Federal judge has halted Trump ballroom project, saying it must obtain Congressional approval--a victory for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and many advocates for the nation's heritage. More: open.substack.com/pub/james560...
The New Museum has reopened with a gutsy new global art exhibition that parses our crazy times in an addition that rewards both visitors and curators. james560.substack.com/p/balancing-...
Why does prefab housing perpetually struggle? Jason Rogove and I talk about this at NYC's Center for architecture. I wrote about his modular housing that serves victims of Lahaina's horrific wildfires. + enjoy a custom cocktail! TOMORROW AIANY dot org www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/a...
Why can't prefab play a bigger role in reducing America's chronic shortage of new homes? I explore this with Jordan Rogove, who has cracked the code--at least when it comes to housing people after disasters. Sweetener: attendees get a custom crafted cocktail! calendar.aiany.org/2026/02/12/c...
New York City has made a bet that it can protect Lower Manhattan from hurricanes, torrential rains, and sea level rise.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
With spring floods upon us and hurricane season approaching here's a look at what $1.45bn bought in protection against storm flooding, torrential rains and sea-level rise. Other cities are watching. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
I am pleased to have a "Cocktails and Conversation" with Jordan Rogove of DXA Studio who actually cracked the prefab code in fire-devasted Lahaina, HI. Attendees will enjoy a custom drink! At AIANY's Center for Architecture March 20, 6:30 - 8PM. More on Lahaina: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/a...
Syncohphants appointed to guard the integrity of the National Mall and the White House are shirking their responsibilities in the face of overwhelming public pushback against Trump's elephantine ballroom project. james560.substack.com/p/ballroom-a...
With the non-urgent attack on Iran breaking global oil and gas supply chains, media panics over the impact on gas prices, even though gas is a trivial expense for most and the vehicles we buy and the miles we drive show we don't care. Untangling the paradoxes: james560.substack.com/p/living-in-...
You can influence the overblown White House ballroom project by sending comments to the National Capital Planning Commission before it considers approval of the project TOMORROW March 4th, noon. info@ncpc.gov
Please share. More here: james560.substack.com/p/trumps-sla...
Winter weather+spiking natural gas prices+cancelled wind and solar = utility bill sticker shock.You will hear 0 about that in tonight's SOTU address. Everyone, plus state and local governments can lower bills via efficiency. Boring? It's getting the job done. james560.substack.com/p/energys-fo...
Minnesotans' relentless activism drove ICE out, which is likely to benefit all American cities, which will not have their people and economies gratuitously attacked. Protestors could not do it alone. james560.substack.com/p/how-minnea...
Trump megalomania manifests itself in architecture as he vandalizes the White House, threatens to gut the Kennedy Center, demands a triumphal arch, and extorting Congress to rename Penn Station and Dulles airport after him. Architects: Resist, don't collude. james560.substack.com/p/trumps-sla...
After throwing off monarchy we see the White House turning into a palace--suited to mega-shakedowns of those seeking government favors--but also as creating the reality of a new authoritarian state. james560.substack.com/p/trumps-sla...
The Trump Administration is inducing global conflicts over resources as it grabs Venezuela’s oil infrastructure pursuant to its embrace of empire as well as a catastrophic fossil-fuel future. Why aren’t we talking more about reducing DEMAND for energy? james560.substack.com/p/energys-fo...
A new era of global strife over oil? Boring old efficiency undercuts this madness as it saves the planet. james560.substack.com/p/energys-fo...
The Studio Museum in Harlem, which has incubated most of the great Black visual artists working today now has the extraordinary new home it deserves. Unfortunately its architect has been cancelled. james560.substack.com/p/two-archit...
Princeton University's new art museum, designed by David Adjaye, offers intensely tactile experiences entirely in synch with a highly eclectic collection. Worth a detour! open.substack.com/pub/james560...
in the Civil Rights era Harlem grew an art museum that's nurtured some of the biggest names in art. Now it has the new home it has long deserved thanks to architect David Adjaye. james560.substack.com/p/two-archit...
They had to build a new seawall, a new highway tunnel and take down and elevated highway--then they could build Seattle's transformative Waterfront Park. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Food banks are fonts of ingenuity and adaptability; the link gives a peek at how architecture helped two of these great nonprofits do their jobs Better. The cutoff of SNAP benefits places new strains. Don't forget them! james560.substack.com/p/designing-...
Steven Blier brings the alchemical artistic process of singing to witty and insightful life in his memoir “From Ear to Ear: A pianist's life in Song.” Stories of the brightest stars in music, mentoring young singers, adapting to decline imposed by muscular dystrophy. wwnorton.com/books/978132...
It looks like a Federal judge has forced the Trump administration to retain SNAP funding, but don't forget food banks--a vital resource! An architecture writer, I love writing about great organizations made even more effective by architecture. james560.substack.com/p/designing-...
The apocalyptic rhetoric on crime in cities damages their economies and denigrates good people. Cities have been the anti-crime innovators and have nothing to apologize for. james560.substack.com/p/troops-wre...
A small architecture firm persisted with FEMA over years, I wrote in the New York Times. The factory-built houses they designed for survivors of Lahaina wildfire could be a post-disaster game changer but the program has no clear future. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/a...
After natural disasters, FEMA is supposed to provide housing for up to 18 months. If replacement housing is approved, HUD is supposed to build it, but that takes years. Here's housing that fills the gap for wildfire victims in Hawaii. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/a...
Most people missed coverage of the massive tax and spend bill Congress just passed. A few outcomes: more expensive housing, more dependence on dirty fuels, less education opportunity, and aspiration-killing rules. Pls have a look at my Substack column. james560.substack.com/p/a-win-for-...
