Architecture
Qatar's X-Rated Stadium and the Dangers of Designing "Readable" Buildings
With the help of Buzzfeed, Zaha Hadid's design for Qatar's new Al-Wakrah sports stadium - which happens to bear a resemblance to "lady parts" - went viral this week. Philip Kennicott examines Qatar's "awkward moment".
Apple "Spaceship" Gets Approval to Land in Cupertino
Steve Jobs's final product got the go-ahead from an enthusiastic Cupertino City Council yesterday. The company's controversial new headquarters, dubbed the "spaceship campus", forgoes the tech trend towards urban offices for a pastoral setting.
10 Ways Cities Are Turning Back Time
It's back to the future for global cities, now that we've realized what a mess the 20th century was.
Does Vancouver Ban Herald the Death of the Doorknob?
Amendments to Vancouver's building code adopted in September will require lever handles on all doors in newly built housing beginning next March. Could such code changes soon be adopted far and wide?
Kanye West Delivers Desktop Pep Talk at Harvard GSD
Musician and aspiring designer Kanye West stopped by Harvard’s Graduate School of Design for a surprise visit Sunday evening and delivered what Jenny Xie calls a manifesto on architecture.
New Pinterest Headquarters Favors Flexibility Over Tradition
The social media company Pinterest has a new home, in a converted 45,000-square-foot warehouse in San Francisco.
New Neighborhood Sets Extraordinary Bar for Sustainability
Sure, reusing an existing building is probably the most sustainable method of construction, but a new neighborhood on Bainbridge Island, Washington sets an enviable standard for environmental responsibility in every aspect of its design.
Replacing Parking with People: The Next Wave of Adaptive Reuse
The trend towards less driving and auto ownership is causing designers to rethink the future of America's ever-growing supply of parking garages. Eric Jaffe explores what it means to design a garage with an eye towards a less car-dependent future.
Ohio State Senators Want to Ban LEED
If two Ohio state senators get their way, the Buckeye State will be the latest on the anti-LEED bandwagon.
Gehry and Facebook Together Again in London, Dublin
Facebook has a thing for Frank Gehry—and the feeling, apparently, is mutual.
Is One World Trade America's Tallest Building? Depends Who You Ask
Spire or antenna; what sits atop One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan? The answer isn't just semantics, it will determine if the building is indeed taller than Chicago's Willis Tower. A decision by the official arbiter could come next week.
Seeking Sustainability Beyond LEED
What does it take to build sustainably? That a question that the USGBC's LEED program hoped to define. A group of developers in New York is trying to go beyond LEED to create "truly sustainable buildings".
Friday Funny: Apartment Building's Fake Window Facepalm
Images of a new apartment development in Qingdao, Shandong province have caused a stir on the Internet in recent weeks. The reason? Builders painted dozens of fake windows along the high-rise buildings' facades. Who were they trying to fool?
Top 20 Weird & Wonderful Urban Bridges
Though meant to unite, bridges can be divisive structures. What should a bridge really be? Does clever design matter, or is it all about function? Here are 20 bridges from around the world that stand out as interesting, if not always functional.
NYC: 7 Things at Risk, Post-Bloomberg
As Mayor Bloomberg gets set to leave office in New York, here are 7 things that may dramatically change under a new administration.
Pioneering Mixed-Income Project Provides a Model for Solving D.C.'s Affordability Crisis
When the Townhomes on Capitol Hill replaced the Ellen Wilson public housing project 14 years ago, mixed-income housing was a novel strategy. Now that such projects are common, what lessons can the Townhomes provide for developing affordable housing?
In Defense of Architectural Nostalgia
Robert A.M. Stern doesn't get much respect from the architectural avant-garde. In a time in which sleek glass and curves are all the rage, Stern goes against the grain with his use of stone and nods to history. Does that make him a lesser architect?
Hong Kong to Get a Carbon Labelling Scheme to Fight CO2
The Construction Industry Council is launching a Carbon Labelling Scheme for Construction Materials in December 2013, the purpose of which is to communicate verifiable and accurate information on the carbon footprint of construction materials.
AIA Pushes for Architecture Peace Corps
The AIA is pushing Congress to establish an AmeriCorps-like program for young architects. With the potential for aiding underserved communities, reducing student loans, and providing recent grads with real-world experience, what's not to like?
Cities and Businesses Aim to Wipe Out Demolition Waste
Cities and businesses are looking to reduce waste from demolition sites and increase the amount of recycled material used in new developments.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
