Wanda Lau

Being an architect is a fast-paced, multifaceted undertaking. As you grow more adept at your work, you develop a go-to list of details, guidelines and resources. You become comfortable working in a particular way. But imagine if your life was upended in one sudden, unforeseeable moment. Everything you thought you knew was changed forever.

Artificial intelligence continues to advance at a rapid pace, leading to calls to ensure that its capabilities and influence do not grow unchecked. In 2018, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology established the Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing (SCC) as part of a $1 billion commitment to address the “opportunities and challenges presented by the prevalence of computing and the rise of artificial intelligence.”
This investment included creating a home for the SCC. The project’s br...

A sustainable future in which people and the environment thrive requires leadership and action at both the individual project scale and the large scale. For a region to meet ambitious climate targets, public servants must reach across different commu...

Tucked among groves of oak and elm trees, an all-electric library expansion provides badly needed services for a growing community and serves as a platform for teaching water conservation.

In-person experiences are trending—and not just for work. In Shanghai, XBox Family Sports Center offers a sleek outlet for entertainment of the old-fashioned, IRL nature. The roughly 32,000-square-foot, three-story indoor playground, by local firm Fun Connection ...

Despite high estimates and construction bids for your projects, value engineering can help keep your efforts alive. Here are five ways to make the most of the process.

Although the Seattle family with three young children loved life on the water in their lake house, they longed to develop strong ties with a community. They found a 50-foot-wide by 120-foot-deep infill lot ...

One of our greatest defenses against climate change is biodiversity, according to the United Nations. Natural ecosystems on land and in water absorb half of our greenhouse gas emissions (the other half remains in the atmosphere). But up to 1 million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction...

Achieving success as a tech startup is difficult. But not if an idea is landed upon that meets a need so clearly. Such is the case with Nuro, a growing robotics company developing zero-occupant, electric, self-driving vehicles ...

The U.S. has long had a shortage of affordable housing. How can architects help in the collective effort to make housing attainable to more people?

The penthouse apartment in the converted 1874 warehouse in New York had soaring ceiling heights, an abundance of daylight, and a serviceable layout, but something was missing for its owners.

The Waterford Mill has hosted part of its namesake Virginia village’s annual crafts fair since the 1940s. But the 3-and-a-half-story brick structure first became a hub of economic activity around 1819 ...

Maternal death rates are staggering in the U.S. Architects see an opportunity to improve birth environments and postpartum resources for women and their families.

Charlotte, North Carolina, is largely powered by Duke Energy. Literally but, thanks to a new public art installation by Depeña Studio, figuratively, too. The utility company commissioned the work for its headquarters plaza downtown, where founder Ivan Toth Depeña drew on his interpretation of the photon, the smallest particle of electromagnetic energy, aka light.

Career and the profession
In the wake of the pandemic's remote work boom, architecture firms continue to assess next steps for their practice.