In case you hadnt noticed, theres a lot going on in the world at the moment. We wont list it all here, but lets just say that for every piece of news that causes stress or anxiety, theres an equal amount of things to be grateful for and appreciative ofbe it time with family during quarantine or the ability to continue working towards a goal. In light of the holiday season, we asked designers and architects what theyre thankful for this Thanksgiving. Heres what they had to say:

These days, especially leading up to Thanksgiving, I find myself feeling newly grateful for the essentialsfood and shelter. In particular, Im thankful that weve been able to continue our collaboration with the San Francisco Marin Food Bank, designing spaces to help them do their excellent work feeding unprecedented numbers of people in the Bay Area. Im also enormously grateful for my co-workers, now spread across California and around the world, and the way theyve continued to do amazing, thoughtful, creative work while sheltering at home.

I am thankful that there are people out there in America these days who believe in the power of design, want to create their own place to live, and are not afraid of a good, daring construction project.

First, being remote and isolated prompted us to increase our inter-office communication about things outside of traditional work, adding new slack channels for pets, cooking, entertainment, and kids. These social channels have not only replaced the water cooler conversations but boosted social connectivity. Employees sharing pictures of their garden yields, or a beautiful sunset from their house, or their cats, or a TV show theyre enjoying. Its a light during a rather dark time.

Also, due to rapidly fluctuating project schedules and scopes, we have been able to loan staff between peer firms, even outside Portland. Given that the work is all remote, the barrier to loan staff to a firm in San Francisco or Bellingham is removed, and these couple month stints that our employees have been able to do at other firms has been such a gift. Its allowed us to minimize staff reductions during this volatile time.

Ive never been so aware of the air I breathe and the wonderful people who inhabit my orbit and have graced me and my business with support and kindness. Its hard to choose just one thing to be grateful for because when more than 250,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19 and life-threatening inequities for Black Americans are front of mind, Im grateful for life and for the people in my life who work so hard every single day for a better world.

I think the thing that Im most grateful for is that we might be on the verge of a global vaccine that can actually save peoples lives. I cant think of anything on my mind that feels more urgent at this point.

Im thankful to still be able to contribute at a creativity level in this world. Thats the challenge of the moment is still being able to work and feel like youre a contributor and we feel fortunate that were in a position to be doing that still.

I am grateful for the love of family, the good cheer of friends, the loyalty of my talented staff, and the opportunity that our great clients have afforded us to work on such varied and interesting projects. I am grateful, too, for the good health of all of the above, which as this insidious COVID-19 pandemic has shown us allis not a given. As an old friend once said, I am happy to be here, to be vertical and still taking nourishment. Happy Thanksgiving all!

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In a rough year, architects share what they're thankful for - The Architect's Newspaper

In the not-too-distant past, standing around a kegerator and staring at the metal siding of a utilitarian warehouse was the extent of a taproom visit. But not so today, where going to a brewery is an experience in which the setting is as much of a draw as the draft selection. Case in point: Central Machine Works, which opened last November on East Cesar Chavez Street. A 1940s-era metal works and machine shop that once built airplane parts during World War II, it was converted into a near-10,000- square-foot brewery complete with a German-style beer garden and live music space. Spearheaded by David Clark of Kartwheel Studio, it includes revolving art installations, overhead lights from New Yorks original JFK International Airport, custom leather booths, and decorative pieces repurposed from the spaces past, including a 110-year-old machine that used to turn metal stock. With much of its faade kept intact, as well as employees well-versed in the history of the building, its like a museum visitalbeit one that serves housemade lagers and sessionable pale ales.

The same could be said for Vista Brewing in Driftwood, which has become as popular on weekends as the original Salt Lick BBQ. Brewmaster Pat Korns traditional, low-ABV beers are now standard-bearers in the field, but much of Vistas foot traffic can be credited to Stephen Oliver of OPA Design Studio. Taking advantage of the bucolic surroundings, Oliver decided to create an indoor-outdoor connection that produced a sense of retreat. Not one mature tree was removed in the fabrication of the companys two main structures (a tasting room and a 5,000-square-foot brewery with underground draft lines running between them), which uses large bi-folding casement windows to frame the view of the Hill Countrys rolling hills. An on-site garden and 16-hive apiary, which provides ingredients for its restaurant, are an easy stroll from an outdoor beer garden complete with an exterior tap wall.

That effort to bring the natural beauty of a site in-doorsas well as to bridge a connection between a brewerys operational aspects and its public interface have become hallmarks of Oliver, whos emerged as the unofficial architect of the Central Texas craft beverage industry. At Live Oak Brewing Company, he used the canvas of its 22,000-square-foot campus near the airport to construct a natural amphitheater within a grove of oaks for a beer garden whose sightline leads directly to the taproom and a bar framing its massive BrauKon brewhouse.

Whether converting an old Tejano nightclub into Oddwood Ales brewery and pizza kitchen or overhauling the former Uncle Billys Brewery & Smokehouse on Barton Springs Road into the aquatic-themed site of Austin Eastciders second facility, Oliver knows how to make the best out of any situationand that has transformed the functional into the fantastic all across the city.

Once, just being a brewery where people could visit and sit around at picnic tables was such a novelty, he says. But now there is so much competition, a cool space factors into a decision where you want to hang out. I love creating places where the city just kind of goes away, and theres room to stretch and play.

Detoxifying is (seriously!) on the agenda.

Disc Golf at Live Oak Brewing Co.The free-to-use nine-hole disc golf course at this urban oasis is just the type of activity to pair with a classic, clove- forward hefeweizen and a cool spring afternoon.

Lotera Brunch at Independence Brewing Co.Cap off an eventful weekend with some Mexican bingo and a bowl of hangover-curing menudo from on-site food truck Margiez Place.

Pints & Poses at Circle Brewing Co.Even if you dont sip your complimentary beer, this $15 classwhere certified yogis guide participants through an hour of detoxifying Hatha yogais well worth the price of admission.

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Taprooms are Turning into Destination Spaces Thanks to Austin's Top Architects - Austin Monthly

Peter Barber Architects has created six terraces of brick housing in Charlton, south London, for Greenwich-council owned developer Meridian Home Start.

Named Sandpit Place, the development contains 32 homes in three rows of back-to-back terraced houses. Like the studio's nearby Rochester Way scheme the homes were built for Meridian Home Startand willbe available to those working locally at discounted rents.

"The project is street-based terraced housing," explained Peter Barber Architects founder Peter Barber. "To some extent, the houses themselves borrow their layout from Victorian mews houses," he told Dezeen.

"Being pretty square in plan and stepping back at the rear to allow light and ventilation and private roof terraces instead of back gardens."

The development was built on a previously walled-in site that contained a disability resource centre.

Peter Barber Architects arranged the30 two-bed houses and two one-bed homes on a series of pedestrian streets that were designed to open up the site and connect the homes to the existing estate.

"Our project is arranged in a ladder of streets which provide a handy cut-through for people... to the bus stop, corner shop and out to the main road," said Barber.

"The new streets we have made link to existing streets and public routes," he continued. "That way we hope it might help it to feel like part of the neighbourhood and that people living close by feel connected with it, and newcomers might settle in more readily."

The majority of the homes have an open plan kitchen and dining room on the ground floor as well as a toilet, with a bedroom and bathroom on the first and an additional bedroom on the second floor.

All of the bedrooms open out onto a terrace, with many having access to two. All of the homes also have small privates spaces alongside the pedestrian streets.

"People in each house have loads of outside space a front garden, balconies and two rear courtyard/roof terraces. Each house has some outside space that feels quite public and some that feels very secluded," said Barber.

"We like terraced houses because of the way that they make an edge to the street. At Sandpit Place we have given people big front gardens," he continued. "People are starting to sit out there are paddling pools, baby bouncers, pots with flowers, bikes and loads of other stuff. They are starting to look lived in."

The Sandpit Place development demonstrates Peter Barber Architects' belief that street-based housing is the key to creating more homes in London.

"We think that the street is the basic building block of the city and that urban housing should be laid out in streets," explained Barber.

"Over the years we have experimented with numerous house/housing types mansion blocks, cottage flats, terraced housing, courtyard housing and back to backs. This mews variant is the most recent and we think is quite a good model for medium density lower rise street-based housing."

In London, Peter Barber Architects has previously completedfive terraces of affordable homes in Greenwich, a housing scheme fronted with brick arches in east London,a reinterpretation of Victorian back-to-back housing in Stratfordand a terrace of mews houses that feature oriel windowsin Finsbury Park.

Photography is byMorley Von Sternberg.

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Peter Barber Architects adds terraced houses to estate in south London - Dezeen

At the start of 2019, Architects played their biggest ever headline show at Londons Wembley Arena. A celebration of unity in a world that inspires daily despair, it cemented their status as one of the very best bands around, as well as proving just how ambitious, cathartic and inspirational their furious anthems could be.

We could have done with some more of that this year. But thanks to the small matter of a raging global pandemic, tonight is only the second live show Architects have been able to play in 2020. And while we might be having to watch it from home, the band are just as impressive as they've ever been.

As they take to the iconic stage of Londons Royal Albert Hall to kickstart the campaign for new album For Those That Wish To Exist (out February 26 and available to pre-order now), vocalist Sam Carter stands in the middle of the empty room and launches into the snarling fury of Nihilist. With every shot capturing just how deserted the venue is, maybe all our gods have abandoned us, but Architects arent a band to wallow. Sure, the ferocious call to arms sounds strange without the roar of the crowd, but its no less powerful. With everyone feeling the weight of these strange times, the likes of Modern Misery, Gravedigger and Broken Cross are even more visceral.

Rather than just playing the hits to an empty venue and hoping it still connects, Architects twist their live show to suit an online event. A venue-wide light show dials up the theatrics and shows off just how expansive the space is a world away from the intimacy the band normally conjure while the title cards for each song make the stream seem more like an anthology of emotionally-charged short films than a gig.

Tonight, the closest we get to crowd interaction is seeing a crew member air-drumming from the sound desk and us typing blergh into the live chat. Without that crowd to bounce off, the group has to lean on their more cinematic elements. The dynamic Gone With The Wind is more haunting than its ever been while the epic Death Is Not Defeat is given the space to soar. But with the band huddled in the middle of the room, its the achingly beautiful stripped-back renditions of Momento Mori and A Wasted Hymn that really pack a punch.

The surprises dont end there, though, with Architects debuting three new songs. Live, For Those That Wish To Exists lead single Animals is even more direct. Blending industrial rage with bursts of arena-pop, the marching track is urgent, ambitious and brilliant. Wed call it the catchiest thing Architects have ever done, but that title belongs to the vicious Dead Butterflies; a honey-dipped synth-led rager. Elsewhere, theres no messing around with the urgent Discourse Is Dead, which channels a palpable rage but doesnt shy away from glitching electronics. Excited for the future, all three tracks feel like confident leaps forward from a band whove never been afraid to try new things.

Want proof? Look at tonight. Most rock bands have shied away from the now-necessary world of livestreams, worried the lack of physical connection will make the whole thing hollow. But Architects were never going to just sit around and wait for normality to return. Aware of the differences but finding new ways to connect, their livestream is a masterclass in how to do it, and proof that heavy music reaches beyond the mosh pit. The group have spent their career finding hope in misery and tonight, thats never been more unifying.

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Architects' Royal Albert Hall livestream: a potent reminder that heavy music is more than just mosh pits - Louder

Escape to a modular timber retreat in Italy by Teke Architects

Teke Architects createsmodular, off-grid countryside retreat, MU50, made of prefabricated wooden elements in ItalysMediterranian Coast

A relatively small and modest structure has appeared among the pine forest on a secluded spot of theMediterranean Coast of Italy. It is Genoa-based architect Onur Tekes latest offering, a simple but striking retreat for a private client.

The project istitled MU50 standing for Modular Unit 50 and hinting at the way this design works. The structure may be used in this case as a holiday home, but itssmall-scale, modular, off-grid nature means it can beadaptable to a wide variety of sites and even, potentially, uses. Whats more, it is also recyclable.

Asimple act of repeating and combining a small number of relatively simple building elements can produce a wide variety of spaces fit for different uses from a small meditation room to a dwelling, says Teke.

Through its simplicity, flexibility and choice of materials, this structure is intended to bring beauty to the users daily lives; to allow them to incorporate it in their quotidian landscape and to connect with the surrounding nature reducing at most its carbon footprint, explains Teke.

The house consists of two untreated Larch structuraltimber frames. Glass wraps around the structure to open up the interior to views and nature, butmanually operated timber shades protect privacy and the interiors from harsh sunlight when needed. The spaces inside are clean and minimalist.

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The projects environmental impact is reduced by maximum use of natural lighting and ventilation,photovoltaic panels on the roof and a ground source heat pump. Clever use of eco-friendly technologies, a low tech approach and the modular system developed through it,meanthis little getaway can be enjoyedguilt free.

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Escape to a modular timber retreat in Italy by Teke Architects - Wallpaper*

Sign, Harlingen, Texas. 1939. Photographer Lee Russell Photo courtesy of The New York Public Library on Unsplash

New buildings constructed using innovative techniques are springing up all over Canada.

These structures only exist because someone tried to push the boundaries of what was possible and quite often its an architect who was responsible.

But what many architects dont realize is that tax benefits exist for all kinds of innovation through the Canadian governments Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentive program, and their work can qualify too.

These incentives are not just for scientists. Examples of R&D conducted by architects in the past include:

and many more.

Not all types of innovation qualify there are specific criteria that have to be satisfied first.

The government looks for any activity that involves systematic investigation or research that is carried out in a field of science or technology by means of experiment or analysis. It must involve experimental development, but the work need not create new materials, devices, products or processesit could just be an improvement to existing ones.

There are three simple tests that must be met for innovation to qualify for the incentives. The work must:

How rewarding are SR&ED tax incentives and how do they work?

The rewards for claiming innovation tax incentives can be huge, and they are often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. In fact, SR&ED incentives allow businesses to claim back up to 41.5% of innovation expenses. The main qualifying costs are materials, payments to contractors and third parties, staff costs and salaries.

The overall amount can vary by province as the final benefit is a combination of federal and provincial schemes. Private Canadian businesses receive the incentive as a cash payment, while publicly traded companies get a credit to be offset against outstanding taxes.

Claiming

Businesses can claim SR&ED up to eighteen months after the tax year in which the work took place. Tt costs firms nothing to establish whether they can claim, as most consultancies charge contingent fees. This means that businesses pay a percentage of the value of the claim once successful.

SR&ED incentives shouldnt be confused with the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), which is a government-funded grant program available to small- and medium-size businesses, rather than an R&D tax incentive. The SR&ED regime for SMEs has actually improved recently, so theres never been a better time to claim.

Richard Hoy is President of specialist tax consultancy Catax Canada. You can reach him at [emailprotected]

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How architects can take advantage of R&D tax incentives - Canadian Architect

cat hill house by studio MM architect is a private residence in the US, complete with a floating, glass-clad fitness studio that extends over a natural ridge. located at the foothills of the catskill mountains in new yorks hudson valley, the house occupies a densely wooded site with dramatic changes in elevation. its main volume extends parallel to the ridge, directly responding to the topography, while the studio space extends horizontally along the knoll.all images by brad feinknopf

studio MM architect developed cat hill house for a marathon runner, businesswoman, traveler, musician, and art collector, who requested not only a thoughtfully-designed home, but also an inspiring place to pursue creative and athletic activities. the glass-clad fitness studio that extends over the ridge marks the heart of the project. surrounded by trees, the studio appears to float above the wooded landscape as the topography falls steeply away.

set apart from the rest of the house, the studio is accessed via a long, enclosed gallery that follows the ridgeline. deeply personal mementos and works of art are displayed in the gallery walkway, while the studio itself is enclosed by glass on three sides. this space is dedicated to the clients passion for running, featuring a treadmill and an indoor cycling bike that benefit from great views of the surrounding wooded landscape.

the main volume of the house features an open living room with a patio, where floor-to-ceiling windows put forest views front and center.interiors are thoughtfully curated, complete with original artwork and custom-built pieces fabricated by a local furniture maker. the client, a new york city transplant turned proud local, wanted not only a simple and cozy retreat but a true hudson valley home that would showcase the work of skilled makers and craftsmen, notes studio MM architect. with personal or local connections proudly shining through, every piece has meaning.

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studio MM architect adds floating, glass-clad fitness studio to 'cat hill' house in the US - Designboom

Two exhibitions in Finland pay homage to one of modern architectures best-known husband and wife teams, Kaija and Heikki Siren, who worked in the second half of the twentieth century. KAMU Museum in Espoo presents Everything and Nothing Architects Kaija + Heikki Siren, while the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki presents Quite Japanese yet so Finnish: Kaija + Heikki Siren. The two architects, a couple in life and work, rose to international prominence in the 1950s with their projects featuring sophisticated proportions, architecture designed for living in harmony with nature, and well-considered use of materials and construction techniques. Works of apparently simple but authentic beauty, as summed up in the title of the exhibition currently under way at KAMU, Everything and Nothing, from Italian composer Luigi Nonos exclamation before the work of Kaija and Heikki Siren: Tutto e niente! This has everything and nothing!.The two exhibitions opened at the same time, on October 23, a date chosen to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kaija Siren: October 23, 1920.Everything and Nothing Architects Kaija + Heikki Siren is the first exhibition in Finland to offer a complete retrospective of the Sirens architecture, featuring projects built in various cities all over the world, from the well-known Otaniemi Chapel of 1957 to the experimental projects in the garden city of Tapiola and the Baghdad Conference Palace.KAMU is one of the museums in the Espoo City Museum opened in the former Weilin & Gs print shop in Tapiola, now WeeGee Exhibition Centre. The museums collection accompanies visitors on a voyage through the history of Finland from the earliest prehistoric findings to the Middle Ages, with a special focus on Finlands second largest city, and also hosts temporary exhibitions focusing on themes of national and international interest. The perfect place to pay homage to this couple of architects whose projects gave shape to the Finns profound ties to nature, and who worked in the city for many years. Otaniemi Chapel, their first project in Espoo, is also their most famous work. In over half a century of working and living together, the two architects designed schools, commercial buildings, administrative buildings, cultural buildings, homes, industries, sports centres, churches, chapels and town plans. They were also awarded large international commissions such as the Baghdad Conference Palace and Brucknerhaus concert hall in Linz, Austria, as well as numerous projects in Japan. The two architects always had a predilection for small-scale projects, and in fact Kaija herself said in 1997, "the smaller the better...".The architects special relationship with Japan is the focus of the second exhibition, Quite Japanese yet so Finnish: Kaija + Heikki Siren, at the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki. Kaija and Heikki Siren worked on a number of projects in Japan, and had a particular affinity for Japanese architecture with its special relationship between buildings and the environment, between the composition of indoor and outdoor spaces.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Images courtesy of Kamu, photo credit: Siren Architects (1,2,4,6), Teuvo Kanerva (3,5)

Title: Everything and Nothing Architects Kaija + Heikki SirenDate: 23 October 2020 9 January 2022Location: KAMU Espoo City MuseumWeeGee Exhibition CentreAhertajantie 5www.kulttuuriespoo.fi/en/kaupunginmuseo

Title: Quite Japanese yet so Finnish: Kaija + Heikki SirenDate: 23 October 5 December 2020Location: Museum of Finnish ArchitectureStudio exhibition space, Kasarmikatu 24, Helsinki, Finlandiahttps://www.mfa.fi/en/frontpage/

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Everything and Nothing Architects Kaija Heikki Siren exhibition - Floornature.com

Beals Lyon Architects Wins the 2020 Oscar Niemeyer Award in Latin American Architecture

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On November 18, the Panamerican Architecture Biennial of Quito announced the winning projects of the 2020 Oscar Niemeyer Award for Latin American Architecture.

This award arises as one of the fundamental initiatives of REDBAAL the Network of Architecture Biennials of Latin America, seeking to recognize the best of the architectural production in moments of indisputable enhancement and presence of Latin American architecture on the international landscape scene.

The winners were part of a shortlist comprised of 20 projects from 7 countries. "We admire the architectural quality of each project presented and selected in the competition and applaud their representation of Latin American architecture as a profession that respects its cultural, social, urban, and natural context," said Executive Director of REDBAAL and the ON-03 Award Handel Guayasamin after the shortlist was revealed back in October.

The international panel of judges for the ON Award, consisting ofDiane Gray, Csar Shundi Iwamizu, Jos Luis Corts, Juan Articardi, Isaac Broid, and Carlos Bedoya,selected the following finalists:

New City Hall in Nancagua / Beals Lyon ArquitectosChile

As other spaces with high civic spirit, like the agora of Assos in Greece or the Piazza San Marco in Venice, the project emphasizes the construction of a void over the construction of isolated buildings. Spaces with a public void are created and charged, to become a catalyst for public life. In order to connect the city with the park, we proposed an open square that links both entities, borderedby the new municipal building on its two longer sides (north and south). The square, non-existent in the competition brief, became, therefore, the center of the project. An urban void that allows for a wide range of unexpected situations and events to happen, whether individual or collective.

Emergency Public Hospital in So Bernardo do Campo / SPBR ArquitetosBrazil

UDEP Lecture Building / BARCLAY&CROUSSE ArchitecturePeru

The Chapel Ing-Mirim / messina | rivasBrazil

Productive Rural School / Bachillerato Rural Digital No.186 + Comunal Taller de ArquitecturaMexico

Bonpland Building / Adamo FaidenArgentina

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Beals Lyon Architects Wins the 2020 Oscar Niemeyer Award in Latin American Architecture - ArchDaily

MBH Architects has relocated it New York studio to 50 HudsonStreet.

The company will occupy the entire second floor of the 95-year-old building, which once housed the Sarle & Co.s printing facility.

MBH signed a five-year lease for 5,150 s/f space in thebuilding situated on the corner of Hudson and Thomas Streets.

Avison Young brokered the lease on behalf of the landlord.Compass represented the tenant.

This New York office will serve as an East Coast home-basethat will spur further growth for MBH with New York City-based clientele aswell as offer luxury and Europe-based brands more individualized services.

Helen Herrick, Studio Director at MBHs New York office, saidthe new move signals an optimistic outlook for the steadfastly growing team andburgeoning new business in the Tri-State area.

This is an exciting new chapter for the New York team, saidHerrick. We look forward to better serving our impressive roster of existingclients as well as burgeoning new business in the Tri-State area.

For the new space, MBH Architects sought to blend theauthentic urban grit of New York City with cues from the California-basedfirms Alameda headquarters, in order to reflect the firms overall culture.

For the interiors, the team opted for an open floor planthat could accommodate 30 individual workstations, featuring expansive windows andminimalist material and color palette that allows the industrial character ofthe New York City printing house like brick walls and concrete floors to beshowcased as focal points of the space.

MBH has outfitted the space with modifications to ensure asafe working environment for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. A limitedgroup will work from the office on a flexible schedule to avoid commuting atpeak times and allow for ancillary ventilation.

Simultaneously, the teams technology infrastructure hasbeen reinforced to adapt to hybrid working.

A cloud-based contact tracing system allows the firm tocommunicate expeditiously should the need arise as more in-person work resumes,and a formalized COVID-positive response plan has been implemented to protectthe health of the firms staff, clients, consultants and vendors.

Having completed several projects in and around theTri-State area, including the Allbirds flagship store in Soho and the Good TidingsFoundation Columbus Clubhouse in the Bronx, the firm will continue their workthrough upcoming projects such as luxury watch brand Tourneaus new flagshipstore on 57th and Madison avenue.

MBH is further expanding its client base into luxurysingle-family residential, building on its success in luxury retail andmulti-family residential.

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Architects relocated to Hudson Street - Real Estate Weekly