The White House on February 26 unveiled a $3.55-trillion budget outline for fiscal year 2010 that would boost funding for water infrastructure and transportation programs while aiming to cut the federal deficit in half by 2013. White House officials say the outline provides a broad framework for fiscal policy over the next 10 years. A more detailed budget proposal will be released in April.  But the proposal is only the first step in a long legislative process. Months of hearings by appropriations and tax-writing committees will take place, followed by committee and floor votes. Final numbers for 2010 spending won’t

Although longtime New Yorkers will bemoan the transformation of once-scrappy neighborhoods like Williamsburg or the East Village, gentrification does have its holdouts. PS 122, a former public school building located on the corner of First Avenue and 11th Street, is one such fortress of bohemian activity. As if ripped from the book of Jonathan Larson’s Rent, a group of artist squatters took over the Beaux Arts–inspired, five-story structure in 1978 after local officials, cowing to the city’s perilous financial crisis, closed the primary school. Photo ' David Shankbone/courtesy Wikipedia The NYC Department of Design + Construction has tapped Deborah Berke

Like thousands of architects today, Merritt Palminteri is out of work, a victim of the severe economic downturn. 'Every single job we had last year was put on hold,' says Palminteri of her former firm, New York's Anik Pearson Architect. Even though she saw the writing on the wall, it was no use: her headhunter was laid off, too. 'It was kind of ridiculous,' says Palminteri. Photo ' Paul Warchol/courtesy Architecture Research Office The Princeton School of Architecture (pictured above) has seen a 50 percent increase in applications this year. Now, like many of her colleagues, the 29-year-old is applying

Cranes are still busy over Boston’s medical districts. But the city’s healthcare construction boom, which in the past five years has seen over a million square feet of new projects completed and more than 2 million square feet approved or under construction, is subsiding. Image courtesy HKS There is still demand for healthcare facilities in the Middle East. Dallas-based HKS recently won a contract to design a 160-bed hospital in Abu Dhabi. “We’re seeing institutions taking a step back,” says Sonal Gandhi, senior manager for institutional development at the Boston Redevelopment Authority. “They’re looking at how they can optimize the

Like thousands of architects today, Merritt Palminteri is out of work, a victim of the severe economic downturn. 'Every single job we had last year was put on hold,' says Palminteri of her former firm, New York's Anik Pearson Architect. Even though she saw the writing on the wall, it was no use: her headhunter was laid off, too. 'It was kind of ridiculous,' says Palminteri. Photo ' Paul Warchol/courtesy Architecture Research Office The Princeton School of Architecture (pictured above) has seen a 50 percent increase in applications this year. Now, like many of her colleagues, the 29-year-old is applying

Architect Jan Kaplicky. Jan Kaplicky, the dour but visionary Czech architect, died January 14 in Prague of a heart attack, within hours of the birth of his daughter. He was 71 and had been dividing his time between London and the Czech Republic, where he had several major commissions. After emigrating to England in 1968, Kaplicky worked with some of Europe’s best architects, including Denys Lasdun, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, and Renzo Piano, the last two on the breakthrough Centre Pompidou in the mid-70s. He spent several years in Foster’s office before founding his own firm, Future Systems, in 1979.

In January, the Architectural Billings Index (ABI) sunk to 33.3, the lowest level in its 13-year history. The score has fallen below 50 for 12 straight months; a score above 50 indicates an increase in billings, and below 50, a decrease. One of the profession’s leading economic indicators, the index is compiled by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and is based on surveys sent largely to commercial firms. It reflects a nine- to 12-month lag time between architectural billings and construction spending. The inquiries score for January was 43.5. In terms of project sectors, the score for multi-family residential

Foster + Partners, the London-based practice founded by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster, is laying off between 300 and 350 people due to the worldwide economic slowdown—a move that will reduce the company's workforce by nearly a quarter. The firm also is closing its Berlin and Istanbul offices, according to a spokesperson. “A number of our international clients have fallen victim to the current economic climate, said the firm’s chief executive, Mouzhan Majidi, in a formal statement. “After the eventual necessity to make reductions the company will still be at a similar size to that of 18 months ago.” The