Trump finds a new architect for the White House ballroom, Shigeru Ban wins the AIA Gold Medal, and more.
- Zohran Mamdani is trading his small, rent-stabilized Astoria apartment for the 11,000-square-foot Gracie Mansion, a move he says is about safety and keeping all his focus on his affordability agenda. (The New York Times)
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San Francisco is rolling out the Homecoming Project, a “spare-room” housing program started in Alameda in 2018 that pays residents $50 a day to host people recently released from prison for six-month stays. Here’s how it works. (KQED)
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Trump has swapped out his handpicked boutique architect for a veteran D.C. firm after the $300 million White House ballroom supposedly proved too big a project for a small team to handle. The switch follows reports last week that Trump and his architect were sparring over the size of the addition. (The Washington Post)
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A Dallas couple is doubling down on their viral holiday decorations, trading last year’s over-the-top light show for a full-blown “Grinch grotto” packed with inflatable grinches aimed at their haters. The spectacle is drawing plenty of attention, good and bad, from neighbors, gawkers, and city officials. (Chron)
Shigeru Ban has been honored by the AIA for his belief that architecture and humanitarian action are intertwined.
Photo by Samuel de Roman/Getty Images
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Shigeru Ban has won the 2026 AIA Gold Medal in recognition of his work with simple materials used in service of people. Here’s how his disaster relief architecture has reshaped the field’s understanding of sustainability, and the moral obligations of design. (Architect Magazine)
Top photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
