Photo courtesy Platt Byard Dovell White Paul S. Byard Paul Spencer Byard, FAIA, a partner in the firm of Platt Byard Dovell White Architects in New York City, and the director of the historic preservation program at Columbia University, died on July 15 of colon cancer. He was 68 years old. Born in 1939 in New York City, Byard long advocated a modern approach to preservation and restoration, as his book, The Architecture of Additions, Design and Regulation (1998), convincingly reveals. In the book Byard argues that innovative expressive design can enhance the older, original, and often historic structure to
While officially neutral on green-building rating systems, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently parsed three of them in an effort to evaluate how well they align with the association’s sustainability goals. In its report, which was released in May, it carefully avoided picking a favorite of the three systems: t he U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED NC 2.2, the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes, and The International Initiative for a Sustainable Environment’s SBTool 07. The intent of the study was simply to assess their strengths and weaknesses, says Jessyca Henderson, an AIA staff architect. “The AIA is neutral,” she
When the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Green Building Council jointly announced on May 28 their intent to form a strategic alliance, many in the industry wondered exactly what that meant. One question that arose: Is the AIA getting ready to endorse LEED? “No,” is the answer from both sides, although Peter Templeton, USGBC’s senior vice president for education and research, says he certainly would appreciate the association’s support. “Of course we would like AIA to recognize the value of LEED,” he says. The announcement, which can be read on the AIA’s Web site, says the groups have
Santiago Calatrava’s design for a transit hub at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan has been scaled back. On July 1, shortly after revealing that virtually all of the construction projects at Ground Zero were behind schedule and over budget, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it was cutting out a signature element of Calatrava’s elliptical-shaped building: a hydraulic system that would allow its ribbed steel wings to open and close.
Zaha Hadid has teamed up with a Brazilian footwear company, Melissa, to design a limited-edition shoe. The plastic shoe with a wedge-like heel “takes on features of one of Hadid’s grand-scale designs, with cut-out holes for the toes and diagonally sloping straps,” describes The Times, a UK-based newspaper. The shoe will be launched in September at London Fashion Week, and will be sold at the city’s Dover Street Market. The cost: 200 pounds, or about $400. Hadid is quoted as saying that despite having 30 years of design experience, “this was a very challenging project, not only in design but
The Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently opened the doors to its new Center for Architecture. The 8,000-square-foot center—located in an old factory near the downtown convention center—provides the growing chapter more space for offices, meetings, exhibitions, and its popular bookstore. One of the most noticeable advantages is a glazed storefront, which gives the center a public face. The AIA is sharing its new space with The Community Design Collaborative, an organization that helps nonprofits procure free design services. Photos courtesy John P. Claypool/AIA Philadelphia The new Center for Architecture in Philadelphia is located in an
The five experts who make up the jury of the National Building Museum’s Vincent Scully Prize can spend hours debating the merits of as many as 40 nominees in order to determine a winner who represents “intellectual accomplishment in architecture and an instrumental role in dialogue,” says David M. Schwarz, FAIA, the jury’s chair since the program’s inception a decade ago. For the 2008 laureate, Schwarz says, the jurors made their selection “in just 20 minutes.” Robert A.M. Stern, FAIA, was the subject of this brief discussion. Stern, as well as the decade anniversary of the Vincent Scully Prize, will
The world’s tallest building, the 162-story, 2,680 foot Burj Dubai, designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM), is set to open next year. But Dubai also has six other skyscrapers of at least 100 stories in the works, making it the super-tall building capital of the world—head and shoulders above other cities.
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