NBWW BLOG…

Pavegen technology is a multi-functional, custom flooring system that transforms foot traffic into off-grid electricity. By Robert Nieminen The New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman once asked, “Do you know what my favorite renewable fuel is? An ecosystem for innovation.” If you pose the same question to Pavegen founder and CEO Laurence Kemball-Cook, his answer would most likely be: foot traffic. That’s because Kemball-Cook, who is passionate about climate change, believes “technology alone won’t make cities perform more efficiently. It’s about changing behaviors.” To that end, he spent time developing renewable energy solutions in built-up urban environments and ultimately landed on the idea of capturing ambient energy from people and footfall. After testing a series of...

Demand for design services in the multifamily residential sector dominated billings by sector for the fifth consecutive month. By Hanley Wood Data Studio The AIA’s monthly Architecture Billings Index (ABI) came in at a score of 51.0 in March, marking the sixth consecutive month of gains. The ABI is a leading economic indicator of construction activity in the U.S., and reflects a nine- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending nationally, regionally, and by project type. A score above 50, as seen this month, represents an increase in billings from the previous month, while a score below 50 represents a contraction. While March’s reading of 51.0 is a 1-point dip from February’s score of 52.0, the fluctuation only indicates a slower...

By Brian Bandell Downtown Miami hotel could be redeveloped into 82-story tower Miami Convention Hotel Corp., an affiliate of Yonkers, New York-based AVR Realty, wants to replace the Courtyard by Marriott Miami Downtown/Brickell Area hotel with an 82-story mixed-use tower. Designed by NBWW (Nichols Broach Wurst Wolfe). Located at 200 S.E. Second Ave., the project would total 1.53 million square feet with a height of 898 feet. It would feature 637 residential units, 266 hotel rooms, about 25,500 square feet of convention and meeting space within the hotel, 9,245 square feet of commercial/restaurant space, and 553 parking spaces. The parking spaces would be on the first eight floors. The hotel amenity and pool deck would be on the ninth floor, with the hotel rooms on floors 10 through...

AN probes the good, the bad, and the ugly in contemplating the future of driverless cars. By Jonathan Hilburg The rise of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is inevitable and—depending on who you ask—they’ll either eliminate car crashes and save the environment, or muscle out pedestrians from the street, steal our personal data, and create biblical levels of gridlock in our cities. But despite the divide over how the technology should be implemented, the common thread that runs between apostles and bashers alike is the belief that cities, planners, and architects are woefully unprepared for the changes self-driving cars will bring. In November 2017, the AIA held an event centered on the topic, “Anticipating the Driverless City,” and the furor seems justified following the death of a pedestrian...

Blaine Brownell outlines discoveries from his experimental University of Minnesota design studio. By Blaine Brownell “With typical buildings, details are decided upon in the final stages,” writes Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, Hon. FAIA, in Matter in the Floating World (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011). “The site is chosen, then form, and lastly the details. By then, there is less time for the details—only standard details are considered because of the limited time.” Kuma is, in part, referring to material selections—the particularities of which most architects leave to the last minute. Kuma avoids this challenge by focusing on material ideas at the outset: “We do decide upon some details toward the end of the project, but we think about most of the details at the beginning,” he...

Yesomi Umolu has a history of showcasing new voices By Sara Freund Yesomi Umolu, a curator and former architect, was selected as the sole artistic director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial back in March which puts her in a unique position—both past programs were led by a pair of directors. Umolu will undertake the massive citywide festival of architecture and design along with a curatorial team she is currently putting together. It’s early in the planning stages, but Umolu already has a sense of direction. Last year’s theme was Make New History and brought in more than half a million visitors to see groundbreaking projects from 140 architects and designers from 20 countries. In preparing for the upcoming biennial, which will take place between September 19, 2019 and January 5,...

Site next to Miami Tower is currently home to 13-story Courtyard Marriott By Katherine Kallergis The owner of a downtown Miami Courtyard Marriott is proposing redeveloping the site into an 82-story mixed-use tower. A proposal filed with the city of Miami’s Urban Development Review Board reveals AVR Realty Co.’s plans to build a 1.5-million-square-foot residential and hotel high-rise at 200 Southeast Second Avenue. The development would include 637 residential units, 266 hotel rooms, about 9,200 square feet of retail space, 553 parking spaces, and 8,600 square feet of green space. Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates is designing the project. AVR affiliate Miami Convention Hotel Corp. owns the 1.2-acre property where the 13-story, 231-key Courtyard Miami Downtown/Brickell hotel...

By Brian Bandell  – Senior Reporter, South Florida Business Journal The Marriott-branded Courtyard Miami Downtown hotel could be replaced by an 82-story mixed-use tower. The application by Miami Convention Hotel Corp., an affiliate of Yonkers, New York-based AVR Realty, will go before the city’s Urban Development Review Board on April 18. Called 2nd and 2nd, the project would go on the 1.15-acre site at 200 S.E. 2nd Ave. The property currently has a 13-story, 231-room hotel that was built in 1975. It would be demolished. In its place, AVR Realty wants to build a 1.53 million-square-foot tower that would rise 898 feet. It would feature 637 residential units, 266 hotel rooms, about 25,500 square feet of convention and meeting space within the hotel, 9,245 square feet of...

In “Geothermal Futures Lab” at SCI-Arc, Mark Foster Gage Architects comments on the renewed license architects have to design for speculative futures in an era of “fake news,” with mixed results. By Antonio Pacheco In a recent installation at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Mark Foster Gage Architects attempts to bring the notion of parafictional art fantasy to the realm of architecture—with mixed results. Gage’s Geothermal Futures Lab considers the notion that, given the current regime of “fake news” and “post-truth” reality, architects might have renewed license to create new visions for the future rooted primarily in fantasy. In lectures and writings, Gage argues that architects from Vitruvius onward have always engaged in some...

Following a recent QS survey that declared MIT, the Bartlett, and Delft University the best architecture schools in the world, AN’s Editor-in-Chief examines the state of the field. By William Menking What are we to make of a recent survey that claims MIT, the Bartlett, and Delft University of Technology are the best architecture schools in the world?  This ranking, created by British-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) also names Stanford, New York University, and University of California, Santa Barbara, as its top schools for architecture and these institutions don’t even have standalone schools of architecture. This assessment has received a great deal of attention on social media, particularly from those associated with the top schools. But what are we to make of a listing that...

Convention Center Hotel Corp. of Yonkers, NY has submitted plans to build an 82-story mixed-use project called 2nd & 2nd in downtown Miami. The 898-foot tower will replace an existing Courtyard by Marriott hotel across from the soon-to-be-redevloped Hyatt and Whole Foods Market. There is also an abutting Metromover station. The proposal includes: 266 hotel rooms 637 residential units 9,245 square feet of retail 553 parking spaces In total, more than 1.5 million square feet are proposed. Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe (NBWW) is the architect. The developer is a subsidiary of AVR Realty. The proposal will be presented to the Urban Development Review Board at a meeting on April 18. Source: The Next Miami Revealed: 82-Story 2nd & 2nd Tower Proposed With Hotel & Residential

Want to keep an eye on the new hotel project coming to Jimmy Buffet’s MargaritaVillage located in Orlando, FL? Here you go…