As they currently lead the way in designing the most avant-garde projects for overseas clients, American architecture firms must understand the roots of their success to stay afloat .
"Unlike an earlier generation of American architects who built desert skyscrapers just like those in Houston or Atlanta, the new cutting-edge designers don't ignore local culture. 'We like to find out the DNA of a city,' says Hani Rashid, cofounder of Asymptote, who's finishing a hotel in Abu Dhabi and has designed strikingly unconventional towers to be built in Busan, South Korea, and Tbilisi, Georgia. "We don't come into a client meeting and say, this is how we did it in that place, and this is what you should build." The best of the new American generation are not only inquisitive and quick, but they understand a seeming paradox: that globalization doesn't mean standardization. But if their designs respond to local conditions, these architects also are inspired by what's always fueled their work: the infinite, innovative possibilities that lie just around the next corner."
FULL STORY: Redesigning the World
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
Downtown Los Angeles on the Rise: A Promising 2025
Fueled by new developments, cultural investments, and a growing dining scene, downtown Los Angeles is poised for significant growth in 2025, despite challenges from recent wildfires and economic uncertainties.
A Plan to Expand Tree Canopy Across Dayton
Dayton is developing an urban forest master plan, using a $2 million grant to expand its tree canopy, address decades of tree loss, and enhance environmental equity across the city.
Decarbonizing Homes: The Case for Electrifying Residential Heating
A new MIT study finds that transitioning residential heating from natural gas to electric heat pumps can significantly reduce carbon emissions and operational costs.
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research