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Bioplastic Floor Panel Boasts the Strength of Steel

US researchers working with SHoP Architects have created a potential alternative to steel and concrete as a structural floor material: recyclable panels made entirely from bioplastic and wood flour. The prefabricated panel was made using 3D printing by researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Maine.

Metropolitan Park Transforms Parking Lots into Park Space

On game days, the parking lot where Shea Stadium once stood is a sea of orange and blue. Mets owner Steve Cohen has a vision to turn this asphalt over to green space and into an entertainment district. New renderings from SHoP Architects and Field Operations elaborate on Cohen’s vision to bring 20 acres of park space to the site in Queens.

NYC’s Waterfront is Transforming into Luxury Leisure Space

New York City has been steadily changing its postindustrial waterfront into leisure space with new parks built on the skeletons of old shipping piers and along formerly fenced-off shorelines. While this work has been happening in all five boroughs, the change has been particularly noticeable in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

A Trip up 111 West 57th Street

Rising above Manhattan in the lift of the world’s most slender skyscraper, travelling at 500m a minute with the building’s architect, is an ideal opportunity to ask about the problems of building a 435m (1,428ft) tall tower in one of the densest cities in the world. It is 125m taller than the Shard in London, with one residence a floor, and is built from the strongest concrete. “This building has New York in its DNA,” Pasquarelli says. “I told the developers that while 60 super-wealthy people get to live in it, eight million New Yorkers have to look at it every day.”

Construction Tops Out For YouTube HQ

Construction has topped out for phase one of the YouTube headquarters redevelopment in San Bruno, San Mateo County. Crews have brought together the steel and mass-timber frame that form two three-story office buildings designed by the New York-based SHoP Architects.

Earthy Materials Like Copper Add Warmth to DC

Midtown Center, an office building by Carr Properties near McPherson Square, is another project that stands out for its use of copper. The project comprises two mid-rise towers linked by three sky bridges that cross a central plaza. Copper panels and fins along the building give it the appearance of a sea-formed crust. This green copper is patinated: pre-weathered with a film that occurs naturally with exposure to the elements.

Gregg Pasquarelli on Building Big in New York

Pasquarelli laid out his methods, speaking to both design practices and business principles. One theme was the ability to think outside of the binaries that limit much of the industry. Pasquarelli spoke about innovating, implementing technology, and more. Watch the video for the full conversation.

New Standards Shape Embassies Representing the U.S. Abroad

Currently under construction on a 10-acre site just beyond the ring road that encircles Milan’s core, this project of approximately 130,000 square feet includes a historic pavilion, plaza, and parade ground. These have been restored and repurposed to frame a new chancery and serve as both campus gateway and public gathering space.

Using Technology Well: An Inside Look at SHoP Architects

The idea of a “bigger platform”—one in which the company’s tech solutions are all integrated into a single infrastructure—is fundamental to SHoP and SHoP principal John Cerone’s long-term digital strategy. “We believe it’s the future,” he says. “We are developing our own platform, or digital infrastructure, that will ultimately achieve the sort of holistic way of working that we know is inevitable.”

Council on Tall Buildings Celebrates Innovation at SHoP

SHoP’s longstanding commitment to process innovation—advancing design and delivery technologies, developing visualization tools that streamline team and client collaboration, and leveraging all-digital model-based delivery—redefine the traditional role of the architect for the 21st century.