Today in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, 20 people aimed cameras at a three-story row house, snapped photos, and cheered. Part of the reason for their excitement may have been that the building was once the home of Jane Jacobs, the writer and activist. More likely, though, is that the picture-taking session marked the official end of the lengthy research phase for the fifth edition of the AIA Guide to New York City, the wryly written block-by-block directory of landmarks that’s become an essential reference for architects, planners, and developers, as well as residents. About half of the new book, which is
Revisiting efforts to funnel federal funds into school construction, the House has approved a measure that would authorize more than $6.5 billion for K-12 public school and community-college projects. The provision is part of a bill, which the House passed on Sept. 17, that would expand the federal loan program for college students and curtail private lending. The measure would authorize $2.02 billion annually for fiscal 2010 and 2011 for modernization, renovation or repair of K-12 public schools. Another $2.5 billion would be available for new construction or modernization of community colleges, starting in fiscal 2011. Groups like the American
For years, designers have used old shipping containers to construct new single- and multi-family housing. Now, perhaps as a sign of our cost-conscious and eco-minded times, unrelated architects on opposite coasts are expanding this concept to another building type: commercial offices.
Whether they’re for septuagenarians who can get around on their own or older people struggling with bed-confining illnesses, senior-living communities have surged in number in the past two decades, as the country’s retirement-age population has swelled. Indeed, those aged 65 and older now represent 12.4 percent of the population, according to census figures, which is three times what it was at the turn of the last century. By 2050 that number will spike to 20.2 percent, the data show, and the supply of senior-living communities should continue to grow to match an increased demand, says Nancy Thompson, a spokeswoman for the American
The social and professional networking capabilities of the Internet enabled this growth, allowing scores of local chapters to develop programs modeled on Sinclair’s initial project.
Joan Goody Joan Goody FAIA, a partner in the Boston firm of Goody Clancy, died on September 8 in the converted Beacon Hill carriage house that was her longtime home. She was 73. A Brooklyn native, Goody studied history at Cornell and architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. After marrying architect and MIT professor Marvin Goody, she joined his firm in 1970 and became a partner in 1978. Marvin Goody died in 1990 and Joan later married poet and editor Peter Davison. Among the significant projects for which she was lead designer were the renovation of Trinity Church,
Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates recently completed schematic design for the Lincoln Highway Experience, a new museum and visitors center that will celebrate the first road in the U.S. that stretched from coast to coast.
Image courtesy SHoP Architects and Ellerbe Becket New renderings of the basketball arena were released last week. Past Coverage: First Word: Hasty Gehry Trims Staff Gehry Loses Atlantic Yards to Ellerbe Becket Gehry Downsizes Tower Design for Atlantic Yards After years of controversy and a total redesign, Forest City Ratner Companies, the developer of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, says it expects to begin construction of the development's centerpiece, an arena for the NETS basketball team, later this year. Ratner anticipates opening the facility, called Barclays Center, for the 2011-12 basketball season. On September 10, Ratner released renderings of