On April 10, 2024, the New York Landmarks Conservancy bestowed the Preservation Leadership Award to author and urbanist Roberta Brandes Gratz. A longtime preservation activist, Gratz served on the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. She also led the successful effort to restore the Eldridge Street Synagogue, now the Museum at Eldridge Street. The following is a slightly edited version of the speech Gratz delivered at the 34th annual Lucy C. Moses Preservation Awards.
In an effort to find effective strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, the Biden-Harris administration has released a draft of a new legislative initiative that strives to impose a National Definition for Zero Emissions Buildings. Overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the draft proposes a standardized and verifiable base for defining the common minimum conditions for such buildings, as well as pathways for transparent verifications by public and private entities. DOE has now launched a ‘request for information' asking for feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, and other stakeholders before finalizing the document.
Venice authorities have launched a pilot program for their long-term discussed plan to introduce fees for day-trippers visiting the city. The program, which has been delayed several times citing logistical issues, was officially launched on January 16th, when the online payment platform became operational. While the scope of the program is expected to expand, for now, it will be applied only on certain days during the most crowded season, between April 25 and July 14.
via Shutterstock | givaga | View on Avenue des Champs Elysses
As the countdown to the XXXIII Olympic Games in Paris ticks away, the city is making preparations that will completely shift its urban landscape and infrastructure. Set to be the largest event ever organized in France, the games will start on 26 July and continue till 11 August 2024. With only 200 days left, the Paris City Council has approved around 43 new initiatives acting as a catalyst for the city's transformation – aiming for a greener, healthier, and mobile Paris. From cleaning the Seine River to building a cycling lane, activating a transit line, and banning non-essential city traffic, the heart of the French capital is on a mission against time to revitalize its historic urban core.
Los Angeles officials have voted on a motion to implement the first Park Block, a pilot project that creates a car-free grid of city streets to open up public space for pedestrians and cyclists, as reported by NBC Los Angeles. The plan takes inspiration from Barcelona’s Superblock program, which creates groups of nine blocks in the district of Eixample and restricts the traffic to the outside streets, freeing up the rest of the streets for pedestrian and local transit only. Implemented in 2016, the plan has led to reduced levels of air pollution, urban noise, and traffic fatalities. A similar program is now planned for Los Angeles, United States.
New York City’s Local Law 18, also known as the Short-Term Rental Registration Law, came into effect on September 5, changing the way in which short-term apartment rentals operate in the city. The new local legislation dictated that from now on, short-term rental hosts in the city must register with the Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) to obtain a license, and rentals are only allowed if the host lives in the place and is present for the duration of the guest’s stay. The number of guests is also limited to just two, and the duration is limited to 30 days. The legislation is not an explicit ban on platforms such as Airbnb, but the strict regulations make it almost impossible for the service to continue its activity.
Since pandemic-imposed restrictions have been lifted, Europe has experienced a surge in tourism, with millions of people visiting some of its most attractive destinations, such as Venice, Barcelona or Paris. The large number of visitors has proved to be a challenge for the cities, creating overcrowding and affecting the local population, urban development, and even the natural ecosystems surrounding the urban areas. In a bid to limit this influx, some of Europe’s most popular cities are taking various measures to address the overcrowding and the subsequent social and infrastructural issues. The measures include fines, entrance fees, and time-slot systems to impose some restrictions.
Tour Triangle . Image Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron
The city of Paris has officially reinstated a rule that limits the height of new buildings in the French capital to 37 meters, or 12 storeys. Among the factors for the decision was the controversy surrounding the construction of the 180-meter-tall Tour Triangle, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, which began in 2021 after more than a decade of legal battles and backlash. The new urban planning regulation is introduced as part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo's Local Bioclimatic Urban Plan, which aims to reduce Paris' carbon emissions.
Every year since its establishment in 1970, Earth Day aims to bring into focus not only the increasingly threatening effects of climate change but also highlight the effective measures and adaptation efforts that can improve the quality of our environment. This year’s event comes after a report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in March, which presented another warning on the magnitude of changes produced by human-induced global warming and its impact on people and ecosystems. The same report does offer some hopeful prospects as well, showing that adaptation measures can build resilience, but those urgent systemwide transformations are needed to secure a net-zero future. In response to these findings, the 2023 Earth Day is focused on the theme of “Investing in Our Planet,” as an encouragement for governments, institutions, businesses, and civil society to accelerate the change. Read on to discover several citywide initiatives aligned with these objectives of building resilience and a more sustainable future through legislation, civic involvement, and innovative systems.
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.
Videos
Urban Sequoia Forests of Buildings Isolating Carbon & Producing Biomaterials . Image Courtesy of SOM / Miysis
With the magnitude and urgency of the immediate Covid-19 crisis worldwide, efforts have been concentrated on saving lives, rather than focusing on concerns related to the road to Net-zero carbon. Net Zero carbon in regards to construction is defined as when the amount of carbon emissions associated with the construction of a building and its completion is zero. A zero-energy building will have an overall zero net energy consumption; the total amount of energy used by the building annually is equal to the amount of renewable energy generated on-site.
As the climate emergency presents itself as a severe and existential threat, it is crucial that the road to net-zero carbon is resumed large-scale in both an architectural and commercial sense. Around the globe, efforts have been renewed in an attempt to tackle the almost inconceivable. According to the 2019 global status report for buildings and construction, the buildings and construction sector accounted for 36% of final energy use and process-related carbon emissions in 2018. Although carbon emissions were temporarily reduced during the peak of the pandemic, they are set to swiftly return to previous figures.
In his essay "Figures, Doors and Passages", the architectural historian Robin Evans described how "it is difficult to see in the conventional layout of a contemporary house anything but the crystallization of cold reason. Because of this," he asserted, "we are easily led into thinking that a commodity so transparently unexceptional must have been wrought directly from the stuff of basic human needs." His words, which highlight the passive approach of designers, developers and dwellers when it comes to the vast majority of British housing being built today, were first published in 1978 – two years before the Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher introduced the 1980 Housing Act.
Helicopter landing pads will no longer be required atop new buildings in Los Angeles, California. The rule’s elimination, which was announced yesterday by the city’s mayor and fire chief, allows architects the freedom to break away from LA’s “boxy” skyline. “I want to see innovative design,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “I want to see good design, but we’re going to take the handcuffs off of you when we ask you to do that. I want neighborhoods to look good, and I want our buildings to look iconic.” You can read more about the change, here.
1315 Peachtree, in Atlanta, achieved LEED Platinum Certification. However, will newer buildings in Georgia be held to the same standards? . Image Courtesy of Perkins + Will
The US Green Building Council’s federally adopted LEED certification system has come under legislative siege with lobbyists from the timber, plastics and chemical industries crying out, “monopoly!” Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama have lead efforts to ban LEED, claiming the USGBC’s closed-door approach and narrow-minded material interests have shut out stakeholders in various industries that could otherwise aid in the sustainable construction of environmentally-sensitive buildings.
The American Institute of Architects today released a letter from more than 350 different associations and companies expressing opposition to efforts by special interests to gut energy conservation requirements for federal buildings.
The letter, which is addressed to Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and ranking Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, was released one week ahead of the scheduled mark-up of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee May 8.
That legislation, introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), would promote greater use of energy efficiency technology in commercial and residential buildings and by manufacturers.
The AIA recently unveiled their 2012 legislative agenda, and has made it clear that creating jobs in the design and construction industry are a priority. We have been covering the numerous initiatives that the AIA has been implementing over the past year ranging from the Stalled Building Index, the regularly updated Architectural Billing Index and their update of the 2030 Commitment Reporting Tool. Of particular importance, especially for those of us who are running small firms or contemplating breaking into this fragile market as a sole proprietor, is an emphasis on fostering our growth. With the bulk of firms falling into this category – 95% of all firms in the US employ 50 or fewer people – this initiative should put some pressure on the political machine that has the authority to reign in the tax rates on small entrepreneurs and stimulate growth through the reevaluation of private sector lending. In tandem with this concerted effort by the AIA, it is practically imperative as a small business owner, that we take control and become much more fluid in an increasingly amorphous and uncertain environment. Whether it is by seeking out non-traditional design opportunities, or introducing new initiatives that are unique to your firm, we as a design community are certainly up to the task. (See Jennifer Kennedy’s recent article on the topic here.)
