ArchWeek Residential 2009.0304

ArchitectureWeek Editors editor at architectureweek.com
Wed Mar 4 14:03:57 PST 2009


Dear Designers, Builders, and Dwellers,

ArchWeek Residential brings you housing news and analysis weekly 
from the editors of ArchitectureWeek.

Although ArchWeek continues to think the role of U.S. housing in the
global economic crisis is smaller than often suggested (relative to
the large role of over-leveraging throughout the financial system) -
there's no doubt that many housing participants in general, and many
hard-pressed homeowners in particular, face dire straits.

Without government assistance to build constructive mortgage
rescues, millions more homes will go into foreclosure, a doubly-
destructive process in already flooded markets, where bankers
regularly lose as much or more as the cast away homeowners.

	The Obama administration provided the details on Wednesday for
	its program to help homeowners at risk of losing their houses
	obtain taxpayer-subsidized reductions in their mortgage
	payments, a program that becomes available immediately.
	
	...A mortgage lender or mortgage-servicing company would first
	receive cash incentives to modify a borrower's loan so that the
	monthly payment declines to no more than 38 percent of the
	household's gross monthly income.
	
	At that point, the government would match, dollar for dollar,
	the lender's cost in reducing payments as low as 31 percent of
	monthly income. The reduced payments could come in the form of a
	lower interest rate, a longer mortgage term or a reduction in
	the outstanding principal. For some borrowers, interest rates
	could be reduced to as low at 2 percent.
	
	A fact sheet with the Treasury announcement states: "To reach
	the target affordability level of 31 percent, interest payments
	will first be reduced down to as low as 2 percent. If at that
	rate the debt to income level is still more than 31 percent,
	lenders then extend the term or amortization period up to 40
	years, and finally forbear principal at no interest, until the
	payment is reduced to the 31 percent target."

Treasury Begins to Release Details of Loan Plan - New York Times, 2009.0304
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/business/economy/05loan.html

U.S. Existing Home Sales, Prices Slumped in January - Bloomberg, 2009.0225
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aH3f8X2tkvWQ&refer=home

Discuss online:
http://www.designcommunity.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24369


Residential Design and Building News
------------------------------------
As Demand Suffers, Building Products Companies Predict More Pain - CNN, 2009.0302
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200903021142DOWJONESDJONLINE000451_FORTUNE5.htm

Buffett Says High-Rated Firms Suffer from Higher Borrowing Cost - Bloomberg, 2009.0302
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aprqdfwjLc7U&refer=home

AIG's Liddy Says Greenberg Responsible for Losses - Bloomberg, 2009.0302
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHDoc7YcjQZI&refer=home

California Home Sales Double as Prices Plummet - ForexHound, 2009.0302
http://www.forexhound.com/article.cfm?articleID=127368

It Takes a Village: Why Walkable Urbanism Is Good for Adolescents - Greater Greater Washington, 2009.0302
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=1741

January Construction Spending Down 3.3% - Forbes, 2009.0302
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/03/02/afx6113288.html

GM, Chrysler Sales Drop May Make Recovery 'Difficult' - Bloomberg, 2009.0302
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=amAYDotj0FzQ&refer=home

Slumping Market Forces 2 More Builders to Throw in the Towel - Houston Chronicle, 2009.0302
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sarnoff/6288499.html

Taos Passes Strict New Building Code - News West 9, 2009.0302
http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=9929624&nav=menu505_2
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Bahamas Architectural Design Competition

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 design a two-to-three-floor multi-generational home in
 Mediterranean, Contemporary, or Caribbean style, or a fusion of all
 three styles. The competition is open to architects, partnerships,
 interns, and students in architecture and design around the world.
 Closing date for Stage 1 entries is April 17:

		http://www.archweek.com/ad.cgi?090225_bdcbahamas

                            -- * --
U.K. House Prices Drop Annual 10% - Bloomberg, 2009.0302
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ac6Wvnwm8XSM&refer=uk

Calls for UK Gov Funding to Boost Scots House Building - Scottish Architecture, 2009.0302
http://www.scottisharchitecture.com/news/read/Calls+for+UK+Gov+funding+to+boost+Scots+house+building

There's Still Money in Home Building - Los Angeles Times, 2009.0302
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2009/02/theres-still-mo.html

Learning from Slums - Boston Globe, 2009.0301
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/01/learning_from_slums/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed6

Suing the City of Los Angeles Is Part of Lobbyist's Routine - Los Angeles Times, 2009.0301
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-reznik1-2009mar01,0,6164919.story

A Home-Building Ban in an Economic Crisis? - Philadelphia Inquirer, 2009.0301
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20090301_A_home-building_ban_in_an_economic_crisis_.html

Martin Eli Weil Dies at 68 - Los Angeles Times, 2009.0227
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-martin-weil27-2009feb27,0,1185453.story

Home Builders Expect Boost from State Tax Credit - San Diego Union-Tribune, 2009.0227
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/27/1b27buy214348-home-builders-expect-boost-state-tax/?zIndex=59238

Today's Lesson: Build a Bungalow - BBC News, 2009.0227
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/7913353.stm

New-Home Sales in U.S. Plunge to Record-Low 309,000 - Bloomberg, 2009.0226
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ank_aa66.Mbg&refer=home

How's That? Home Sales, Prices, Inventory All Drop - Washington Post, 2009.0225
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-address/2009/02/hows_that_home_sales_prices_an.html

Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen AIA Firm Award - ArchitectureWeek, 2009.0225
http://www.archweek.com/2009/0225/index.html
	Since Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects was founded in
	1971, the Seattle firm has sought to integrate contemporary
	architectural forms into the natural settings of the Pacific
	Northwest, employing a combination of sensitivity and efficiency
	that can be recognized as sustainable design.

U.S. Existing Home Sales, Prices Slumped in January - Bloomberg, 2009.0225
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aH3f8X2tkvWQ&refer=home

Existing Home Sales Lowest Since '97 - CNN, 2009.0225
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/25/real_estate/existing_home_sales/?postversion=2009022511

Move to Shore Up Home Builders - Fairfax Digital, 2009.0217
http://albany.yourguide.com.au/news/national/national/general/move-to-shore-up-home-builders/1436707.aspx

People and Places by Nancy Novitski
    http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com/2009/0225/news_1-1.html

	UNStudio in Graz, Austria - Brave / Architecture in
	Houston, Texas - Glidden, Spina & Partners in West Palm
	Beach, Florida - FxFowle Architects in New York, New
	York - Gilfillan Callahan Nelson Architects in Vernon
	Hills, Illinois - HOK in Chicago, Illinois - Corgan
	Associates in Dallas, Texas - WDG Architecture in
	College Park, Maryland - Beyer Blinder Belle in New
	York, New York - Omniplan in Corpus Christi, Texas...

Press Release - Bentley Initiative Provides Free Software and Training 
	for Infrastructure Professionals
	 http://www.archweek.com/ad.cgi?090225_bentley_press_release.html

 Press Release - AIA CEO Talks TOD to Transportation Finance Reform Panel
	 http://www.archweek.com/ad.cgi?090225_aia_press_release.html

Product News - Wovin Wall Modular Screen from 3form
	 http://www.archweek.com/2009/0225/products_update.html

====================================================================
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Sustaining Infrastructure White Paper from Bentley Systems
	Creating a sustainable world through infrastructure requires
	addressing three interrelated and complex issues: sustaining
	society, sustaining the environment, and sustaining the
	infrastructure professions. At stake, says Bentley Senior Vice
	President Buddy Cleveland, is our ability to provide an
	acceptable quality of life for all of the people on our planet.
		http://www.archweek.com/ad.cgi?090225b_downloads.html

Bentley's "Be Employable" Initiative Provides Free Software and Training '
to Help Sustain Infrastructure Professions - Bentley press release
	 http://www.archweek.com/ad.cgi?090225_bentley_press_release.html

Six Ways to Make Web 2.0 Work - McKinsey Quarterly, 2009.0227
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/Application_Management/Six_ways_to_make_Web_20_work_2294?gp=1

Sustainability Concerns Engineers - Autodesk/ASME Survey - TenLinks, 2009.0226
http://www.tenlinks.com/news/PR/AUTODESK/022609_asme_survey.htm

Holistic City Releases CityCAD 1.6.2 - TenLinks, 2009.0225
http://www.tenlinks.com/news/PR/holistic_city/022509_citycad1.6.2.htm

Cadalyst Magazine Picked Up by Longitude Publishing - Questex Press Release, 2009.0225
http://www.tenlinks.com/news/PR/cadalyst/022509_longitude_media.htm

15 Online Photo Editors Compared - CNet News, 2009.0225
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10170333.html

Safari Dominates Browser Benchmarks - ZD Net, 2009.0225
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-272792.html?tag=nl.e589
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This Week's Quiz -	
	Who is credited with the following three quotes?
	
	"Architecture is the will of the age conceived in
	 spatial terms."
	
	"A chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is
	 almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous."
	
	"For the meaning and right of every age, including our
	 own, consists solely in providing the spirit with the
	 necessary prerequisites for its existence."
    	http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com/2009/0225/quiz.html

Architecture Answer - for last issue's quiz...
	Named after the American physicist Wallace Sabin, a
	sabin is equal to one square foot of what?
    	http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com/2009/0225/answer.html

Classic Home 046 - Chamberlain Cottage, by Marcel Breuer
     http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com/2009/0225/classic_home.html

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Contents, RSS, and Surface of the Week - Portal arch with sculpted 
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	sculpted metopes and triglyphs (OM-040)
     http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com/2009/0225/contents.html

Five years ago in ArchitectureWeek:
	West African Adobe, by James Morris and Suzanne Preston Blier
	http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com/2004/0225/index.html

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ArchitectureWeek


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