lot. The solution was a sort of artificial mountain.
Dwell
Building for the Multicultural
Builder Fernando Pagés Ruiz discovered by accident that the multicultural groups in his community had special needs that weren't being met.
London's Sexiest Olympics Architecture is for its Infrastructure
As it prepares to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, the City of London is getting closer to completion on some of its event-related infrastructure. So far, the best buildings are more nuts-and-bolts than flash, according to this piece.
Blueprint
Vancouver approves Laneway Housing and "Suites within Suites"
Wed, 07/29/2009 - 09:17
A quick post to note that on Tuesday of last week, Vancouver City Council unanimously approved bylaws to put into place Vancouver's new "suites within suites" housing option, across the City. Also referred to as "lock-off suites", these secondary suites within apartments are meant to represent an opportunity for housing flexibility, with such suites usable as a rental mortgage helper (a “mortgage helper in the sky”, as one article puts it), a separated but related unit for an elderly parent or aging teenager, a unit for a care-giver, or any other relationship an apartment owner might need.
Jane Jacobs vs. Robert Moses
A review by John King of Anthony Flint's new book, Wrestling With Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City.
The San Francisco Chronicle
The Future of Francisville
The Philadelphia neighborhood of Francisville is about to get an urban makeover, but two competing visions have very different ideas of what that means.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Building Codes: Most Important Aspect of Climate Bill
Architect Edward Mazria looks at the climate bill heading to the Senate for approval and argues that its most important part is the section on building energy codes, which he calls "more powerful than 100 nuclear plants".
Grist
Architectural Heritage Endangered in Moscow
Moscow's architectural heritage is in danger, according to a new report on preservation in the city.
Metropolis
Rybczynski on the History of Airport Architecture
Witold Rybczynski provides an illustrated history of airport architecture on Slate [Slideshow].
Slate.com
The Battle Over a Historic L.A. Hotel
Preservationists and developers are deep in a dispute over the Century Plaza hotel in L.A. On the drawing board are two high rise towers, but defenders of the site argue the hotel's historic value trumps the benefit the new project would bring.
The New York Times
The Shared Developmental Trajectory of Megachurches and Corporate America
This piece from Triple Canopy tracks the development of megachurches in America and the similar trajectory of corporate headquarters from dense city areas to vast exurban campuses.
Triple Canopy
LEED-ND: Yay or Nay?
After five years of preparation and testing, members of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Congress for the New Urbanism will begin balloting in late July on whether to authorize a full-fledged LEED-Neighborhood Development program.
New Urban News
Is New Urbanism Conservative-Friendly?
A conservative Christian reporter attended the Congress for New Urbanism this year, and found that many New Urbanists support strategies that don't fit neatly into Democratic or Republican platforms.
WORLD Magazine
Prince Charles vs. the Architects
A dust-up between architects and the Prince of Wales over a speech and a £1b development is bringing the age-old battle between traditional and modern architecture to a head. Managing editor Tim Halbur summarizes the news.
