The American Institute of Architects (AIA) just announced its 2025 Architecture Award winners. This is a program that celebrate the best contemporary architecture in the US, spanning all scales and budgets.

Firstly, I'm obligated to share that Studio Gang won an award for its Kresge College Expansion at the University of California, Santa Cruz. This is a beautiful project consisting of 4 new mass-timber buildings — three residential halls and an academic center — in the middle of a redwood forest in northern California.

But since we talk a lot about housing on this blog, I also wanted to highlight two projects by Brooks + Scarpa. The first is 11NOHO in North Hollywood, CA. This is a 5-storey apartment consisting of 60 suites, 12 of which are affordable (which allowed for a density bonus).

The second is the Rose Mixed-Use Apartments in Venice, CA. This one is a 4-storey apartment and is 100% affordable. I'd like to know how they got the pro forma to work, but regardless, it's proof that Europe doesn't have a monopoly on beautiful social housing projects.

What I really wanted to point out, though, are the projects' courtyards. Southern California has a rich history of courtyard buildings and these two projects offer a contemporary interpretation of this tradition. Both include an elevated courtyard and both have found a way to maintain a connection to the street.

What I like about this approach is that it's simultaneously extroverted (there's a connection to the broader urban context) and introverted (residents get a semi-private amenity).

I think this duality can be particularly helpful when you're designing and developing in a context that maybe isn't the most conducive to intimate urban spaces. It allows you to create your own new ground plane, while not turning your back on the city.

Coincidentally, it also happens to be one of the design moves that Globizen put forward in a recent submission to Salt Lake City for the redevelopment of a full city block in the Granary District.

Photos from Brooks + Scarpa

Crypto Citizens are a collection of 10,000 NFTs that were minted between 2021 and 2024, starting first in Venice, California and ending in Venice, Italy. Each of their 10 locations has a sub-collection of 1,000 pieces and I am the owner of CryptoParisian #112, because, well, Paris was the next best city for me after they egregiously skipped over Toronto.

This is one of the most ambitious projects in the NFT art community and, now that they've completed their world tour, they've just released a documentary called Venice to Venice. It is currently being screened in private venues around the world, but eventually there will be a world premiere at a film festival. This is when I presume they will land in Toronto!

If you'd like to watch the trailer and/or mint it, click here.

Photo: Seth Goldstein

I have written about Bright Moments before. They are a digital art company exploring the intersection of NFTs and real-world experiences. It started as a popup gallery in Venice Beach California, where artists could show new work and where collectors could buy IRL. They then created their own pixel art collection called CryptoVenetians. It included 1,000 different people-centered NFTs by artist QianQian. Since then, they have gone on to host events and create new CryptoCitizen collections in New York, Berlin, London, Mexico City, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires. And this week they were in Paris.

(I don't know why they skipped over Toronto!)

Their end goal is to create a complete collection of 10,000 NFTs, most of which are tied to a specific city. (The only one that isn't is their CryptoGalacticans collection.) What's obviously great about this approach is that it's a way to promote digital art and onboard new users into the crypto space. They are literally going around the world, throwing parties, and saying "look how cool and fun this whole crypto thing is." At the same time, it also links the digital and the physical, which I believe is fundamental. We're social beings and web3 will never change that.

The other interesting thing about Bright Moments is that they are structured as a decentralized autonomous organization (or DOA). That's like a company, except that governance is distributed to its tokenholders and it's all managed on a blockchain. But it still operates as a company and it can raise money like one too. In 2021, Union Square Ventures invested 500 ETH into the DOA through a blockchain transaction that would naturally be public if you cared to look it up. Based on today's spot price of about CA$4k per ETH, that was a CA$2 million investment.

In the case of Bright Moments, its tokenholders are the people who own a CryptoCitizen. These are the people who get to vote on how the organization is run. They can also earn money if they do things like host a community dinner or organize a local meetup, with the idea being that, as an organization, you want to encourage this sort of bottom-up participation and innovation. I find it fascinating to watch this new governance and entity structure emerge, and it will only continue to evolve.

I've been following Bright Moments more or less since they dropped the CryptoVenetians. I thought about jumping in then, but I figured I would wait to see if there would be a CryptoTorontonian. That would obviously be my number one choice. But once they announced their final list of cities, and Toronto wasn't on it, I grumpily decided I would instead wait for a CryptoParisian. And since this week was Paris, it was time.

I now hold CryptoParisian #112:

I like that it has the Pont Neuf and that the human is wearing sunglasses.

This means that I now have a small ownership stake in the Bright Moments DOA. So presumably I'll soon have a say in important and serious matters! It also means that when they launch their final CryptoCitizen collection in Venice, Italy this spring (nice work going full circle here), there is a chance I might get airdropped a CryptoVenetian. It's a random process, so whatever. I also know that it's easy to look at this pixelated Parisian and think, "WTF, Brandon." But something new is building here. And I'm sure that all of the folks who were in Paris this week can testify to that.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) just announced its 2025 Architecture Award winners. This is a program that celebrate the best contemporary architecture in the US, spanning all scales and budgets.

Firstly, I'm obligated to share that Studio Gang won an award for its Kresge College Expansion at the University of California, Santa Cruz. This is a beautiful project consisting of 4 new mass-timber buildings — three residential halls and an academic center — in the middle of a redwood forest in northern California.

But since we talk a lot about housing on this blog, I also wanted to highlight two projects by Brooks + Scarpa. The first is 11NOHO in North Hollywood, CA. This is a 5-storey apartment consisting of 60 suites, 12 of which are affordable (which allowed for a density bonus).

The second is the Rose Mixed-Use Apartments in Venice, CA. This one is a 4-storey apartment and is 100% affordable. I'd like to know how they got the pro forma to work, but regardless, it's proof that Europe doesn't have a monopoly on beautiful social housing projects.

What I really wanted to point out, though, are the projects' courtyards. Southern California has a rich history of courtyard buildings and these two projects offer a contemporary interpretation of this tradition. Both include an elevated courtyard and both have found a way to maintain a connection to the street.

What I like about this approach is that it's simultaneously extroverted (there's a connection to the broader urban context) and introverted (residents get a semi-private amenity).

I think this duality can be particularly helpful when you're designing and developing in a context that maybe isn't the most conducive to intimate urban spaces. It allows you to create your own new ground plane, while not turning your back on the city.

Coincidentally, it also happens to be one of the design moves that Globizen put forward in a recent submission to Salt Lake City for the redevelopment of a full city block in the Granary District.

Photos from Brooks + Scarpa

Crypto Citizens are a collection of 10,000 NFTs that were minted between 2021 and 2024, starting first in Venice, California and ending in Venice, Italy. Each of their 10 locations has a sub-collection of 1,000 pieces and I am the owner of CryptoParisian #112, because, well, Paris was the next best city for me after they egregiously skipped over Toronto.

This is one of the most ambitious projects in the NFT art community and, now that they've completed their world tour, they've just released a documentary called Venice to Venice. It is currently being screened in private venues around the world, but eventually there will be a world premiere at a film festival. This is when I presume they will land in Toronto!

If you'd like to watch the trailer and/or mint it, click here.

Photo: Seth Goldstein

I have written about Bright Moments before. They are a digital art company exploring the intersection of NFTs and real-world experiences. It started as a popup gallery in Venice Beach California, where artists could show new work and where collectors could buy IRL. They then created their own pixel art collection called CryptoVenetians. It included 1,000 different people-centered NFTs by artist QianQian. Since then, they have gone on to host events and create new CryptoCitizen collections in New York, Berlin, London, Mexico City, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires. And this week they were in Paris.

(I don't know why they skipped over Toronto!)

Their end goal is to create a complete collection of 10,000 NFTs, most of which are tied to a specific city. (The only one that isn't is their CryptoGalacticans collection.) What's obviously great about this approach is that it's a way to promote digital art and onboard new users into the crypto space. They are literally going around the world, throwing parties, and saying "look how cool and fun this whole crypto thing is." At the same time, it also links the digital and the physical, which I believe is fundamental. We're social beings and web3 will never change that.

The other interesting thing about Bright Moments is that they are structured as a decentralized autonomous organization (or DOA). That's like a company, except that governance is distributed to its tokenholders and it's all managed on a blockchain. But it still operates as a company and it can raise money like one too. In 2021, Union Square Ventures invested 500 ETH into the DOA through a blockchain transaction that would naturally be public if you cared to look it up. Based on today's spot price of about CA$4k per ETH, that was a CA$2 million investment.

In the case of Bright Moments, its tokenholders are the people who own a CryptoCitizen. These are the people who get to vote on how the organization is run. They can also earn money if they do things like host a community dinner or organize a local meetup, with the idea being that, as an organization, you want to encourage this sort of bottom-up participation and innovation. I find it fascinating to watch this new governance and entity structure emerge, and it will only continue to evolve.

I've been following Bright Moments more or less since they dropped the CryptoVenetians. I thought about jumping in then, but I figured I would wait to see if there would be a CryptoTorontonian. That would obviously be my number one choice. But once they announced their final list of cities, and Toronto wasn't on it, I grumpily decided I would instead wait for a CryptoParisian. And since this week was Paris, it was time.

I now hold CryptoParisian #112:

I like that it has the Pont Neuf and that the human is wearing sunglasses.

This means that I now have a small ownership stake in the Bright Moments DOA. So presumably I'll soon have a say in important and serious matters! It also means that when they launch their final CryptoCitizen collection in Venice, Italy this spring (nice work going full circle here), there is a chance I might get airdropped a CryptoVenetian. It's a random process, so whatever. I also know that it's easy to look at this pixelated Parisian and think, "WTF, Brandon." But something new is building here. And I'm sure that all of the folks who were in Paris this week can testify to that.