Darrick Borowski, AIA
@dborowsk.bsky.social
Architect, Designer, Urbanist working on Housing & Equitable Cities @ DBA; Design Studio Professor @ SVA; Research @ ARExA. ex-WeWork/WeLive
Great story by @nytimes on the history and evolution of the design of kitchens. I'd love to see the same for bathrooms. Especially in the post-spanish flu, early-modern/bauhaus era.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Why Your Kitchen Looks Like That
A century of American kitchen design, from the dawn of electricity to the kitchen island.
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Great story by @nytimes on the history and evolution of the design of kitchens. I'd love to see the same for bathrooms. Especially in the post-spanish flu, early-modern/bauhaus era.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Sometimes the best Science Fiction is just ... Science. nautil.us/visit-the-7-...
Visit the 7 Most Extreme Planets in the Universe
Visit the 7 Most Extreme Planets: From molten glass rain to oceans of lava, an intergalactic tour of the wildest climates out there
nautil.us
November 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Sometimes the best Science Fiction is just ... Science. nautil.us/visit-the-7-...
"What if homeownership had no profit motive and no capital gains?"
Yeah, what if?
Well it might look something like this brilliant housing typology in Switzerland —
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/r...
Yeah, what if?
Well it might look something like this brilliant housing typology in Switzerland —
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/r...
A ‘Third Way’ Between Buying or Renting? Swiss Co-ops Say They’ve Found It.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/realestate/switzerland-rental-coops-nonprofit-lausanne.html?trk_msg=7AK7R1B0HP24BAAF0PTR63VIDO&trk_contact=CG1U79JA6MCJVVN7UKA841AS60&trk_sid=5HI8PPSF32NLTT0KPLRFH8LAKK&trk_link=HUF0FUCGBNOKD08F9QCIGT1QE0&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=A+“third+way”%26nbsp%3bbetween+buying+or+renting%3f+Swiss+co-ops+say+they’ve+found+it.%26nbsp%3b(The+New+York+Times)&utm_campaign=Late+Edition+East%3a+The+RPA+accepted+funds+from+Amtrak%2c+Fall+2025+architecture+school+lectures+and+ex
August 27, 2025 at 12:03 AM
"What if homeownership had no profit motive and no capital gains?"
Yeah, what if?
Well it might look something like this brilliant housing typology in Switzerland —
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/r...
Yeah, what if?
Well it might look something like this brilliant housing typology in Switzerland —
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/r...
Vienna has been a leader in social housing for a century now - what can learn from them? Here's a start— www.npr.org/2025/06/15/n...
Could this city be the model for how to tackle the housing crisis and climate change?
Vienna has a way to make affordable housing and combat climate change all at the same time. Now U.S. cities want in, and they're building their own green housing.
www.npr.org
June 15, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Vienna has been a leader in social housing for a century now - what can learn from them? Here's a start— www.npr.org/2025/06/15/n...
Reposted by Darrick Borowski, AIA
Say hello to a new subway map! 🗺️
Today, the MTA unveiled a new subway diagram that provides riders with essential travel information in an easily readable, bright, and orderly manner.
Today, the MTA unveiled a new subway diagram that provides riders with essential travel information in an easily readable, bright, and orderly manner.
April 2, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Say hello to a new subway map! 🗺️
Today, the MTA unveiled a new subway diagram that provides riders with essential travel information in an easily readable, bright, and orderly manner.
Today, the MTA unveiled a new subway diagram that provides riders with essential travel information in an easily readable, bright, and orderly manner.
Unlikely allies indeed... but this housing crisis requires these kinds of conversations...
gothamist.com/news/uncerta...
gothamist.com/news/uncerta...
Uncertainty over federal cuts to NYC housing forges unlikely allies
City leaders and housing groups plan to focus on how cuts would not only affect people directly benefiting from assistance, but also the entire economy.
gothamist.com
March 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Unlikely allies indeed... but this housing crisis requires these kinds of conversations...
gothamist.com/news/uncerta...
gothamist.com/news/uncerta...
Chris Hayes (speaking at St Mary’s) compared the way tech companies are deploying AI currently to Microsoft Word’s Clippy back in the day… captures it perfectly. Noooooo Adobeeeee I don’t need to be asked if I need help from AI every time I select a layer in Photoshop
March 5, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Chris Hayes (speaking at St Mary’s) compared the way tech companies are deploying AI currently to Microsoft Word’s Clippy back in the day… captures it perfectly. Noooooo Adobeeeee I don’t need to be asked if I need help from AI every time I select a layer in Photoshop
Cambridge MA's big strides in housing policy/zoning reform—Bloomberg's CityLab reports "the city previously guessed it would build 350 net units by 2040, now it’s estimating 4,880 units, the majority of which made possible by the new neighborhood-level reforms."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
How Upzoning in Cambridge Broke the YIMBY Mold
By freeing apartment developers to build up to four stories across the city, the hometown of Harvard and MIT has set a new benchmark for the housing movement.
www.bloomberg.com
March 3, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Cambridge MA's big strides in housing policy/zoning reform—Bloomberg's CityLab reports "the city previously guessed it would build 350 net units by 2040, now it’s estimating 4,880 units, the majority of which made possible by the new neighborhood-level reforms."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
City of yes passed!👏👏👏
December 5, 2024 at 9:56 PM
City of yes passed!👏👏👏
City of yes (for all) vote happening now in City Council…
December 5, 2024 at 9:52 PM
City of yes (for all) vote happening now in City Council…
A typical block in outer Queens... why shouldn't these homeowners be able to turn their backyard structures into LEGAL ADUs?
New York City Council votes TODAY on #CityofYes.
New York City Council votes TODAY on #CityofYes.
December 5, 2024 at 2:42 PM
A typical block in outer Queens... why shouldn't these homeowners be able to turn their backyard structures into LEGAL ADUs?
New York City Council votes TODAY on #CityofYes.
New York City Council votes TODAY on #CityofYes.
The actual lived impact of Zoning texts can be opaque to most people, especially to those who don’t need to read them for a living. Much of the friction around #CityofYes, I believe, has arisen from this disconnect.
December 5, 2024 at 2:34 PM
The actual lived impact of Zoning texts can be opaque to most people, especially to those who don’t need to read them for a living. Much of the friction around #CityofYes, I believe, has arisen from this disconnect.
Also heard at the symposium today—
“The biggest barrier to conversion is the cost basis of the asset - as commercial office rents drop, office to residential conversions become more attractive.“
— David Farnsworth, Principal, Arup
“The biggest barrier to conversion is the cost basis of the asset - as commercial office rents drop, office to residential conversions become more attractive.“
— David Farnsworth, Principal, Arup
November 22, 2024 at 11:13 PM
Also heard at the symposium today—
“The biggest barrier to conversion is the cost basis of the asset - as commercial office rents drop, office to residential conversions become more attractive.“
— David Farnsworth, Principal, Arup
“The biggest barrier to conversion is the cost basis of the asset - as commercial office rents drop, office to residential conversions become more attractive.“
— David Farnsworth, Principal, Arup
Spent the day today at the Center for Architecture for their Office to Residential Conversion Symposium (yes another one—this was gleefully wonky focusing on “Design and Technical Considerations”
Some great presentations—
Some great presentations—
November 22, 2024 at 11:05 PM
Spent the day today at the Center for Architecture for their Office to Residential Conversion Symposium (yes another one—this was gleefully wonky focusing on “Design and Technical Considerations”
Some great presentations—
Some great presentations—
Great news for housing advocates today—New York City Council took a big step toward increasing the city’s capacity for new housing. Yesterday, subcommittees for Zoning and Land Use negotiated and finally approved (with compromises) “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity”
November 22, 2024 at 2:39 PM
Great news for housing advocates today—New York City Council took a big step toward increasing the city’s capacity for new housing. Yesterday, subcommittees for Zoning and Land Use negotiated and finally approved (with compromises) “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity”
Very excited for a fresh start in this new space for dialogue about the things that matter to me (and the world)—housing, cities, architecture and technology, design for change and social justice….
November 22, 2024 at 1:49 PM
Very excited for a fresh start in this new space for dialogue about the things that matter to me (and the world)—housing, cities, architecture and technology, design for change and social justice….
Hello, World!
November 15, 2024 at 3:20 PM
Hello, World!