The Façade Tectonics Institute welcomes its new Executive Director, Katerina Hojgrova Neme, replacing Valerie Block, who has served as the interim Executive Director since 2021. Katerina comes to FTI from UK’s Built Environment Media (former World Architecture News), where she has been since 2007. Here, she was US West Coast Correspondent and a manager of
YKK AP America today announced YKK AP Inc. has signed an agreement with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to conduct joint research on advanced technology to install windows, curtain walls, doors, and products in buildings. The agreement was finalized in May 2019 and activities are now underway. In response to increasing global demand to counter the shortage
Home2Suites, a subsidiary of Hilton, is currently constructing the brand’s first modular construction hotel. On August 15, executives from Hilton, Southern Hospitality Services, and Ashlar Development began construction of the project adjacent to San Francisco’s Airport North by placing pre-fabricated elements into position. Adrian Kurre, global head of Home2 Suites, states “staying at the forefront
Chiara Vailati, a doctoral student at ETH Zurich’s Institute for Building Materials, has developed an adaptive shading system that functions without sensors or motors. The shading system is composed of multiple pairs of parallel wooden planks which open and close autonomously. The system can be installed as a type of pergola, or horizontally across a building’s
In October 2017, the Lake|Flato and Shepley Bulfinch designed Austin Central Library opened to the public. The $125 million library is clad in tan, Leuders limestone, gray metal siding, and corrugated, perforated and anodized aluminum panels manufactured by Lorin Industries, Inc. Perforated aluminum is produced by punching a hole pattern onto a specific panel or
On August 16th, manufacturer Vitro Architectural Glass began production of its super-sized energy efficient glass panels. The production of these increasingly large panels rely on Vitro’s new $55 million magnetron sputtered deposition glass coater (MSVD) located at their Wichita Falls plant, one of their four facilities in the country. “The trend in buildings today
In July 2018, Collective-LOK (CLOK) unveiled their Roche/Dinkeloo Double, a temporary installation located below a cantilevered section of UMass Amherst’s Fine Arts Center. CLOK is a collaboration formed by architects Jon Lott, William O’Brien Jr., and Michael Kubo. The Fine Arts Center, designed by firm Roche-Dinkeloo in 1975, is located on the border of UMass Amherst’s campus. According to architect Jon Lott, the
In 2018, San Francisco-based software company Monograph launched its project-planning platform, Dashboard for Architects. The objective of the platform is to shift the myriad planning tools used by architects to a singular and cohesive application. The Dashboard for Architects allows firms to manage their practice and projects in a visually straightforward format, with an emphasis on simplicity and
On July 17th, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates’ 30 Hudson Yards topped out at just below 1,300 feet. The project broke ground in 2012 and has been steadily rising for half a decade towards its summit. A cantilevered observation deck juts 65 feet outward from the building’s mass, protruding just below the peak of the building at
In June, 3M’s Industrial Mineral Products Division launched a smog-reducing granules product that can be applied to asphalt shingles and a wide range of roofing materials. Through the incorporation of a UV-activated photocatalytic coating layer, 3M’s smog-reducing granules transform smog into water soluble molecules. The granules are fused into shingle surfaces during the design process,
On June 22nd, the Copper Development Association and the Canadian Copper & Brass Development Association awarded 15 buildings the North American Copper in Architecture Award. Ranging from SHoP’s dual copper-clad skyscrapers bordering the East River to the dome restoration of Bradford County’s Greek Revival courthouse, the award recognizes excellence in overall building design, its integration
Founded in 2003, Alice Technologies is a construction engineering software used by developers and contractors to improve the efficiency of construction projects. As reported by Construction Today, the development of Alice Technologies’ software required mapping out the relationship between building sequence and schedule. First, the software trawls through building information software to collect data related
On June 13, the Museum of Finnish Architecture is opening Urban Facades, an exhibition featuring the work of students attending Aalto University’s Department of Architecture. Located in the heart of Helsinki, the project is a facade study featuring a broad range of buildings across Finland’s capital. The impetus and inspiration for Urban Facades stems from
On June 4th, Grimshaw Architects and SG Blocks, a Brooklyn-based firm specializing in the design and fabrication of container-based structures, announced a master services agreement Through this partnership, Grimshaw Architects will serve as the premier design partner of SG Blocks, incorporating the container-based structures into its broad portfolio of ongoing and future industrial design projects.
In May, Spanish Photovoltaic (PV) glass manufacturer Onyx Solar stamped its presence in the Miami Design District with its cladding of Balenciaga’s newest flagship store. Each glass unit measures approximately 10 feet by 5 feet and is capable of providing up to 340 Watts per unit. The crystalline Silicon gels used to convert light into
Exterior Technologies (EXTECH), a Pittsburgh-based wall systems firm, promises both increased daylight and thermal performance with its LIGHTWALL 3000 curtain wall series. The LIGHTWALL is marketed as a highly flexible curtain wall system, able to be outfitted with both insulated glass units and cellular polycarbonate glazing. In a statement, Extech’s Director of Development Kevin Smith
In Constructuring: An Unstoppable Trend, a white paper by Borealis Ventures’ Ian Howell, speculates as to which practices holdback the construction industry’s ability to build housing on-time and within budget. Citing a McKinsey & Company study which found that “large projects across asset classes typically take 20 percent longer to finish than scheduled and are