Good afternoon and welcome back to another Friday roundup. Here are the news stories you need to know as we roll into another winter weekend.
Salone del Mobile will likely be pushed to June
After the international furniture fair moved its 2020 edition to 2021 after myriad delays and consolidation its program into the “Supersalone,” the 2022 Salone del Mobile may be pushed back due to COVID as well. With the spread of COVID’s Omicron variant still sweeping the world and leading to an unprecedented number of infections, organizers are reportedly looking at moving the event from April 5 through 10 to June 7 through 12 instead.
As AN has reported over the last week, this is far from the first international design event to be rescheduled, with Maison&Objet moving to March and the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair pushed to September.
H/t to Dezeen
A new 3D-printed building breaks world records in Oman
The world’s largest 3D-printed concrete building has just been completed in Muscat, Oman. Thanks to a partnership between the German University of Technology in Oman, Mexican cement company CEMEX (no stranger to innovation), and 3D printer maker COBOD, the 2,100-square-foot home was printed in December of 2021 from 99.5 percent locally sourced materials.
H/t to Archinect
Stephen Slaughter is the new Chair of Undergraduate Architecture at Pratt Institute
Architect, educator, and urban designer Stephen Slaughter has been named the new Chair of Undergraduate Architecture at Pratt Institute effective July 1. Slaughter began his career at Morphosis, but in recent years co-founded the multidisciplinary studio PHAT.
“Stephen’s appointment concludes an all-school nomination and selection process,” said Dr. Harriet Harriss, dean of the School of Architecture, in a press release. “It is a reflection of the faculty and students’ many talents, strengths, and future ambitions. Within his role as chair of undergraduate architecture, Stephen’s established expertise will serve to strengthen and advance our commitment to social justice and climate crisis curriculum and ensure that our graduates are best positioned to powerfully advance pedagogy, public policy, and professional practice.”
“I am thrilled to step into this role at Pratt and look forward to engaging with the community to push forward critical conversations about inclusivity in the fields of architecture and design,” added Slaughter. “Architecture is for everyone and in educating the next generation of architects, I hope to instill this idea. Exuberance, joy, and beauty in design are what I care most deeply about—and that it can be for all.”
New York’s Design Pavilion will return this May
The fifth annual Design Pavilion will return to New York City from May 7 to 15, 2022, but this time go beyond its typical Times Square home to the Flatiron and beyond. The Design Pavilions have always served as the heart of the NYCxDESIGN festival by creating a staging area for lectures, installations, and performances. This year’s theme will be “Open to the Sky,” though participating designers have yet to be announced.
This will be the first Design Pavilion installation since 2019, as the event has, predictably, been put on hold due to the pandemic until now. Previous highlights of the fourth iteration included an entire house cast from recycled plastic by Brooklyn designer Fernando Mastrangelo and 50-year-old Eastern European kiosks transplanted to Times Square.
The Van Nuys Civic Center targeted for a major redevelopment
Plans to redevelop the Van Nuys Civic Center, which also houses the California city’s governmental services, are moving ahead after the Los Angeles City Council passed its “Building a Livable City” motion earlier this week. With the civic center sitting at a future light rail station stop and along the G Line busway, the council is asking LADOT and the Planning Department to consolidate parking around the site and pave the way for developing affordable housing and retail.
H/t to Urbanize Los Angeles
Material prices spiked 20 percent in 2021
It should come as no surprise that the costs of construction materials rose by about 20 percent in 2021 as supply chain snarls and shortages led to delays and substitutions. Construction Dive has broken down the worst performers, but prices for lumber and plywood rose by 12.7 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively last year, while aluminum was dinged even worse. The price index of steel rose a whopping 127.2 percent overall last year, portending another slow construction year that still might be salvaged by federal infrastructure funding.
H/t to Construction Dive
