Earlier this month, we covered the launch of the AIA Pasadena & Foothill Chapter’s 'Ask an Architect' program aimed at helping homeowners impacted by the devastating Los Angeles Fires. The free program under the AIA in California umbrella, which will begin with Eaton Fire victims and later expand to include those who lost homes or businesses in the Palisades Fire, is entirely volunteer-run and works on behalf of the professional community to meet the questions of neighbors looking to rebuild their lives and property after the January 2025 catastrophe destroyed more than 16,000 structures.  To gain a better understanding of the scope and challenges latent in the rebuilding effort, Archinect spoke with Jessica Orlando, the chapter's Vice President and Associate Principal of Higher Education in Perkins&Will's Los Angeles office. She answered questions pertaining to the program's adaptation — which has drawn 120 matches thus far — and the collaboration of other chapters across LA County...

Architecture firm ALH Taller has shared photos of Hotel El Zarzo, a brick hotel in Medellin, Colombia, that serves as an urban oasis that combines aesthetic, environmental and social value in every architectural detail. The hotel’s design maximizes the connection with the exterior, despite being sandwiched between two other buildings, strategically using its eastern and […]

In the wake of the L.A. fires, a different strategy is required.

Architecture and interiors firm Studio Saxe, has shared photos of a villa they completed in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, that has an umbrella-like roof that echoes the land’s undulations. The design process commenced with the creation of a robust curved silhouette, with pavilion-like spaces segregated by ventilating corridors, capable of being opened or closed dynamically, interacting […]

When you cross the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland, one of the first things you notice is the massive industrial cranes that line its shores. Those cranes have become a symbol of Oakland – one way the city showcases its importance and connection to the global economy. Every year, billions of dollars’ worth