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Photo courtesy Metro The L.A. Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff has recommended a master plan by UK-based Grimshaw Architects and local firm Gruen Associates. Los Angeles’ major transit hub, the historic Union Station, is one step closer to a massive expansion. Image courtesy Metro Grimshaw Architects and Gruen Associates' vision plan for L.A.'s Union Station and the surrounding area. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) staff has recommended UK-based Grimshaw Architects and local firm Gruen Associates to develop a master plan for the project. In April 2011, Metro acquired the station and 40 surrounding acres from a private developer for $75 million.

Photo © Sye Williams Yeekai Lim started a coffee company in 2009 due to a slowdown in architectural work. The recession and its aftermath have clearly taken a toll on the architecture profession. In May, during the AIA’s annual convention, Kermit Baker, the institute’s chief economist, reported that 60,000 payroll jobs had been lost at firms over the past four years, with 36,000 of them being designers and architects. Of that group, about a third have found work outside of architecture, according to surveys conducted by the AIA. Roughly 6,000 of these architects will likely quit the profession for good,

Photo courtesy Venice Architecture Biennale The Venice Architecture Biennale opens on August 29. “The emphasis of the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale will be on what we have in common,” explained British architect David Chipperfield, who is directing the main exhibition at this year’s Biennale, via satellite television to a group of press assembled in New York last month. “The ambition is to reassert the existence of an architectural culture made up not just of singular talents, but a rich continuity of diverse ideas united in a common history,” he said. Photo © Francesco Galli David Chipperfield Along those lines Chipperfield

Photo courtesy Wikipedia Architects should connect with their city leaders to enter a competition that calls for big ideas that “address serious social or economic problems” or “create efficiencies that make government work better, faster, and cheaper.” Michael Bloomberg, New York’s rich and resourceful mayor, has unveiled a competition that may give architects a chance to share their best ideas—and make money. Last week, the mayor announced a contest meant to improve civic life in the United States through ideas that “address serious social or economic problems” or “create efficiencies that make government work better, faster, and cheaper.” Judges will select winners

The noted urban planner is heading up the new Bond Design Center at the City College of New York. Photo courtesy CCNY Griffin is heading up the recently launched J. Max Bond Center on Design for the Just City.  Architect and urban planner Toni L. Griffin has introduced progressive ideas to mainstream planning over her 25-year career. Her test beds have included Detroit, where she has dealt with depopulation strategies, and Newark, where she worked to spur job growth. Earlier, she held positions with the District of Columbia and Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, in addition to Skidmore, Owings

After a prolonged dry spell, high occupancy rates and increased revenue per room are helping resuscitate hospitality industry construction projects across the country. Source: McGraw-Hill Dodge Analytics Click the image above to view a full presentation of these stats [PDF].

Image courtesy KPF Seaport Square, Boston. Click to view more images. Related Links: Another Grand Plan for South Boston Waterfront Boston Society of Architects Headquarters Record Reveals: Boston If every journey begins with a single step, Seaport Square, a 23-acre mixed-use development along the Boston waterfront, is starting with a single-story building. In early May, Mayor Thomas Menino held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Boston Innovation Center, an angular, 12,000-square-foot structure designed by local architects Hacin + Associates and budgeted at $5.5 million. The building will give tech masterminds a place to meet with venture capitalists—much as they do at

Encompassing 23 acres, Seaport Square will include office, hotel, and residential space expected to total some 3.5 million square feet. In January, the Boston Redevelopment Authority gave the developer—a partnership of Boston Global Investors and Morgan Stanley—permission to begin construction. If every journey begins with a single step, Seaport Square, a 23-acre mixed-use development along the Boston waterfront, is starting with a single-story building. Related links Another Grand Plan for South Boston Waterfront Boston Society of Architects Headquarters Record Reveals: Boston In early May, Mayor Thomas Menino held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Boston Innovation Center, an angular, 12,000-square-foot structure

In its series 'Sometimes Cities: Urban America Beyond NYC,' New York City's Anthology Film Archives explores the intersection of architecture and people. Photo courtesy Anthology Film Archives/Julian Temple Requiem for Detroit? was developed by director Julien Temple to chronicle the “first post-American city.” Related Links: Imploding the Pruitt-Igoe Myth We’re All Doomed (Maybe) Urbanized Surveys Global Cities, in All Their Squalor and Glory When director Chad Friedrichs began work on a documentary about the notorious Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis, he thought he was making a film about architecture and environmental determinism. But as he did more research, the

Image courtesy NYU The New York City Planning Commission has approved a modified version of NYU’s Washington Square expansion plan. Related Links: Experts Debate NYU’s Controversial Expansion The New York City Planning Commission has approved a modified version of New York University’s Washington Square expansion plan. The university’s 2031 Core Campus plan, which was approved on June 6, calls for four new buildings and about 4 acres of public parks and publicly accessible open spaces. Public hearings and a city council vote on the plan are expected this summer. Stringer The modified plan includes reductions in the heights of the