MAD Architects unveils first U.S. residential project, in Beverly Hills

Described as “bringing the nature found on the adjacent foothills of Los Angeles into the city,” MAD Architect’s 8600 Wilshire multifamily project will be Chinese architect Ma Yansong’s first U.S. residential project, the firm said in a statement.

Online magazine Hypebeast described the structure of 18 units as embodying the firm’s founder’s design philosophy, “to harmonize nature within high-density urbanity.”

A glass façade, tinted cool white, will be covered by water-efficient, drought-tolerant vines and succulents.

The layout of the building is a complex of homes: three townhouses, five villas, two studios, and eight condominiums, making it in essence a “hillside village,” as the firm puts it.

The 8600 Wilshire is expected to break ground this October. According to the firm, the project was newly honored in the “design concept” category at the 45^th annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards, hosted by the Los Angeles Business Council.

One of the hardest decisions multifamily developers and their design teams have to make is what mix of amenities they’re going to put into each project. A lot of squiggly factors go into that decision: the type of community, the geographic market, local recreation preferences, climate/weather conditions, physical parameters, and of course the budget. The permutations are mind-boggling.

A post-pandemic ‘new normal’ for apartments, Grimm + Parker, Building Design+Construction 2021 Exercise area

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Grimm + Parker’s vision foresees buildings with rentable offices and refrigerated package storage.

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Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]

New on HorizonTV, oceanographer John Englander discusses his latest book, which warns that, regardless of resilience efforts, sea levels will rise by meters in the coming decades. Adaptation, he says, is the key to future building design and construction.