Architecture Weekly Brief: June 24–30, 2025
Alright folks, another week has flown by, and the world of architecture certainly hasn’t stood still. We’ve seen some interesting moves on the urban development front, a continued push for greener buildings, and important discussions shaping the future of our profession. Let’s dive into what caught our eye.
This Week’s Top Stories
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Queens Skyscraper Unveils Updated Design CetraRuddy Architecture has revealed an updated design for a 46-story residential skyscraper at 30-25 Queens Boulevard in Long Island City, Queens. This 525-foot-tall structure will feature 561 homes, notably including 169 affordable housing units, and 21,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Construction financing was recently secured for an anticipated 2028 completion, showcasing a trend towards integrating social responsibility into major urban projects.
Published: June 30, 2025
Updated Design Revealed for 561-Unit Skyscraper at 30-25 Queens Boulevard in Long Island City, Queens - New York YIMBY -
AIA President Addresses America’s Housing Crisis
AIA President Evelyn Lee, FAIA, recently joined Florida Congresswoman Kathy Castor and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria to discuss the urgent need for cities to adopt new policies and remove restrictive barriers to tackle America’s persistent housing crisis. This conversation highlighted the critical, expanding role architects play in developing innovative approaches and advocating for practical housing solutions across the country.
Published: June 25, 2025
AIA President Evelyn Lee Leads National Conversation on America's Housing Crisis | The American Institute of Architects -
LA Competition Explores Innovative Small-Lot Housing
Los Angeles’ “Small Lots, Big Ideas” design competition, a collaborative effort by the City of Los Angeles, CityLab-UCLA, and nonprofit LA4LA, challenged architects to propose creative infill housing solutions for narrow, often underused urban plots. The competition aims to address the city’s pressing housing needs by fostering gentle density and innovative shared community spaces, with winning projects set to receive developer and legislative backing for implementation.
Published: June 27, 2025
Five on Friday: June 27th, 2025 | Hospitality Design -
HUD Slashes Red Tape to Cut Homeownership Financing Costs
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced significant measures this week to cut red tape, specifically aiming to reduce homeownership financing costs. This strategic move, part of a broader federal effort to make housing more affordable and accessible, seeks to streamline processes and ease financial burdens for prospective homeowners, which could potentially stimulate increased activity in the residential construction and design sectors.
Published: June 27, 2025
HUD Slashes Red Tape to Cut Homeownership Financing Costs | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Tools & Tips
The architectural landscape is constantly evolving, and new tools are always emerging to help streamline workflows and enhance design capabilities. This week, we’re highlighting a couple of AI-powered tools that are making waves in the industry, representing current and impactful trends for 2025.
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Maket.ai for Rapid Floor Plan Generation
Maket.ai offers a fascinating way to rapidly generate floor plans directly from written prompts, making it incredibly effective for quick conceptualization and early-stage planning. It helps translate client briefs into viable layouts in minutes, automating a traditionally time-consuming initial phase of design. -
Autodesk Forma for Sustainability Assessments and Urban Planning
Autodesk Forma is a leading solution reshaping sustainability assessments and urban planning. Forma provides real-time feedback on critical factors like daylight penetration, energy usage, and emissions, enabling architects to design with green building standards in mind from the outset. This tool facilitates the integration of environmental performance metrics early in the design process, which is becoming increasingly critical for modern projects.
Fun Fact
Did you know that in 1931, a duck farmer on Long Island, New York, commissioned and built a massive 10-ton structure shaped like a giant duck? His goal was simply to sell eggs from his duck farm. This quirky, attention-grabbing building became so famous it actually inspired the architectural term “Duck Architecture” – a style where a building’s form directly represents its function. It’s still standing today, a fun and unique reminder of architecture’s playful, sometimes literal, side!.
We’d love to hear from you!
Have you participated in any architectural events or utilized new architectural tools recently? Share your experiences or insights with us—we’re featuring selected community voices in next week’s edition.