In today's quest to add value at all costs, are we not losing sight of the most important aspect of all -- the architecture itself?
"The real problem -- and one that we miss at our peril -- is that the tail is beginning to wag the dog. One developer at the RIBA conference spoke of preparing for a scheme by actively engaging the local community, considering the historic value of the site, partnering, participatory involvement, considering the sustainable viability of the scheme before showing the audience a block plan for a hotel (not an ordinary hotel, he was at pains to explain, but a 'boutique hotel'). Some people in the audience nodded sagely; he had ticked the right boxes 'sustainability,' 'participation,' 'community-centered.' What value! What a client! What a guy! But what architecture?"
Thanks to ArchNewsNow
Read the full story: Ticking the Right Boxes
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes
Over 2 million residents voted on Question 7; it was decided by just over 30,000 votes.
Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval
The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.
‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds
Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority