The Iranian Times: Over 100 historical monuments restored in Yazd. “Over 100 historical buildings and structures have been restored across the central province of Yazd since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20), though the coronavirus outbreak has brought the country’s tourism to a standstill. A budget of over 30 billion rials (about $700,000) has been allocated to the restoration projects, provincial tourism chief Ali-Asghar Samadiani said on Monday, CHTN reported.”
architecture
Voice of America: Notre Dame Cathedral to be Rebuilt Without Modern Touches
Voice of America: Notre Dame Cathedral to be Rebuilt Without Modern Touches. “Notre Dame Cathedral will be rebuilt just the way it stood before last year’s devastating fire. No swimming pool or organic garden on the roof of the medieval Paris monument, or contemporary glass spire, or other modern twists. And to stay historically accurate, it will again be built with potentially toxic lead.”
Archinect: Paul Revere Williams archive acquired by USC School of Architecture and Getty Research Institute
Archinect: Paul Revere Williams archive acquired by USC School of Architecture and Getty Research Institute. “The architectural archives of prolific 20th century architect Paul Revere Williams, long thought to have been lost to fire during the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising, have been jointly acquired by the University of Southern California School of Architecture and the Getty Research Institute (GRI). Rather than being lost, however, according to an announcement published by the Getty Research Institute, the archive had been ‘meticulously cared for by Karen Elyse Hudson, Williams’ granddaughter, who has published extensively on his work.'”
Archinect: NMAAHC launches initiative to celebrate the work of Black architects
Archinect: NMAAHC launches initiative to celebrate the work of Black architects. “The National Museum of African American History and Culture has launched Rendering Visible, a digital collecting initiative intended to celebrate the ‘creative production’ of Black architects.”
The Conversation: Algorithms are designing better buildings
The Conversation: Algorithms are designing better buildings. “At a basic level, algorithms can be a powerful tool for providing exhaustive information for the design, construction and use of a building. Building information modelling uses comprehensive software to standardise and share data from across architecture, engineering and construction that used to be held separately. This means everyone involved in a building’s genesis, from clients to contractors, can work together on the same 3D model seamlessly. More recently, new tools have begun to combine this kind of information with algorithms to automate and optimise aspects of the building process.”
ArchDaily: Rebelarchitette Releases a New Public Women Architects World Map
ArchDaily: Rebelarchitette Releases a New Public Women Architects World Map. “Rebelarchitette has created a new tool that aims to detox architecture from inequalities, an interactive public world map showcasing 732 outstanding women architects from all over the world.”
OPB: Portland Takes Database Of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings Offline
OPB: Portland Takes Database Of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings Offline. “Want to find out if you live in a Portland building particularly vulnerable in an earthquake? You won’t be able to do it online any longer. Portland has quietly agreed to take down its online database detailing the approximately 1,600 old brick and stone buildings in the city considered likely to collapse in the next major earthquake.”
Coronavirus: an architect on how the pandemic could change our homes forever (The Conversation)
The Conservation: Coronavirus: an architect on how the pandemic could change our homes forever. “As an architect and researcher in housing and sustainability, my research examines adaptations ranging from extensions and loft conversions, through to the installation of renewable technologies and retrofits. Many homeowners view their homes in desirable areas as a financial asset they plan later to cash in. For this reason, renewable and energy efficiency measures are often not included in adaptations, due to uncertainties about how these will be valued when they come to sell. But with fewer people now commuting and more people working from home, where people choose to live and how they want their houses to function may change after this prolonged period of lockdown.”
Hindustan Times: Milan’s La Scala opera house ‘re-opens’ via Google virtual tour during coronavirus lockdown
Hindustan Times: Milan’s La Scala opera house ‘re-opens’ via Google virtual tour during coronavirus lockdown. “Milan’s famed La Scala opera house on Thursday unveiled a virtual journey through its ornate premises and rich archives via Google Arts & Culture, with serendipitous timing as theaters throughout Italy and the western world remain closed due to the coronavirus.”
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Social media influences architectural design
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Social media influences architectural design. “Instagram culture is redefining architectural design across the country, in both commercial and residential spaces. In recent years, architecture and design firms have been introducing a new concept referred to as ‘Instagram spots’ in their designs to keep up with the growing social media trends.”
Archinect: AIA publishes COVID-19 database to share best practices in hospital conversion design
Archinect: AIA publishes COVID-19 database to share best practices in hospital conversion design. “The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is currently assembling a database containing information on the health care facilities, both traditional and temporary, and the design professionals around the world mobilizing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, AIA announced the creation of an internal COVID-19 task force that seeks to provide expert advice on how existing buildings can be rapidly converted for temporary hospital use.”
Hampshire Chronicle: Nine decades of Winchester Cathedral Record goes online
Hampshire Chronicle: Nine decades of Winchester Cathedral Record goes online. “The Friends of Winchester Cathedral have published The Winchester Cathedral Record annually since 1931. Every edition has now been scanned and placed online in a new open access as part of the Friends’ 90th anniversary celebration next year.”
Rochester Beacon: Preserving the history of cobblestone architecture
Rochester Beacon: Preserving the history of cobblestone architecture. “The concept for cobblestone masonry wasn’t new to the world of course, but the bounty of cobblestones in the region south of Lake Ontario offered a great opportunity. As a result of that architectural trend, our region now has the largest collection of cobblestone structures in the nation. It’s estimated that more than 1,000 cobblestone structures have been built in the United States, and approximately 700 of those exist within an hour’s drive of the city of Rochester.”
Historic New England: Historic New England is making the archive of a famous architectural firm accessible to the public for the first time.
Historic New England: Historic New England is making the archive of a famous architectural firm accessible to the public for the first time.. “This collection documents the history and work of the Boston-based architectural firm founded in 1925 by Royal Barry Wills, one of America’s most popular architects and master of the Cape Cod-style house. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Wills designed 2,500 single-family residences, authored eight books about architecture, hosted a radio program, lectured widely, received numerous awards, supplied ‘Home Building Plans’ for a number of newspapers, and was the subject of feature articles in Life, The Saturday Evening Post, and Good Housekeeping. In 2013 Wills’ son Richard donated the majority of the company archives to Historic New England.”
Free to Use and Reuse: Movie Magic (Library of Congress)
Library of Congress: Free to Use and Reuse: Movie Magic. “You can see the Riviera in all its long-lost splendor, and dozens of other unique movie theaters, in this month’s set of Free to Use and Reuse prints and photographs from the Library’s collections of copyright-free material. There’s the neon-lit Tower Theater, a Sacramento landmark. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. The Ritz Theatre in Greenville, Alabama, an Art Deco building opened in 1935 and now devoted to the performing arts.”
