Good evening and welcome back to another work week after a long holiday weekend for most. Here’s what’s been going on:

AIA publishes statement in response to Supreme Court decision curtailing EPA regulatory power

American Institute of Architects (AIA) President Dan Hart and CEO Lakisha Woods have published a statement responding to the Supreme Court ruling (West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency) last week which jeopardizes the future of climate change regulations. Calling the ruling a “setback,” the AIA goes on to encourage Congress, as well as its 95,000 members, to speak up to find ways to reduce and “eventually eliminate” carbon emissions.

“The architects’ oath to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public requires nothing less,” the statement said.

The organization has previously spoken out on political issues, including in 2016 following Donald Trump’s election, which sparked controversy among professionals and members when the statement said architects would “stand ready to work” with the then president-elect on infrastructure issues. In 2019 it published a statement agreeing to plans set forth in the proposed Green New Deal.

The AIA’s full statement can be read here.

“Downtown Design Walk” offers Waco residents a say in town improvement plan

This coming weekend residents of Waco, Texas are encouraged to stroll the city’s main street and give real time input and feedback on urban design developments as part of the Waco Downtown Implementation Plan.

Components of the streetscape that require public opinion include landscaping, lighting, crosswalks, street furniture, walkability, accessibility and parking. An interactive map developed by the city highlights areas that require improvements, pinning locations where safety and accessibility are a concern and allowing users to like, dislike, and comment on existing and planned design elements.

The “Downtown Design Walk” conducted by Waco Walks will start at 8 a.m. on Saturday July 9, with historic Waco City Hall as its starting point.

H/t to Waco Tribune-Herald

Bureau Spectacular designs an acoustic installation for a Los Angeles park

A new installation at Los Angeles’ Grand Park offers visitors an interactive, auditory experience. The 12-foot tall instrument, titled The House of Words, takes on a rather lanky form, with spindly legs and a boxy body. Visitors can go underneath the work and whisper words, which the installation will then echo back in a soft, indiscernible muttered reply.

The House of Words replicates the scene from Wong Kar Wai’s 2000 film In the Mood of Love in which the protagonist speaks quietly into a mud-covered hole.

L.A.-based architecture studio Bureau Spectacular designed the project with Now Art LA; sound design credit goes to Morgan Sorne. The designers shared updates of construction and assembly on social media, which took place on the days leading up to its reveal at the 4th of July Block Party hosted at the park.

“The act of divulging a burdensome thought is a therapeutic act—like a speech monster that eats and digests away a person’s words, this project is a sound board for the heavy-minded Angelenos to tell their stories to,” Bureau Spectacular said of the completed work on its Instagram.

University at Buffalo and PUSH Buffalo launch new sustainability program

Buffalo’s local green workforce will soon see an expansion: The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning and People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH Buffalo) have partnered to launch the Community Climate Leadership Program in order to help bring energy efficiency and clean technology to the city.

Participants in the program will participate in a six-week program held in PUSH Buffalo’s new Sustainability Workforce Training Center, a 2,500-square-foot, zero-net energy building; they will receive hands-on training in tasks such as weathering installation and maintenance and energy auditing.

The program also strives to mitigate unemployment in New York’s second largest city. According to the press release, PUSH Buffalo will recruit from the area’s unemployed populations and the program aims to provide participants with pathways to jobs and a living wage.

Starting this upcoming fall, University at Buffalo’s graduate architecture students will also be able to train and eventually teach in the program. The students will first gain the knowledge necessary to teach through a series of courses before going on to complete an internship in the PUSH Sustainability Workforce Training in 2024.

H/t to Niagara Gazette

Hollywood’s iconic Cinerama Dome may reopen soon

Last week a liquor license was issued for “Cinerama Hollywood,” hinting at the potential return of the Cinerama Dome, the legendary mid-century movie palace and Sunset Boulevard landmark constructed in 1963. The geodesic dome–topped theater, which was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1998 and has been part of the 14-screen ArcLight Hollywood multiplex since 2002, shut off its screen and drew in the curtains last year when The Decurion Corp., closed it along with its other Pacific Theatres and ArcLight Cinemas locations after filing for bankruptcy following prior closures spurred by the pandemic. The owners held on to the flagship Hollywood location circulating rumors it would one day reopen.

That reopening may indeed be soon, as the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control granted a liquor license, which will allow Decurion to operate a restaurant and two bars at the shuttered ArcLight Hollywood site. According to the application, which included a sample menu, the theater is looking to upgrade its offerings, swapping out bags of popcorn and candy for plates of caviar and pickled carrot.

Previous coverage on the reopening of the theater by Variety quoted CEO Christopher Forman stating the intention to reopen the location as “a venue of uncompromising excellence.”

H/t to Variety