News Roundup, October 26 to October 30, 2015

The Friendly Drone-less Skies   The federal government might soon have the technology to take over a drone in the air around the nation's airports. The Federal Aviation Administration has a contract with CACI International, who says that they are working on a system that sets up a net around an airport and can override the controls of any drone that flies within its perimeter. The system would alert airport officials when an unauthorized drone flies into its airspace, at which point the software overrides the operator's power and can turn off the drone, direct it to a safe area on the tarmac, or even set it to fly back to its operator, a scenario under which law enforcement could then track the drone back to the person responsible for violating the unwelcome airspace. The FAA plans to test the system with a 5-mile radius, and if successful begin deploying it to the nation's airports. [The Washington Post]

Frederick Law Undead (lurch about in pleasantly curvy lines) #urbanistcostumes

— Em Is For MONSTER!!! (@erpurc) October 29, 2015

A Virtual Tour of Spooky Places    Travel around eight of the world’s creepiest places from the comfort of your desk using Google Maps’ Street View tour. The journey begins with Bran Castle, also known as “Dracula’s Castle,” in Romania, and then moves to Isla de las Muñecas Xochimilco, an island filled with decaying baby dolls to memorialize the death of a young girl, in Mexico. From there, Google Maps takes you to the ominous Bodie State Historic Park, an abandoned gold mining town in northern California; Gunkanjima (“Battleship Island”), a once booming coal mine in Japan; and the 13th Gate Haunted House in Baton Rouge, La. [Mashable]

A Collection of 'Hauntingly Beautiful' Houses   A new book by photographer Seph Lawless captures mesmerizing interior and exterior shots of 13 abandoned homes. The structures featured in “Hauntingly Beautiful” are built decades or even centuries ago, and are the sites of real-life tragedies or mysteries. Despite their haunting nature and states of heartbreaking neglect, Lawless finds the houses beautiful, emotional, and intimate. "Modern architecture comes across cold and uninspiring," Lawless told A Plus. "I suppose I was trying to capture that beauty in the darkest way imaginable because it seemed fitting. [It's] The decline of a dying art form known as architecture." [A Plus]

Continuing a New Flatiron Holiday Tradition   For the second year, visitors to New York City's Flatiron Building will encounter a temporary holiday installation designed to frame views of the urban landscape. This year's winning installation for the Flatiron Plaza Holiday Design Competition is "Nova" by local studio Softlab, who is building their winning installation for the outdoor plaza during the holiday season. [ARCHITECT]

Remember Your P/A Awards Entry!   And now you have a little more time to get it in. The regular deadline has been pushed back to next week. [ARCHITECT]

Cutting Bureaucracy Is Not Always a Good Thing   Aaron Betsky weighs the pros and cons of a long-discussed merger between the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the National Architectural Accrediting Board. [ARCHITECT]

Local Library Archive   According to the Library of Congress, there are 16,536 public libraries in the country, and the organization just acquired 681 photographs of contemporary libraries in 48 states and Washington, D.C., supplemented by negatives, scans, field notes, correspondence, maps, and other records. [ARCHITECT]

Shown above is Branch Technology's 3D-printed open-matrix lattice made from carbon-fiber-reinforced ABS plastic that can serve as the core of a modular wall system that integrates common building materials like spray-foam insulation, spray-applied concrete, and cladding. [ARCHITECT]

Awards: Enter Now!

Deadlines Extended! 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 Friday, Nov. 6, with the late deadline (and extra $50 per entry) Wednesday, Nov. 11. Enter now!

Enter the 2016 AIA Housing Awards, a program that has grown over the last decade to include consideration of energy usage. The main goal, always and most importantly, is the importance of good housing. The award program's categories are one- and two-family custom residences, one- and two-family production homes, multifamily housing, and specialized housing. The deadline to enter is 5 p.m. on Nov. 20.

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 was yesterday. 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.

For more news and views, sign up for the ARCHITECT Newswire, the best daily newsletter on architecture and architects.

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