NBWW BLOG…

Plus, NanaWall Systems debuts a cloud-based design program for architects, Trulia launches a crowdsourced online platform that aims to provide an insight into a neighborhood’s local life, and more design-tech news from this week. By Ayda Ayoubi Elon Musk’s Boring Co. has proposed plans to build a 3.6-mile-long, high-speed, zero-emissions underground public transportation system in Los Angeles. Called Dugout Loop, the tunnel will stretch between the neighborhood of Los Feliz, East Hollywood, or Rampart Village and Dodger Stadium and will complement the city’s existing transportation systems. According to a press release, the Dugout Loop is expected to reduce current traffic by providing a fully electric and affordable transportation alternative for the city’s...

The Architect’s Newspaper’s 2018 Sixth Annual Best Of Design Awards is a unique project-based awards program showcases great buildings & building elements. The Architect’s Newspaper speaks directly to leaders in architecture and design with news, products, developments, trends, and updates. With our magazine, A|N Interior, our outreach to the design community has grown exponentially. Our Sixth Annual Best Of Design Awards is a unique project-based awards program that showcases great buildings, building elements, interiors, and installations. Entrants are invited to submit completed works in 44 categories that reflect A|N’s editorial coverage, as well as the interests and obsessions of our readers. The BoD jury will judge entries based on several criteria—strength of...

Francesca Perani and Claudia Manenti have illustrated 488 scale figures for use in digital renders that feature a diverse range of characters. Gunseli Yalcinkaya Italian designers Francesca Perani and Claudia Manenti have illustrated 488 scale figures that they are offering for use in architectural drawings, featuring characters of different ages, skin tones and gender identities.Called Cutout Mix, the project is a response to the “growing need for more emotional diverse cutouts populating design renders”. The designers have so far created two packages, titled Calendar and Archifunky, which are available to download for free. Both packages feature an assortment of minimalist graphic characters of varying genders and skin tones. The illustrations were originally created as...

Tech company Nvidia has partnered with architecture firms to create a VR experience for multiple users to virtually edit and annotate designs. By Katharine Keane Three years ago, Santa Clara, Calif.–based technology company Nvidia began experimenting with virtual reality systems as a means of digitally testing and training algorithms for things like self-driving cars. “One way to capture self-driving car data is to drive a bunch of cars around and capture examples of how people drive in real world conditions,” explains David Weinstein, Nvidia’s director of professional virtual reality. “Then you use that as the training sets for creating a self-driving car algorithm.” But, as Weinstein points out, “you can only drive so many miles in a year.” Thus, the idea for the Holodeck virtual...

If you’re looking to build a 1,000-foot tower in Miami but confused by height restriction rules, this presentation might be for you. It explains how two separate agencies oversee those restrictions, and how each has its own rules and approval process (although they do generally align). The tallest that you can build under Miami-Dade Aviation rules is 1,049 feet above sea level, but that must be in a specific zone, mostly in downtown Miami and Brickell. Here is the presentation in full, prepared by Miami-Dade Aviation officials for the city of Miami, and dated November 2017: Read from the Source HERE: The Next Miami This Presentation Explains Exactly Where And How You Can Build Your 1,049-Foot Tower In Miami

after making history in 2012 as the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to the international space station, spaceX has finalized the necessary refinements for the crew dragon to now carry humans to the station and other destinations in outer space. the next-generation spacecraft is designed to offer an enjoyable ride, with seats made from the highest-grade carbon fiber and alcantara cloth, and four windows that will offer passengers views of the earth, the moon, and the entire solar system. under an agreement with NASA, crew dragon will embark on its first manned test flight as early as this year. Read the full story HERE >>>> Source: Designboom inside crew dragon, spaceX’s commercial spacecraft designed to carry humans to outer space

kieron marchese a team of engineers and urban planners at MIT has developed a solution to climate change-causing floods: multifunctional urban stormwater wetlands and ponds that seamlessly integrate the control and cleaning of stormwater with ecological and recreational benefits. the proposal combines engineering, urban planning, and landscape architecture expertise to design a versatile green space. the design features a series of clustered islands which are modular and scalable so they can be tailored to fit the needs and resources of varying urban settings. on top of managing stormwater, the wetland or pond creates greenery for the city, recreational space for the community, and valuable wildlife habitats. these wetlands control the water’s movement maintaining it for a time in...

Jessica Mairs Royal College of Art graduate Hannah Rozenberg has developed a digital tool that calculates the underlying gender bias in English architectural terms, to help create more gender-neutral environments.Rozenberg’s graduation project, Building Without Bias: An Architectural Language for the Post-Binary, centres around an online calculator that allows you find out whether a building is biased or not, and helps you to add or subtract elements to improve the balance. The designer started the project after discovering the “disturbing” link machines make between architectural space and gender. Imagining a future where buildings are created using algorithms, Rozenberg wanted to find a way to highlight the gender biases embedded in architectural terms learned by...

Plus, WeWork debuts new co-working concept for mid-size businesses, Spain is slated to become home to Europe’s first Hyperloop development facility, and more design-tech news from this week. By Katharine Keane Uber is moving full steam ahead on its plans to create flying rideshare vehicles and infrastructure in the United States. This week, the University of Texas at Austin announced a partnership between researchers from the Cockrell School of Engineering, the U.S. Army Research Labs, and Uber’s Elevate program—which is spearheading the company’s urban aviation rideshare network called UberAIR. Together, these teams plan to develop a new rotor technology for vertical take-off and landing aircraft that are projected to reach “a cruising speed of 150-200 mph, a...

The national association of architects condemns the deregulation of the toxic building material By Alissa Walker In the latest deregulation effort by the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency hopes to allow new products to be manufactured with asbestos, a building material and known carcinogen which the architecture industry has largely shunned since the 1970s. In a statement, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) decried the move, asking the EPA to not only revoke the proposed rule, but to completely eliminate asbestos in domestic settings: “The EPA should use their existing regulatory authority to establish a blanket ban on the use of asbestos.” As first reported by Fast Company, the EPA proposed a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) on June 11 which would...

A hotel and retail project that spans an entire block in South Beach has commenced vertical construction. Washington Squared will include 312 hotel rooms, a restaurant and live performance space. There will also be 46,849 square feet of ground floor retail, along with a 258 space parking garage. The property was purchased in 2015 for around $33 million, and a construction loan for $90 million was issued last year. Washington Squared Owner LLC, controlled by Andrew Joblon, is the developer. Morris Adjmi Architects is the design architect, with Miami’s NBWW architect of record. Source: The Next Miami Vertical Construction Underway On South Beach Hotel & Retail Project

A+ Session: A Conversation with Critic Justin Davidson Imagine if today’s architects and planners began each new urban design by drawing in a set of steps and risers, a low-tech amenity for people to gather for free and linger as long as they like. It would signal that this is a place where all are welcome. Watch this conversation with Ned Cramer, Assoc. AIA, editor-in-chief, ARCHITECT, and Justin Davidson, architecture critic, New York Magazine, on how design can motivate intrinsic urban activities. Source: Architect https://www.architectmagazine.com/videos/a-session-a-conversation-with-critic-justin-davidson_o