The Architect Newswire is an aggregation of news from media outlets around the world, intended to keep you abreast of all of the industry’s important developments. The stories we feature are not reported, edited, or fact-checked by Architect’s staff.
BOSTON HERALD
Tower breaks ground
Ground has been broken for Boston’s 15-story Hayward Place. Greg Turner reports that the Handel Architects–designed project will include 256 condominiums, 9,700-square-feet of street-level retail, and 125 underground parking spaces. “This project is a very big piece of what we’ve been trying to do downtown,” says developer Millennium Partners principal Anthony Pangaro. “The name Combat Zone has faded well into the past, but that’s what it was called for a very long time. It’s basically gone. Now it’s a neighborhood. People live here, they care about it.”
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MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
Apartments + digital billboard
The proposed 1150 North apartment building in Milwaukee will replace a vacant lot that’s home to a traditional billboard with a long-term lease. Tom Daykin reports that developer Todd Davies plans to replace the existing advertising with a solar-powered rooftop digital billboard atop the five-story, 122-unit structure. The plans received zoning approval earlier this week. Billboard owner Clear Channel’s participation is critical to the realization of the $15.4 million project. The sign will change every thirty seconds for the first six months it’s in place, although Clear Channel has the option to ask for city approval to increase the rate of change to 8 seconds following the trial period.
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LOS ANGELES TIMES
New stadium design
Gensler has redesigned the proposed Farmers Field NFL stadium in Los Angeles. Lance Pugmire reports that the changes, that include a “lighter” expression and a deployable roof, better reflect the city of angels. “This showcases the advantage of being in Los Angeles, how people would rather be outside or inside,” says Gensler principal Ron Turner. “We need a symbol, a gateway. It’s important for people to say, ‘Wow! That’s L.A.’” Pending approvals, the 72,000-seat stadium could open in time for the 2016 season.
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CINCINNATI.COM
Mercer Commons rejected
The Cincinnati Historic Conservation Board rejected two separate portions of the proposed 3-acre Mercer Commons project in the Over-The-Rhine historic district. Lisa Bernard-Kuhn reports that the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. is in its second go-round with the board. “I don’t see that the changes that we have in front of us are actually changes at all,” local property owner Fred Berger says. “I’m wondering if we might have an architect here that can’t get it … It should not be so jarring.” The developer is weighing its options, which include taking the existing plans directly to the city’s Planning Commission—which has final say on the matter.
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SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN
Town looks to TIFs
Perryville, Mo., has formed a Tax Increment Financing Commission that is considering forming two TIFs in the community. Melissa Miller reports that a downtown TIF could aid $12.6 million in improvements over 23 years. “One thing to keep in mind about a TIF is there’s no money there today,” says Chauncy Buchheit, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission. “The only way there will be is if some development occurs.” The commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on Jan. 11, with the board of alderman to consider the establishment of the TIF districts in February.
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UNBEIGE
Will Alsop goes international
Starchitect Will Alsop, just months after leaving RMJM to found the South London–based All Design firm, is going international. Steve Delahoyde reports that Alsop and partner Scott Lawrie have opened new offices in Toronto and Chongqing, China. Alsop has completed projects in both cities in the past, including a transit station in Toronto and the World Twin Towers Complex in the Chongqing.
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READ WRITE HACK
3D at Kinkos?
David Strom reports that an editorial in Make magazine advocates the introduction of 3D printers to public libraries. Though Strom likes the idea of making the sophisticated technology more readily available, he suggests that commercial ventures like Kinkos and Office Depot should also add 3D printers and laser-driven cutting machines to their rows of color printers and copiers. “Paper isn’t the only thing that we need to output anymore, and the 3D printers produce prototypes and solid models that can be used in a variety of corporate situations,” Strom writes.
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CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Kamin trashes ads on buildings
Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin reports that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first foray selling advertising on city structures isn’t promising. The Wabash Avenue bridge houses now sport “Bank of America” signage and Kamin writes, “they offer a nightmarish hint of what the plan might deliver: the uglification of the City Beautiful.” Blogger Jim Phillips is equally dismissive: “I can’t understand why, in a city supposedly so proud of its architecture, defacement of iconic structures would be allowed. Is corporate graffiti any different than tagger’s work?”
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CURBED NY
Rogers’ NY tower not happening
The Richard Rogers–designed tower that was proposed to top New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal seems to be dead. Sara Polsky reports that the 40-story, 1.3 million-square-foot structure’s financing has fallen through. “[Developer] Vornado Realty Trust lost its mystery investor—revealed to be SOHO China—and the developer’s exclusive right to the tower expired in August (though the Port Authority retroactively voted to extend it into early 2012),” Polsky writes.
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GIZMODO
Edison bulb goes LED
Andrew Liszewski reports that Panasonic is introducing a new LED lightbulb that doesn’t just keep the classic shape of an Edison bulb—it has a visible filament and clear glass. Pricing and availability have not yet been made public, but we do know that the bulb uses just 4.4 watts of energy. “Panasonic’s new LED bulb goes a long way to bridging the psychological gap that keeps people buying inefficient incandescents because they prefer the way they look,” Liszewski writes.
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Scott Fazekas, AIA, Responds to the Voice of Orange County
On September 14, 2011, the Architect Newswire linked to an article published by the Voice of Orange County (VOC) on September 13, 2011, concerning me and my firm, Scott Fazekas & Associates, Inc. (SFA), and my role as building official for the City of Anaheim, California.
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