For the latest edition in the How To Get A Job At ____ series, Alexander Walter chatted with Christiana Moss from Studio Ma. Donna Sink commented "This is such a great series."
Plus Archinect spoke with Jessica Orlando, about the AIA Pasadena & Foothill Chapter’s 'Ask an Architect' program aimed at helping homeowners impacted by the devastating Los Angeles Fires.
Nonprofits The Pew Charitable Trusts and Center for Building in North America released the "findings of the first-ever analysis of fire death rates in modern single-stairway buildings". Their report also "examines their potential benefits and risks, and provides relevant international comparisons."
Thayer-D was excited "Legalizing these will be a boon to add much needed missing middle housing as well as getting smaller developers into the game, but best of all (from a pedestrian point of view), they make for much nicer streetscapes." Though, Edward Singer had doubts "Perhaps a 5 story type 3A building with a NFPA 13 sprinkler would be safe enough with a single stair provided it met the requirements of TABLE 1006.3.4(1), already used for single exit building of 3 floor or less (4 units per floor max, and 124 ft of exit travel distance)."
Liu Jiakun won the 2025 Pritzker Prize and swisscardlite thought it "well deserved. some of the best architecture is coming out of China these days" while sameolddoctor was won over after seeing a sampling of Jiakun Architects work "it is definitely well deserved. Beautiful, amazing and truly touching body of work. We need more of this and less of spaceships in our cities." Later OddArchitect reflected "I was fortunate to see some of Jiakun's work once. I wasn't aware it was his, or who he is. I can say with confidence that Jiakun's work is significant, impactful, and contextual."
The Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo announced an expansion by Höweler + Yoon. ‘Nectors weren’t impressed with The_Crow complaining "I know all HY cares about are the details, but what a snooze fest when it comes to section and plan" while monosierra made fun of their (dated) use of scalloped glass.
Folks had only nice things to say about a unique rural residential design created by Virginia Tech University professor Ben Pennell. archidose noted "His earlier house renovation in Brookings, South Dakota is also whimsically appealing. And I have to say his exterior photos of these two houses, reminiscent of Stephen Shore (especially the one above with the SUV on the street), don't hurt."
Pearl Izumi in Louisville, CO by Arch11 (in collaboration with ZGF Architects) and Office Nomura sanko in Tokyo, Japan by note architects are just two of the latest top images from the Archinect Pinterest board Working Spaces.
R.I.P. Ricardo Scofidio at 89, David E. Sellers at 86 and David Childs at 83.
jimblake had this to say about the later "I studied with the starchitects of my generation at the Harvard GSD in the mid-late 1970s: Kallman, McKinnell, Graves, Gwathmey, Eisenman, Meier, Seidler, Silvetti, Rudolph, Cobb, Seligman, Chas.Moore. I have as much admiration for David Childs talent and sensibility as any of them." About the former Orhan Ayyüce wrote simply "A life in architecture, thank you".
KieranTimberlake officially transitioned from a partnership to a 100% employee-owned corporation.
Until recently, Dmitry Seregin’s last blog entry was from November 2024. His newest titled Tectonic Graphic Space "invites a re-examination of how geometric logic underpins digital aesthetics, urging a reconsideration of the spatial paradigms that inform and transform modern visual narratives." Meanwhile natcheng who last posted over at ALTA-NYC back in 2021, rounded up and offered 100% agreement with critical reaction to the multi-Oscar nominated film, The Brutalist.
Sasaki highlighted the completion of The Tsai Commons and Field House at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.
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The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture released a report in response to concerns and outcry over their cancellation of its JAE 79:2 Palestine edition. graphemic summed it up nicely "Disgusting but unsurprising. Love all these spineless noodles showing how destructive these institutions have become to any ideal of public life." Though others such as A.M.D. and Elliot Glassman argued "It is for these legitimate and defensible reasons that the ACSA cancelled what would have been a deeply flawed and intellectually bankrupt theme Issue on Palestine."
Mo Zell took over as Dean of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Architecture.
Proposed legislation seeking to ban all Chinese nationals from studying in the United States has caused alarm in architecture schools and higher education more broadly. With some believing there are a "couple of Masters programs (art/architecture) that this would shut down."
Want a new gig in higher education but not academia? University at Buffalo is hiring for a Director of Residential Capital Planning, Design and Construction.
Back in March, Generic NY Architect reported problems accessing ComCheck. The good news, was folks were eventually able to get back in, the bad news was they lost "all projects saved". In response to the "clown car" that is this administration/DOGE, OP’s expediter switched to a desktop version and sent them "the program to download and just work offline".
beenthere was looking for advice on "a legal dispute with a client who is an architect/developer which I provided construction documents who is claiming that, because I did not keep him apprised of the increase in the projects scope and my corresponding increasing fees, he should not have to pay me under Oregon’s rules for professional architects."
Non Sequitur’s immediate response "Me thinks you need real legal help." At the same time smaarch was at least able to commiserate/affirm that the business model of "operating without a written contract" with another architect wasn’t unusual. reallynotmyname advised "Your best outcome is probably to hire an attorney and negotiate a settlement with the client for a partial amount of what's owed.” Later BulgarBlogger chimed in "I have only seen this happen between design architects and executive architects...I would never do CD's for another person as a contract under my own firm, unless I was signing and sealing those CD's. There's just no reason to do that if I'm a registered architect."
ICYMI curtkram pointed out "It looks like the state of Missouri is trying to pass a bill that forbids local jurisdictions from passing an energy code." smaarch wasn’t too concerned "Codes or not…Building efficient buildings will always have merit". In the same vein Wood Guy shared "An architect friend of mine has designed the largest multifamily PHIUS project and the units will be available at market rates because the operational savings offset the slight additional cost." In other words "A well designed and insulated building envelope pays for itself."
Finally, BluecornGroup was curious Is anyone using Enscape for rendering? The answer was a definite yes with Twinmotion and D5 also in the mix. While Will Galloway agreed it is excellent for walkthroughs he also feels "It makes everything...a bit like a video game. Not a bad thing exactly, but it isnt the vibe we prefer." Later in response to a follow-up about "watercolor-stye rendering" gwharton suggested "If you are looking for a quick and easy solution for doing artistic-style filters on renderings, look no further than Fotosketcher (http://fotosketcher.com). We use it all the time. You can also run a Fotosketcher artistic rendering through an AI for a final beauty pass."
Over at e-flux, Fred Scharmen wrote about how "In space, everything is infrastructure, and when that infrastructure isn’t regulated, the health, safety, and welfare of the spacefaring public is at risk" which is why "A declaration of rights and responsibilities, based on, as NCARB’s Model Rules of Conduct have it, ‘a standard of care,’ is every bit as important as a space suit."
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