Month: October 2022

From the first traces of a sketch to the ribbon cutting at the official inauguration, a building and its construction process goes through numerous steps. From understanding client demands, complying to local regulations, staying within budget, getting the necessary approvals for development and construction details, a lot of time, resources and decisions are involved. To this end, it is essential to have a workforce that knows and understands the correct processes inside-out, are well informed and have experience and availability. Finding and training this workforce isn’t always easy though, and this is where Aligned Studios comes in: a service that creates and manages teams composed of qualified designers for US architectural and construction companies.

BDP Quadrangle has revealed the design of a 54-storey, mixed-use tower in downtown Toronto, Canada. The project will replace an existing 10-storey office tower built in the 1960s. The new tower will contain office and residential units, with amenities and outdoor terraces on the 11^th floor and at the ground floor. The building is planned to accommodate a total of 278 apartments with penthouses on the 52^nd and 53^rd floors. The project is currently in the pre-construction phase.

The construction of the new building of Palmer Museum has begun. Located at Penn State, USA, and scheduled to open in the fall of 2023, the new 6600 square meters complex will expand nearly double the space of the current gallery to host the growing collection of more than 10,000 pieces. The design features a series of pavilions, educational areas, and courtyards to boost accessibility to the art collections for students, staff, and the public. The construction aligns with the 50th anniversary of the museum along with a multitude of events, including the exhibition of Allied Works’ pieces of the design process for the new Palmer Museum.

The islands have proved to be the great favorites of contemporary kitchens, appearing in environments of different sizes and styles and with different materials. Before installing a kitchen island, however, it is necessary to think about a few factors to make a better design decision.

Although there is more of a balance between women and men in architecture today, the landscape was quite different a few decades ago. Pioneering women architects have been resistant in a profession dominated by men, and have faced skepticism in challenging contexts, such as construction sites itself. Zaha Hadid commented on the difficulty of inclusion in what she called the “boys club”, listing the difficulties in coming to agreements or creating partnerships. Lina Bo Bardi, in turn, used her strong personality to overcome the sexism of her time. Even though these difficulties, women have always found a way to stand out and bring priceless contributions to the profession.

6×60 House is a one-storey building settled along a stream. It hosts three apartments with different dimensions, belonging to three members of the same family. The building is located between two different surroundings: wide agricultural fields and a far forest on one side, and the main road of the village on the other. In order to detach the house from the ground, a system of piles has been used to support the concrete slab on which 21 parallel walls are resting and supporting a pitched roof. 3 concrete steps located along the South-East side permit to access to the porch on the platform, from where it is possible to walk all around the building and access the apartments.