MAJ Gregory J. Taylor is a 43-year-old licensed architect from Dallas who is serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Reserves. Architectural Record checked in with him this week to hear his perspective on Osama bin Laden’s death. Photo courtesy MAJ Gregory J. Taylor How did you hear that Osama bin Laden had been killed? I actually heard about bin Laden’s death when I was getting ready to eat breakfast on Monday morning at our dining facility on the base. I remember walking into the main seating area around 7:30 a.m. and seeing the headlines on the television that bin
McGraw-Hill Construction announced to staff members today that Cathleen McGuigan, the longtime Newsweek architecture critic and arts editor, has been named editor in chief of Architectural Record, the nation’s leading architecture publication for more than a century. The announcement comes three months after Robert Ivy stepped down from the post in order to head the American Institute of Architects.
Fifteen months after an earthquake devastated Haiti's capital, the country's newly elected president, Michel Martelly, says he recognizes that he and his nation face a major rebuilding task. Related Links: Special Coverage: Rebuilding Haiti MARTELLY Speaking after an April 20 meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C., Martelly said, through an interpreter, “Clearly, I have huge challenges in front of me, but I intend to meet them.” He added, “The reconstruction process is despairingly slow.” Martelly, a former entertainer, said that 1.7 million Haitians “still live under tents” and that, unless more people are vaccinated against cholera,
The department's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations intends to release a how-to handbook by July. The State Dept. is pushing ahead with plans to embrace “design excellence” in its embassy construction program, using some elements for a new U.S. embassy in London, now in design, and fleshing out details through a series of documents that will spell out specific Design Excellence program guidelines. Photo: U.S. Department of State / Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations / Timothy Hursley The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations used some Design Excellence elements as it planned and built an embassy in Beijing that was completed
London's high-rise architecture has a culinary bent of late. First there was the “Gherkin” by architect Norman Foster; now there is the “Cheese Grater” by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, London. The city's next major high-rise, mothballed for three years during the foundation stage but about to spring to life, got its nickname thanks to its silvery leaning south facade.
Image courtesy Arup One of the firm’s current projects in China is Ding He Tower in Shenzhen. Despite a diminished head count at its London-based headquarters, the global engineering firm Arup has opened overseas architecture offices for the first time in its 65-year history. Related Links: U.K. Budget Cuts Could Spur Layoffs at ArupCecil Balmond Leaves Arup to Start His Own Firm Arup Developing Green City in China The three new offices, which debuted in early April, are located in China, in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Each employs about 15 architects and 12 engineers, many of them
Photo courtesy Taliesin Preservation, Inc. Taliesin's tour season begins on April 28. Click to view images of the famous Wisconsin estate. Image courtesy Architectural Record Click to view RECORD's coverage of Taliesin in 1913. The photos are by Henry Fuermann. Photo courtesy Architectural Record Notable Houses in 1911: We combed through back issues of RECORD to see what types of houses were appearing in 1911, the year construction of Taliesin began. Here, a few examples. Most architects are well acquainted with Taliesin, one of the most storied dwellings in America. Situated in the rolling countryside near Spring Green, Wisconsin, the
For quake and tsunami victims left homeless, simple shelters help ease discomfort. Photo courtesy Shigeru Ban Architects Emergency centers set up in gymnasiums and other large structures offer little privacy. In response, Shigeru Ban conceived a partition system made of paper tubes and canvas sheets. “I have been to disaster areas all over the world,” says Shigeru Ban. But never had the Japanese architect and veteran relief worker seen the degree of devastation that struck his homeland on March 11, 2011. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake, followed by the massive tsunami that crashed down on 311 miles of coastline, left thousands of
Photo ' Jeff Goldberg/Esto for Ennead Architects Click to view winners of the architecture awards. Click to view winners of the interiors awards. Click to view winners of the urban design awards. Click to view winners of the unbuilt work awards. A skyscraper in China, a wastewater treatment plant in New York, and an art museum in North Carolina are among the 38 winners of AIA New York’s 2011 Design Awards. Now in its 30th year, the annual awards program recognizes exemplary projects located in New York City or designed by architects practicing in New York City. Honor and merit