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.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Gene Summers dies
Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin reports that architect Gene Summers, FAIA, has died. The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) alumnus studied under Mies van der Rohe before serving as project manager on the Seagram Building and the National Gallery in Berlin. As partner in charge of design for Chicago-based C.F. Murphy Associates, Summers was best known as designer of the McCormick Place convention center. He was dean of IIT’s College of Architecture from 1989 to 1993. “Gene was perhaps the most vigorous and thoughtful proponent for updating Mies’ pedagogical legacy to find relevance in new eras,” says current IIT dean Donna Robertson.
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CNBC
Private construction rising
Katy Barnato reports that investment firm AllianceBernstein expects the U.S. private construction market to grow slightly this year, the first rise since 2005. “We believe that the small gain marks a significant turn for the U.S. economy,” economist Joseph Carson says. “The unfolding recovery of private construction is an important component in our above-consensus real GDP growth estimate of three percent for 2012.” Carson believes private construction in 2012 will grow by seven percent.
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LOS ANGELES TIMES
China’s housing bubble
Home prices are falling in China, leading to unsold housing inventory and homeowner unrest as the value of real estate investment drops. David Pierson reports that it’s the result of tightened lending by the Chinese government, part of an attempt to discourage speculation and limit inflation. “I don't think China is in danger of a U.S.-style housing crash,” Beijing-based IHS Global Insight analyst Alistair Thornton says. “They still retain lot of levers of control should the property market slide faster than expected.” Whether the government can engineer a soft landing rather than a crash will be determined in the coming months.
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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
Spec houses are back (really)
Despite a 30 percent decline in home values across Chicago, developers are starting to build spec houses again in some neighborhoods. “We started looking at the last couple of years and saw that while prices shifted a bit, product was still moving,” says Peter Dinneen, a partner in Chicago-based Hibernian Development. “That was a key insight.” Mary E. Morrison reports that most developers are starting small and building to a lower price point than was the norm just a few years ago. “You're seeing more frame homes because it keeps costs down,” says Prudential Rubloff Properties agent Jeff Lowe.
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THE GAZETTE (COLORADO SPRINGS, CO)
Colorado Springs CRE stagnant
Colorado Springs–based Sierra Commercial Real Estate expects the 2012 commercial real estate market in the Pikes Peak region to remain relatively unchanged from the past four years, according to Rich Laden. “You’re just not going to see a lot of change to people’s attitude about investing money in real estate,” says Sierra president Dave Delich. “You’re not going to see speculators start again. You’re not going to see developers coming in and looking to do projects other than on a very (limited) basis. You’re not going to see a great deal of job growth.”
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CLINTON HERALD (IOWA)
Middle school on tight schedule
FRK Architects + Engineers have completed initial planning for Clinton, Iowa’s new middle school. Ben Jacobson reports that FRK expects to complete schematic design in January, conduct bidding in July, and start construction in Aug. 2012. “That’s an aggressive schedule, but it’s doable,”?FRK’s Dave Briden says. “A lot of things will need to fall into place.” Plans call for the school to be open for students in fall 2014.
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CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL (WV)
Developer proposes luxury condos
Developer Mack Johnson’s Mackjo Inc. is proposing to build between 60 and 120 luxury condominiums on property recently purchased by the United Disciples of Christ Church in South Charleston, W.V. George Hohmann reports that the first phase would cost between $5 million and $6 million and represent a step up in quality for the area. “These are going to upscale those,” Johnson says—comparing his current plan to a 72-unit development he built nearby during the 1980s. “We recognize this is a pretty large vision—something our congregation can't do alone,” Pastor Steven Smith says. “So we want to partner with others.”
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THE WASHINGTON POST
Greening DC
Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent C. Gray is formulating a “Sustainable D.C.” initiative that “he thinks will one day make the city a national model for clean energy, urban farming, green space and car-free transportation options,” according to Tim Craig. The initiative has its own website that’s producing ideas through citizen involvement. “We have to set our sights high and innovate, but that is exactly how we will win,” Gray says. “To get there, we need to work together.”
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BRIGHTON-PITTSFORD POST (NY)
SWBR’S new senior associate
Rochester, N.Y.–based SWBR Architects has hired Thomas Covell as senior associate and head of the firm’s health care practice. Robert Boyer reports that the Washington University in St. Louis graduate has more than 30 years of experience in health care design. SWBR president Dave Beinetti says this experience “will naturally drive business for the firm and allow us to offer specialized, expanded services to current and future clients.”
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GIZMODO
Pricey desk lamp from Dyson
Jake Dyson, son of famed inventor James Dyson, is offering an LED desk lamp that retails for $860. Andrew Liszewski reports that the CSYS LED Task Light uses heat pipe technology to distribute excess heat from the bulb to the boom arm. The fixture can be adjusted along three axes and is expected to provide more than 37 years of illumination.
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