IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS collects and collates but a small sampling of news stories that speak to the themes and topics of interest to Building at Risk. To facilitate research and curate bibliographies, they are gathered thematically according to the Tags listed below. So much of the information collected in these news stories is the work of front line reporters who are tasked with communicating information on difficult topics and dangerous circumstances that industry and design presses typically choose not to cover.
In the News: Home | Forced Labor | Building Failures | Material Toxicity | Fossil Fuels | Data Delirium | Climate Change | Grenfell Tower | Champlain Towers South
Forever chemicals
“Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ contaminate indoor air at worrying levels, study finds”
The Guardian
By Tom Perkins
08/31/2021
Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo From The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/aug/31/pfas-toxic-forever-chemicals-air-breathing?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR0Rx48wpuQR-po_02rVZBvkPppPTaOF9lnDvfbZykdmxcq093YevJ88JC8
Pandemic Concrete
“ We can’t build our way out of the environmental crisis”
The Guardian
By George Monbiot
09/01/2021
Photograph: Maureen McLean/REX/Shutterstock From The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/01/build-environmental-crisis-infrastructure-pandemic-concrete
Philadelphia Refinery
“150 years of spills: Philadelphia refinery cleanup highlights toxic legacy of fossil fuels”
Metro
By Laila Kearney and Valerie Volcovici
02/16/2021
Photograph From Metro: https://www.metro.us/150-years-of-spills/?fbclid=IwAR0sSZPl98jcEjUQd9yMSH_D1rfnOLvTYDRPyjbqsOS3026oVZLBdg6aRbM#.YCvrfLJ-mA8.facebook
San Francisco Building Sinks
“San Francisco’s Millennium Tower halts foundation work as sinking intensifies”
The Architect’s Newspaper
By Matthew Marani
08/26/2021
Photograph: Frank Schulenburg/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0 From The Architect’s Newspaper: https://www.archpaper.com/2021/08/san-franciscos-millennium-tower-halts-foundation-work-as-sinking-intensifies/?fbclid=IwAR1k95bAtb90tgoBWeW3YHhBvVw1wugWOTU9ExVoO2o9FxqqEPTc8e2WT6c
Flammable cladding
“Officials blame flammable cladding after intense Milan high-rise blaze”
The Architect’s Newspaper
By Matt Hickman
08/31/2021
Photograph: Peter39c/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0 From The Architect’s Newspaper: https://www.archpaper.com/2021/08/officials-blame-flammable-cladding-after-intense-milan-high-rise-blaze/?trk_msg=FLSRSVTRUDTKJ1JVBCSFRD1BCG&trk_contact=DM2U847B09SJC30Q3JJ99C5ENC&trk_sid=GOFCO628L2PC3CAMU2F3QAKQIK&trk_link=NGK930ATUC8K9943PDF7IADD80&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Officials+blame+flammable+cladding+after+intense+Milan+high-rise+blaze&utm_campaign=Late+Edition%3a+The+Museum+of+the+American+Arts+%26+Crafts+Movement+will+finally+open+September+7+in+St
Milan’s Cladding Fire
“Cladding questions arise in Milan's 20-story building blaze”
ABC News
By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press
08/30/2021
Champlain Towers Failure
“Fall Guy: Chasing William Friedman, the mystery architect who designed Champlain Towers South”
The Architect’s Newspaper
By Bill Millard
07/27/2021
Photograph: Courtesy the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department From The Architect’s Newspaper: https://www.archpaper.com/2021/07/william-friedman-the-mystery-architect-who-designed-champlain-towers-south/?fbclid=IwAR3cYEtgSiOowfhgNR6eZY-hztwiTFscMMLMd5i4Xyhz1yXiza_1P7uZHcQ
Texas Refinery Leak
“At least two dead and dozens injured after an acetic acid leak at a facility near La Porte, Texas”
CNN
By Joe Sutton
07/28/2021
Photograph: KTRK From CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/us/texas-chemical-leak-lyondellbasell/index.html
California Wildfires
“ ‘The very worst things we could imagine’: a terrifying documentary on US wildfires”Gothamist
By David Smith
08/04/2021
Photograph: Courtesy of CBS News From The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/04/bring-your-own-brigade-documentary-us-wildfires-lucy-walker?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Heatherwick NY Vessel
“Vessel Closed To Public After 14-Year-Old Jumps To Death”
Gothamist
By Jake Offenhartz
07/29/2021
Photograph: SASCHA STEINBACH/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK From Gothamist: https://gothamist.com/news/vessel-closed-public-after-14-year-old-jumps-death
Heatherwick NY Vessel _2
“Hudson Yards’ Vessel Is a Sinking Ship; When Developers Fail To Listen, Tragedy Casts a Long Shadow”
Archinect
By Katherine Guimapang
08/01/2021
Photograph: Raphe Evanoff (2019) via Flickr From Archinect: https://archinect.com/features/article/150276098/hudson-yards-vessel-is-a-sinking-ship-when-developers-fail-to-listen-tragedy-casts-a-long-shadow?fbclid=IwAR3Mq9yBihfVxcTIWXDXgc-sdM0dExx5DymYoYZ2Zaw5Dpq96w4uTS_SNws
Japan Mudslides
“Several People In Japan Are Missing After A Mudslide Buries Their Homes”
BBC News
07/16/2021
Photograph From Kyodo News via NPR: https://www.npr.org/2021/07/03/1012877860/japan-mudslide-people-missing-homes-buried-west-of-tokyo
European Floods, 2021
“Europe floods: At least 120 dead and hundreds unaccounted for”
BBC News
07/16/2021
Photograph From News: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57858829
European Floods, 2021_Germany
“German officials defend their actions on devastating floods”
AP News
07/19/2021
Geir Moulson
Photograph: Boris Roessler/dpa AP News: https://apnews.com/article/europe-germany-floods-662f251959433bdbbc251631460e4314
Concrete, Governance, and Crime
“Buried in concrete: how the mafia made a killing from the destruction of Italy’s south”
The Guardian
07/25/2021
Roberto Saviano and Lorenzo Tondo
Photograph from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/25/buried-in-concrete-how-the-mafia-made-a-killing-from-the-destruction-of-italys-south?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Grace Farms, Design for Freedom
“Optimizing Supply Chains for Freedom”
Brick & Wonder
06/17/2021
Chelsea Thatcher
Photograph from Brick & Wonder: https://brickandwonder.com/optimizing-supply-chains-for-freedom/
Zero Carbon Construction, Norway
“The Scandinavian way to zero-carbon construction”
BBC News
06/22/2021
Matthew Keegan
Photograph: Getty Images
From BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210622-the-scandinavian-way-to-zero-carbon-construction
Building Fire, Bangladesh
“52 dead in Bangladesh factory fire as workers locked inside”
AP News
07/09/2021
Julhas Alam
Photograph: AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu
From AP News: https://apnews.com/article/business-fires-bangladesh-19a033b8302726a5ff018edbbd5b5a2b
Qatar, World Cup
“World Cup 2022: Qatar is ready as it strongly contests accusations of workers' rights abuses”
CNN
07/10/2021
Zeena Saifi and Becky Anderson
Photograph from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/09/football/qatar-world-cup-2022-workers-rights-spt-intl/index.html