Paris Mayor Anne Hildago confirmed to the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche that a project to transform the city's historic Champs-Élysées has received the green light, according to The Guardian. Once a site synonymous with pure luxury, the eight-lane avenue has become a tangle of traffic and pollution detested by residents in recent decades. The approved plan, designed by the local firm PCA-Stream, proposes a four-pronged action plan focused on "reducing the impact of urban mobilities, rethinking nature as an ecosystem, inventing new uses, and utilizing data," to transform the Champs-Élysées into a lush pedestrian garden, according to PCA-Stream. Although the firm aims to complete the approximately $305 million transformation by 2030, it will complete an initial phase for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In addition to reducing traffic, the scheme aspires to increase the area's biodiversity and create a collection of "planted 'living rooms,'" according to the firm. "The urban transformations which will be necessary to address today’s planetary challenges cannot be simply decreed in a ‘top-down manner’ anymore: everybody must be able to take them up as part of an experiment of responsible co-design." [The Guardian]
Another urban transformation for the week: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed a plan to extend the High Line to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's recently completed Moynihan Train Hall, providing "seamless" pedestrian access to the elevated park, according to a press release from the governor's office. Announced during New York's 2021 State of the State, the plan will take the form of a public-private partnership between Brookfield Property Group, Empire State Development, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Friends of the High Line to construct a "L-shaped connection from the 10th Avenue terminus of the High Line to Brookfield's Manhattan West public space," according to the same release. "This connection is part of a district-wide redevelopment of the West Side that will jumpstart the private market in a post-COVID world," Cuomo said. [New York State]
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a more than 10% decrease in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to The New York Times. Examining a preliminary estimate published by the independent research organization Rhodium Group, NYT reports that emission levels last year were the lowest ever in three decades; however, they're expected to slowly return to heightened levels. “[A]s vaccines become more prevalent, and depending on how quickly people feel comfortable enough to drive and fly again, we’d expect emissions to rebound unless there are major policy changes put in place," Rhodium Group director Kate Larsen told NYT. [NYT]
The Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C., has abandoned the $2 billion expansion that it unveiled in 2014 with the Bjarke Ingles Group, according to The Washington Post. Instead of BIG's futuristic scheme, the Smithsonian has selected a more modest plan and will work with the National Capital Planning Commission in D.C. to renovate and restore its existing iconic structures, including the red-bricked Smithsonian Castle designed by James Renwick. [Washington Post]
Researchers from Rice University in Houston have developed a process that transforms pyrolyzed plastic ash into graphene, allowing the waste product to have a second, recycled life. By treating the plastic ash through a Joule heating process, the researchers created graphene flakes that they could easily mix into cement paste, then increasing the compressive strength of the resulting concrete. [Rice University]
An immersive, online artwork by renowned artist and photographer Ed Ruscha takes viewers on a 2.5-mile tour of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. WaPo art critic Sebastian Smee dives into the Getty Institute's interactive 12 Sunsets, tracking the project's history and the "absorbing" experience it offers. [Washington Post]
Aectual, an Amsterdam-based company that describes itself as the "world’s first platform to rapidly produce 100% circular, bespoke 3D-printed architectural and interior products at industrial scale," has announced the beta launch of its commercial web shop and a "design-to-delivery platform" that eliminates waste and reduces CO2 emissions. Working with "100% recyclable, renewable materials," Aectual produces large-format 3D printed objects including flooring, columns, fixtures, stairs, and furniture. “Aectual addresses a serious global challenge: the construction sector accounts for 39% of all global carbon emissions and is one of the largest polluting industries in the world," said co-founder and chief creative officer Hedwig Heinsman in a company press release. [Aectual]
The violence and attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has left onlookers around the world with many questions. How did a mob breach the Capitol? What was the exact timeline of events? Fast Company has compiled five pieces of visual journalism from the BBC, The Washington Post, The New York TImes, and BuzzFeed that map out the shocking hours. [Fast Company]
2020 certainly brought its challenges, but Architecture 2030 founder Edward Mazria, FAIA, feels optimistic about the decade to come. Read his latest CarbonPositive column to learn why he is confident that the building industry can phase out carbon emissions by 2040. [ARCHITECT]
