Architectural Thinking of Grafton Architects, The Pritzker 2020 Laureates

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Yesterday Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, co-founders of Grafton Architects, received the 2020 Pritzker Prize. The first women to be jointly recognized for the award also received the Royal Gold Medal 2020 from RIBA earlier this year.

On this last occasion, they gave a lecture about some of their projects and the way they think about the architectural field, crossing other disciplines such as music, psychology, and poetry, which lead to the design thinking of their practice. Here, we highlight some important inspirational quotes from this talk which help us to reflect on the role of architects and urban planners in contemporary society.

"(...) We want to describe imagination as the central strength of architecture. The responsibility is the ethical anchor of this amazing profession. Social responsibility, the impact of what we do, how we participate, how we collude, how we make the questions, really arise of what extra ingredient can we imagine that functions, that enrich the lives of others, that helps the earth retain its beauty". (41:01)

"At this time of climate change, a time to care deeply about our world, that we repair the broken, that we reuse where possible, that we become hyperconscious, conscious of our use of materials that everything we build matters". (43:03)

"Our conviction that architecture is now the new geography developed through a body of work and reflection and what is happening in the world around us as more and more of the natural world disappears, what we do as architects actually makes the world we live in at a scale where it's possible to consider it as geography, not as individual objects. Whether beautiful or not but by the sheer amount of building architecture now is at the scale of the Earth's geography. It is a modified earth". (58:32)

"One of the components in our own search for ways of making work is a discussion about fragments in the sense that architecture is the framework for life and in order for us to make new frameworks, we have to find ways of translating the sensory experience of life into architecture and that series of sensory experiences are built through fragments over time. But we're also interested in it as an idea about history because it's something that we talk about a lot in our work that history is not linear, it's not time, and certainly not in architecture. And the older we get the more we reach back into time and there's something very important about that and it's also that we don't see the difference between the past and the future. Jung has a beautiful term where he talks about the unconscious psyche and that it's not only immensely old that it's capable of growing into an equally remote future. So that's one of the kind of wonderful phenomena of architecture: this thing of time, past, present and future". (1:15:53)

"Edith Sitwell says a wonderful thing about poetry - she says that 'risen is one of the principal translators between dream and reality in poetry' - and these kinds of comments really inform and encourage and inspire us in the making of Architecture, that other disciplines have these same words and structures and, I suppose, struggles in terms of whether it's poetry or music that architects have. And we were manipulating let's call it the notes or the order the rhythm to make each wall different - not for his own sake but simply that we could take a language of repetition but not make sameness".(1:26:08)

See original here:
Architectural Thinking of Grafton Architects, The Pritzker 2020 Laureates - ArchDaily

The architectural world lost a giant this week when Henry Cobb passed away at 93 on Monday. Cobb was a Boston native who, after attending the Harvard Graduate School of Design, left for New York. From there he joined I.M. Pei, who died in 2019, to form the firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Together they had great influence in shaping the city's skyline. Natasha Espada, the chapter president of the 2020 Boston Society of Architects, spoke with WGBH Morning Edition host Joe Mathieu to discuss Cobb's life work. This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Natasha Espada: He was very important in shaping not only our skyline, but our waterfront. And he was an amazing architect and he was an amazing person. For many years, he taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and was the chair from '80 to '85. So although he actually left Boston, he was very ingrained in our city.

Joe Mathieu: The story behind his most famous building in Boston must be the John Hancock Tower. It's a pretty interesting one. Can you explain how we got to this large mirror we have in the middle of the city now?

Espada: So in the 1970s, the mirrored facade was initially controversial, not only because it was a modern building, but because it was built next to Trinity Church, which is one of the most beloved buildings in Boston. But he wanted it to be kind of a silent building, designed to respond specifically to Copley Square. And and he wanted the mirrored panels to reflect the church and the city on its facade.

So the building was very innovative for its time. But it also, interestingly enough, had a really difficult construction period. Some of the glass started popping out of the building. The windows were falling out. And eventually they discovered that it was not the design, that it was actually that the fabrication of it. And basically all of them had to be all 10,000 of them, or more had to be replaced. The building was eventually completed and won numerous awards, including an award from the American Institute of Architects, but also the Harlston Parker Medal from the Boston Society of Architects, which is for the most beautiful building in Boston.

Mathieu: So the concept for the mirror essentially is to reflect what was around the building instead of creating a new form in the middle of this old architecture.

Espada: That's correct.

Mathieu: He was tasked with designing the Moakley Federal Courthouse, which sits on the waterfront, as you mentioned. And he took up his job before the Seaport was built, sort of a cornerstone for what is our newest neighborhood.

Espada: Yes. An important part of my life was actually visiting that building during construction. I worked for a firm that did a lot of courthouses. And he actually gave us a tour and showed us one of the courtrooms, a mock-up for one of the courtrooms, and took us throughout the building. And it was pretty remarkable. It was the only building in that entire area, and created kind of a context for what now is the Seaport.

Mathieu: I mentioned One Dalton. I've been to dinner there. There's a Four Seasons in there. You can't miss it. This is a massive tower that's right there in the Back Bay. A pretty impressive achievement for someone in the twilight of their career. When did he start working on it?

Espada: I believe he started working on it when he was in his 80s. He was so interested in our city. And that's actually one of the things that I'm doing in my presidency also working with Boston as a design city and making sure that we, he was really interested in equity and bringing all of these collaboration and communities into all of the buildings and into all the areas that he worked in. And one of the things that we're doing is trying to get into all of the neighborhoods in Boston in a really equitable way.

Mathieu: That's great. How is Boston doing as a major American city, as a major city in the world in terms of architecture? We're kind of known, or at least we used to be, as a boring-looking place.

Espada: Well, that is something that Harry Cobb actually did, is to try to merge history, growth of the city and modernism. And we live in a city, one of the most beautiful cities in the United States, and it is very important city. There's a lot of development going on in the city. It's a very exciting time for the city. And we're really trying to shape the city and in an equitable way that also deals with climate change and social equity and many other pieces that Henry really started putting into place many, many years ago.

Read more from the original source:
Henry Cobb, The Architect Who Helped Shape Boston's Skyline, Dies At 93 - wgbh.org

From significant business changes to noteworthy product launches, theres always something new happening in the world of design. In this weekly roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.

Brooklinen Raises $50 Million

Big news for the bedding industry: Brooklinen announced this week that it has raised $50 million from Summit Partners, according to the Wall Street Journal. Founded six years ago by husband-and-wife team Rich and Vicki Fulop, the brand has become synonymous with direct-to-consumer companies that are focused on reaching millennials. So whats on the horizon for Brooklinen now in terms of growth? Thirty new stores that are set to open in the next three yearsand, perhaps, more of those ubiquitous subway ads.

Wayfair Lost Almost $1 Billion Last Year

The news coming out of Wayfair still isnt good. This week, MarketWatch and others reported that Wayfair lost $330.2 in Q4 of 2019. That means that its total loss for the year was a whopping $985 million. Unsurprising, the news subsequently caused the furniture companys stock to plummet.

More Than 200 Architects Urge Congress to Act

Why did hundreds of architects take action this week? They want national legislators to add the AIM Act, which would help transition away from the use of harmful hydrofluorocarbon chemicals to the energy package thats currently making its way through the Senate. According to various signatories, the move could have a positive environmental impact while helping the economy. And whats more, numerous contractors and engineers are also on board.

British Brands Unify Under Zoffany Name

Six British brandsincluding Morris & Co, founded in 1861 by Arts and Crafts legend William Morris; Sanderson; Harlequin; Scion; Anthology; and hallmark brand Zoffanyare now all available under one proverbial digital roof. Earlier this week, Zoffany announced in an email that its website, StyleLibrary.com, will offer all of the brands, with products spanning fabric, wallpaper, paint, home goods, and more. The brands can also be found on Instagram at the new @zoffanyusa account.

Story continues

One of Minnas new rugs.

Rebecca Atwood to Release a Collection for Pottery Barn

Partnershipsespecially for a small brand like ourscreate such a great opportunity to reach a wider audience at a much more accessible price point, Rebecca Atwood tells AD PRO. Its fitting timing for her to reflect on the subject, as her debut Pottery Barn collection comes out later this year. At its core, my business is focused on trade and interior designers, so to be able to create a collection with Pottery Barn, a brand Ive long admired, is truly exciting, she adds. Atwood notes too that shes drawn to how Pottery Barn has historically created products that are both aspirational and approachable. As for the specific design inspiration behind the new line, expect Atwoods characteristic textiles that recall warm weather and happy days spent on vacation.

Farrow & Ball Releases New Exterior Paint Colors

Searching for a chic new exterior paint color with a dose of fun? Then look no further than Farrow & Ball, who likely has just what youre looking for thanks to its newly available Color by Nature collection and correlating contest. We are so excited to offer families the chance to create their very own Farrow & Ball paint color inspired by nature, Charlotte Cosby, head of creative at Farrow & Ball, tells AD PRO. We had such fun developing the Color by Nature collection with the Natural History Museum in London, and want to give others that same delight of finding a color in nature and bringing it to life.

A pink colorway of Alice Sergeant's new fabric.

Soft Goods Companies Inch Toward Spring

Another week, another batch of product launches. Out from Minna is a spring collection of pillows, baskets, rugs, and moreavailable in neutral and sunset tones. In the textiles universe, Alice Sergeants beautiful new floral Habibi pattern is officially here, as is The Vales latest collection, and performance vegan leather company Ultrafabricss Ultraleather Reef Pro. The fabric, strikingly, is ink- and stain-resistant, with a highly wipeable surface. Last but certainly not least, fabrics of a more fashionable sort have been reinterpreted by Rosenthal. The German porcelain manufacturer is out with its latest Versace collection, but this time around that iconic J.Lo jungle-print dress is the focus.

A new Versace plate for Rosenthal.

Patterns of India Provides Inspiration

Searching for new global inspiration for your creative work without having to travel? Then look no further than Patterns of India, out this week from Clarkson Potter. Rajasthan, the Indian state known for its royalty and opulence, provides endless inspiration in the form of architecture, surface design, artistry, and textiles, author Christine Chitnis tells AD PRO. In my book, I highlight Rajasthans dominant colorssandstone, marigold, rose, ivory and royal blueand the stories they tell by focusing on famous landmarks, as well as the simple beauty of daily life.

Patterns of India.

Kasmin Dreams of California

Open this week, Kasmins latest show, Valley of Gold: Southern California and the Phantasmagoric, examines Southern California art through the lens of European surrealists and more. Aesthetes will note the depictions of Hollywood interiors by Man Ray, who photographed cavernous yet eerie residences, and ceramics by Beatrice Wood, an avant-garde potter who was close with Marcel Duchamp. The exhibition also includes works by John Baldassari, Ed Ruscha, Marjorie Cameron, and other greats, and is on view until April 22.

A Historic Parisian Brasserie and Music Hall Gets a Nouveau Look

Seems like Paris is full of new restaurantsand historic ones with updated looks. Case in point, the recently reopened Boeuf sur la Toit, which is just two years shy of being 100 years old. Well known as the hangout for artists, poets, and performers throughout the 1920s and 1930s, it hosted the likes of Picasso, Cocteau, Dior, and Coco Chanel. Respectful of its origins as a traditional Parisian brasserie and music hall, the multidisciplinary designer Alexis Mabille has updated the two floors with exclusive textiles and furnishings, referencing everyone from Jean-Michel Frank to Josef Hoffmann. The results are graphic, colorful, and residential in feel.

Microsoft and a Fashion Designer Partner to Create a Digital AI-Powered Quilt Archive

Sick of reading about coronaviruss spread and the Super Tuesday election results? Vogue Runways Brooke Bobb reported on news this week that should warm the heart of any design enthusiast. Fashion designer Emily Adams Bode, founder of her namesake brand and no stranger to home decor products herself, has partnered with Microsoft to create a digital quilt archive. Known as the Bode Vault and run with AI technology, the program will include much more than Bodes own pieces. So read up and enjoy.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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Brooklinen Raises $50 Million, Architects Make Plea to Congress, and More News This Week - Yahoo News

Pontiac has taken its first steps to repairing the Phoenix Center amphitheater and parking garage.

City council approved this week a $659,000 contract with Troy-based Integrated Design Solutions for architect and engineering services to bring the center up to code. The contract was originally presented in early January, but concerns over cost and funding sources delayed its approval.

The city of Pontiac has begun devising a business plan in hopes of making the Phoenix Center parking garage profitable.

The city has until Nov. 1 to repair the Phoenix Centers lighting, elevators and other structural improvements. Estimates from Auch Construction, general contractor for the project, and the city place the total cost of repairs between $13 million and $16.5 million.

In November 2018, the city signed on to a settlement agreement with the owners of the Ottawa Towers, which are connected to the Phoenix Center garage. That agreement ended a six-year legal battle between the city and the towers owners which originally began with the potential demolition of the Phoenix Center. It also gave the city two years to bring the building into compliance.

Pontiac City Council is currently considering a $659,000 contract for architect and engineering services to repair the Phoenix Center amphithe

The design phase for how the center will be brought back up to code will take about three months, according to a timeline provided by the city. Originally, that work was supposed to take place last fall. Construction was slated to begin in February.

Pontiac City Council is currently exploring options for how to pay for the centers improvements, including funding the project from the citys general fund. The mayors office has proposed passing bonds for the project. An RFP process this winter for a public private partnership yielded no qualified results' ' according to the city.

Pontiacs Phoenix Center has become a massive concrete metaphor for what the city has experienced since the 2008 recession losing nearly eve

Pontiac currently has a $19.5 million fund balance. Council President Kermit Williams requested this week that the finance department bring estimates for the projected end of the year balance to council next week as discussion on how to pay for the Phoenix Center continues.

See the article here:
Revitalization of Pontiac's Phoenix Center moves forward with architects, engineers hired - The Oakland Press

Mr. Cobbs notable projects included the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles (1989), long that citys tallest; the World Trade Center Barcelona (1999), inspired by a boat; and the Torre Espacio (2008), a Madrid skyscraper that resembles a rocket.

In 2009, he completed the Goldman Sachs headquarters, at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, which was widely praised for its discreet elegance, and a dormitory complex at Princeton University, known as Butler College, which replicates the intimacy of the campuss gothic dormitories but in modernist form. (In recent decades, Mr. Cobb shared design credit with several of the firms younger partners.)

Mr. Cobb did not have the high profile of contemporaries like Frank Gehry or Mr. Pei. He called them formgivers and himself a problem-solver. Yet he was an architect of immense creativity, Mr. Goldberger wrote, and a major influence on the profession as an educator and mentor. Mr. Campbell said that Mr. Cobbs great intelligence and great integrity which he wielded with a gentlemanly manner were as important to his status as the buildings he designed.

Henry Nichols Cobb was born on April 8, 1926, the second of three sons of Charles Kane Cobb, an investment counselor, and Elsie Quincy (Nichols) Cobb. He traced his roots to another Henry Cobb, who was born in Kent, England, in 1596 and landed on Cape Cod in 1626. But his family wasnt wealthy, Mr. Cobb, said, and his mother went to work during the Depression to help support the family.

Still, his parents managed to take him to Europe when he was 9 a trip, he said, that began his lifelong fascination with architecture. Nine, he said, is the perfect age: You are mature enough to take a lot in, but not yet preoccupied with yourself, the way you become very shortly thereafter.

Mr. Cobb graduated from Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1944, had an accelerated undergraduate education at Harvard College, graduating in 1947, and then studied at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. As an undergraduate he joined the naval R.O.T.C. on campus.

More here:
Henry Cobb, Courtly Architect of Bostons Hancock Tower, Dies at 93 - The New York Times

A British critic calls two green icons, rammed earth and Passivhaus, "architectural trickery at its most cynical."

UPDATE: Critic Phineas Harper raises serious issues about the importance of embodied carbon, or as I prefer to call it, upfront carbon emissions. When I wrote this post I reacted to his paragraph linking of Passivhaus to "greenwash" and titled the post "Passivhaus is not a cult," when he did not actually call it that.

There are many buildings and architects that we have accused of being "greenwash" over the years, the poster child being the integrated wind turbines in London's Strata tower, where the developer actually wanted to put motors on them to make them turn and look like they were doing something. We have complained about the silliness of LEED certified airports and parking garages.

Harper writes that "seeing through specious gestures like living walls and tower-top wind turbines is getting easier." It's true that almost all the building-integrated turbines are pretty much useless; we have been calling them folly for a decade. I have also questioned the contribution to sustainability of living walls, but then that's just me thinking that you should keep mud and water off walls, not build it into them.

With rammed earth, Harper complains that much of it is made with a binder, calling it "a steel-reinforced earth composite with barely less cement than concrete." Harper insists that "there is no need to build rammed earth with cement." And it is true that you can build a rammed earth wall without it. But many building codes don't allow it; water can cause it to disintegrate and it doesn't hold together in earthquakes.

Rammed earth walls also use less cement than concrete walls, as little as 5 percent, and the other 95 percent is good old local dirt instead of sand and aggregate that has been dragged for miles. I suspect also that, now that people are finally getting concerned about embodied carbon or upfront carbon emissions, they will start using other binders like lime or volcanic ash (pozzolana). Like anything else in this world, it is not black and white, but a matter of degree.

Here, Harper writes:

This is an issue we have been discussing on TreeHugger for years, even complaining that they should change the standard to take upfront carbon emissions (UCE) into account. (See the Elrond Standard.) It is also true that Passivhaus buildings were often foamy, using lots of insulations with lots of UCE.

However, to be fair, concern and understanding of UCE is a relatively recent phenomenon, and many in the business are just beginning to wrap their brain around it. None of the green building standards really take it seriously; even the toughest, the Living Building Challenge, just demands carbon offsets. Even the brand new Canadian Net Zero standard just kind of says, "Measure it, and we will figure out what to do about it later."

But while Passivhaus is an operating energy standard, developed before people understood the implications of upfront carbon, many of the architects using Passivhaus are thinking seriously about UCE. Architype is a good example; I have suggested that their thatch-covered Enterprise Centre may be the world's greenest building because of its obsession with embodied carbon.

George Mikurcik of Architype writes in response to Harper's article, acknowledging that the Passivhaus standard has been historically "agnostic about what materials are used (the embodied carbon). It could be timber, concrete, steel, foam or marshmallow." But Architype has been a pioneer in building Passivhaus buildings with low UCE materials like wood and straw.

As a practice we love working with timber and other bio-based materials. They are healthy, renewable and have small embodied energy. They are also easy to reuse or recycle at the end of their life.

He concludes:

As Greta says, Our house is on fire, and we dont have enough time to mess around with reinventing the wheel. The Passivhaus community is one that personifies the opposite of greenwashing, and it works for operational energy, comfort, build quality and closing the performance gap. So lets combine Passivhaus with an intelligent use of low impact materials to make a real difference.

Architype isn't alone in this; many architects and builders are on the embodied carbon case, and plug-ins are being developed for the big PHPP spreadsheet. As I wrote in an article for the Passivehouse Accelerator, you have to start somewhere, and I believe you need Passivhaus first.

Passivhaus First is the best shot we have at decarbonizing in a hurry. Its not perfect (I think it should measure upfront carbon emissions, and measure carbon emissions instead of energy consumption, but this takes time) but its the best weve got.

Passivhaus is not a cult, and it is not ignoring embodied carbon. People get this now.

A British critic calls two green icons, rammed earth and Passivhaus, "architectural trickery at its most cynical."

See more here:
Architects have to deal with the "wicked problem of embodied carbon." - Treehugger

Since Construction Dive began taking the pulse of offsite construction, this column has been inundated with praise for the method from self-identified modular builders.

Modular-focused firms are putting together vertically integrated business models, handing over keys to turnkey buildings and even calling the movement disruptive.

But modular builders likely cant move the needle on their own, so the focus is different for this month's column: modulars other stakeholders.

While there are over 200 modular builders in the U.S., according to the Modular Building Institute, commercial modular building only accounts for about 4% of the market.It would take sweeping buy-in from traditional contractors, designers, owners and all applicable trade professionals for modular to be defined as an industry disruption, or a major disturbance in the way things are done, as Ivan Rupnik, an associate professor at Northeastern University's School of Architecture, puts it.

Ownersmay be the most pivotal, because they conceive and fund projects, and if a build is going to be modular, it has to be modular before shovels hit the dirt, according to Laurie Robert, LEED AP and vice president of modular building specialist NRB Inc.in Canada.

While Robert also expressed the common sentiment that lack of education among owners often inhibits modular's takeoff, it's important to note that there seems to be a certain threshold for a tipping point:Once owners are convinced, they go out and actively championit.

But what about architects, construction managers and subcontractor groups such as erectors and building enclosure trades? What do they seem to agree on, and where do they differ?

To that end, Dodge Data & Analytics recently released a report that culled together thought leadership on modular and prefabrication, such as the observation from Rupnik, and recorded results from a survey on modular construction that elicited responses from more 600 AEC professionals ranging from designers to steel fabricators.

To participate, respondents had to have worked on at least one project that involved prefabrication elements or full modular construction in the last three years. Of that pool, only 15 identified as modular builders or manufacturers, and their answers were recorded separately.

As a publication thats trying to shine light on the industrys more comprehensive and often varied views of modular, it's refreshing for Construction Dive to see a vast array of tangential stakeholders weigh in on the topic.

Answers were broken out by three professions.

Who's chiming in?

Analysis shows how much they dovetail on myriad sentiments and also some of the ways in which they contrast.

General contractors that responded, for example, overwhelmingly showed support for offsite building methods. That may not be a total surprise, considering that last month we heardheavyweights that have made their name in traditional stick building, such as Mortenson and DPR, talk about benefits theyve had with offsite construction.

But its important to consider where GCs stance fits among other stakeholders in the built environment.

For one, this was the group that most forecasted increased use of full-volumetric permanent modular construction.A slight majority predicted only 25% or less of their projects being composed of mostly flat-packed or 3D modules built offsite in the next three years. But more importantly, aquarter of that group said theyll be using the method on more than half of their projects. Only 13% anticipated no involvement at all.

Out of 14 market segments, GCs found medical facilities the most promising for modular construction. Forty-one percent selected healthcare as being in the top 10 most-promising sectors, which represents a higher volume than any other category.Respondents were going out on a limb on their healthcare predictions, because that number is double the percentage of firms that ranked it as one of the top building types theyd done through modular means in the past three years.

Healthcare ranked similarly for the 219 trades representatives that responded. Like the GCs rankings, it also came in as the subs strongest category for modular growth, with 56% crowning it in their top 10 despite only 31% putting it in that class when looking back.

But the consensus of contractors and subs differ from that of designers, who stand behind multifamily as the strongest contender for increasing modular inroads. Half of the more than 200 architects and engineers polled ranked it in one of the top spots, despite only 16% saying its been one of the most prominent categories in recent years.

Multifamily is perhaps the biggest enigma of the report. Design firms, for instance, according to co-authors Stephen Jones and Donna Laquidara-Carr, are extremely positive about the role of modular on multifamily projects going forward, and the numbers back that up.

Trades, on the other hand,more frequently ranked it as being significant in the last three years yet not nearly as likely to hold such importance in the next three. GCs take seems to be that it will taper slightly but remain about the same, with only 33% saying it has been and will continue to be one of the top building types for modular.

GCs and trades are also more optimistic about modular in the hospitality segment, with it coming in second and third in that same index, respectively, for the next three years. Designers, on the contrary,anticipate the sectors use of modular slowing.

For all groups, the desire to increase productivity reigned as the most important factor influencing the move to offsite in the past three years, according to Laquidara-Carr and her teams findings, though builders and subs ranked productivity gains even higher than designers, likely because of how it impacts their workflow.

"Remaining competitive was the second-most influential factor among all three, and even more so for subs.

Interestingly, the report notes, design firms report having been most highly motivated by seeking improved cost performances (58%) out[pacing] both GCs/CMs (49%) and trades (50%).

This, the findings continue, [indicates] that architects and engineers understand both prefabrication and modular construction can have a positive influence on cost control and should lead to more development of design solutions that consciously enable both.

The rub, however, is that designers forecasted the lowest overall percentage of prefabricated assemblies usage in the coming three years. Only 16% anticipated use of prefab components such as behind-the-wall plumbing assemblies for headwalls or multi-trade assemblies such as above-the-ceiling corridor racks in hospitals, as opposed to full-volumetric room modules.

This means, the authors wrote, that designers need "to become more engaged with designing in a way that enables contractors to implement prefabrication."

Getting on the same page in the development of both prefabricated assemblies-based and module designs takes teamwork, and the culture needs to change, NRB's Robert said. "The formation of your team, including the owner, the architect, the general contractor, the modular builder and all other stakeholders," she continued, "is certainly the most important aspect of a modular project's success."

"Design firms and GCs most highly value expertise, but design firms are far more influenced by owners on their modular supplier decisions than GCs."

Donna Laquidara-Carr

Industry Insights research director, Dodge Data & Analytics

Luckily, for the sake of modular's advancement, there are many things to agree on.All three groups leaned into the idea that modular construction improves project schedule performance, with that factor resonating as the biggest driver for growth. Around half of each groups respondents believed modular reduces project costs enough to consider it a highly influential factor in stirring up demand.

But GCs didnt agree with most subs and designers on modulars penchant for improved quality as being a top driver. Only 34% believed it will play an important role, whereas half of the designers and half the subs said itd have an increasingly high level of influence.

Another area in which all groups aligned included their take on whats inhibiting modular growth the most. Owners, as noted, are still one of the biggest influencers on whether industry players toying with offsite tactics actually employ them on projects or not and thats true for all groups, with each ranking lack of owner interest a top obstacle.

KendraHalliwell, associate principal of the women-owned Icon Architecture,also previously expressed the fact that availability of modular factories, or lack thereof, can be a big determinant in whether a modular project gets greenlit. Thats even more evident for designers, according to the report, with half of that group ranking it as a huge setback to growth and GCs trailing slightly in that opinion.

"One thing I want to emphasize is, if you're doing a modular project, to visit the factory at least once a week while it's being constructed," the AIA and LEED AP architect said during a case study presentation of her firm's first modular build, the 171-unit, 129-module The Graphic Lofts, Boston's largest modular multifamily development. "We didn't plan for that, and we ended up having to make up for that. We did, however, meet three times a week sometimes through virtual meetings with the architect, contractor and modular manufacturer." Proximity to the factory is key, she said.

Trade contractors, however, dont see availability in the same light. Only about 23% considered it a problem, but that could be because trades are not as involved in sourcing suppliers, according to the report.

How players select modular construction services is another eye-opener.Design firms and GCs most highly value expertise, the report found, but design firms are far more influenced by owners on their modular supplier decisions than GCs.

Joe Beeton / Construction Dive, data courtesy of Dodge Data & Analytics

Price, however, is not a highly influential factor for selection of a modular construction supplier, for any groups using full-volume modular builds,the authors found, noting that it will likely be more of a factor as more and more suppliers enter the market.

But that's different from what respondents had to say about the supply of prefabricated components and services. "This contrasts with prefabrication, where it ranked second overall on this same list of six factors and was cited as the primary influencer by 20% of GCs/CMs," the report noted. "This may reflect the different maturity levels between these two markets, where because there are more suppliers available for prefabrication, price can be more readily used for competitive evaluation."

Yet a different take is that some builds involve a combination of both full-module rooms and single- or multi-trade prefabricated assemblies, or combine those offsite elements with traditional methods, otherwise known as hybrid builds. Robert, concurring with another common perception, espoused the value of hybrid models.

And its in hybrid or prefab work where many subs shine. While they are involved in full-volume modularization jobs as well, they often are the most heavily invested when it comes to any other jobs that require at least partial panelization or prefab components.

The study notes that trades can often make the decision to prefabricate their part of the work without significantly impacting or involving other trades." Subs seemed both the most well-versed in prefabrication when looking back at the past three years and also the most enthusiastic about the next three.

Subcontractors often have to put their workers necks on the line, so modulars purported safety benefits hold a lot of water for subs. Safety scores far higher with trade contractors because of its direct impact on their workforce, the report said.

Stay tuned to this monthly column as it takes a deeper, nuanced and sometimes more critical look at the modular movement, and feel free to email meyour thoughts, concerns and ideas on topics to cover in this series.

The Modular Monitor series is brought to you by The Modular Building Institute (MBI), the voice of commercial modular construction.

MBI presents World of Modular, modular constructions premier international event, in Orlando, March 9-12.Register today.

MBI has no influence over Construction Dive's coverage within this column or other articles, and its content does not reflect the views or opinions of MBI or its employees.

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Modular Monitor: How GCs, trades and architects view offsite construction, by the numbers - Construction Dive

To Be a Good Architect You Have to Be Fearless: In Conversation with John Ronan

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John Ronan (b. 1963, Grand Rapids, Michigan) is known for his sensual atmospheric buildings that tend to unfold layer by layer their spatial complexity, as one moves through them. His focus is on the use of materiality in ways that reinvent architecture. Ronan holds a Master of Architecture degree with distinction from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (1991) and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan (1985). He has been teaching architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology since 1992. John Ronan Architects was established in Chicago in 1999, the year Ronan won the Townhouse Revisited Competition sponsored by the Graham Foundation. In 2006, the firm was featured in the Architectural League of New Yorks Emerging Voices and the Young Chicago exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2007, the architect was selected to build the prestigious Poetry Foundation in Chicago, out of a pool of 50 international contenders. His monograph Explorations: The Architecture of John Ronan was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2010. In 2016, the firm was named one of seven international finalists for the Obama Presidential Library. The following interview is a condensed version of our conversation at the architects studio in Chicago.

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Vladimir Belogolovsky: Your architecture seems to be quite reserved. Would you agree and would you say this reflects who you are as a person?

John Ronan: Yes. I would agree with that, to some degree. It comes from inside, but it is also imposed from the outside. Yes, I am more introspective, contemplative type, and personally, I am shy and that is reflected in my architecture. The imposed outside part is the influence of the place where I practice in Chicago. Every place has its own DNA. At the root of Chicago genetic code is a kind of hardcore brutal pragmatism. There is no accident that, for example, Mies van der Rohe succeeded in establishing his career here. There was a perfect match in the DNA of the person and that of the place. And if you look at the list of people who succeeded here, they were those who understood this genetic code well, the severity of Chicagos pragmatism, but also, those who could transcend it at the same time and turn it into poetry. Again, Mies would be a perfect example of that. His work here seems almost straight forward, yet very essential and very poetic. Back in my school years, my work was more exuberant and form-driven. I sometimes wonder why? That is because I am influenced by place but also by time. The clients here are very different from, lets say, New York or Los Angeles. Look at the industries based here insurance, financial services, which are very low risk, very conservative. Design, fashion, and media companies are not based here. This attitude is reflected in our skyline. This place is very pragmatic at its core, and my work is informed by that.

VB: Yet, this is not your hometown. You came here by choice, right?

JR: I came here because I felt a connection with Chicago that I did not feel with either Los Angeles or New York. I came here because I like Chicagos culture and I felt that I would fit in here. I sensed that this is the place where I could succeed.

VB: After earning your bachelors degree at the University of Michigan and before going to Harvard for your masters you worked for Stanley Tigerman for a couple of years. Did he represent this Chicago DNA or its character?

JR: First, he did not represent anything. There was nothing typical about Stanley. He became known for protesting against Miesian orthodoxy that was dominating the architectural discourse at that time by forming so-called Chicago Seven, a group of first-generation Post-Modern architects here. They offered a critique of what by then has become an unquestioned mode of practicing architecture. I decided to work for him because he was the most well-known architect in Chicago. I applied to a number of architects and he was the first to respond and hired me on the spot. I was just 21. But after two years of working for Stanley, I knew I didnt want to do Post-Modernism, which was quite prevalent at the time almost everybody in Chicago was doing Post-Modernism, one way or another. There was not really much of a choice then; if you came to Chicago at that point you would be some strain of Post-Modernism, basically. That was the time when Chicago Public Library designed by Tom Beeby was being built. I did not like nostalgia and was drawn to the rational. At the time, Harvard was one of the few schools that was still focused on Modernism, so thats where I went.

VB: What did you learn from Tigerman?

JR: I learned how to be an architect from Stanley because that was my first job. What I learned most from him was that it is the architects job to make a project. What I mean by that is that is part of your job as an architect to see the possibilities which reside in the brief, even if your client initially doesnt. For example, the brief for the Gary Comer Youth Center in Chicagos South Side, a rough neighborhood, was about the most pragmatic training facility; the Owner wanted brick and the building users asked for no windows, because there were too many drive-by shootings in the neighborhood. If I merely listened to my client, it would be just another mediocre building. But I proposed one idea, then another idea. I said, What if we did this or that? And Gary is a kind of person who would listen to you and then say, Thats great, but what if we do this? and he would challenge me to do something even more inventive than what I initially proposed. Thats the story of that building; it became something that went completely beyond the initial brief.

I also learned from Stanley how to thrive on conflict. What I mean is that he was fearless. He didnt back down. Perhaps thats the main thing I learned from him to be a good architect you have to be fearless. You have to be tough and persevere, because there are so many things working against you. To achieve a good building, you have to push people to do things that they may not want to do or are not accustomed to doing at the level you demand. To get a good result you have to be tough. It is about forming an argument and standing by your principles. Thats a problem with architecture today there is often no argument and the result is arbitrary, and mostly about willful form making. There are so many stakeholders in even a small building, and the role of the architect is not simply to say yes to everybody. Architecture is about persuasion; as an architect, you have to persuade people and bring them along with you, so they feel invested in the project ideas and feel a sense of ownership.

VB: How would you describe what you do as an architect to a lay person? What are the main intentions of your architecture?

JR: My architecture is primarily about space and materiality, and less about form; I try to create buildings which are formally simple but spatially complex. I am interested in the experience of a building rather than the image of a building. I feel there is too much of architecture now about one heroic image and how it can be propagated in the media to sell something; its transactional. I see my work as more of a spatial narrative; I like to explore how buildings unfold and how one moves through them. Thats what architecture is all about, for me. Im not denying that there is a formal red line which runs through my work, but I dont have an a priori formal agenda Im trying to fill. I want my buildings to look different, one from the next, rather than developing a signature style.

I also search for authenticity and attempt to make every project site-specific and culture-specific. I feel that so much of contemporary architecture could be picked up and plopped down somewhere else and you would never know the difference. There is too much contemporary architecture thats placeless or arbitrary. I abhor arbitrariness. Im rational and have to have a reason why I do things.

VB: You designed your Poetry Foundation as a building that you said, unfolds like a poem line by line. Could you talk about this idea of spatial unfolding?

JR: That building is composed of layers of different materials a layer of birch wood wraps the interior and extends from the library on end to the performance space on the other. Outboard of that, there is a layer of glass that shifts in and out to compress and expand the exterior and interior spaces. The outermost layer of zinc wraps the whole thing and becomes perforated to reveal the garden which mediates between the street and building interior. The different layers which comprise the building compress and expand, which you feel as you move through the building. It is a manipulation of these layers that creates spatial sequences. Thats what I mean by spatial narrative. The idea is that you, as a visitor, cant consume the building in a single glance, you dont comprehend it immediately, you have to experience it to understand it. The second objective is that every time you come back you see something else, something new, like a good book you go back to, over and over again. The kind of architecture I like is one of formal simplicity but spatial complexity, which I think the Poetry Foundation achieves, or, as a cab driver once explained to me, its simple, but its complex. The buildings I like are ones where I dont know whats around the corner, where the story is not given away all at once. I tell my clients, I aim to design a building not to be noticed, but to be remembered.

VB: Who or what would you credit as far as making an influence on your thinking?

JR: Im inspired by literature. I think of every building as a book. I studied English literature in college. Thats why every time I start a new building, I think about it as if I were writing a book. Some of the characters might carry over, but the plot is never the same. As far as influential buildings that made an impression on me, I would name the Alhambra in Granada, John Soanes house [now museum] in London, Louis Kahns Salk Institute in La Jolla, Sigurd Lewerentzs churches in Sweden, and Gunnar Asplund & Lewerentzs Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm. All of these are spatial narratives.

VB: You often work with humble materials to achieve very special quality. Could you talk about that? For example, you said that the way you use concrete you aim at achieving the kind of concrete that no one has ever seen before.

JR: What I attempt to do is to make the ordinary special. We carefully choose the ingredients. We experiment with the way the materials are produced and finished. I would compare what I do to the job of a chef; chefs all use the same ingredients but the way they are combined and transformed makes all the difference. So, it is about starting with something ordinary to achieve something thats very special. It is about transformation, not about picking expensive ready-mades, as if design is nothing more than a process of selection. I would further compare the process of architectural design to how poets use ordinary words to produce poetry. It is how ordinary words are selected and sequenced that makes it memorable, makes it poetry. Likewise, there is no poetry in an architect merely selecting expensive materials; anyone can do it. There is no transformation there. What Herzog de Meuron did, in their early work, was take ordinary materials such as asphalt shingles, cement board, and plywood, and assemble it in the most novel ways to make something new.

VB: Could you talk more about materiality in your architecture? Is it materiality that gives you the notion of subjectivity? Thats your contribution, right?

JR: Yes, thats the consistent and recurring theme in my workto find inventive ways in how materials can be used to engender space. I dont believe architects invent new materialsand I would be suspicious of any architect making this claimbut architects can invent new spatial relationships using materials. Ultimately, its about space, rather than materiality for its own sake. My objective is to build a kind of space that makes people say, My God, I have never been in a space like this before, so I would say it is a spatial invention that Im after, rather than material invention. I feel quite confident in my ability to use materials, but still have some work to do on the spatial aspects. If I can achieve that, then I will feel like I have done something.

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To Be a Good Architect You Have to Be Fearless: In Conversation with John Ronan - ArchDaily

Spread over two floors at the Allia Future Business Centre, a previous Saunders Boston Architects project, more than 130 leaders in sustainable innovation attended Saunders Boston Architects event, SBA100: Looking Forward, to gain insights into how innovations in technology may shape the architecture industry and support sustainable living in the future. The evening consisted of a range of thought-provoking presentations and an interactive workshop, which was conducted by the Saunders Boston Architects team and guest speakers from the University of Cambridge, Allia Ltd, Polysolar Limited and Sika AG.

Led by Margherita Cesca, Senior Architect at Saunders Boston Architects, one of the first presentations focused on education, schools of the future and green technology. Representatives from the University of Cambridge presented research on plant generated electricity and autonomous vehicles, discussing the roles they could play in future education building design. Hamish Watson, CEO of Polysolar Limited, a leader in solar innovation, also joined the presentation; exploring how buildings can become sources of power when architects collaborate with solar energy specialists.

Saunders Boston Architects Director, Darren Heffer, and Allia Future Business Centre CEO, Martin Clark, joined forces to present innovative ideas on adaptable living and care housing; specifically discussing the role that technology will play in shaping human habitats in the future, and how architects can innovate to design smart buildings that better serve the needs of residents.

Focusing specifically on sustainability and self-sufficiency in the future, Saunders Boston Architects Director, Nick Green, presented on the future of the Fen, a vision for self-sustaining settlements in unique environmental contexts. Under the same theme, Nick Jackson, Architectural Assistant at Saunders Boston Architects, led a presentation on material and energy flow in the 21st century, which explored the growing need for a circular economy for sustainable development.

The final presentation at the event was conducted by Henri Villanueva, Project Architect at Saunders Boston Architects, and Maxime Liard, of Sika AG, who discussed additive manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing, and the role that they will play in the future of construction. Running in parallel with all of the presentations was a futuristic and interactive workshop that utilised VR technology to envision living underground as a possible solution to climate change and overpopulation.

The SBA100: Looking Forward event marked the end of a series of fantastic celebrations for the company. We have enjoyed looking back at our history and legacy both in Cambridge and further afield, and future gazing to how we will innovate as a practice over the next 100 years; using architecture and design to lead innovation in sustainable solutions.

The event was a culmination of centenary celebrations for the practice, which has marked 100 years since inception and 50 years in Cambridge. The festivities included a series of architectural walks through its past projects, a 110km bike ride from its original office in London to its current headquarters in Cambridge, and a centenary event that launched the practices new branding at the Fisher Building in St Johns College, Cambridge - a project delivered by Saunders Boston Architects in 1989.

Link:
Saunders Boston Architects shape the future of architecture with sustainable innovation - World Architecture News

Henry N. Cobb, the bold Modernist architect responsible for the designs of a wide range of iconic buildings through his work with Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners, has passed away at age 93.

Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic forThe New York Times, broke the news Tuesday evening via Twitter. Word of Cobbs passing was confirmed to Archinect by members of Pei, Cobb Freed & Partners.

In 1955, Cobb was one of three co-founders, along with I.M. Pei and Eason H. Leonard, of the now-storied Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners architecture practice, based in New York City. Originally, the firm was named solely after Pei (I.M. Pei & Associates), but was renamed in 1989 to include Cobb's name. Cobb was educated at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he served as Department of Architecture chair between 1980 and 1985. In 1992, Cobb was the Architect in Residence at the American Academy in Rome.

Over a long and illustrious career, Cobb, alongside Pei and an ever-growing roster of designers, helped give life to the skylines of several American (and international) cities during the latter half of the 20th century through his work as a lead designer for a range of projects that include the Place Ville Marie towers in Montreal (1962), the John Hancock Tower in Boston (1971), ARCO Tower in Dallas (1983), The Library Tower in Los Angeles (1989), Torre Espacio in Spain (2008), and most recently, 7 Bryant Park (2019).

The projects, bold experiments that fused platonic shapes at a super-sized scale, earned the firm a special place in architectural history as purveyors of some of the most iconic (and tallest) towers of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Henry N. Cobb, Res Publica from Princeton School of Architecture on Vimeo.

Cobb's work extended beyond high-rises, however, as he was also one of the lead designers behind the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston, the Anderson School of Management complex at the University of California, Los Angeles, the United States Courthouse in Hammond, Indiana, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City complex, and the International African American Museum on Charleston,South Carolina, among several other notable cultural and civic commissions.

Over the decades, Cobb won a slew of awards, including five American Institute of Architects National Honor Awards and an AIA Twenty-five Year Award for the design of the John HancockTower. Just last year, two Pei, Cobb, Freed &Partners-designed towersthe Library (Now US Bank) Tower in Los Angeles and Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong) were listed among the 50 Most Influential Tall Buildings of the Last 50 Years by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Cobb was the last surviving namesake partner at Pei, Cobb, Freed &Partners; I.M. Pei passed away in 2019 at age 102, while James Ingo Freed passed away at age 75 in 2005.

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Henry Cobb, the architect behind some of America's most iconic skyscrapers, has passed away - Archinect