Stefan Novakovic
@novakovicto.bsky.social
Writer + Editor | Architecture + Cities | Senior Editor, Azure Magazine
Pinned
Stefan Novakovic
@novakovicto.bsky.social
· Apr 25
In Indonesia, a Heritage Home Is Reborn as a Civic Stage
In the Javanese village of Mutihan, a 19th-century joglo house was adapted into a striking rehearsal space and performance venue.
www.azuremagazine.com
A weird and wonderful experience to write about my debut project as a *practitioner* in @azuremagazine.bsky.social. In Yogyakarta, Andi Subagio, Namjoo Kim and I relocated and adapted a vernacular "joglo" roof into a dance stage, embracing wood joinery for the 21st century.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 2:10 PM
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Almost everywhere in the City of Toronto has fewer people that it did 50 years ago
November 15, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Almost everywhere in the City of Toronto has fewer people that it did 50 years ago
My curatorial debut! Building Value(s) was staged at @azuremagazine.bsky.social's Human/Nature conference in late October. A meditation on demolition, preservation and the value of our buildings — whether expressed in carbon and collective memory.
Building Value(s): Inside AZURE's Human/Nature Exhibition
Focusing on questions of value in the building environment, four thought-provoking exhibitions animated the Evergreen Brick Works.
www.azuremagazine.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:34 PM
My curatorial debut! Building Value(s) was staged at @azuremagazine.bsky.social's Human/Nature conference in late October. A meditation on demolition, preservation and the value of our buildings — whether expressed in carbon and collective memory.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Brilliant representation by Giaimo of the embodied carbon wasted in the demolition of perfectly good buildings in Toronto to build bigger buildings. A thousand houses worth of carbon. @azuremagazine.bsky.social #human/nature
October 29, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Brilliant representation by Giaimo of the embodied carbon wasted in the demolition of perfectly good buildings in Toronto to build bigger buildings. A thousand houses worth of carbon. @azuremagazine.bsky.social #human/nature
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
I love architecture exhibition text. It really helps the general public understand things.
November 8, 2025 at 11:59 AM
I love architecture exhibition text. It really helps the general public understand things.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
And at @thelocal.to, here in Toronto, we have one, too! A new, part-time, flexible fellowship for Black and/or Indigenous journalists thelocal.to/early-career...
November 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM
And at @thelocal.to, here in Toronto, we have one, too! A new, part-time, flexible fellowship for Black and/or Indigenous journalists thelocal.to/early-career...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
I'm not sayin' that Jays game ran too long or anything, I'm just sayin', the fans at the Toronto watch party got to ride home on the newly opened Eglinton Crosstown LRT
October 28, 2025 at 7:10 AM
I'm not sayin' that Jays game ran too long or anything, I'm just sayin', the fans at the Toronto watch party got to ride home on the newly opened Eglinton Crosstown LRT
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Attention design teams! Help us turn this parking lot into a new urban park. The City of Toronto has launched an international design competition for a new park in Liberty Village. Details at tinyurl.com/5xzrwh6p
October 28, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Attention design teams! Help us turn this parking lot into a new urban park. The City of Toronto has launched an international design competition for a new park in Liberty Village. Details at tinyurl.com/5xzrwh6p
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
“In Toronto, fans get to the game the way God intended: on mass transit that drops you off right at the ballpark, because the communal experience of professional sports should include the ride there”
Shaikin: What are the motives behind Frank McCourt's Dodger Stadium gondola plan?
Commentary: What are the motives behind Frank McCourt's Dodger Stadium gondola plan?
Frank McCourt's Dodger Stadium gondola plan might help fans get to the stadium faster, but why would he potentially undermine his parking lot revenue?
www.latimes.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM
“In Toronto, fans get to the game the way God intended: on mass transit that drops you off right at the ballpark, because the communal experience of professional sports should include the ride there”
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Strange tags on raided apartments, a slumlord speculator under water with the bank & eviction drives in a gentrifying neighborhood. @rebeccaburns.bsky.social investigates how tenants were systematically targeted during September's military-style raid of a Chicago apartment building @inthesetimes.com
Eviction By ICE?
Federal immigration agents appear to have targeted Chicago tenants in “deliberate and systematic ways.” They’re still searching for answers about their landlord’s role in the raid.
inthesetimes.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Strange tags on raided apartments, a slumlord speculator under water with the bank & eviction drives in a gentrifying neighborhood. @rebeccaburns.bsky.social investigates how tenants were systematically targeted during September's military-style raid of a Chicago apartment building @inthesetimes.com
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
John Maynard Keynes was talking about money when he said "In the long run, we are all dead.” but I think the same thing applies to carbon emissions. lloydalter.substack.com/p/now-emissi...
NOW Emissions matter more than LATER Emissions, which is why I like wood and straw
To quote John Maynard Keynes: “The long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run, we are all dead.”
lloydalter.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:54 AM
John Maynard Keynes was talking about money when he said "In the long run, we are all dead.” but I think the same thing applies to carbon emissions. lloydalter.substack.com/p/now-emissi...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Conservatives want to pitch the White House demolition as YIMBY. This is a bad-faith brain-dead take.
You don't want expansive historic reviews for building new homes.
You do want expansive historic reviews for *demolishing the White House.*
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
You don't want expansive historic reviews for building new homes.
You do want expansive historic reviews for *demolishing the White House.*
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | In defense of the White House ballroom
Donald Trump vs. the NIMBYs
www.washingtonpost.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Conservatives want to pitch the White House demolition as YIMBY. This is a bad-faith brain-dead take.
You don't want expansive historic reviews for building new homes.
You do want expansive historic reviews for *demolishing the White House.*
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
You don't want expansive historic reviews for building new homes.
You do want expansive historic reviews for *demolishing the White House.*
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
tatiana bilbao's 10-story twinned point access block social housing in lyon - allows for homes from 1-4 bedrooms.
100% illegal in every part of the US
www.archdaily.com/1034632/lyon...
100% illegal in every part of the US
www.archdaily.com/1034632/lyon...
Social Housing Lyon, La Confluence / Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO
Completed in 2017 in Lyon, France. Images by Jonathan Letoublon, Rodrigo Chapa Taller . In 2007, Lyon began revitalizing La Confluence, a former industrial district. Herzog & de Meuron were commis...
www.archdaily.com
October 25, 2025 at 7:36 PM
tatiana bilbao's 10-story twinned point access block social housing in lyon - allows for homes from 1-4 bedrooms.
100% illegal in every part of the US
www.archdaily.com/1034632/lyon...
100% illegal in every part of the US
www.archdaily.com/1034632/lyon...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
“In the open dining hall and refectory, the simple wood cladding and carefully proportioned window openings create an energetic yet calming ambiance, while the tall, slanted ceiling fosters an almost cathedral-like setting.”
Outside Toronto, the Koffler Scientific Reserve Finds True North
A dorm and learning commons, Montgomery Sisam’s design is a surprisingly intimate marriage of building science and agrarian vernacular.
www.azuremagazine.com
October 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM
“In the open dining hall and refectory, the simple wood cladding and carefully proportioned window openings create an energetic yet calming ambiance, while the tall, slanted ceiling fosters an almost cathedral-like setting.”
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
"Social media regulation took far too long to arrive, and even then, it came in an imperfect form. But governments don’t appear ready to grapple with the reality that chatbots and image and video generators are speedrunning the harms caused by social media."
The AI industry wants us to believe AI superintelligence is the real threat from generative AI.
But that narrative was crafted to distract from the many ways genAI is being used to tear our societies apart, as we saw this week when a deepfake video rocked the Irish election. It must be reined in.
But that narrative was crafted to distract from the many ways genAI is being used to tear our societies apart, as we saw this week when a deepfake video rocked the Irish election. It must be reined in.
Generative AI is a societal disaster
Governments are deluding themselves into believing investment justifies allowing AI to upend society
disconnect.blog
October 24, 2025 at 9:17 PM
"Social media regulation took far too long to arrive, and even then, it came in an imperfect form. But governments don’t appear ready to grapple with the reality that chatbots and image and video generators are speedrunning the harms caused by social media."
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Windowless bedrooms are Not Good but merely banning them in the code doesn’t fix the reason they are proliferating in the first place and if more consequential systemic problems aren’t fixed we’ll just end up with more closets, bigger bathrooms, and fewer beds.
IBC-G committee just voted to approve G143-25, which will – if ultimately approved (and most things are) – ban windowless bedrooms in apartment in the 2027 IBC. It was a close one and the chair had to break the tie. As written, it would apply to rehabs of existing buildings, not just new ones.
October 24, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Windowless bedrooms are Not Good but merely banning them in the code doesn’t fix the reason they are proliferating in the first place and if more consequential systemic problems aren’t fixed we’ll just end up with more closets, bigger bathrooms, and fewer beds.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
World Series, Stadium Edition: Rogers Centre vs. Dodger Stadium 🤔
October 24, 2025 at 6:59 PM
World Series, Stadium Edition: Rogers Centre vs. Dodger Stadium 🤔
In the woods north of Toronto, a barn for the 21st century. My @azuremagazine.bsky.social cover story on Koffler Scientific Reserve by Montgomery Sisam Architects. www.azuremagazine.com/article/koff...
Outside Toronto, the Koffler Scientific Reserve Finds True North
A dorm and learning commons, Montgomery Sisam’s design is a surprisingly intimate marriage of building science and agrarian vernacular.
www.azuremagazine.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:00 PM
In the woods north of Toronto, a barn for the 21st century. My @azuremagazine.bsky.social cover story on Koffler Scientific Reserve by Montgomery Sisam Architects. www.azuremagazine.com/article/koff...
"The clergy stood apart, separated by railings, and the people were spectators. Vatican II changed that. It asked us to create spaces where people could participate, where the sacred could be shared." Douglas Cardinal in conversation with Hanls Ulbrich Obrist. theworldaround.org/insights/dou...
Douglas Cardinal interviewed by Hans Ulrich Obrist | The World Around
In this conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist, architect Douglas Cardinal reflects on his life, philosophy, and groundbreaking work.
theworldaround.org
October 23, 2025 at 1:09 PM
"The clergy stood apart, separated by railings, and the people were spectators. Vatican II changed that. It asked us to create spaces where people could participate, where the sacred could be shared." Douglas Cardinal in conversation with Hanls Ulbrich Obrist. theworldaround.org/insights/dou...
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Its a thing that Safe Parkside, volunteer advocacy group, had to file the $FIO request for these numbers. The city itself should have been using them in the fight with Ford.
October 16, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Its a thing that Safe Parkside, volunteer advocacy group, had to file the $FIO request for these numbers. The city itself should have been using them in the fight with Ford.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself
An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.
October 8, 2025 at 10:44 PM
repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
i hope we find out what architects and engineers are on these projects so they can be disqualified for projects in the future
Chain-link cages. Flooded tents. Clouds of mosquitoes. Malfunctioning AC. Scarce food. Zero recreational time: Inside the hell of Alligator Alcatraz. (1/x)
Inside the hell of Alligator Alcatraz
Despite shocking conditions and rampant “psychological warfare,” copycats are popping up around the country.
bit.ly
October 9, 2025 at 6:16 PM
i hope we find out what architects and engineers are on these projects so they can be disqualified for projects in the future
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
Exciting and FREE panel discussion on REFORMING PROCUREMENT next Tues, Oct 14 at 12pm. Hosted by @tosoarch.bsky.social, moderated by @novakovicto.bsky.social, it features reps from New York, Montréal, & Edmonton, all cities with a track record of procuring design excellence.
TSA Forum: Procuring Design Excellence - TSA
A virtual forum featuring three presentations and a panel discussion on diverse forms of procurement outside of Ontario.
torontosocietyofarchitects.ca
October 8, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Exciting and FREE panel discussion on REFORMING PROCUREMENT next Tues, Oct 14 at 12pm. Hosted by @tosoarch.bsky.social, moderated by @novakovicto.bsky.social, it features reps from New York, Montréal, & Edmonton, all cities with a track record of procuring design excellence.
Reposted by Stefan Novakovic
The Venn diagram of urban density and average household GHG emissions is pretty much a circle. Interesting study on “Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” from the University of Toronto School of Cities schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/mapping-hous...
October 6, 2025 at 11:09 AM
The Venn diagram of urban density and average household GHG emissions is pretty much a circle. Interesting study on “Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” from the University of Toronto School of Cities schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/mapping-hous...