Articles by Eric Baldwin

Oregon has become the first state in the U.S. to allow timber buildings to rise higher than six stories without special consideration. The recent addendum to the state’s building code is the result of Oregon’s statewide alternate method (SAM), a program that allows for alternate building techniques to be used after an advisory council has approved the “technical and scientific facts of the proposed alternate method.” The decision stands as a precedent for future construction across the United States.

U.S. Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer has been named chair of the Pritzker Architecture Prize jury by the Hyatt Foundation. As a member of the award jury since 2011, Breyer takes over from the current chair Glenn Murcutt, Hon. FAIA. Tom Pritzker, chairman and president of the prize’s sponsor, noted how Breyer’s devotion to “civic-minded architecture underscores the mission of the Prize and his unparalleled ability to guide a group deliberation is essential in creating a unified voice.” The international prize is regarded as architecture’s highest honor, and this year marks the 41st year of the award.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego recently released plans to begin demolition on a portion of its La Jolla building designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. Aiming to expand and renovate, the museum is facing mounting criticism from a range of architects, critics and historians. The new plan calls for Venturi Scott Brown‘s exterior colonnade into Axline Court to be removed, and for the museum’s neon-accented entry atrium to be repurposed as a public gathering space. With a part of the colonnade already removed, critics have signed an open letter hoping to save VSB’s work.

Sidewalk Labs has unveiled a new proposal for Toronto’s eastern waterfront and a neighborhood development called Quayside. After announcing plans to create a model smart city in Toronto last fall, Sidewalk Labs has been working to pioneer a new approach to future urban developments. Plans for Quayside were revealed during a roundtable discussion on August 14, 2018. As the subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, the team responded to an open call from Waterfront Toronto with a design that features heated pavements, large public spaces and mass timber buildings.

Fender Katsalidis Architects’ Seafarers Place project has received planning approval for its $450 million redevelopment of the Northbank Goods Shed. Designed to revitalize the industrial waterfront site, the project will include a mixed-use precinct and a 5-star luxury hotel along the Yarra riverfront. Created with property developer Riverlee, the project aims to radically rethink the area’s public space with a 3,500sqm public park and significant restoration along the historic wharf. 

The Brussels Lebeau – Sablon competition has announced MLA+, the sister company of Maccreanor Lavington, as the winners of the international contest to transform the city’s historic Le Sablon district. Working together with local firm Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten, the team’s proposal is a new mixed-use development for Belgium developer IMMOBEL, which seeks to regenerate the key historical district. The winning scheme includes offices, residences, a student hotel, and a public square.

UNStudio has been officially announced as the winners of Melbourne’s landmark Southbank Precinct overhaul. Selected from a range of high-profile offices, including BIG, OMA, and MAD, UNStudio’s vision for the $2 billion project includes a pair of twisted towers called Green Spine. As the largest single-phase project in the history of Victoria, Australia, the Green Spine is designed as a state-of-the-art, mixed-use environment centered around innovation in architecture and design.

UNStudio has been officially announced as the winners of Melbourne’s landmark Southbank Precinct overhaul. Selected from a range of high-profile offices, including BIG, OMA, and MAD, UNStudio’s vision for the $2 billion project includes a pair of twisted towers called Green Spine. As the largest single-phase project in the history of Victoria, Australia, the Green Spine is designed as a state-of-the-art, mixed-use environment centered around innovation in architecture and design.

Dubai Municipality has announced that the city is planning to preserve its landmark buildings from the 1960s and 70s as part of a new initiative called Modern Heritage. Jointly launched by the Planning Department and the Architectural Heritage Department, the initiative aims to save the first footprints of Dubai. The initiative would protect some of the most significant buildings constructed when the city was first beginning its rapid development. The plan includes the preservation of the Dubai Trade Centre, a 149-metre-high tower regarded as the city’s first skyscraper. 

The Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission announced the final design has been unanimously selected for the memorial in Newtown, Connecticut. The Clearing by Ben Waldo and Daniel Affleck of SWA Group was officially recommended by the commission, and the Board of Selectmen will make final approvals this month. Chosen out of three concepts unveiled in May, the winning memorial honors the 26 victims and survivors of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.