Now showing at Washington D.C.’s National Building Museum, ‘Coming Together: Reimagining America’s Downtowns’ explores how US cities have renewed and reactivated their centres since Covid-19. Curated by Georgetown University urban planning professor Uwe Brandes and designed by Reddymade, the exhibition showcases creative approaches to public space, walkability and mixed-use revitalisation. Multimedia installations, maps and case studies from more than 60 US cities show adaptations of the past five years – with empty offices turned into housing, reallocating street lanes for parklets and ‘streateries,’ and remaking sidewalks as gathering spaces. Thematic galleries – Social Distancing, Cities Take Charge and City Action Hall – reflect the shock of the pandemic and creative responses that followed. As visitors traverse the exhibition, they are invited to reflect: how hollowed-out downtowns of 2020 gave way …

With the look and feel of natural timber, backed by 12 months of performance testing for the public realm, engineered wood joins Street Furniture Australia’s selection of batten materials. Designers and place custodians can now choose from three batten options to achieve a timber look: natural Spotted Gum hardwood, low maintenance aluminium Wood Without Worry, and engineered wood known as Onewood HRT. This new hardwood alternative offers the natural warmth of timber with simplified care. What is engineered wood?Onewood HRT (Homogeneous Reconstituted Timber) is a solid engineered timber, made from fast-growing FSC and PEFC-certified poplar and eucalyptus fibres that are compressed under heat and pressure with a resin binder. Unlike plywood it is solid throughout with an organic grain and, like real hardwood, can be sanded to refresh. Street Furniture …

Olivia Poston explores eco-brutalism, a contemporary reimagining of Brutalism that combines the post-war monumental rawness with integrated greening, for ArchDaily. Brutalism, which emerged in post-war Europe and spread globally, is known for exposed concrete, steel and ‘functional honesty’. These buildings – often civic, educational and housing projects – were built to endure rather than charm. Eco-brutalism retains this scale and purpose while softening it with greenery, natural light and passive performance systems. Vegetation cascades from balconies, rooftop gardens reclaim flat surfaces and interiors are informed by light and air. This hybrid movement reflects a contemporary demand for architecture to reduce emissions, support biodiversity and remain culturally meaningful. Yet, as Poston notes, eco-brutalism carries a paradox: concrete is among the most carbon-intensive materials, and adding plants does not automatically make a …