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The Washington, D.C., architectural firm that President Donald Trump tapped to design his White House ballroom is known for its ornamental, classical architecture, but the firm’s work is not generally known, even by design aficionados. Crews are now demolishing the entirety of the East Wing for an expansive, $250 million new space designed by McCrery Architects, which compared to the detailed, hi-fi portfolios of today’s most prominent architectural firms, has a strikingly light online footprint. The firm’s site shows only contact information for new commission inquiries and a slideshow of work that includes artist renderings of the planned ballroom. There’s no longer a list of its projects, but an archived list reveals a CV that leans ecclesiastical. Its Instagram account is bare. “Committed to Tradition and Excellence,” its bio reads, but there are no posts. The firms portfolio is heavy on churches, and it’s now fast building up public-sector work, driven by a love of classical American architecture. “The very best American architecture is classical architecture once made American,” James McCrery, the firms founder and principal, said last year during a talk at the conservative Hillsdale College. “Americans love classical architecture because it is our nation’s formative architecture and we love our nation’s formation.” Here are some of the firms most notable projects, as its work on one of the most iconic buildings in the U.S. gets underway. Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Knoxville, Tennessee [Photo: Nheyob/Wiki Commons] Ecclesiastical architecture Catholic churches are the most common building type in the firm’s portfolio. McCrery Architects has designed several houses of worship, including the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, Tennessee; Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Our Lady of the Mountains in Highlands, North Carolina. St. Mary Help of Christians, Aiken, South Carolina [Photo: Jude.anthony1972/Wiki Commons] The firm’s design for St. Mary Help of Christians in Aiken, South Carolina, won the John Russell Pope Award in 2017 for the traditional architecture contest’s Ecclesiastical Design over 3,000 square feet category. In a 2015 reflection about the building, McCrery said the church was “designed to encourage and strengthen all in the Faith . . . [and] intentionally made to be beautiful,” which typifies his and his firm’s approach to design. This year, McCrery Architects was awarded for the baptismal font at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Gloversville, New York. Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, North Carolina [Photo: Farragutful/Wiki Commons] McCrery’s work in academia McCrery Architects designed the University Saint Mary of the Lake Feehan Memorial Library in Mundelein, Illinois, and the Saint Thomas Aquinas Chapel at the University of Nebraskas Saint John Newman Center in Lincoln. Public-sector work The firm’s government work has grown from designing a statue pedestal and gift shop to making one of the biggest changes to the most famous federal government building in the U.S. Here are the details. [Photo: Architect of the Capitol] McCrery designed the pedestal for California’s statue of Ronald Reagan for the National Statuary Hall Collection in 2009. Each state can send two statues to the collection at the U.S. Capitol, and McCrery made the Tennessee Rose marble pedestal for artist Chas Fagan’s statue of the late president and former California governor and actor. The pedestal includes concrete pieces from the Berlin Wall. McCrery’s firm also designed the U.S. Supreme Court’s book and gift shop, and, according to the Catholic University of America, the North Carolina state legislature commissioned the firm to create a master plan for its historic State Capitol Grounds. The White House ballroom The firm’s White House project is now its most visible workand it’s most controversial. [Rendering: whitehouse.gov/McCrery Architects] The sudden demolition to make room for a privately funded addition shocked at least one former White House resident, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation asked the Trump administration and National Park Service to pause until plans can go through the legally required public review processes that it says include consultations, reviews, and public comment. [Rendering: whitehouse.gov/McCrery Architects] Trump’s White House makeover parallels his attempts at expanding presidential and state power, and represents an outward, physical manifestation of a wider Trump project to remake the presidency and leave a mark in his second term. Like using emergency economic powers to impose tariffs or sending National Guard troops into U.S. cities, Trump’s power plays today feel anything but precedented or traditional. Traditional, though, is exactly what the architect who designed his grand ballroom is trained in.
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Paris Hiltons been an entrepreneur, a reality TV star, a DJ, an author, a model, a singer, and an activist. But she says school felt like torture. Sitting still under fluorescent lights surrounded by beige walls made me feel trapped instead of inspired, she tells Fast Company via email. Traditional environments were too flat, too uniform, and too quiet to support the way I think. It wasnt until after being diagnosed with ADHD in her late 20s that Hilton began to understand how to hone her energy and creativity and how the physical spaces where she worked impacted her ability to focus. Over the years, Ive learned that when a space feels alive, so do I, she says. Data from 2024 shows that almost a fifth of Americans are neurodivergent. According to 2023 research from Deloitte, over half of Gen Z workers identify as such. Yet even as awareness of neurodivergence in the workplace grows, most employers still struggle with fully accommodating these communities: 93% of workers in these groups say they burn out because of it. Over a third even hide their status altogether, out of fear of being stigmatized. [Photo: Ashley Osborn] And with ADHD specifically, recent surveys show that one in four Americans suspect they have it, but are undiagnosed (and diagnoses are rising). Studies also suggest people with ADHD are more creative, and that they also thrive as entrepreneurs. But because of their challenges with executive functions like attention, time management and emotional regulation which can cause heightened sensitivity to stimuli like noise and light, and can be exacerbated when they feel physically constrained most workplaces still unintentionally work against them. Hilton and her partner, the neurodivergence nonprofit Understood.org, offer valuable insights into: The big companies already reimagining their offices to be more inclusive What psychologists and design experts advise to best create offices for these groups How inexpensive and low-barrier making these changes can be As neurodivergence awareness has increased in recent years, businesspeople besides Hilton have opened up about their neurodiversity. Bill Gates opened up earlier this year about having ADHD, and Richard Branson, who is autistic, champions causes for the autism community. But the discussion around how most workspaces arent designed to best accommodate neurodivergent workers has only gained traction relatively recently. Thats what inspired Hilton to design one herself, collaborating with neurodivergence nonprofit Understood.org on the design of her home, and the new headquarters of her entertainment company, 11:11 Media. The neurodivergent-friendly workspace in Los Angeles features seats that enable different postures and a variety of chairs to choose from, sensory-friendly lighting designed to minimize glare and flickering, natural materials like plants and wood (which research has found effective in combating ADHD symptoms) and play areas that encourage free movement. Theres also the Sliving Sanctuary, a cozy space with weighted blankets and flicker-free lighting for brain breaks. It was a chance to build a space that celebrates different ways of thinking and working, Hilton says. Typical spaces constraint atypical brains The wrong workspace can affect anyones productivity, but thats especially true among the neurodivergent, a classification that includes those with ADHD, dyslexia, autism and other cognitive differences. Recently, more high-profile companies have taken similar steps to make their spaces more accommodating to neurodiverse workers, like Etsy, SAP and Microsoft. But theres still lots to do to help close the gap, activists argue especially since such a huge swath of the workforce is neurodivergent, and traditional offices make them distracted and unproductive at best, burnt out and underemployed at worst. And as more and more companies push for return-to-office, many workers in this group may again face the challenges of working in spaces that simply werent designed for them. [Photo: Kevin Ostajewski] In a lot of workspaces, we see things like open floor plans, which can be extremely distracting, says psychotherapist Sarah Greenberg, Understoods vice president of expertise and strategic design. Many workers have long found open floor plan offices noise levels and chaotic setting difficult to work in, particularly those in the deaf and autistic communities. Greenberg adds: We see a lack of natural light, which can really halt inspiration. We see limited places to move, which can make it really hard when the neurodivergent brain needs that to bring our best selves to work. For those with ADHD, even stiff chairs can feel restrictive, making it harder for them to concentrate and ultimately perform their best. In school we were told, stay in your chair, you need passes to use the restroom. Aspects of that culture have bled into workplaces, says Dr. Andrew Kahn, psychologist and associate director of expertise and strategic design for Understood. When neurodivergent individuals feel constrained physically, they often also feel constrained mentally, which can stifle innovation, creativity, focus and productivity. [Photo: Kevin Ostajewski] But this cohort has a unique way of thinking that can prove a significant asset. A new study from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology in the Netherlands found that ADHDers tendency for their minds to wander can actually lead to more creativity and innovation. Allowing these folks to bring their gifts to the table requires spaces designed to meet their unique needs. It can be the difference between needing to stay home in order to get anything done, or actually being able to be [productive] in that shared space, Greenberg says. It can be game-changing. Low-lift changes that make a big difference Creating a more inclusive space, however, doesnt necessarily require the resources of an heiress or celebrity. Research suggests many of the most impactful accommodations cost $500 or less. For example, standing desks and tactile items like fidget toys have been proven effective in enabling those with ADHD to channel their excess energy without breaking concentration. Noise-cancelling headphones can help block out distractions for those with sound sensitivity. Research also suggests offering a variety of chairs like bean bag chairs, couches and even yoga mats or chairs that can be used in a multitude of positions can make them feel less constrained, both physically and mentally. For the ADHD brain if you cant see it, it doesnt exist, Greenberg says. For example, in your office supply area, using clear bins that are clearly labelled takes away that cognitive load. Greenberg explains that short-term memory and organization are both challenges for people with ADHD, and that a little extra support with both can go a long way. When it comes to design, it’s not about having interior decorating skills, its about understanding the neurology of brains that think differently and then applying those best practices to the physical container in which we do our work, Greenberg says. Hiltons workspace takes into account things like noise control, natural lighting, visual stimuli and textures. Standing desks and alternative workspaces are available throughout the office, and staff are encouraged to move to the workstation that best suits the task at hand. The 25-person staff of the LA-based media company, which promotes customer brand voices and social causes through film, TV and other media, are also surrounded by natural materials, like plants, flowers, wood, and a living wall. Hilton says that the effort she put into creating the space isnt just about enabling herself and her staff to do their best work. Its about pushing a bigger conversation forward. I want 11:11 Media HQ to be a model for whats possible when we prioritize the needs of those who are neurodivergent, she says. People with ADHD or other neurodivergent traits are often some of the most imaginative thinkers in the room.
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Hurricanes are Americas most destructive natural hazards, causing more deaths and property damage than any other type of disaster. Since 1980, these powerful tropical storms have done more than US$1.5 trillion in damage and killed more than 7,000 people. The No. 1 cause of the damages and deaths from hurricanes is storm surge. Storm surge is the rise in the oceans water level, caused by a combination of powerful winds pushing water toward the coastline and reduced air pressure within the hurricane compared to the pressure outside of it. In addition to these factors, waves breaking close to the coast cause the sea level to increase near the coastline, a phenomenon we call wave setup, which can be an important component of storm surge. Accurate storm surge predictions are critical for giving coastal residents time to evacuate and giving emergency responders time to prepare. But storm surge forecasts at high resolution can be slow. As a coastal engineer, I study how storm surge and waves interact with natural and human-made features on the ocean floor and coast and ways to mitigate their impact. I have used physics-based models for coastal flooding and have recently been exploring ways that artificial intelligence can improve the speed of storm surge forecasting. How storm surge is forecast today Today, operational storm surge forecasts rely on hydrodynamic models, which are based on the physics of water flow. These models use current environmental conditionssuch as how fast the storm is moving toward shore, its wind speed and direction, the timing of the tide, and the shape of the seafloor and the landscapeto compute the projected surge height and determine which locations are most at risk. Hydrodynamic models have substantially improved in recent decades, and computers have become significantly more powerful, such that rapid low-resolution simulations are possible over very large areas. However, high-resolution simulation that provide neighborhood-level detail can take several hours to run. Those hours can be critical for communities at risk to evacuate safely and for emergency responders to prepare adequately. To forecast storm surge across a wide area, modelers break up the target area into many small pieces that together form a computational grid or mesh. Picture pixels in an image. The smaller the grid pieces, or cells, the higher the resolution and the more accurate the forecast. However, creating many small cells across a large area requires greater computing power, so forecasting storm surge takes longer as a result. Forecasters can use low-resolution computer grids to speed up the process, but that reduces accuracy, leaving communities with more uncertainty about their flood risk. AI can help speed that up. How AI can create better forecasts There are two main sources of uncertainty in storm surge predictions. One involves the data fed into the computer model. A hurricanes storm track and wind field, which determine where it will make landfall and how intense the surge will be, are still hard to forecast accurately more than a few days in advance. Changes to the coast and sea floor, such as from channel dredging or loss of salt marshes, mangroves or sand dunes, can affect the resistance that storm surge will face. The second uncertainty involves the resolution of the computational grid, over which the mathematical equations of the surge and wave motion are solved. The resolution determines how well the model sees changes in landscape elevation and land cover and accounts for them, and at how much granularity the physics of hurricane surge and waves is solved. AI models can produce detailed predictions faster. For example, engineers and scientists have developed AI models based on deep neural networks that can predict water levels along the coastline quickly and accurately by using data about the wind field. In some cases, these models have been more accurate than traditional hydrodynamic models. AI can also develop forecasts for areas with little historical data, or be used to understand extreme conditions that may not have occurred there before. For these forecasts, physics-based models can be used to generate synthetic data to train the AI on scenarios that might be possible but havent actually happened. Once an AI model is trained on both the historic and synthetic data, it can quickly generate surge forecasts using details about the wind and atmospheric pressure. Training the AI on data from hydrodynamic models can also improve its ability to quickly generate inundation risk maps showing which streets or houses are likely to flood in extreme events that may not have a historical precedent but could happen in the future. The future of AI for hurricane forecasting AI is already being used in operational storm surge forecasts in a limited way, mainly to augment the commonly used physics-based models. In addition to improving those methods, my team and other researchers have been developing ways to use AI for storm surge prediction using observed data, assessing the damage after hurricanes, and processing camera images to deduce flood intensity. That can fill a critical gap in the data needed for validating storm surge models at granular levels. As artificial intelligence models rapidly spread through every aspect of our lives and more data becomes available for training them, the technology offers potential to improve hurricane and storm surge forecasting in the future, giving coastal communities faster and more detailed warnings about the risks on the way. Navid Tahvildari is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Florida International University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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