Urbanize LA’s Post

Next up in our 21st-Century Architecture: 25 Years 25 Buildings series we consider the legacy of Elemental's Quinta Monroy housing, which turned a relatively little-known Chilean architect into one of the profession's biggest stars.

“The greenest building is the one that already exists” according to Historic England’s newly published document, “Heritage Works for Housing”.  https://lnkd.in/e2RhFggp On the subject of historic buildings, we’ve helped our clients convert Grade II listed buildings before now. It can often take a little innovation and creativity to open a historic building up, from a structural perspective, but it can be done – and the results can be pretty spectacular. #structuralengineering #architecture #construction

Tepfam Holdings has unveiled plans for a new mixed-use development at 280 Commissioners Street in #Toronto’s McCleary District. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, the ambitious proposal features two residential towers, standing 40 and 45 storeys tall, connected by an eight-storey podium. https://lnkd.in/gDYjXY85 #architecture #realestate

Happy Friday! But the work doesn’t stop here. 💪 We’re working tirelessly to deliver high-quality joinery faster than ever before—without cutting corners. This is all thanks to continuous improvement, reducing downtime, and minimizing waste. While market conditions may have contributed to shorter lead times, I’m thrilled to say that our job processing times have dramatically improved year over year. Just because the market is quieter doesn’t mean we’re slowing down our efforts. 🚀 Faster turnaround times have always been a priority, and we’ve grown our capacity without simply adding more resources. It’s about working smarter, not just harder! 🙌 #ContinuousImprovement #Efficiency #JoineryInnovation #BusinessGrowth #Timbernerds

When it comes to heritage homes, people often think everything has to be grand and elaborate, but that’s not always the case. This small, upmarket renovation with The Construction Company and 4C Studio shows how a few thoughtful updates can make a big impact. #NextLevelJoinery #TimberNerds #Auckland #Construction #Architecture #TimberJoinery #NZBuilder #NZBuild #AucklandConstruction

Cities can be defined by their skylines, but the interpretation gained is generally very narrow. In my latest commentary, I talk about the need to look at sustainable urban growth from a more holistic perspective, moving beyond the domain of skyscrapers and landmarks. Give it a perusal if you are in agreement with it. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dkKUXwp2 #pujitaggarwal #architecture #cities #skyline

Gordon Wilson Flats is a residential building in central Pōneke / Wellington, completed in 1959. The building was owned by Housing New Zealand and housed 131 people. It is currently owned by Victoria University of Wellington and is unoccupied pending a decision on its future. The flats were renamed in honour of government architect Gordon Wilson who died in its final year of construction. The flats exist as a simulacrum, a story about modernist architecture, about social housing, about the inability to build something new, about heritage, about questions of re-use and embodied carbon and about the impossibility of agreeing. In this age of social media, where we have to take a side, you’re either for them being knocked down or for them being saved. You’re either progressive or reactionary. But isn’t real life a bit more nuanced? All these arguments have to be carefully balanced before any decisions end up being made. The NZIA is having a Pōneke festival of architecture later this year where we’d like to discuss remembering, preserving, heritage, saving, re-using, re-building and all the other ways that old architecture can move forward.

Congratulations to Alva Stenlund (Master in Architecture) for her second prize (shared) in the CBA 2024 competition! [About the competition: The Centre for Housing Architecture (CBA) awards a prize for the best thesis on the subject of housing and housing as a way of stimulating and raising awareness of good housing construction in Sweden. Architecture students from all architecture programmes in Sweden, KTH, CTH, UMA and LTH, participate in the competition.] More info about the competition at Chalmers website (in Swedish): https://lnkd.in/dv7XX7fA   Alva Stenlund / Addition / Division Short presentation at ABM Website, Degree project Master in Architecture 20-24 May 2024. The home is ever-changing, continuously being shaped and reshaped. It serves as the backdrop for life and should be capable of adapting to the needs and preferences of its residents. Growing up in a house my parents purchased three decades ago, I've witnessed its numerous transformations and changes over the years, adapting to our expanding family and evolving needs. Today, however, the house stands largely unoccupied, a situation not uncommon for single-family homes in Sweden where over 50% are inhabited by one or two people. As a result, most of the single-family homes have an excess of space and the housing stock is not used in an efficient manner. People tend to move when the household grows, but when the household shrinks the incentive to move is low, and the reasons to stay outweigh the alternative. In this project I am exploring how to create a housing typology which can allow for expansion and adaptation over time, in relation to a growing and changing household as well as to the surrounding area. I also develop a strategy to handle a shrinking household, involving sharing and efficient use of space. The project aims at developing innovative strategies to address the challenges associated with fluctuating household sizes and housing inefficiencies and addresses the economic benefits with both incremental growth and downsizing

RIBA London 🏆 Modulus Matrix: 85 Social Housing in Cornellà, Barcelona by Peris + Toral Arquitectes is the winner of the RIBA International Prize 2024, our bi-annual prize for the world’s best new architecture. “Peris + Toral Arquitectes’ inspiring housing project in Spain embodies the kind of transformational spirit that is both aspirational and demonstrates genuine change. By embracing flexibility and longevity through long life, loose fit architecture, it is a radical approach to social housing that creates a place designed for people to adapt and inhabit in the long term.  This visionary scheme allows for new and future ideas of what constitutes a family, and should be seen as blueprint for delivering sustainable, quality housing around the world at scale. It is a strong example of the ways in which architects can create new and implementable solutions to the common challenge of creating housing for all.” - @muyiwa.oki, RIBA President ➡️🔗 View the winning project: https://lnkd.in/dpTiKM3Q #RIBAawards #RIBAInternationalPrize

No demolition, no compromise: Civic Square’s radical approach to the future of urbanism... In Birmingham’s Ladywood, Civic Square is championing a radical, community-led approach to urbanism, echoing the ideals of William Morris and a tradition of progressive planning and architecture. Joe Holyoak examines how this bold vision addresses the challenges of regeneration and sustainability – and whether pragmatic compromises may be needed as the organisation moves towards implementation #architecture CIVIC SQUARE