StructureHub

Yesterday’s extermination of the Detroit Lions’ at the hands of the Green Bay Packers handily echoed the recent travails of the Silverdome (I’d call it the Thanksgiving Day Massacre if the Lions hadn’t been pummeled on that day so many times before).
Just as the Lions established a 7-0 lead, only to lose it and their [...]

Architects, landscape architects, et al, are not immune to economic downturns.  Indeed, these professionals are, like their brethren in the construction trades, among the most susceptible to layoffs, unemployment, and months of uncertainty.  Unfortunately for these designers however, elected officials generally plowed stimulus dollars toward projects that would primarily benefit the trades (i.e., “Shovel Ready [...]

There is something of a tradition of bad architecture in the form of presidential libraries.
On the up-side, whether designed by the largest architecture firms in the world (such as SOM for the LBJ library or HOK for the elder Bush’s library) or relative unknowns (such as Marvin DeWinter Associates for the Ford library), these monuments [...]

A few months ago, I wrote about the Century Plaza Hotel’s new owner, his plan to demolish it to make way for twin 600-foot towers, and a rising movement to stop him.  The movement appears to be succeeding, since it is becoming less and less likely that the 19-story hotel, designed by Minoru Yamasaki and [...]

For better or worse, architects often dabble in the design of non-architecture objects.  Shoes are popular diversions, as are clothing lines, jewelry, kitchenware, and electronics.  Sometimes the results dazzle, but more often than not, they look as if they were conceived by a dilettante (which is typically the case).

Rarer is the architect that molds an automobile - [...]

Bombardier makes many things, but is chiefly known for being the largest manufacturer of railroad “rolling stock” in the world.  Bombardier’s success might lead you to believe it knows a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t pass muster when it comes to the interior design of its train cars.  As it turns [...]

American history is as much a story of real estate development as it is of cultural integration or political innovation - unfortunately, our history is by extension, one of corruption as well.  While the American Dream was certainly enough motivation for the majority of Americans to create their own patch of heaven, there were others [...]

Washington, D.C. bicyclists got a big morale boost last month, when the Bicycle Transit Center opened to the public.  Essentially a parking garage with changing rooms, the new hub has room for 150 bicycles - all of which get to reside in a beautiful structure designed by KGP Design Studio.  The building is unabashedly different [...]

Philadelphia is still waiting for its own High Line, but at least it can bide its time with a new park across the Schuylkill River.  The University of Pennsylvania just broke ground for the 24-acre Penn Park, part of which will transform 14 acres of United States Postal Service parking lots into riverfront trees, paths, and [...]

Scotland’s quest for national glory continues, now in India.  Most expected Scotland to skim the waters of independence when the Scottish National Party won a plurality of seats in the Scottish Parliament.  Less expected, but not surprising, is the Scottish government’s just-announced agreement with the West Bengal government to fund the preservation and restoration of [...]