Architecture & Buildings — 2026-04-30
This week in architecture, the 175 Park Avenue supertall skyscraper in New York City—designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—continues to generate buzz with its striking external steel lattice, and the Jeddah Tower hit a major milestone reaching 100 stories. Meanwhile, San Francisco's skyscraper race is back on, and MVRDV with Diamond Schmitt Architects unveiled a bold 390,000-square-foot expansion for the University of Toronto.
Architecture & Buildings — 2026-04-30
New Projects
175 Park Avenue / Grand Central Tower, New York City
A new supertall skyscraper set to rise adjacent to Grand Central Terminal is drawing significant attention. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the building will be defined by a structural external steel lattice and will include a new transit hall at one of North America's busiest hubs. Described as "transformative," the tower is set to rank among the tallest buildings in the United States.
Jeddah Tower, Saudi Arabia — 100 Floors and Climbing
The Jeddah Tower, designed to become the world's tallest building, has reached 100 stories in a milestone construction achievement. The firm behind the project confirmed to Newsweek that construction is "progressing quickly."
San Francisco's Skyscraper Race Resumes
Despite the city's ongoing struggles with office vacancies, a new wave of skyscraper development is underway in San Francisco. Developers argue they are competing in a different market segment from struggling commercial office stock.
MVRDV + Diamond Schmitt: University of Toronto Medical Sciences Expansion
Published just five days ago, MVRDV, Diamond Schmitt Architects, and Two Row Architect have unveiled designs for a 390,000-square-foot extension to the University of Toronto's Medical Sciences Building (Temerty Building). The project represents a major institutional architecture commission in Canada.
Design Spotlight
The Return of the Supertall
Two major supertall stories dominated the week. In New York, the 175 Park Avenue tower (also known as the Grand Central Tower) is poised to reshape Midtown Manhattan's skyline. Designed by SOM, the building's external steel lattice does double duty—it is not merely decorative but integral to the structural system. The project also promises to revitalize the area around Grand Central by incorporating a new transit hall into its base, deepening the connection between architecture and urban mobility infrastructure.
Across the Atlantic and into the Middle East, the Jeddah Tower—set to surpass the Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest structure—hit 100 floors this week. Its continued upward climb signals a renewed global appetite for record-breaking vertical construction.
Sustainable Design
The Sustainability Rhetoric Gap
A new episode of the I+S Design podcast, published just three days ago, examines a growing tension in the architecture world: the widening gap between sustainability rhetoric and actual building performance. Host Robert Nieminen explores why resilience—rather than certification scores alone—should be the measure of a building's environmental credentials. The episode is part of the outlet's Earth Month 2026 programming.
LEED v5: A New Standard for Green Building
The U.S. Green Building Council continues to push the boundaries of sustainable design with LEED v5, described as setting "a new standard for sustainable building" that creates "efficient and extraordinary spaces." The updated framework reflects evolving thinking about what it means for a building to be truly green, beyond energy efficiency to broader environmental and resilience criteria.
Timber on the Rise
The case for mass timber construction as a sustainable alternative to steel and concrete continues to gain momentum in industry discussions. Laminated timber is cited as more environmentally friendly than steel and structurally sound for tall buildings—a trend that architects and developers are increasingly embracing as skylines of the future take shape.
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