New York: The Latest Architecture and News

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.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

What we build can be metaphoric—often intentionally, sometimes subliminally. But architecture is seldom the intentional commentary of architects, crafting symbolism; more often it is a direct reflection of its time and the culture that made it.

nArchitects has just received the 2023 National Design Award in Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The award brings national recognition to the different forms of design that improve and enhance everyday life. In fact, the Architecture award selects a studio or individual for their holistic understanding of spatial experiences, and this year the committee picked nArchitects famous for their New York Micro-Apartment experiment, the cultural center A/D/O in Brooklyn, and many more interactive works.

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In 2021, the architectural practice at large started to transform; people “no longer felt the need to stick to the traditional way of doing things when it came to matters related to the work environment”. Employees all over the industry have spoken up in recent years and have considered the solution of unionizing. In May of 2023, the employees of the renowned New York office Snøhetta announced a bid to unionize the studio, the second private-sector architecture studio in the United States to take this step. This week, it was declared that the workers voted against unionizing.

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Architect Tadao Ando has been commissioned to design this year’s Costume Institute exhibition highlighting the work of Karl Lagerfeld. The opening of the exhibition titled “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” was marked by the world-renown Met Gala, a fundraising event attended by celebrities and personalities perceived to be culturally relevant in the fashion scene. Perceived as a thematic and conceptual essay on Lagerfeld’s work, rather than a traditional retrospective, the exhibition aims to illustrate the designer’s method of creative expression and its significance in the industry.

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The Architectural League of New York has announced the winners of its 42^nd 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 Federal Aviation Administration has chosen the New York-based Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) studio to design the country's newest air traffic control towers. I.M. Pei's iconic mid-century towers will be replaced by PAU's adaptable and highly sustainable prototype, which offers a unique architectural solution that combines form and function for the twenty-first century. The new towers are vital to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050. They have been updated to reflect aviation technology, safety development, and changing environmental and climatic conditions.

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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have been selected to design the New York Climate Exchange in partnership with Stony Brook University, a public research institute in New York. The new net-zero campus, located on Governors Island, New York, is planned to serve as an anchor institution for the development of new climate solutions. As a first-of-its-kind international center, “The Exchange” will also act as a regional hub for the green economy.