Architecture
Big Winner of Tiny Apartment Competition Unveiled
Today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the winner of a competition to build a micro-apartment pilot project in Manhattan. Consisting of 55 micro-units measuring between 250 and 375 square feet, the project will utilize modular construction.
A Korean City for Books and Architecture
Shannon Mattern visits a "a publishers’ enclave" that is seeking to reinvent Korean publishing, architecture and urban planning in the wetlands near the Demilitarized Zone.
John Lautner: Architect for Evil
The homes designed by architect John Lautner have appeared often in films, many times as characters themselves and many times associated with villains. Adam Baer examines what it is about Lautner's designs that inspire associations with evil.
One of New York's Grande Dames Turns 100
As the 100th anniversary of its opening approaches, The New York Times recounts the birth of one of the finest railway stations in the world - Grand Central Terminal.
The Tokyo Model: From Post-War Slum to Superpower
In this compelling essay, authors Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava take a look at Tokyo's post-war development and explore how lessons learned from its unplanned growth may be useful for other rapidly urbanizing Asian cities today.
The Rise of the Trophy Rental
Renting out luxury homes has become an attractive choice in today's housing market. High-end renters get many of the benefits of owning a home, with greater built-in flexibility, and without the financial risk.
India's Energy and Resources Institute Taking the LEED
India’s foremost environmental think tank is touting a recently developed sustainable building certification program "Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment" (GRIHA) as more holistic than LEED. Could it also help enforce labor laws?
A Model for How to Transform a Cherished Sports Landmark
The decade-long transformation of Toronto's historic Maple Leaf Gardens into a new centerpiece for its neighborhood may serve as a model for one of the trickiest types of adaptive reuse, reports Mark Byrnes.
What Can be Learned from China's Copycat Architecture?
A new book on the subject argues that we shouldn't be so quick to discount China's increasing instances of architectural mimicry. The practice reveals much about 'the hopes, dreams and contradictions of China's middle class.'
Sandy Already Changing How Buildings are Designed in NYC
From roof mounted gas-powered generators to emergency floodgates and watertight mechanical rooms, developers and their designers in New York are already incorporating preventative measures into new and revised designs for their buildings.
Revealing Modernism’s ‘Holy Grail’
Lafayette Park is a thriving and diverse neighborhood of high rises and townhouses designed by Mies van der Rohe. This unique modern architecture success story in Detroit is showcased in a new book "Thanks for the View, Mr. Mies."
Affordable Housing with First-Rate Design
Kaid Benfield examines a model 'pocket neighborhood' - Little Rock's Pettaway - which simultaneously improves a declining neighborhood, provides affordable infill housing and applies advanced measures for stormwater control.
AIA Announces 2013 Honor Award Winners
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced this year's winners of the prestigious Honor Awards - "the profession’s highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design."
Can We Still Create Beautiful Cities?
Edwin Heathcote looks at "fumbling attempts at creating new forms of urbanity" and "new ideals of beauty" in cities like Milton Keynes, Rotterdam, and Dubai, and asks if we can still create urban beauty, or if it's even desirable in the first place.
Japan Perfects the Art of Delicate Demolition
John Metcalfe looks at how one Japanese company is advancing a more quieter sensitive method for demolishing high-rise buildings, floor by floor.
Reviewing a Smaller Year in Taller Buildings
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has released its annual report on the state of skyscraper construction. Worldwide, 2012 witnessed the completion of 66 buildings taller than 200 meters, including the second tallest in the world.
Friday Flick: Animating Great Architecture
Our friends at the Architect's Newspaper have come across a delightful video that animates the work of 26 of the world's most notable architects, from A to Z, set to a peppy soundtrack.
Traditional Homes Get a New Lease on Life in Iran
Thomas Erdbrink spotlights the efforts of the dedicated individuals that are trying to reverse decades of neglect and destruction of the traditional courtyard homes that are a 'cornerstone of Iranian architecture.'

Historic Downtowns: Why Can't We Build 'Em Like We Used To?
What is it about historic downtowns that makes them so darned attractive, and unlike the placeless architecture spreading across our urban landscapes? Graeme Sharpe looks at the "basic recipe" that created these admired environments.
Tributes to an Iconoclast
Following the death of pioneering architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable, those writers who've followed the trail that she blazed have offered their eloquent appreciations for her impact.
Pagination
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
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions