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Housing and Urban Development: The Latest Architecture and News

BIG, ICON, and Lennar Announce Community of 3D-printed Homes in Texas, USA

Pioneer in large-scale 3D printing, ICON announced the construction of a 3D-printed 100-Home Community co-designed by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and developed by Lennar. Located north of Austin, in the city of Georgetown, "The Genesis Collection at Wolf Ranch" will become the first and largest house estate in the world built by a fleet of robots integrating additive construction techniques.

Combining the digital possibilities of 3d printing with sustainable features at an affordable price, the project aims to support the housing crisis in Austin, one of the U.S.A's most dynamic and growing cities, home to the new Tesla Gigafactory and other giants such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle.

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URB Reveals Design for Africa’s Largest Sustainable City

URB has unveiled plans to develop Africa's most sustainable city, a development that can host 150,000 residents. Known as The Parks, the city plans to produce 100% of its energy, water & food on-site through biodomes, solar-powered air-to-water generators, and biogas production. The 1,700-hectare project will feature residential, medical, ecotourism, and educational hubs to become one of the significant contributors to the growing green and tech economy in South Africa.

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How to Create Real Housing Affordability, With Dignity

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

The U.S. housing shortage is most severe on the more affordable side of the market. At a time when costs are escalating broadly and homes that were recently attainable by many have moved out of reach of most, this is no surprise. The problem is most acute in the heated markets, of course, where affordability mandates and rent controls seek to retain rental affordability for some, as owning a home in such markets is a dream accessible only to the wealthiest. (No measures in this post have any impact on these markets.)

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Handel Architects Designs Third Tallest Tower in Historical Downtown Los Angeles

Handel Architects designed the third tallest in Los Angeles, a 63-story high-rise 265 meters high in the Historical Downtown L.A. Featuring a 150 meters second tower, affordable residential housing, and community spaces, the "Angels Landing" will be the largest and tallest development to be built by Black developers in the United States, marking a milestone in the real estate industry, as in L.A.'s skyline. In partnership with The Peebles Corporation and MacFarlane Partners, the complex is scheduled to open in 2027 and will create more than 8,300 new jobs during construction.

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Jeanne Gang Wins the 2022 ULI Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development

Studio Gang's founder, Jeanne Gang, is the winner of the 2022 ULI Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, the most prestigious and respected honor in the real estate, land use, and development community. From museums and skyscrapers, including the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and the St. Regis Tower in Chicago, Gang has demonstrated her work in creating and implementing better practices in sustainable reuse, ecological biodiversity, and social equity. Gang, the first woman architect to get the prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, joins the ULI laureates list along with Alejandro Aravena, Richard Rogers, and Vincent Scully.

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Dewan Architects + Engineers Designs Longest Building in The World to Transform Hanoi City in Vietnam

The Dragon Tower in Hanoi by Dewan Architects + Engineers in collaboration with TTA, is the winner of the Global Design & Architecture Design Awards 2022 in the Mix-Used category; the tower is projected to transform Vietnam's landmark. Designed to be the longest building in the world, the 700.000 square meters complex will provide ministerial lobbies, meeting rooms, and public spaces, including a nursery, library, supermarket, restaurants, and a learning center. A water reservoir and green terraces are incorporated into the design to increase the building's efficiency and accessibility.

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New Residential Complex in Amsterdam Creates Room for Wildlife

The new apartment complex designed by Venhoeven CS and DS Landschapsarchitecten is characterized by the intention to stimulate biodiversity. Located on a four-acre plot in the Sluisbuurt on the Zeeburgereiland in Amsterdam, the complex will include 82 homes, a parking garage, and spaces for shops and businesses. The nature-inclusive project pays special attention to the design of green roofs, terraces, and facades to create micro-environments for local flora and fauna and to optimize energy consumption.

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KCAP Architects Unveils First 15-Minute City in Moscow

KCAP Architects and Planners have unveiled the ZIL-South masterplan, a new residential district in Moscow built on the basis of a 15-minute city. The masterplan will be built on the largest brownfield area of the former ZIL industrial zone, and will feature more than 100 hectares of commercial and residential landmarks, public spaces, parks, landscapes, and interconnect routes alongside the Moskva River, all inspired by the area's pre-industrial past.

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Safdie Architects Reveals Designs for Mixed Use Urban Development in Toronto

Safdie Architects have released the images of 'ORCA Toronto', a mixed-use urban development with an integrated park in the heart of downtown Toronto. The project covers 6.5 hectares (65,000 sqm) west of the CN Tower, 4.5 hectares (45,000 sqm) of which are dedicated to the publicly-accessible urban park, while 2 hectares (20,000 sqm) are for residential, commercial, retail, and transit facilities. The proposed project reconnects the downtown area to the city’s waterfront, promising to become a vital hub that animates the underutilized parts of the city.

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Mad Arkitekter Proposes New Urban Development Plan in Larvik, Norway

Along with the municipality of Larvik, Mad Arkitekter has proposed new development plans for Martineåsen, a future new district west of Larvik City Center. The project celebrates the natural context of the site while creating a small-town community with all required amenities, within walking distance.

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Chicago Approves bKL Architecture’s Three-Tower Master Plan for Lakeshore East

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Courtesy of bKL architecture

Where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan, a pivotal node in Chicago’s cityscape, bKL Architecture has designed three towers along the waterfront, which connect the natural elements of the landscape with the urban center and neighboring communities.

The urban development is located at a prominent junction utilized by both pedestrians and automobiles; the site’s new master plan separates the two, providing seamless integration between the active green space surrounding bLK’s three towers and the lakefront.

RIBA Publishes 'The Ten Primary Characteristics of Places Where People Want to Live'

The RIBA's ‘Ten Characteristics of Places Where People Want to Live’ combines a series of case studies that illustrate components of contemporary community housing design. This study was completed to identify and analyze specific, successful elements of past projects that can be easily incorporated into future projects not only in England but also internationally.

The study hopes to demonstrate to its readers the relationship between design quality and the rate of supply in the delivery of much needed well-built affordable housing. Each building example illustrates how appealing and successful design can be easily replicated.

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Tieno Designs an Eco-Friendly City Block Constructed From Timber

The “Bosco” design schematic utilizes timber construction and ecological design practices to create a multi-sided residential city block. Not only are the private domestic spaces important, but the definition of ‘living space’ is expanded to include private outdoor and shared spaces.

In this way, the wood exterior becomes an extension of the interior. The use of timber, throughout, and the simple language of Bosco’s underlying geometric forms create a well-articulated and homogeneous ensemble of housing components.

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New Development in Toronto Is "Choreographed City-Building"

"The Well" is set to be one of the most ambitious urban developments Toronto has seen. Estimated to host nearly 10,000 people living and working daily, "The Well" includes over 1.5 million square feet of retail, office space and food services, as well as 1,800 residential units all spread throughout seven buildings flanked by Front, Spadina and Wellington in downtown Toronto.

New Drone Footage Shows Construction of the Largest Residential Development in Bushwick, New York

ODA New York’s design for Bushwick II, a high-end residential complex on the former site of Brooklyn’s Rheingold Brewery, is coming to life in the fast-growing neighborhood of Bushwick, New York. Developed by All Year Management, 123 Melrose is already being clad. Meanwhile, Rabksy Group’s development, 10 Montieth, recently topped out.

Together, the projects will cover three full city blocks, totaling 1.35 million gross square feet. Bushwick II will be the largest housing increase this neighborhood of Brooklyn has ever seen.

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China's "City-Making Process": Investors' Power in the People's Republic

The world is looking at the urban machine of Chinese cities, at the newly founded theme-cities and at the new urban economic investment areas around the cities. The buildings are repetitive, the areas are sometimes uninhabited, but the thing that leaves urban planners, architects and the public amazed is that these buildings are often completely sold out even before they are completed.

To buy these freshly constructed residences takes money, and over the last three decades the Chinese economic miracle served precisely to grow the per capita income. The reform of the economic system in 1978 was the driving force that triggered the mechanism of capital production. The reform led to millions of people migrating to the cities from the underdeveloped west of the country in search of higher salaries and a well-founded hope of revolutionizing their economic existence.