Charles E. Dagit Jr., 80, of Gladwyne, celebrated architect, civic leader, author, teacher, dancer, and champion sailor, died Wednesday, March 27, of complications from pneumonia at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Mr. Dagit knew by the time he reached high school that he was going to be an architect. His grandfather, father, two uncles, and four cousins were architects, too, and the familys influence on the Philadelphia landscape is wide.

Every male for three generations has become an architect, Mr. Dagit told the Daily News in 1995. When people hear Dagit, they think architect.

Mr. Dagit embraced his family tradition by studying with renowned architect Louis Kahn and other luminaries in the 1960s, and earning bachelors and masters degrees in architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He founded Dagit-Saylor Architects in 1970 and went on to win scores of awards and design more than 300 construction projects around the country, including his own award-winning home in Gladwyne, before retiring in 2007.

He was especially prolific on college campuses, and the Abington campus Physical Education Building and Snider Agricultural Arena at Pennsylvania State University are two of his most notable designs. He also planned libraries, dining halls, theaters, student centers, and education buildings of all kinds at Penn, Gwynedd Mercy, Shippensburg, and Holy Family Universities; Ursinus, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr Colleges; and many other schools.

Structures at the Philadelphia Zoo, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Cherry Hill Mall, monastery of St. Clare in Newtown, and many other locations also bear his signature.

He was an inspiration to all who knew him and had the opportunity to work with him, a former colleague said in a tribute. Another colleague said: He was such a pleasure to work with and a dedicated, talented architect who loved his profession passionately.

Mr. Dagit built his own family home on a hillside in Gladwyne in the 1970s, and it won an award for excellence in design. He called the structure a white piece of sculpture, and added a Japanese Garden years later that was featured in The Inquirer in 2010.

Gregarious and insightful, he taught design at Drexel and Temple Universities, and Penn, and expressed great satisfaction when his students earned honors for their work. He also lectured at other schools and at conferences, and served for a decade as managing secretary of the John Stewardson Memorial Fellowship in Architecture.

He was a longtime national committee member and chair for the American Institute of Architects, president of the Philadelphia chapter in 1991, and board member of the Pennsylvania chapter from 2008 to 2010. He became the youngest architect at the time to join the AIA College of Fellows in 1983 and never ceased promoting the city and state chapters at national and international events.

He wrote articles for The Inquirer and other publications, and authored Louis I. Kahn Architect Remembering the Man and Those Who Surrounded Him in 2013, and The Groundbreakers: Architects in American History Their Places and Times in 2017. Both received critical praise.

Away from work, he served on boards at Penn, the Philadelphia Zoo, and other groups, and was president of the Gladwyne Civic Association in the 1980s and the Gladwyne Free Library in the 1990s. He was a lifelong sailor who won local races at the Jersey Shore and a 1972 national championship, and he and his wife, Alice, navigated exotic waters together around the world.

He was driven and bold, his wife said. He would do things after other people said, You cant do that.

Charles Edward Dagit Jr. was born July 1, 1943, in Philadelphia. He grew up in Merion, went sailing with his father and others often as a boy, and graduated from Malvern Preparatory School in 1961.

He earned three degrees and won a traveling fellowship and two design competitions at Penn, and worked for Mitchell-Giurgola and his fathers firm after college before establishing Dagit-Saylor.

He took Alice Murdoch on their first date in 1962, and they married in 1967, and had sons Charles III and John. They lived in Center City and West Philadelphia before moving to Gladwyne.

Mr. Dagit played piano and painted, enjoyed golf and dancing, and he and his wife spent more than 60 years twirling to the Charleston, jitterbug, and Texas two step. Charlie was a most remarkable person, a friend said in a tribute. Smart, talented, artistic, and funny. Just so exceptional.

In addition to his wife and sons, Mr. Dagit is survived by four grandsons, two sisters, and other relatives. A sister died earlier.

Visitation with the family is to be from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, April 12, at St. John Vianney Church, 350 Conshohocken State Rd., Gladwyne, Pa. 19035. A service is to follow.

Donations in his name may be made to St. Malachy School, Box 37012, Philadelphia, Pa. 19122; and Emergency Aid of Pennsylvania Foundation, 221 Conestoga Rd., Suite 300, Wayne Pa. 19087.

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Charles E. Dagit Jr., award-winning architect, civic leader, and champion sailor, has died at 80 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Tod Williams, co-founder of the renowned architecture firm Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, will present a lecture about his firms work with stone and masonry titled Building Blocks at 6:30 p.m. April 18 in the Stuckeman Family Buildings North Forum on the University Park campus.

The lecture is part of the Department of Architecture's annual National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) second-year student competition within the College of Arts and Architectures Stuckeman School. Williams will be joined by Alex Odom, a project manager with the firm.

Founded by Williams and Billie Tsien in Manhattan in 1986, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects focuses its work on academic institutions, museums, cultural centers, residences and non-profit organizations. The practice has been significantly influenced by the duos backgrounds in architecture and fine art; however, the work also reflects a collaborative effort that grows out of their relationship as a married couple, said Williams.

In their early work, Williams and Tsien experimented with unconventional materials and reconsidered how familiar materials could be used in unfamiliar ways in designs for installations at the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas in New York and elsewhere.

In their later work, Williams and Tsien were commissioned to prepare a plan for new buildings at the Cranbrook Estate in Michigan. Their design developed ideas of movement and path embodied in their earlier designs for academic buildings in California, at Princeton University and the University of Virginia. The co-educational natatorium at Cranbrook was planned to connect to existing buildings, and large oculi and doors enable the building to be opened up during spring and summer, connecting the building to the landscapes of the Cranbrook Estate.

Residential designs for sites in New York City, Long Island and Phoenix have enabled Williams and Tsien to explore issues of materiality, path and the integration of building with site at another scale.

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects has received more than two dozen awards from the American Institute of Architects, including the Firm of the Year Award in 2013. That same year, Williams and Tsien were each awarded a National Medal of Arts from former President Barack Obama. Among other awards and recognitions is a 2014 International Fellowship from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

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Renowned architect to visit Stuckeman to juror student design competition - Penn State University

Architects win citation for Raleigh County Sheriff's Office Headquarters design  MSN

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Architects win citation for Raleigh County Sheriff's Office Headquarters design - MSN

The trial of a man charged with killing a Des Moines architect is now underway in Polk County. In 2016, Kirk Blunck was found badly hurt at the bottom of a staircase in an East Village building. He died shortly after from his injuries.Blunck's family successfully sued Des Moines man Zachary Gaskill for wrongful death, winning $6.125 million in 2018.Despite the civil lawsuit, Gaskill was not criminally charged until December 2022. Police say he was responsible for the injuries that killed Blunck.Gaskill allegedly claimed to police that he was searching for a bathroom in a building at 500 E. Locust St. when he and Blunck fell over a railing together. Gaskill said he caught himself, but Blunck continued to fall. Police believe that Gaskill attacked Blunck, eventually throwing him over the railing, and tried hiding his identity to get away with it. Gaskill faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted of the second-degree murder charge. Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google PlayGet the latest headlines from KCCI

The trial of a man charged with killing a Des Moines architect is now underway in Polk County.

In 2016, Kirk Blunck was found badly hurt at the bottom of a staircase in an East Village building. He died shortly after from his injuries.

Blunck's family successfully sued Des Moines man Zachary Gaskill for wrongful death, winning $6.125 million in 2018.

Despite the civil lawsuit, Gaskill was not criminally charged until December 2022. Police say he was responsible for the injuries that killed Blunck.

Gaskill allegedly claimed to police that he was searching for a bathroom in a building at 500 E. Locust St. when he and Blunck fell over a railing together. Gaskill said he caught himself, but Blunck continued to fall. Police believe that Gaskill attacked Blunck, eventually throwing him over the railing, and tried hiding his identity to get away with it.

Gaskill faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted of the second-degree murder charge.

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Trial begins for man accused of throwing Des Moines architect over a railing to his death in 2016 - KCCI Des Moines

PARIS (OSV News) -- Philippe Villeneuve, Notre Dame Cathedral's chief architect, learned about the 2019 fire 300 miles from Paris and rushed to the capital to help firefighters save the iconic monument.

For France's top architect of historical sites, the evening of April 15, 2019, was especially dark as Notre Dame Cathedral was already his passion when he was a little boy. Since the inferno, he has worked tirelessly to finalize major parts of renovations by Dec. 8 when the cathedral is reopened.

In fact, it was a fascination with Eugne Viollet-le-Duc, the French architect who restored the cathedral in the 19th century, that inspired Villeneuve to become an architect of historic monuments. A graduate of cole Nationale Suprieure D'architecture de Paris Val-de-Seine, Paris' architecture university, he has been entrusted with the renovation of many iconic monuments, including one of the most well-known castles in the Loire Valley -- Chambord.

In 2013, he was asked to renovate part of Notre Dame in Paris -- including repairing the stonework of the flying buttresses and the fissures in Viollet-le-Duc's spire. When the fire broke out, he was working on the spire.

The fire of 2019, the cause of which remains unknown, struck Villeneuve as a personal tragedy.

"Everyone was scared, and it went on for hours, getting worse by the hour," he told OSV News. He was immediately asked to secure the site, and the Ministry of Culture confirmed him in his mission to repair the damaged cathedral. Since then, he has devoted all his time and passion to the challenge.

Today, the chief architect is confident of meeting the deadlines imposed on him. "Yes, the cathedral will be ready for its official reopening on December 8, 2024. The framework is finished. The roofers are still working," he told OSV News. "There was a lot of wind at Easter, so we were a little behind schedule. But we will make it up. We have to hurry, but everything will be fine."

The site of the Notre Dame reconstruction is still sealed off, with tourists patiently watching the front towers of the cathedral from the wooden steps installed in front of it. The steps are placed not far from the place where Villeneuve found the copper rooster perched at the spire's top that was feared lost on April 15. However, on April 16 at dawn, Villeneuve found the battered rooster lying in the gutter of Rue du Clotre-Notre-Dame, a street right next to the cathedral square. The relics of Paris' patron, St. Genevieve, were found intact inside.

After five years of intense work and installation of a new rooster -- one he designed himself -- on top of the new spire, Villeneuve told OSV News they are now "preparing the most decisive phase of the project."

"This involves dismantling the large scaffolding at the transept crossing. Removing it will enable us to rebuild the cross vault, replace the paving and install the altar. We are going to erect a new scaffolding, but this time detached from what is below, to put the finishing touches to the work on the spire's roof at this point," he explained.

"This work, above the transept crossing vault," he said, "is the most delicate part of the project. But everything is going well."

Villeneuve emphasized that this magnificent project was made possible by the international outpouring of generosity and donations that followed the fire. "I would never have imagined that Notre Dame could have aroused such emotion throughout the world, during and after the fire," he told OSV News. "It was astonishing." Those involved in the reconstruction emphasize that many American donors generously supported rebuilding of the icon of Paris and icon of the Catholic Church.

"Notre Dame shows France's influence in the world, and its extraordinary heritage. But the fire was not just a national issue. Notre Dame is also a (UNESCO) World Heritage site, and during the fire, we really felt that it was humanity that was seeing its heritage disappear."

Villeneuve added that "the flames and the fall of the spire sent shockwaves around the world" but "fortunately, the firemen did an extraordinary job, and in the end we lost a frame, a roof, a spire, a few pieces of vaulting, but no more. And thanks to all that, in the end, we will have an even more beautiful cathedral than before the fire. This is very stimulating."

Since the rebuilding work began, all those involved on site have testified to the exceptional quality of the skills and spirit of Notre Dame's craftsmen. "It is true that there is an extraordinary atmosphere," Villeneuve confirmed. "If so far we were able to meet the deadlines, it is because the contractors and craftsmen trusted me. And I trusted them. The complicity and commitment were total, for the good of the cathedral, and also for the pleasure and pride of working on this extraordinary monument".

He said he also has "deep respect and affection for the totally anonymous people on the site, such as those who take care of the daily clean-up," Villeneuve told OSV News. "It is thanks to them too that this project is progressing so well. I greet everyone in the same warm way."

Eight months into the reopening, various teams are working on the process of equipping the cathedral with electricity, IT, heating, lighting, among other systems.

Vileneuve said every person working in the reconstruction has a symbolic task of passing on their knowledge and work for future generations. They "will spread out everywhere after the site is finished," Villeneuve said, "Those who will have benefited from this project to perfect their craft, will pass on all this as (craftsmen did) in the Middle Ages. They will pass on all this know-how." Villeneuve added, "Life is about transmission. We are passersby."

Villeneuve doesn't treat the cathedral's reconstruction merely as a work project. In a conversation with OSV News, he described the cathedral as if it were a human being. "We are giving the cathedral all the elements that will bring it to life," he said. "I would like to give people something that will touch them. I would like to help Notre Dame Cathedral speak to people, as best as it can."

He said, "Notre Dame speaks to me. Notre-Dame means a lot to me," adding that this cathedral "is no ordinary monument. Everything we do has a strong mystical and religious significance. We cannot forget that. There is a mystical and religious dimension in our work."

Villeneuve also confessed that he is already dreaming of seeing people's amazement when they enter the cathedral. "It will be breathtaking," he said. "On the outside, it is now exactly as we knew it. But on the inside, it is more beautiful than we have ever seen it.

"Even us. Even I, who knew it by heart, am amazed to finally see what this cathedral was really like inside (in the further past), in terms of architecture, light, care and quality. It is extraordinary. You will not recognize it."

For Notre Dame's chief architect, this "project of a lifetime" will not end at the end of the year. "There will still be the restoration of the chevet," or apse, he said. "And we are going to use the rest of the donations to restore the sacristy, the presbytery, maybe even the transepts. We will not stop work after December 8. I will be here on a daily basis until 2028."

He said for him the most important thing in life "is doing useful things for others," Villeneuve added. "I am happy to be able to contribute something to the world."

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'It will be breathtaking,' Notre Dame's chief architect says; iconic cathedral reopens Dec. 8 - Detroit Catholic

Project description by Wutopia Lab

"He stands upon the bones of the world in reminiscence, unaware that another world is being born."

Yu Ting, Chief Architect of the interior design project.

Invitation I had no idea who the architect was when I first received the design invitation. The client hoped for the architect and interior designer to work creatively back-to-back and then combine their creations, sparking inspiration for each other and producing a brilliant piece of work. This sounded undoubtedly like an adventure, and I, of course, accepted.

Vortex The first set of documents I received was the ground plan confirmed by the transportation authority, with a diamond-shaped circular corridor surrounding a diamond-shaped exhibition hall. I was informed that the design should embody the spirit of Shanghai. At that time, I had just finished reading Underland: A Deep Time Journey, and there was a chapter about vortex which made me connect it to Shanghai. Shanghai has always been in the vortex of public opinion but always manages to create surprising achievements. I thought, what a great theme a vortex would be.

West Bund Orbit por Wutopia Lab. Fotografa por CreatAR Images.

I rotated the diamond plan and decided to design the exterior walls of the exhibition hall as a vortex. It would become the second layer of the faade behind the glass curtain wall.

I structured the entire interior design PLOT based on the theme of the vortex. The exhilarating vortex dominates the first storey, one that has a luxurious height of 10m. Inside the marble vortex is a clean and multifunctional grand event hall used for exhibitions, fashion shows, and conferences. The vortex pattern is reflected in the division of the circular corridor flooring, and at the same time creates a richly layered ceiling.

Different levels of patterns effectively conceal the structure and equipment pipelines between the facade and the exterior walls of the exhibition hall, allowing the vortex to stand out visually without being cluttered. The vortex becomes the dominant visual element, maximizing the tension of symbolic significance in a visual sense.

West Bund Orbit por Wutopia Lab. Fotografa por CreatAR Images.

The basement of Orbit serves functional purposes, housing public corridors, communal restrooms, communal dressing rooms and VIP dressing rooms. They represent the underwater world beneath the vortex. The architect created an underwater lighting experience in the corridors, and using three different colors of electroplated stone, along with coral-colored stone materials, he simultaneously constructed the symbolic meaning of an underwater coral reef on the basement level.

We were so enamored with the coral theme that we used green jade marble to craft the VVIP dressing room on the first floor. When the photographer captures an overhead shot of the dressing rooms from the mezzanine, it creates the illusion that the protagonists are in both a real and surreal myth.

The second floor is the exhibition hall, representing the calm water surface with ripples and shores left after the vortex. Behind the scenes on the second floor, all auxiliary functions such as the entrance hall, projection room, restrooms, VIP lounge, and various meeting rooms are hidden behind the shores abstracted caves accommodating diverse needs.

West Bund Orbit por Wutopia Lab. Fotografa por CreatAR Images.

Upon entering the second floor through the hall known as the 'White Cliff,' one can follow the scroll expressing the glorious moments of Xu Guangqi's life or directly enter the main space filled with shimmering water reflections.

The expansive water surface serves as the hall for showcasing models. Based on the variable cross-section structure, I designed the roof ceiling as a slightly curved dome, creating a skylight that utilizes maximum net height to simulate the sky. Below the sky, there is a pattern of the Huangpu River, winding through island-like model platforms, leading to the subtly outlined gate of Tushan Bay.

West Bund Orbit por Wutopia Lab. Fotografa por CreatAR Images.

Behind it is a large conference room, surrounded by lush greenery, resembling a forest, facing the slowly eastward-flowing Huangpu River. Reality and imagination converge at this moment, in this space.

Out of my fascination for symmetry and symbolism, as well as the refinement of the winding shores, the hall takes on the shape of a Begonia Ruyi, with a missing piece that serves as the anteroom to the restroom. In the central open space facing the hall, the architect placed a marble basin with rolling waves inside, creating a miniature vortex. Yes, the architecture thus creates joy infused with metaphor in every detail.

West Bund Orbit por Wutopia Lab. Fotografa por CreatAR Images.

Rogue Wave While the interior concept proposal was approved by the owner, they also unveiled the facade design, which is the intertwined and spiraling ribbons seen now. The architect placed the vortex as the second facade behind the ribbon facade, and the developer exclaimed that it looked like a rogue wave.

The vortex as a giant wave was ultimately created by three-dimensional carving marble using a five-axis machine and then assembled on site. It indeed creates a Baroque perception, with the marble appearing solid yet expressing the dynamic force of fluid.

When you stand outside the building, it seems to be continuously rotating, forming a marvelous balance with the ribbon facade. Especially at night, it becomes a striking new landmark, a center, in the vibrant waterfront area of Shanghai.

West Bund Orbit por Wutopia Lab. Fotografa por CreatAR Images.

Orbit and The Chinese name for the exhibition hall, '' (West Bund Orbit), derives from the poetic line '' ('Water swirls and soars with the wind'). This powerful and dynamic phrase helps the audience connect the natural forms presented in architecture and interior design, such as waves, vortexes, ribbons, stars, and orbits. It aids in understanding that people are like stars, able to orbit outside the building along trajectories. Hence, the name 'Orbit' emerged.

Of course, it was only during the unveiling of the facade that I came to know the architect is Thomas.

"Each person harbors a secret Shanghai of their own, seemingly disconnected from others. These fragments are embedded within the vast and glittering metropolis, silent, or perhaps fading away. It takes someone to interconnect these fragmented, hidden Shanghais to suddenly realize that this is the living Shanghai. These fragments, then define the grand Shanghai we perceive."

Yu Ting, Chief Architect of the interior design project.

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The reflection of a city in motion. West Bund Orbit by Wutopia Lab | The Strength of Architecture | From 1998 - Metalocus

Want some thrash? We're back with another sprawling round-up of the very best new metal songs you need to hear, and this week it seems we've stumbled through a wormhole to the 80s as we bring you some of the finest fast'n'furious metal tracks since the Big Four earned their stripes.

But first, the results of last week's vote! There was a tight-run dash for third place as Orange Goblin took on Kittie, but ultimately the nu metal vets pulled ahead for an admirable third place. In turn, Black Label Society drummer Jeff Fabb showed off his wares on boundary-pushing new track Love And War, but the clear winners of the week were Within Temptation, whose new standalone single A Fool's Parade serves as a reminder of just how powerful that band have become in recent years.

This week it's all to play for as we bring you a mix of names old and new, looking everywhere from Brazil to Thailand, the US to Finland to find you the very best new metal songs around. As ever, we need your help to crown the best song of the week, so don't forget to cast your vote below. Happy listening!

Theres a little over a month to go until we get Kerry Kings solo debut From Hell I Rise, but our thrash appetites are being kept satiated with new single Residue. If previous single Idle Hands was all about capturing the full-throttle viciousness of Slayer at their best, then Residue is a more direct showcase of the tight rhythmic grooves King and drummer Paul Bostaph lock into when working together, tapping into the claustrophobic intensity of God Hates Us All era Slayer.

Balancing ethereal melodies and almost proggish percussion, Turkish drummer Leyan Senay offers a distinctive vision of the alternative on new single Bluetiful. A bewitching mix of alt. metal weirdness and gothic grandeur - not hurt by creeping piano melodies - the track is one of her first solo compositions, having made her name serving as both a drum teacher YouTuber who previously performed drum cover videos online.

Theres a lot to talk about heading into new Architects single Curse. For much of 2024 the Brighton band have been under fire over guitarist Adam Christiansons apparent sharing of homophobic and transphobic content, Christianson later claimed sharing the content was a total accident. The release of a new single with minimal acknowledgement of the backlash will likely only add more fuel. Produced by former BMTH keyboardist, backing vocalist and songwriter Jordan Fish, Curse marks the first new song Fish has produced since departing his former band in December and brings some of the enormity and radio-friendly hooks that made Bring Me a trend-setting band in modern metalcore. It also continues the stylistic shift the band touched on with previous single Seeing Red, suggesting that now theyre comfortably headlining arenas in Europe - and with a Bloodstock headline debut to come in August - theyre setting their sights on pushing their own boundaries.

Anyone for some rampaging black metal? Almost 40 years and 20 studio albums havent curbed Darkthrones appetite for ragged, tooth-gnashing black metal and where many of their contemporaries have embraced more grandiose elements, Fenrizs Norwegian stalwarts still sound as if theyre crawled straight out of the grave on latest single Black Dawn Affiliation. New album It Beckons Us All is out on April 26 and Dawn is yet more proof that if it aint broke, it dont need fixing.

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Its been a decade since Nothing More stepped up into the big leagues with their self-titled third album, embracing a more alt-metal friendly sound. Massive crowds throughout the UK in February attested to just how that decision has paid off for the band, and new single House Of Sand captures some of the anthemic power that has earned them such a vocal and passionate fanbase. With guest vocals from I Prevails Eric Vanlerberghe, the track is powered by buoyant riffs and stuttering guitars than chuck a bit of nu metal into the mix, suggesting new album Carnal might be their heaviest release in years whilst not losing sight of the enormous choruses that have become the bands bread and butter. Either way, well find out June 28.

With their second album Ferality, UnityTX were as comfortable on bouncing hardcore rager like Burnout as they were dipping into synth-driven trap tracks like Diamond Diez, mixing hardcore, hip hop and metal in a fascinating way. New single Playing Favorites shows off the bands more muscular hardcore edges, bounding along with menacing basslines and bulldog snarls that capture some of the visceral thuggishness of hardcore/crossover legends like Biohazard and Body Count.

Speaking of vicious, thuggish metalcore, Thailands Annalynn bring the beatdown in a big way with their latest single Circle The Flame. Taken from their upcoming Failure Will Find Me EP - due May 24 - the track is all clenched jaws and swinging fists, an absolute metalcore menace that reminds us that while some areas of metalcore are breaking through to arenas, others remain resolutely street-level without losing sight of the genres most ascendant elements.

Tapping in the abyssal majesty of cosmic doom, US doom trio Heavy Temple have just released their second album Garden Of Heathens. New single Extreme Indifference To Life captures the bands nihilistic yet utterly enthralling mixture of doom and psychedelia, vocalist High Priestess Nighthawk (yep, thats her name) capturing the misanthropic disdain of a Jus Osborn or Lee Dorrian whilst intoning her own unique spin on the genre.

A collision of metalcore and deathcore, August Burns Red have teamed up with Lorna Shore growler-in-chief Will Ramos for new single The Cleansing. While ABR havent exactly skimped on heaviness in the past, The Cleansing nonetheless feels like the band are bridging their melodic elements with Shores apocalyptic heft, skewing towards the deep end of extreme metal as the song builds to a gloriously demonic mid-section. Epic, in the very best way.

Based out of Los Angeles, newcomer Dolly Dagger captures some of that citys dark yet irresistible allure on new single Tower. The subtle pulses of electronica feel in keeping with the citys industrial-tinged offerings from the likes of HEALTH or 3Teeth, but Tower also mixes in the seductive earworm brilliance of alt. rockers like Garbage and the tight, canned-riff qualities of Helmet in a punchy three-and-a-half minute package.

With alumni of Children Of Bodom, Nightwish and Finntroll in their ranks, its fair to say Crownshift have a lot to live up to. Thankfully the Finnish supergroup seem determined to aim high, new single My Prison offering a mixture of shimmering prog metal and Alice In Chains like soulful gravitas with massive breakout moments that capture a sense of enormity. The bands self-titled debut is out May 10 via Nuclear Blast, and definitely one to keep an eye out for.

Coming on like the bastard offspring of a natural disaster and a 20-car pile-up, Thou this week announced new album Umbilical for a May 31 release. A wall of ear-shredding extremity that blurs lines between noise, black metal and all-out extremity, lead single I Feel Nothing When You Cry should be all the persuasion you need to batten down the hatches and prepare for absolute devastation when this record arrives.

Kerry King not scratching the thrash itch for you? Then get some Authors Of Fate in your lugs. the Los Angeles thrashers latest single Leather Liver dialling up the extremity to almost ludicrous levels as the band blur boundaries between extreme metal subgenres, delivering the gut-wrenching nastiness of old school death metal with the pacing of Teutonic thrash.

Whats that, you want more thrash? Then cast your eyes down to Brazil, death metal brutes Troops Of Doom going full Slayer on the infernally brilliant Chapters Of The Unholy. Taken from the bands upcoming second album A Mass To The Grotesque, due May 31. If you were delighted by the Cavalera brothers decision to rework their early death metal/thrash crossover material last year, this one is an absolute must. Prepare for a very, very sore neck.

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The best new metal songs this week: April 12 2024 - Louder

Housing is a human right. This direct message was the opening statement of the Architecture and the Right to Housing panel discussion at the University of Torontos John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. Hosted on March 21 as part of the Facultys Winter Program, the discussion brought out a crowd of architects, designers, and students to listen and learn about what the right to housing actually looks like like in practice, and the often understated role that architects can play in making it a reality.

The panel was moderated by Karen Kubey, an assistant professor at the Daniels Faculty, and included speakers Leilani Farha, global director of advocacy agency The Shift, and Paul Karakusevic, founding partner of Karakusevic Carson Architects, a UK-based firm specializing in public-housing design. Supported by the Irving Grossman Fund in Affordable Housing, the discussion was part of an ongoing series of round tables that Kubey is hosting across North America to continue her work in advancing housing justice. Addressing the audience to kick the discussion off, Kubey said I hope that by the time you leave the room tonight, you will have a better understanding of what a right to housing really means, that you feel energized, and you believe, just a little bit more, that another world is possible.

The discussion opened with a presentation from Leilani Farha. Against a backdrop of questions to ask ourselves to better understand the housing crisis, Farha highlighted the internatial human rights laws that support the right to housing, and the importance of holding those who make decisions accountable to upholding these laws. As a former UN special rapporteur for the right to housing, advocating for government accountability on housing issues has been Farhas focus for years, and continues to be part of her mandate at The Shift.

To my mind, the implementation of the principles and central ideas that inform human rights law could be used to successfully address the failings of Canadas housing system, she asserted. This means that our housing system must produce results in line with human rights outcomes, not economic ones. She also emphasized the need for more thorough representation in the process of developing public housing, saying as designers, we need to take a step back to play less of a directorial role, and a more facilitative one, so that those most at risk can have a voice.

Next, Karakusevic took the stage with a presentation that walked the audience through the design and funding processes behind several of his firms successful public housing projects. Now working entirely in the public sector building new social housing as well as refurbishing existing developments, at Karakusevic Carson Architects have found that projects that incorporate as many housing types as possible and remove distinctions between different income levels lead to the healthiest outcomes.

Karakusevic also expressed the designing to prioritize the spatial needs of the residents is reliant on a specific funding structure. As all of their projects are public led, it allows for a long-term approach to funding, design, and management that deters profit-motivated decisions and instead supports thoughtful consideration of livability.

The ideas shared throughout the panel demonstrated that Canadas current approach to housing development is not structured to support the creation of quality public housing. The speakers asserted that if we wish to create truly affordable and habitable housing, we need to make more noise and demand more meaningful action from our politicians. The discussion ended with an optimistic view of Torontos future, that with forward looking leadership, perhaps the city can reset the discussion on affordable housing and allow new ideas to lead to positive changes.

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Architecture and the Right to Housing - Canadian Architect

A Dallas code amendment slated to go before the City Plan Commission this summer would eliminate minimum parking requirements for new development and improve walkability and bicycle safety, city planners said Tuesday.

The code change also establishes a Transportation Demand Management Plan for qualifying project developers to think comprehensively about their impact on transportation systems.

Architects Ryan Behring and Tipton Housewright, who serve on the Dallas Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee, took questions with planners Michael Wade and Sarah May at the American Institute of Architects panel discussion Tuesday.

Too much parking is just bad urban design, Housewright said. Its bad land use. It affects our tax base. It affects the quality of our environment.

The matter has been discussed by Dallas policymakers since 2019, and the fundamentals of the current code have been in place since the 1960s. The current one-size-fits-all approach requires developers with a lot of capital to assemble several acres, which is particularly challenging for infill development, Housewright said.

You get this sort of monoculture of development of these large, chunky projects around the city and you dont get the interesting scale of the smaller projects because you cant solve the parking, he said.

ZOAC voted in January to recommend eliminating parking requirements for new development. After the City Plan Commission takes up the matter in June, it will go before the Dallas City Council.

Behring pointed out that the North Texas region is booming in population growth but Dallas isnt.

Good urban places are flexible and adaptable, he said. When you have one rule that applies the same to our vastly varying neighborhoods it doesnt allow those places to adapt and change as Dallas has already. I think were trying to meet Dallas where its at.

Eliminating parking minimums does not mean existing parking spaces will be wiped out; it just gives developers the option of determining how many spaces they need for new projects instead of adhering to an antiquated code that designates a certain number of spaces per square foot or bedroom anywhere in the city.

There are no maximums in this ordinance, Housewright said. Lenders are going to require parking from a commercial developer. If someone is building space and theyre going to lease it to a tenant, the tenant is going to ask about parking. Theres all sorts of self-interest here and self-policing.

The chief concern of those who oppose a code change is spillover parking into neighborhoods. Planned developments such as PD 193 in Oak Lawn that have specified their own parking requirements would not be affected by the code change.

Can we talk about anything these days without the conversation turning to ForwardDallas? Doesnt look like it.

Public affairs consultant Katie OBrien, who moderated Tuesdays AIA panel discussion, asked if parking requirements have any connection to the citys ForwardDallas comprehensive land use plan.

The short answer, panelists said, is there is no connection.

Wade said the current parking requirements could inhibit what some city leaders hope to achieve through its land use plan: density, mixed-use, and more flexibility in development standards.

May clarified that ForwardDallas isnt a zoning document something planners have repeatedly emphasized and it doesnt establish regulations.

The City is putting in the work, putting in the engagement, to engage communities that havent been engaged before, especially in our southern Dallas area to establish what they want to see in their part of town, May said. This is an overall plan for the city so that when zoning changes come before CPC and council they can say, Does it comply with the plan? Its really just a plan to agree upon. This is the direction we want to take.

Parking is a regulatory implementation tool and is conceptually separate from the land use plan, May added.

Its like comparing a budget with your water bill, she said. Hopefully your water bill fits in your budget, but theyre very separate documents, both very important things that we have to consider.

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Architect Tipton Housewright Says Too Much Parking is 'Bad Urban Design' - CandysDirt.com - CandysDirt.com

The UKs skills gap is a long-standing problem affecting a broad range of critical sectors not least infrastructure. Having featured on the governments Shortage Occupation List since 2019, architects are in high demand and short supply a situation not helped by the end of free movement from the EU which took effect in the same year.

These post-Brexit resourcing challenges have come back into focus over the past few weeks, thanks to the new minimum salary requirements introduced by the government to curb immigration and the awarding of foreign work visas. The 48 per cent rise in the minimum salary threshold, setting the bar at 38,000, came into effect over Easter and has been condemned by the RIBA.

Looking to the future, its clear that our industry will need to place a greater emphasis on developing our own models for resourcing resilience. But we also need to find medium-term solutions and move away from traditional resourcing models where locally contracted teams apply a narrow, local focus to recruiting to meet need. In an industry characterised by an ebb and flow of work, and of large projects that can be stop-start by nature, this approach regularly leads to imbalances in the workforce a situation that becomes all the more complex during periods of economic volatility.

Agile staffing strategies that take a sustainable and collaborative approach can be more efficient and profitable

As an alternative, I would argue that we need to better embrace long-term collaborative partnerships between practices large, small, self-employed or sole practitioners, international and local to move away from hire and fire. Through flexible but robust partnerships, we can smooth out the peaks and troughs in workflow and create stability within individual practices.

A new mindset is needed to support this approach, and it starts with the decision to bid, not when a project has been secured. However, its not simply about how we approach individual bids or projects but about long-term resourcing; and it applies as much to large firms pooling resources with one another to cope with major projects or long-term frameworks as working with SMEs to outsource work.

Working for a global organisation, I am fortunate that I can draw support from other geographies for example, using the expertise of colleagues across Europe and India. Likewise, our UK-based architects can support other teams on projects overseas. In essence, we are able to base decisions on skillsets and availability rather than location.

Committing to building long-term mutually beneficial partnerships not only helps to develop sustainable pipelines for those businesses involved, it also delivers social value and a platform for local firms to access opportunities they might otherwise miss.

These partnerships only work, though, when the smaller entity is properly integrated into blended project teams rather than being seen as a remote resource tasked with an isolated scope. For example, our delivery of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast was the product of a 10-year partnership with local firm, Isherwood + Ellis, which was responsible for almost half of the architectural scope.

In practice, genuine collaboration may mean co-locating teams in the same office or on site alongside client reps and the supply chain on larger projects. But technology and cloud-based platforms are making this easier.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic made the provision of flexible and hybrid working an imperative, advances in communications technology had made more agile approaches to resourcing projects possible. Thanks to technology, UK architects have a better opportunity than ever to access a greater volume and variation of projects at home and internationally which, in turn, will aid our ability to more effectively manage peaks and troughs. The physical world is disappearing, and we need to be prepared to follow by breaking away from the limiting mindset of geography and hiring those you can touch.

Delivering major infrastructure projects on time and on budget is a significant challenge in an unpredictable and volatile operating environment. Its a challenge that affects clients as well as their design and construction teams, so deploying the right people in a timely manner is critical.

By developing agile staffing strategies that take a sustainable and collaborative approach to resourcing, organisations can be more efficient and profitable and help to free the contracted workforce from uncertain demand. Ive seen the benefits of it first-hand in recent years and I hope to see it take root throughout our industry as a core part of an industry-wide approach to the skills gap.

Trevor Leaker leads AECOMs architecture and design group in the UK and Ireland

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Why architects sorely need a new approach to resourcing projects - Architect's Journal