Welcome back to another Tuesday news roundup, this time rife with new technological innovations, superlatives, and another update on the future of the Surfside condo tower collapse site.

Here’s what you need to know today:

SHoP Architects’s 9 DeKalb Avenue is officially Brooklyn’s tallest tower

First unveiled all the way back in 2016, SHoP Architects’ 9 DeKalb Avenue, a slender (and foreboding) spire clad in bronze, stainless steel, and stone was always intended to be Brooklyn’s tallest once complete at 1,066 feet. Now, however, even though the building is still under construction, it’s managed to snatch the title early. In an Instagram post, developer JDS Development Group noted that the tower had hit 721 feet, making it the tallest in the borough. 9 DeKalb is on track for completion in 2022.

H/t to Archinect

New York’s Circle of Heroes monument is on hold after pushback

Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged to relocate a proposed $3 million monument in Battery Park City after residents complained that they weren’t consulted. Now, the Circle of Heroes, a tribute to the essential workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic, has been officially put on hold. Yesterday, residents were told that plans for the memorial, which would have consisted of a circular plaza centered on an eternal flame, had been halted and that the state-run Battery Park City Authority would consult residents on an ideal replacement site. Because the land is owned and managed by New York State, no city-level review was formally required.

H/t to the New York Times

How will we design homes to weather climate change in 2030?

Fires (and fire tornadoes), flooding, droughts, and other natural disasters exacerbated by climate change will only get worse in the coming years. So how can architects design climate-resistant homes now? Gizmodo spoke with California’s Brandon Jorgensen about designing fireproof houses on the West Coast, Tulane University’s Jesse Keenan about region-specific climate change adaptation, and a host of other sources to paint a wide-ranging portrait of what will be required from homes of the (near) future.

H/t to Gizmodo

These sound deadening screws could help quiet future homes

Drywall is ubiquitous in new construction but has a major acoustic flaw: even backed by insulation, the panels can vibrate, allowing sound to pass through. If you’ve ever lived in a cramped apartment, you probably know that feeling all too well. Now, scientists from Malmö University in Sweden have invented the “Revolutionary Sound Absorbing Screw” that promises to remedy the problem. Similar in form to the tensioned screws used in PC components, the sound screw adds a spring between the threaded portion and the head. When used to secure drywall to a wooden stud with a slight gap left between the two, the movement generated by sound waves is dampened by the springs and reduces noise by up to 9 decibels over standard installation.

H/t to New Atlas

Great Lakes cities will need $2 billion to protect against climate change

The fluctuations in the Great Lakes made worse by climate change (higher flooding and deeper droughts) is wreaking havoc on the cities and towns along their banks. Now, a new survey from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative released last week indicates that $2 billion is needed to beef up coastal resilience in those areas, not just for public infrastructure but for private structures as well.

H/t to Construction Dive

What will happen to the Champlain Towers South site after the rubble is cleared?

As the death toll at the Surfside, Florida, condo tower collapse site climbs to 95 and the rubble is removed, questions over the future of the Champlain Towers South site have been raised. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett has reportedly been open to placing a memorial there once the area is completely cleaned up, but most Miami-Dade County officials seemingly agree that rebuilding the tower is out of the question.

H/t to the Miami New Times