Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
@jgbollard.bsky.social
I am writing a book that explains why Washington DC is the way it is: leafy, monumental, and segregated. I am also a licensed architect.
Pinned
White House Architecture Was an Honor System. Trump Noticed.
For 125 years, informal norms constrained what a president could do to one of the nation’s most famous landmarks.
www.theatlantic.com
The only thing that has ever stood in the way of the president building a big gaudy ballroom, is an understanding that the powerful would defer to self-appointed experts.
And now we see what a bad system that was.
And now we see what a bad system that was.
I know what’ll cheer him up:
January 13, 2026 at 8:47 PM
I know what’ll cheer him up:
Pushing the structural engineer to a mental breakdown by referring to post-tensioning tendons as “tendies” and the grout as “sticky sauce.”
January 13, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Pushing the structural engineer to a mental breakdown by referring to post-tensioning tendons as “tendies” and the grout as “sticky sauce.”
Crazy this wasn’t part of the original plan and in a functioning country it would already be running to Teaneck.
Governor Hochul will announce an extension of the Second Avenue Subway to 125th and Broadway in her State of the State address on Tuesday. buff.ly/2qxRQs6
Westward Ho! Hochul Proposes to Extend Second Ave. Subway Along 125th Street to Broadway - Streetsblog New York City
The next step for the Second Avenue Subway is west across 125th Street to Broadway, Gov. Hochul will announce Tuesday.
nyc.streetsblog.org
January 13, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Crazy this wasn’t part of the original plan and in a functioning country it would already be running to Teaneck.
Literal ARE question lol
Stuff like this seems fixable. "Do NOT give contractors an infinite money glitch"
January 13, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Literal ARE question lol
This is an excellent article. Beyond any criminal repercussions that result from this crisis, there needs to be a reckoning in the culture, rewarding those who saw what was obvious—especially those who did so because they thought they were savvier and smarter.
here's @polphilpod.bsky.social on the Cassandras: newrepublic.com/article/2042...
January 13, 2026 at 12:03 AM
This is an excellent article. Beyond any criminal repercussions that result from this crisis, there needs to be a reckoning in the culture, rewarding those who saw what was obvious—especially those who did so because they thought they were savvier and smarter.
Since I moved back to DC, I have never gotten an employer in to adopt any workflow, new building system, or standard improvements. No matter how well I justify it or how uncritical I am of current processes, they won't buy it until a developer mentions it. Just baffling.
January 12, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Since I moved back to DC, I have never gotten an employer in to adopt any workflow, new building system, or standard improvements. No matter how well I justify it or how uncritical I am of current processes, they won't buy it until a developer mentions it. Just baffling.
The Potomac River is in my bones (its dissolved minerals at least)
My favorite Twitter prompt was "RT this with your home river," so reskeet this with your home river.
Mine is the Patuxent.
Mine is the Patuxent.
January 12, 2026 at 8:04 PM
The Potomac River is in my bones (its dissolved minerals at least)
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
Very rarely in the building codes/ standards world will you see a map with this stark of a contrast.
January 12, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Very rarely in the building codes/ standards world will you see a map with this stark of a contrast.
The next HUD needs to seize the International Code Cartel before it owns all government regulations. It is a simple matter of public interest in a democracy.
Last week, a reporter asked what’s next for the single-stair movement.
My hope? That it does for building codes what @wesmars.bsky.social and "Killed by a Traffic Engineer" did for transit: establish that US building codes are fundamentally outdated and ready for a complete overhaul.
My hope? That it does for building codes what @wesmars.bsky.social and "Killed by a Traffic Engineer" did for transit: establish that US building codes are fundamentally outdated and ready for a complete overhaul.
January 12, 2026 at 6:17 PM
The next HUD needs to seize the International Code Cartel before it owns all government regulations. It is a simple matter of public interest in a democracy.
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
I will be winding down over the next few months, and will continue to dedicate myself to the local needs of DC.
The Heurich House will forever be a part of me - it made me who I am and taught me almost everything I know. I am so excited to see what the museum’s next chapter looks like!
The Heurich House will forever be a part of me - it made me who I am and taught me almost everything I know. I am so excited to see what the museum’s next chapter looks like!
January 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
I will be winding down over the next few months, and will continue to dedicate myself to the local needs of DC.
The Heurich House will forever be a part of me - it made me who I am and taught me almost everything I know. I am so excited to see what the museum’s next chapter looks like!
The Heurich House will forever be a part of me - it made me who I am and taught me almost everything I know. I am so excited to see what the museum’s next chapter looks like!
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
Some News: After 15 years at the @heurichhouse.bsky.social , I have decided it is time for me to leave my role as Executive Director. 🗃️
January 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Some News: After 15 years at the @heurichhouse.bsky.social , I have decided it is time for me to leave my role as Executive Director. 🗃️
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
If you want to understand why We Can't Build Things Anymore, there is no better place to start with our elevators.
North America's Elevator Problem
YouTube video by About Here
www.youtube.com
January 11, 2026 at 10:25 PM
If you want to understand why We Can't Build Things Anymore, there is no better place to start with our elevators.
As always, right-wing narratives interpret real phenomena through a projection of their own corruption and vindictiveness.
Our response should not be defending the Fed’s cost overruns but actually trying to figure out how to bring the cost of construction down.
Our response should not be defending the Fed’s cost overruns but actually trying to figure out how to bring the cost of construction down.
January 12, 2026 at 2:55 PM
As always, right-wing narratives interpret real phenomena through a projection of their own corruption and vindictiveness.
Our response should not be defending the Fed’s cost overruns but actually trying to figure out how to bring the cost of construction down.
Our response should not be defending the Fed’s cost overruns but actually trying to figure out how to bring the cost of construction down.
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
Hotter, drier summers in the UK are shrinking clay-rich soil and destabilizing building foundations. "Well over a million London properties will be at risk of subsidence by 2030 as temperatures rise." Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Multimillion-Pound London Homes Hit by Sudden, Gaping Cracks
Londoners face a dangerous acceleration of subsidence risks, as record temperatures fueled by climate change destabilize the clay foundations on which most of the UK capital’s homes are built.
www.bloomberg.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Hotter, drier summers in the UK are shrinking clay-rich soil and destabilizing building foundations. "Well over a million London properties will be at risk of subsidence by 2030 as temperatures rise." Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
If you want to understand why We Can't Build Things Anymore, there is no better place to start with our elevators.
North America's Elevator Problem
YouTube video by About Here
www.youtube.com
January 11, 2026 at 10:25 PM
If you want to understand why We Can't Build Things Anymore, there is no better place to start with our elevators.
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
It is no longer enough to give the wine moms credit, we must give them the commanding heights of the economy.
April 7, 2025 at 9:03 PM
It is no longer enough to give the wine moms credit, we must give them the commanding heights of the economy.
@pipedreaming.bsky.social can I get a fact check on this slop slopped to me on instagram?
January 11, 2026 at 9:44 PM
@pipedreaming.bsky.social can I get a fact check on this slop slopped to me on instagram?
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
really into these polish folk nouveau patterns
January 11, 2026 at 5:05 PM
really into these polish folk nouveau patterns
In ballroom news, I saw a concrete pump enter the construction area. Clark Construction is not wasting time.
January 9, 2026 at 9:36 PM
In ballroom news, I saw a concrete pump enter the construction area. Clark Construction is not wasting time.
The blade and chalice guarding o’er Her gates. / Adorned in masters’ loving art, She lies. / She rests at last beneath the starry skies.
January 9, 2026 at 5:03 AM
The blade and chalice guarding o’er Her gates. / Adorned in masters’ loving art, She lies. / She rests at last beneath the starry skies.
Couple things.
1. Very unusual for top level appointees like Chairman Mendelson to show up to NCPC (they have permanent delegates), so I gotta hand it Mendo for showing up.
2. NCPC has a process for secure/classified projects
3. NCPC never lets applicants present from physical boards.
1. Very unusual for top level appointees like Chairman Mendelson to show up to NCPC (they have permanent delegates), so I gotta hand it Mendo for showing up.
2. NCPC has a process for secure/classified projects
3. NCPC never lets applicants present from physical boards.
When asked why the ballroom proposal didn't go to the National Capital Planning Commission before demolition began, a White House official claims "there are some things guarding this project, that are, frankly, of top secret nature"
January 9, 2026 at 4:08 AM
Couple things.
1. Very unusual for top level appointees like Chairman Mendelson to show up to NCPC (they have permanent delegates), so I gotta hand it Mendo for showing up.
2. NCPC has a process for secure/classified projects
3. NCPC never lets applicants present from physical boards.
1. Very unusual for top level appointees like Chairman Mendelson to show up to NCPC (they have permanent delegates), so I gotta hand it Mendo for showing up.
2. NCPC has a process for secure/classified projects
3. NCPC never lets applicants present from physical boards.
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
This is from a client electrification project just outside Washington DC.
We ran the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors w/ a single 2 ton heat pump system that lives in the basement. Everyone was FREAKING OUT that it was so small in a 2000 sf area. It got spray foam which you can see a bit of.
1/N
We ran the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors w/ a single 2 ton heat pump system that lives in the basement. Everyone was FREAKING OUT that it was so small in a 2000 sf area. It got spray foam which you can see a bit of.
1/N
January 9, 2026 at 2:50 AM
This is from a client electrification project just outside Washington DC.
We ran the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors w/ a single 2 ton heat pump system that lives in the basement. Everyone was FREAKING OUT that it was so small in a 2000 sf area. It got spray foam which you can see a bit of.
1/N
We ran the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors w/ a single 2 ton heat pump system that lives in the basement. Everyone was FREAKING OUT that it was so small in a 2000 sf area. It got spray foam which you can see a bit of.
1/N
The National Capital Planning Commission will receive a presentation about the Epstein Ballroom today. Meeting starts at 1PM EST. Based on the length of the agenda, I'd expect the ballroom discussion to begin at 3PM.
The commission will not vote on the project and so there is no public comment.
The commission will not vote on the project and so there is no public comment.
NCPC Live
Watch the next live streaming event here. All monthly Commission meetings are streamed live and can be viewed on this page.
www.ncpc.gov
January 8, 2026 at 5:54 PM
The National Capital Planning Commission will receive a presentation about the Epstein Ballroom today. Meeting starts at 1PM EST. Based on the length of the agenda, I'd expect the ballroom discussion to begin at 3PM.
The commission will not vote on the project and so there is no public comment.
The commission will not vote on the project and so there is no public comment.
Craven even for him.
Matt Taibbi says that America should've taken Iraq's oil when they invaded.
"And as for the Iraq oil thing, I was all in favor, like if we were there, yeah, let's take it... I guess the idea of turning it over to the Iraqi people, but I don't know, I felt a little more mercenary about that."
"And as for the Iraq oil thing, I was all in favor, like if we were there, yeah, let's take it... I guess the idea of turning it over to the Iraqi people, but I don't know, I felt a little more mercenary about that."
January 8, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Craven even for him.
Reposted by Neil Flanagan 🧱🗃️
