A new book looks at the trend in architecture away from clean surfaces and into formal, repeating patterns.
Ann Lui at ArchNewsNow has a review of The Architecture of Patterns
"Lately, it's not hard to see patterns in architecture. Not trends or styles – though there's also certainly that too – but literal patterns. Gone are the stark, bare walls of Modernism. Unadorned concrete has been replaced everywhere by skins: colorful, plain, metallic, folded or perforated. From the tiny pinholes on Herzog & de Meuron's De Young Museum façade; to hundreds of small circular reflectors on the new Santa Monica Bloomingdale's, formal repetition, it seems, is the newest Big Thing."
Read the full story: Book Review: The Architecture of Patterns, by Paul Andersen and David Salomon
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Trump is considering data centers on 6 states' public land — some state officials say they had no idea
If the administration approves the proposed projects, data center and data center-related developments will cover 17,600 acres of public land.
After decades of planning, Sacramento gains new light rail station
Trains will arrive every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes during non-peak hours.
Massive tunnel-boring machine breaks ground on Gateway Project
The Trump administration revoked funding for the project in October 2025, and then restored it earlier this year.
Airo trainsets begin service on Amtrak Cascades route
The trains feature panoramic windows, complementary wifi and over 300 seats per train set.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello