October 22, 2015
Party Like It’s 2007 According to the National Association of Realtors, September was the second best month for existing home sales since February 2007. For the month, closing on existing homes was up 4.7 percent to a 5.55 million annualized rate, most of which was due to increased sales of single-family houses. This result hit the ceiling of the range that the experts interviewed by Bloomberg has estimated beforehand (they guessed between 5.25 million to 5.55 million). Median existing house prices also rose in September, up 6.1 percent to $221,900. Add to this good news the fact that housing inventory also dropped 2.6 percent to 2.21 million dwellings (and down from 2.28 million from a year before), which translates to roughly 4.8 months of housing stock available. So … time to build more houses? [Bloomberg]
Courtesy Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Família
Will it Ever Be Finished? The Sagrada Familia—the Barcelona, Spain, cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi—will become Europe’s tallest religious building, when the latest phase in the decades-long construction involving the raising of six towers, is complete. The Tower of Jesus Christ will be 172.5 meters (566 feet) tall, according to the cathedral’s chief architect, Jordi Fauli, who has held the position since 2002. The aim for one of the longest-running construction projects ever undertaken is to have the new towers in place by 2026, which marks the centenary of Gaudi’s death. So far, about 70 percent of the construction is complete. The foundation for Sagrada Familia was laid 133 years ago in 1882. [The Independent]
The District of Puerto Rico The Obama administration has released a plan to deal with the debt situation that has been growing out of control in Puerto Rico. The island has $72 billion in outstanding debt, which its officials say they cannot afford to pay off. As a U.S. territory and not a U.S. state, however, the island is not eligible for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, which is the part of the bankruptcy law that cities like Detroit used to declare insolvency and restructure their debt. Some members of the U.S. Congress, the only entity that has legal power to do anything in Puerto Rico’s unique situation, have proposed extending that protection to the island. The Executive Branch’s plan, however, goes beyond that. It would start with a new chapter of the bankruptcy code for all U.S. territories, but then proposes a Congressional oversight panel to oversee territory’s finances, similar to the relationship that the federal government now has with the District of Columbia that was established in the 1990s. The administration’s plan then moves on to other related problems, such as using a tax credit to spur more Puerto Ricans to join the work force (labor participation numbers on the island are the lowest in the country and unemployment is over 12 percent), and overhauling the country’s access to Medicaid (of which 46 percent of the population qualifies for) and upgrading their health facilities. [The New York Times]
An Extraordinarily Connected Office Building The Edge, an Amsterdam office building for Deloitte, monitors everything from lighting to toilets to the espresso machine, and contains roughly 40,000 sensors. There are no assigned desks; employees arrive at the office, are assigned a parking space, and then given a workspace based on their schedule and preferences. The building can also sense when a space is empty, how often toilets and towel dispensers are used, and when the espresso machine needs refilling. The building’s app can also track gym activity, and offers grocery delivery based on given meals. While the app can tailor the environment for individuals, it focuses on data for the overall building. The building’s developer, OVG Real Estate, is using lessons from the building to design its next project. [Fast Company‘s Co.Exist]
Historic England At-Risk This year, 327 historic sites, including Naze Tower, the Church of St. Thomas More, and Old Pier Lighthouse, were added to the Heritage at Risk Register. Many of these buildings are facing moisture issues that could destroy them forever—the Church of St. Thomas More is suffering from a roof leak that is causing the concrete structure to crack. Rising costs of conservation prevent the necessary repairs. The average cost of repair is also $771,875 more than the value of the structure itself. [The Spaces]
Cities of the Dead Oak Hill Cemetery, built just outside of Washington, D.C. in the 19th century, has plans to build eight to 10 new mausoleums, which some argue is a disruption to a historic landscape. The structures will take up a large part of the cemetery’s most important landscape features, the Ellipse. [CityLab]
Setting Out on His Own SHoP Architects principal Vishaan Chakrabarti, AIA, is branching out on his own with a new firm, Partnership for Architecture and Urbanism. The architecture and urban planning practice will be dedicated to advancing North American cities, with a particular focus on New York City. Chakrabarti told ARCHITECT he could envision the firm eventually expanding to do work abroad, but he will not work in non-democratic nations and countries with poor labor practices. [ARCHITECT]
It’s Vital Work ADP’s latest Workforce Vitality Index shows an upward trend in wage growth for the third quarter of 2015. The index climbed to 108.9, up from 108.0 in Q2 and 105.8 in Q1. It also represents an impressive 5.1 percent increase over Q3 2014. [ARCHITECT]
Mile High Connections Karrie Jacobs checks out Denver’s new icon, a combined hotel and transit center intended to usher Fentress Architects’ Denver International Airport into this century. Designed by Gensler (in cooperation with Anderson Mason Dale Architects and structural engineers S.A. Miro and Arup), the new center is as eccentric as Fentress’ tents, yet another Fata Morgana. [ARCHITECT]
Back in Black After contracting in August, the Architecture Billings Index shot back into positive territory in September. Architecture billings last month grew faster than they had for the rest of 2015, with the exception of June and July. [ARCHITECT]
Awards: Enter Now!
The 63rd annual Progressive Architecture Awards program is now accepting submissions. The winners of our annual program honoring unbuilt designs are published in the February issue. Regular deadline is on Oct. 30, with the late deadline (and extra $50 per entry) on Nov. 4. Enter now!
Nominate an individual or organization that is advancing the green building industry through the adoption of technologies for the inaugural BOLD (Building Optimizers, Leaders and Disruptors) Awards. The deadline is Oct. 28. Finalists will be notified on Nov. 11, and winners will be honored at Greenbuild in Washington, D.C.
The Graham Foundation’s Carter Manny Award recognizes doctoral students working on dissertation topics in architecture. Applications are available online now and due Nov. 15.
The Urban Land Institute is now accepting applications to compete in its student competition to design an urban planning and development scenario. Teams must apply by Dec. 7.
Bathroom products manufacturer Victoria + Albert is challenging designers to create a space that uses its products. Entry is free and submissions are due Dec. 20.
AIA|DC is accepting entries for the Sarah Booth Conroy Prize for Journalism and Architectural Criticism to reward excellent reporting of architecture and urbanism in Washington, D.C. The annual prize is $5,000. Deadline is Dec. 31.
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