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Four years ago, if you found yourself at one particular intersection of Buenos Aires, you would see a nondescript, three-story parking garage with no cars inside. That building still existsbut its completely unrecognizable. Today, that structure looks like a stubby, UFO-like tower mushrooming from a concrete pedestal with a landscaped ramp curving upward. The metamorphosis is thanks to a multiyear project by New York architecture firm ODA. Ola Palermo, as the reimagined structure is known, has become a mixed-use building with cafés, restaurants, and Class A office space. The cherry on top of this (concrete) cake is an open-air promenade that peels off the sidewalk, winds up to what used to be the roof of the garage, blossoms into a rooftop park, then winds back down to the other side of the building. In a structure once defined by cars, the ramp is now be synonymous with people.[Photo: Alan Karchmer/courtesy ODA]To demolish or not to demolishODA (ranked among the Worlds Most Innovative Companies of 2025 by Fast Company) has a history of working on adaptive reuse projects, including Detroits Book Tower and 10 Jay Street in Brooklyn, but when founder Eran Chen first heard about the project from real estate firm BSD Investments, it was presented to him as an empty site.The building, which had been vacant for years, sits on a tricky plot sandwiched between two busy roads and an elevated train line. It is very close to the edge of Tres de Febrero Park (also known as Bosques de Palermo, or Palermo Woods), but before ODA got involved the two were not connected. [Image: courtesy ODA]Before arriving on-site, Chen had considered demolishing the parking garage, but when he saw the building, the idea just clicked. The building immediately captured my imagination, Chen says, noting the first thing that surprised him was the structures ceiling height. Most parking garages have low ceilings, which makes them challenging to convertthis one had a 14- to 15-foot ceiling. (For perspective: Most homes have 8- to 9-foot ceilings.) The ceiling had a waffle design, which looks like a grid of intersecting beams that create a pattern of recessed squares. This helped distribute the weight of the ceiling evenly, allowing it to span large areas without the need for additional columns for support, and creating a more open and flexible space for the buildings use. [Photo: Alan Karchmer/courtesy ODA]To top it all off, the roof afforded a clear 360-degree view. On one side, you could see through Palermo Woods, all the way to downtown Buenos Aires. On the other, theres a private racetrack and polo fields that people can visit only if they have exclusive memberships. On one side you have the haves, and on the other, you have everybody else, and this is smack dab in between the two, says Chen. He saw the rooftop as an opportunity to turn the tables and allow the parks visitors to look down on the exclusive grounds and catch a (free) glimpse of any events that take place there.[Photo: Alan Karchmer/courtesy ODA]Form follows experiencesODA kept 80% of the original structure to create a 160,000-square-foot building. A quarter of this surfaceabout 40,000 square feetis dedicated to public terraces, green spaces, and the open-air promenade. The rest is taken up by restaurants, cafés, and retail spaces. Parking for 250 cars is also available on the ground floor. But the program, or function, of the building wasnt always clear. The area isnt zoned for residential use, and commercial use wasnt the obvious choice, says Chen, as most companies who could afford rent for a modern office building would opt for a space in downtown Buenos Aires. Retail, which thrives on heavy footfall, wasnt obvious either since the site is so isolated and on the edge of the city.[Photo: Alan Karchmer/courtesy ODA]But for many years now, Chen has ben honing a new mantra. Form should not follow function anymore. Form should follow experiences, he says. If we design buildings for the human experience, people will visit these buildingsand enjoy themregardless of the program. In other words, build it and they will come? I ask. Build it well and they will come, he says. An important distinction. To turn the building into an irresistible destination, ODA made four incisions. They carved out one courtyard to let light into the widest part of the building, and shaved off slivers of the facade to make room for two sets of stairs and the ramp.These incisions amount to 20% of the floor area, but the architects didnt lose that space; they redistributed it. At one end of the building, there once was a water tower that rose above the areas height restrictions. The tower was obsolete, so Chen convinced the city to remove it. In its place, Chens team built a four-story tower based on the memory of the water tower. This concrete mushroom as he calls it, now rises above the rest of the structure, holding its most premium office spaces.[Photo: Alan Karchmer/courtesy ODA]A blueprint for the U.S.The resulting building is what Chen calls a win-win-win. It benefits city agencies because it makes a meaningful contribution to the public realm. It benefits the local community, which now has access to a public rooftop park. And it benefits the developer, who saved on construction costs (no new foundations were required) by not demolishing the building.It also benefits the environment, since giving buildings a second chance, as Chen puts it, can help lower the environmental footprint associated with building anew. (Though there could be costs associated with bringing an old building up to code.) Cities are filled with structures that are either dated or unnecessary, and of course, a big chunk of it is parking garages, Chen says.Already, architects are starting to build future-proof parking garages like this multistory car park in Calgary, Alberta, that was specifically designed to transform into a 600-person office or 50-unit residential building if (and when) the need arises. But Chen believes that residential and commercial are not the only options, especially if the buildings ceilings are low, as they often are. He includes indoor/outdoor sports venues, like pickleball courts; urban farms; and even open-air markets among the possibilities. The key, he says, is not to be fixated on the obvious programs that people might think of.
Category:
E-Commerce
Job searching can feel like a full-time job in and of itself. Endless networking coffees and cover letter drafts can make it easy to get discouraged. And while its helpful to get support from family, friends, and your significant other, they may not truly grasp the day-to-day grind thats needed to keep the momentum going. In fact, for many, searching for a job is an isolating experience. According to a recent American Staffing Association/Harris Poll Workforce Monitor survey, 72% of Americans say applying for jobs can feel like sending résumés into a black box. And four out of 10 unemployed U.S. job seekers revealed they didnt land a single job interview in a year. This cycle of applying for jobs and not hearing back can lead to frustration, hopelessness and loneliness, says Richard Wahlquist, chief executive officer at the American Staffing Association. One way to keep up a productive job search is to find a job-search partner. Experts say this support can help keep you motivated and feeling supported. Heres how to best work with another job searcher to both secure new roles: 1. Youll gain an extra set of eyes and ears Theres only so many hours in the day and so many networking channels one can explore. So, having a job partnerespecially one searching in the same industrycan double your outreach. They can identify job openings you missed, says Wahlquist. 2. They can help you polish your materials and prep for interviews A job search partner can not only assist with proofreading, but they can also offer you a fresh perspective on your cover letter, and provide suggestions on how to customize your résumé for each position you apply for. Interview prep is also paramount, and Walhquist says a job search partner can provide very helpful roleplay as you practice answering challenging interview questions. These exercises can improve your communication skills and boost your confidence. 3. They can help you stay motivated Knowing that someone depends on your support can be motivating. Theres an extra layer of accountability on days when the last thing you feel like doing is applying for another job, says Wahlquist. How to choose a job search buddy Its a personal decision whether to partner with a job seeker in your same industryand of course depends on who you know who might also be searching for a job at the same time. Here are a few reasons why picking someone in the same field can be helpful: They understand the industry. Jenny Wood, a career-development expert and author of the new book Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It, says picking a person in your field can be a good move, even if youre worried about potential competition. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs out there, says Wood. They only need one and you only need one. There are enough to go around. They can give real feedback. Not only can they help you choose winning résumé keywords and bullet points, an insider can also help you grasp what a solid versus mediocre answer is to an interview question, says Wood. Theyll also better understand what certain role descriptions mean when you are both searching and applying. How to be sure a job search partner adds value Gaining support can only help you on your employment journey. Job seekers who end up with the most options and, eventually, the best jobs are the ones who enlist as many people and resources as possible to support their job searches, says Walhquist. But be sure to keep an eye on the prize of getting a job, and keep the interactions productive. While it may be comforting to constantly touch base with your job search partner, make sure the relationship is not getting in the way of your actual search, says Wahlquist. Sitting in a café with your friend may be fun, but at the end of the day, you have to actually do the work to apply for jobs. How often to check in The frequency of check-ins depends on the individuals involved, says Matthew A. Solit, LMSW, executive clinical director with LifeStance Health. Weekly may work for some, but for others, higher frequency can increase accountability. Its all about what works for you and your accountability partner or partners. Mutually agreed upon communication patterns and a framework for accountability is key to a good working partnership, adds Solit. What to do when one of you gets a job There is a high likelihood that one member of the partnership will be offered a position before the other. And, says Solit, when one member of the team succeeds, everyone succeeds. Its not a race, and its not about winning or losing, says Solit. It is important to continue to support your job-search peers even if you are hired first and to see the mutual commitment to accountability through to the end for both members.
Category:
E-Commerce
For those tired of waiting in line to buy a new smartphone or anxiously refreshing a delivery tracking site to make sure a new phone arrives intact, Verizon’s Straight Talk Wireless brand is offering another option: phones from a vending machine. Straight Talk, a Verizon prepaid brand exclusively available at Walmart, has launched vending machines that dispense packaged iPhone and Android devices, similar to the tech vending machines often seen at airports. Customers can browse phones and plans via a touchscreen interface, then pick and pay for what they want, all without needing to wait for a salesperson. And when they take their new phone out of the box, it’s already activated and ready to make calls. That saves a potentially complex step for customers who would otherwise have to go home and figure out how to activate the device and add prepaid credit to it. [Photo: Straight Talk] “A lot of our customers, they get confused with what to do at home,” says David Kim, chief revenue officer at Verizon Value, which includes the telecom giant’s prepaid brands. “It drives calls to care. It drives customer dissatisfaction.” Even if potential customers aren’t ready to buy, they can use the machines to see what phone and plan deals are available without needing to wait on a sales rep, Kim says. And if they do have questions they’d want answered by a human being, the wait time will likely be shorter, since other customers can conduct their business with the machine. So far, the new machines are installed in five Walmart stores, where they’ve sold hundreds of phones after thousands of interactions. Verizon plans to add them at nearly 100 more Walmart locations over the course of the year. In some cases, Verizon is testing the machines near the department in the rear of the store where phones are normally sold, but the company is also testing other locations, including near the checkout, where customers can easily browse the machine to see what’s available. [Photo: Straight Talk] “As customers are checking out, they’re interacting with the machine just to see what’s the latest and greatest,” Kim says. The company is also testing payment methods, including cash and card. So far, most people are paying by credit or debit, with some signing up for monthly autopay via the machine. But the machines are likely to continue to support cash as they expand to more stores, Kim says. After developing the technology to ensure phones can be uniquely identified, tracked, and activated within the machine, the company continues to optimize how to highlight different phones for customers, including making them aware of various brands, price points, and special offers. And in addition to expanding at Walmart, Verizon Valuewhich offers eight brands at more than 100,000 locations across the United Statesmay also roll out vending machines to support its other lines at both other national retailers. While the company does need to ensure machines have internet connectivity and staffing to keep them stocked, selling no-contract prepaid phones is in some ways easy compared to selling phones on a contract, since there’s no need to check customer IDs or conduct a credit check. Expansion possibilities may also include smaller devices offering other services, like letting people pay for a month of service without needing to purchase a prepaid card, Kim says. Other options being considered include machines at airports, which could offer prepaid phones or SIM cards to international travelers, and at existing retail locations for various Verizon Value brands. “It’s just a matter of picking the right locations,” he says.
Category:
E-Commerce
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