Exterior photograph of citizens bank highlighting the sawtooth windows

Elkus Manfredi’s Citizens Bank headquarters zig-zags with ultra-high-performance concrete

The Citizens Bank Corporate Campus in Johnston, Rhode Island, is not a subtle complex—it’s composed of five sprawling buildings across a 123-acre site. Designed by Boston-based architectural practice Elkus Manfredi, the project serves as a new facility to accommodate approximately 3,000 financial services employees and all five buildings are predominantly clad with ultra-high-performance concrete and low-E glass laid over zig-zagging forms.

Facade detail of alternating rising and falling panels

Studio Gang’s first residential tower in New York ripples with scalloped concrete

Since rezoning under the tenure of Michael Bloomberg, Downtown Brooklyn has undergone a tremendous transformation from a relatively low-slung commercial district to a burgeoning neighborhood defined by row upon row of residential towers. 11 Hoyt, located on the southern boundary of the district, is another addition to the area set to be completed in 2020. The tower,

Detail of 212 Stuart

Höweler + Yoon will plant fluted concrete in the center of Boston

Breaking ground later this year, 212 Stuart Street is located on the northern edge of Boston’s Bay Village Historic District between two very different contexts: a midrise commercial corridor and the 19th-century enclave of brick rowhouses. Architecture firm Höweler + Yoon was challenged with bridging these distinctive neighborhoods via a 20-story residential building that is

Detail of a vertically-striated facade panel in the Philadelphia Navy Yard

DIGSAU brings prefabricated concrete formwork to the Philadelphia Navy Yard

The Philadelphia Navy Yard, similar to other waterfront areas across the country, is undergoing a two-decades-long transformation from a declining industrial district to a burgeoning office park. A significant number of businesses have located to the adaptively reused warehouses, while others are opting for entirely new construction. 351 Rouse Street, which is the U.S Headquarters of medical

Facade detail of 30 Warren Street

Post-Office Architectes stamps Tribeca with corrugated cardboard concrete formwork

Tribeca is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive neighborhoods in New York City, so it perhaps comes as no surprise that non-landmarked lots throughout the area are being snatched up and redeveloped for commercial or residential purposes. 30 Warren Street, which is currently wrapping up construction, is located on a northeastern corner of Church

NADAAA’s Daniels Building complements Gothic design with concrete and glass

Opened last spring on the periphery of the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus, the Daniels Building is an approximately 700,000-square-foot academic building for the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. The project entails a new three-story addition added onto a 19th Gothic Revival former theological school, clad in grey concrete panels and a glass curtain

Detail of concrete and aluminum

Boston University’s Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre takes center stage with concrete and aluminum

Commonwealth Avenue, snaking from the Boston Public Garden through the greater metropolitan area, is no stranger to significant cultural venues and institutional buildings. Boston University’s Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and College of Fine Arts Production Center, by local firm Elkus Manfredi Architects, joins this assemblage with an angled glass curtainwall shrouded in a scrim of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) and

Steven Holl’s Kennedy Center expansion dampens sound with crinkled concrete

Steven Holl Architects’ (SHA) expansion of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.—titled The REACH—is expected to open to the public at the beginning of September.  The $250-million expansion consists of a 4.6-acre complex with three semi-submerged pavilions rising with bright-white cast-in-place concrete and opaque glass facades. Notably, SHA’s design features crinkled concrete sound-dampening walls that

Colored concrete and perforated fins keep this downtown school cool

Completed in November 2017, the Perkins Eastman–designed School of Nursing and Science Building occupies a former parking lot in downtown Camden, establishing a new institutional heart for Rutgers University in the slowly reviving city. The design inhabits a formidable full-block mass, reaching a height of four stories with a multidimensional facade of high-performance concrete and glass curtainwall shaded by perforated panels. Facade Manufacturer Kawneer,

The Shui Cultural Center connects to traditional life through copper and concrete

Opened to the public in December 2017, West-Line Studio’s Shui Cultural Center is an imposing complex located in a valley within China’s rugged Sandu Shui Autonomous County. The complex, consisting of three single-gabled halls and a monumental tower, is a formidable display of timber-pressed concrete covered in pitched copper plates. Facade Manufacturer Changsha Di Kai Construction Engineering Co., Chongqing Zhongbo

This concrete screen wall was inspired by the proportions of camera lenses

The Fort Worth Camera building, a new photography studio and retail space, is surrounded by notable concrete neighbors, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth by Tadao Ando and the Kimball Art Museum by Louis Kahn. Ibanez Shaw Architecture responded with its own concrete novelty inspired by the building’s program. Facade Manufacturer Tim Pulliam Concrete (concrete sub-contractor/installer) Fort

This experimental concrete roof is half the weight of its peers

A research team led by Jamin Dillenburger, an assistant professor at ETH Zurich, has recently produced and installed a concrete ceiling shaped by 3D-printed sand formwork. Dubbed the “Smart Slab,” the 1000 square-foot ceiling is significantly lighter and thinner than comparable concrete ceilings. The concrete slab is a component of ETH Zurich’s ongoing DFAB House project. The DFAB House is

edg creates customizable 3D-printed concrete molds

A different conversation about the capabilities of 3D-printing is happening at edg, a New York architecture and engineering firm which focuses on technology-driven design and the restoration of buildings. For the past five years, edg has been engaged with research into the combination of 3D-printing technologies and methods of casting in concrete. Facade Manufacturer VoxelJet,

Precast concrete and plaster find coherence in Southern Utah Museum of Art

“When you look around the building, it’s more about what you don’t see than what you do,” Larry Scarpa, founding partner of Brooks + Scarpa, said of the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) in Cedar City, Utah. The museum has no back facade and as such, the traditional mechanical requirements were approached intentionally to

Ultrathin concrete roof to cap a net-positive energy rooftop apartment

A full-scale prototype of the design was the culmination of a four-year research project by ETH Zürich, and now the thin-shell integrated system’s concrete roof is under construction. The razor-thin assembly, built over the course of six months, tapers to an impressive one-inch thickness at the perimeter, averaging two inches thick across its more than 1,700 square feet

David Bowick

Dave Bowick is a Senior Principal at Blackwell with 34 years of experience as a structural engineer. His inventive approach to design has made him sought-after, particularly when a project calls for innovative solutions. He is a three-time recipient of the WoodWorks Building the Future engineer award, and has received awards for his work in

Alexis Feitel

Alexis is a structural designer with custom high-end residential, high- seismic residential, multi-family, concrete high rise, existing building renovation, connection design, construction engineering, and sustainable design experience. She has been with KL&A for 6 years, with previous structural experience in the Denver area. She is the KL&A Team Carbon Unit Director, a team focused on

Los Angeles, December 11+12 – Agenda

Agenda AGENDA Symposium – November 11 WORKSHOPS Workshops – November 12 Symposium Times in PST Workshops Times in PST Held in person at the Sheraton Grand Downtown LA, participants will engage with the industry’s leading design professionals in an intimate, classroom-style setting. Select between three thematic tracks including: sustainability, detailing, and technology. Choose the Tracks

Washington DC, October 14, 2021

WE ARE LIVE IN Washington DC October 14, 2021 The Washington Plaza 6 AIA HSW CEUs PRESENTED BY We are back in person! Facades+ Washington D.C., hosted by The Architect’s Newspaper, is an event filled with tailor-made presentations and robust dialogue on high-level detailing of all things building skin. We invited leading specialists to present

Portland, September 15, 2021

WE ARE LIVE IN Portland September 15, 2021 DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland 6 AIA HSW CEUs PRESENTED BY We are back in person! Facades+ Portland will be The Architect’s Newspaper’s inaugural event in the city. The full-day conference will feature a morning of panel dialogue and presentations and an afternoon of manufacturer-led workshops. The

Boston, October 26, 2021

WE ARE LIVE IN Boston October 26 The Westin Copley Place 6 AIA HSW CEUs PRESENTED BY The long-awaited Facades+ Boston conference, hosted by the Architect’s Newspaper and co-chaired by Payette, will finally take place in-person on October 26. Join us for a full day led by the best and brightest in the regional AEC

hcma encloses təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Center with standing seam metal and rigorous insulation

In New Westminster, British Columbia, a new aquatic center by hcma architecture + design has redefined notions of progressive design. Known as the təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Center, the building was planned in close collaboration with First Nations communities while also targeting ambitious sustainability goals. Through a tightly insulated envelope of standing-seam metal, intentionally-oriented glazing, and precast