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Why Nearly Every City in the U.S. Needs a Walkability Study

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

About two weeks ago, I received an intriguing email from Jeff Speck, the author of two of the most influential books on urban planning in the past two decades: Suburban Nation (2010; co-authored by Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk) and Walkable City (2012; reissued in 2022 with new material). The press release it contained announced the formation of a new partnership, SpeckDempsey, “a new planning and design firm serving government, non-profit, and private clients.” Prior to this, Speck was a potent and highly visible one-man band spreading the gospel of walkable cities. After spending a decade as director of town planning at Duany and Plater-Zyberk’s firm, Speck served as director of design for the National Endowment for the Arts before setting up Speck & Associates in 2007. Now he has joined forces with Chris Dempsey, a Boston-area transportation advocate, with the joint goal of bringing walkable city practices to scale. Last week, I talked to them about their new partnership, their methodology, and their plans for the future.

MVRDV Unveils Design for New Residential Complex in the Enterprise Research Campus in Boston

MVRDV has revealed the design of a new residential complex located in the Enterprise Research Campus in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, a site adjacent to the Harvard Business School. The development, already under construction, features 343 apartments with a quarter of them dedicated to affordable units. It also includes amenities for the residents and retail spaces for small local businesses, aiming to create an inclusive and enjoyable space within the new urban district.

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212 Stuart Street - Residential Building / Höweler + Yoon Architecture + Sasaki

 212 Stuart Street - Residential Building  / Höweler + Yoon Architecture + Sasaki - Exterior Photography, Residential, Facade
© Chuck Choi

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The 2023 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers Announces the Winners

The Architectural League of New York has announced the winners of its 42nd cycle of the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers. The theme for this edition of the competition was “Uncomfortable,” asking young designers to contemplate their position while wrestling with many uncomfortable responsibilities, like challenging traditional paradigms, dismantling architectural legacies, grappling with the costs of comfort, or responding to rising ecological concerns.

Established in 1981, the competition is open to young architects and designers in an effort to recognize the visionary work of young practitioners. This year’s theme was developed by the 2023 Young Architects + Designers Committee, which included recent League Prize winners Jose Amozurrutia, Germane Barnes, and Jennifer Bonner. The jury included the committee in addition to Barbara Bestor, Wonne Ickx, Kyle Miller, and Tya Winn.

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The Factory Lofts / Hacin

The Factory Lofts  / Hacin - Exterior Photography, Apartments, FacadeThe Factory Lofts  / Hacin - Exterior Photography, Apartments, Door, FacadeThe Factory Lofts  / Hacin - Exterior Photography, Apartments, Facade, DoorThe Factory Lofts  / Hacin - Exterior Photography, Apartments, FacadeThe Factory Lofts  / Hacin - More Images+ 7

  • Architects: Hacin
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  64500 ft²
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2021
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Endicott, Doors: trustile, MGA Cast Stone, Millwork: trickett woodworks, Sioux City Brick

“As Architects, We Don’t Discover Our Identity, We Construct It”: In Conversation with Rahul Mehrotra

Rahul Mehrotra is a practicing architect based in Boston and Mumbai and he has been teaching at Harvard’s GSD where he is currently Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design and Director of the Master in Architecture in Urban Design Degree Program. Born in 1959, Mehrotra grew up in Lucknow, a city in Northern India and an important cultural and artistic hub. His father was a manager at a large machine tool company. The family moved a lot following Mehrotra senior’s frequent promotions, which led to changing residences owned by his company. Besides a few years in Lucknow and Delhi, they lived in different neighborhoods within Mumbai.

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"With Intention to Build", Moshe Safdie’s Exhibition of Unbuilt Projects Opens in Boston, USA

From October 2022 through January 2, 2023, The Boston Architectural College (BAC) and Safdie Architects will display the most groundbreaking unbuilt projects by Moshe Safdie. With Intention to Build showcases the architect's creative process throughout the 55 years of his career, including models, drawings, and various texts and photographs. The exhibition provides context and tells the story behind these radical unrealized designs that have influenced projects such as Habitat 67 in Montreal, Canada, and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

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131 Oliver Street / Krueck Sexton Partners

131 Oliver Street  / Krueck Sexton Partners - Exterior Photography, Offices Interiors, Facade, Cityscape131 Oliver Street  / Krueck Sexton Partners - Exterior Photography, Offices Interiors, Deck, Facade, Fence, Handrail131 Oliver Street  / Krueck Sexton Partners - Interior Photography, Offices Interiors, Facade, Chair131 Oliver Street  / Krueck Sexton Partners - Interior Photography, Offices Interiors, Facade, Beam131 Oliver Street  / Krueck Sexton Partners - More Images+ 19

“Interesting Things Happen in the Shadows”: In Conversation with Brian Healy

Boston architect Brian Healy moved around for his early career, before settling and building in New England. He had studios in Florida, California, and New York, eventually opening his office in Boston. Healy acquired his bachelor’s degree in architecture at the Pennsylvania State University in 1978 and continued his studies at Yale where he encountered such influential professors as James Stirling, Vincent Scully, John Hejduk, Aldo Rossi, and Cesar Pelli, among others.

Healy graduated with a Master of Architecture in 1981 and then used traveling scholarship money from Yale, the Van Allen Institute, and the American Academy in Rome to travel around the world for a year, exploring ancient ruins in Ireland, Italy, Greece, Sudan, Egypt, India, Nepal, and Thailand. Prior to the trip, he had worked at the offices of Charles Moore and Cesar Pelli. Upon his return, he designed and built homes in Florida before working for Richard Meier in New York. In 1985, he started Brian Healy Architects. Parallel to that he taught at over twenty universities across North America, including Yale, Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania. Healy was the 2004 president of the Boston Society of Architects and, from 2011-2014 he served as Design Director at Perkins + Will.

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NBBJ is Transforming Boston's Iconic Hurley Building into a Mixed-Use Development

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has announced that Boston’s iconic concrete Government Center, the Hurley Building, will be getting a complete renovation by architecture firm NBBJ. Originally designed by Paul Rudolph, the brutalist building and its site were listed for sale in 2019. The new mixed-use development will "catalyze substantial economic development on the underutilized and uninviting site with a new life-sciences building, renovated state offices, ground-floor retail, improved public open space, and 200 units of mixed-income housing as part of a dynamic mixed-use development which will enliven and reactivate 5 acres in Downtown Boston".

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Cities from US and Europe Seek to Ban Fossil Fuels in New Buildings

Boston is the latest city to announce a city-wide plan that, if passed, would eliminate the use of fossil fuels in new constructions and major renovation projects. This measure expands upon the commitment to enact climate action and make Boston a Green New Deal city. Other US cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, and Berkeley have all imposed similar measures in recent years. Seven European cities - Bilbao, Bratislava, Dublin, Munich, Rotterdam, Vienna, and Winterthur - have also developed a project to phase out fossil fuel from urban heating and cooling.

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Harvard University Science and Engineering Complex / Behnisch Architekten

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Publicis Groupe Offices / Elkus Manfredi Architects

Publicis Groupe Offices / Elkus Manfredi Architects - Office BuildingsPublicis Groupe Offices / Elkus Manfredi Architects - Office Buildings, Facade, Table, Chair, LightingPublicis Groupe Offices / Elkus Manfredi Architects - Interior Photography, Office Buildings, Table, Chair, BenchPublicis Groupe Offices / Elkus Manfredi Architects - Office Buildings, Facade, CityscapePublicis Groupe Offices / Elkus Manfredi Architects - More Images+ 17

Sea-Level Rise: Could The Netherlands’ Polder System Work in the U.S.?

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

In April 1782, just six years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, John Adams arrived in Amsterdam as the first U.S. Ambassador to The Netherlands. Three months later, a consortium of Dutch bankers provided a 5 million guilder loan (equivalent to $150 billion today) to the new republic, a clear sign of my country’s confidence in the U.S. While I can’t provide a loan, as a Dutch water engineer I can offer something else to Americans: my country’s five centuries of experience living, working, and thriving below sea level. This is surely knowledge and knowhow that the U.S. will desperately need as water levels continue to rise and countless coastal communities are threatened.

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