Articles by Eric Baldwin

Apple has released new details about their MacBook Air, Mac Mini and iPad Pro. The MacBook Air has finally gotten the long-requested Retina Display, and the design has new features like its Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The broad redesign also extends to the new iPad Pro, where the design nearly gets rid of the bezel that has traditionally wrapped around the sides of the screen and Apple’s Face ID facial recognition technology has been included in the tablet for the first time ever.

HENN Architekten have been selected to redesign the Gasteig, Europe’s largest cultural center in Munich, Germany. The renovation and remodel aims to bring new life to the center after 30 years of use. Originally designed by the architecture partnership Raue, Rollenhagen, Grossmann and Lindemann, the Gasteig welcomes around two million visitors annually. The new design celebrates the building’s role as a revered cultural hub and introduces a new glazed bridge to connect the existing parts of the building and bring transparency to the complex.

OMA will be breaking ground on their new design for Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s expansion next month. The groundbreaking for the new Audrey Irmas Pavilion is scheduled for November 11. The $75-million project was designed by OMA partners Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas. The three-story expansion will include space for the temple congregation, surrounding neighborhood and supportive services.

KPMB Architects have released a design to construct a 17-floor tower for Boston University’s new Data Sciences Center. Located on the university’s main Charles River campus, the project will become the tallest building at the university. The vertical design was made to bring together the mathematics, computer science and statistics departments under one roof. Overlooking the Boston skyline and the Charles River, the stacked design will become a new landmark for Boston University.

Adjaye Associates‘ 130 William Street residential tower in Lower Manhattan has begun installation of the building facade. As New York YIMBY reports, last week the hand-cast concrete arches started getting installed. Made to recall New York City’s historic fabric from the 19th and early 20th centuries, the facade was designed around an eclectic material and color palette. Once finished, the tower will include 244 new luxury condominiums in the Financial District.

Heatherwick Studio’s Coal Drops Yard in London’s King’s Cross was unveiled today ahead of the new shopping districts public opening on Friday, October 26. The studio reinvented two heritage rail buildings from the 1850s as a new shopping district while opening up the site to the public for the first time. The design extends the inner gabled roofs of Victorian coal drops to link the two viaducts together around shopping and public space.

Grimshaw Architects and Gruen Associates have released updated renderings of the Metro station connecting Los Angeles International Airport to light rail. Expected to open in 2023, the $500-million transit hub will span across a 9.5 acre site adjacent to the Crenshaw/LAX Line’s maintenance yard. The design was made to create a fully inter-modal facility that will become a new point of arrival into the city.

Dutch robotics company MX3D have unveiled the world’s first 3D printed stainless steel bridge at Dutch Design Week. Set to be installed across one of the oldest and most famous canals in the center of Amsterdam, the bridge was created with designer Joris Laarman. Now both the span and deck are complete. Equipping industrial robots with purpose-built tools, the project showcases the potential applications of multi-axis 3D printing technology.

Architecture firm SOM has designed Kinematic Sculpture, an origami-like pavilion installation for Chicago Design Week. Exploring kinematics as the science of motion, the sculpture was formed as one of the firm’s ongoing interdisciplinary research projects. As a test in integrated design, the structure aims to establish ideas that foster new architectural and structural solutions for pressing challenges in the built environment.

Architecture firm SOM has designed Kinematic Sculpture, an origami-like pavilion installation for Chicago Design Week. Exploring kinematics as the science of motion, the sculpture was formed as one of the firm’s ongoing interdisciplinary research projects. As a test in integrated design, the structure aims to establish ideas that foster new architectural and structural solutions for pressing challenges in the built environment.