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For the last nine years, the high point, for me, of the annual APTI conference has been the student competition run by the Preservation Engineering Technical Committee. This year, In Montreal, was no exception. This year, I had no role in the competition, which frees me to say that I really didn’t care who won […]
2 months ago

More from Old Structures Engineering

Top To Bottom

From Scientific American, December 8, 1894, an interesting view of two buildings: drawings that include both the above-ground portion of the buildings, more or less as you would see them, and the foundations as they could never be seen. The foundations are seen as if the earth had been turned transparent. The image of the […]

a month ago 28 votes
Happy Christmas

I’m not so sure about that vest.

a month ago 26 votes
Genteel

That’s the Hotel Marlborough at 36th Street and Broadway, shortly after 1900. The hotel opened in 1888 when the entertainment district on Broadway was further south; by the time it was demolished in 1922, that district had moved to Times Square, a few blocks to the north. It’s a story repeated for hundreds of buildings […]

a month ago 29 votes
Once Again, In Plastic

The restoration of Notre Dame deserves all the praise that has been heaped upon it, but have I mentioned recently that my son and I have built the LEGO Notre Dame? We finished our small Notre Dame about a week after the official opening of the large one, but they had a head start on […]

a month ago 25 votes
It Looked Familiar: Archetypical

From a graphic novel about art called Naked City: how do you capture the spirit of New York? A relentless grid and Old-Law tenements.

a month ago 31 votes

More in architecture

Louis Sullivan Would Like to Clarify His Thoughts on Ornamentation

In response to a recent executive order about architectural design, the Father of Modernism speaks from beyond the grave.

12 hours ago 1 votes
The Power Broker Breakdown Breakdown

The Power Broker Breakdown may have concluded, but if you’re just tuning in (or if you just want a quick refresher), this episode is a compilation of the summary portions of the The Power Broker Breakdown series. You can find the entire series in the 99% Invisible feed, wherever you get your podcasts. The 99%

4 days ago 3 votes
Box Fresh: five homes under five years old

As we are well aware, a modern house has multiple meanings and can span as far back as the early 20th century. This week however, we’ve decided to look to the more recent past and marvel at how architects and developers are translating the requirements […]

4 days ago 13 votes
After the Altadena Fire: An Ode to Our House

Until last week, my wife Tomo and I had the great pleasure of being stewards of Whitney Smith's Holmes House. It was built by Jackson and Evelyn Holmes in 1941. In 2021, it became LA County Historic Landmark #8. What made this house so special was not that it was gigantic, ostentatious, or glamorous, but that it was built for a middle-class family interested in the power of good design.

4 days ago 5 votes
Countdown to 2030: The Transformation of the Built Environment Can’t Be Derailed

The AEC industry continues to confront our environmental challenges—never mind what the headlines might suggest.

4 days ago 5 votes