This story originally appeared on ENR.com. Courtesy Center for Architecture Left to right: Greg Lynn, Ben van Berkel, Frank Gehry, and Dennis Shelden at AIA's Center for Architecture in New York on Tuesday. As more powerful processor cores are harnessed into cloud computing services, collaboration using massive data files is gaining in use and sophistication—especially in the design and construction disciplines that work in 3D files. One example is the latest launch from Gehry Technologies, which has gone to market with its GTeam platform following six months of testing. The firm calls it a cloud based 2D and 3D file
Pelli Clarke Pelli adds a modest house of worship to its sky-scraping portfolio. Pelli Clarke Pelli's St. Katharine Drexel Chapel at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana. With the completion earlier this month of the St. Katharine Drexel Chapel for Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Cesar Pelli and the architectural firm he heads have added the first house of worship–among its smallest projects at 12,000 square feet–to their vast portfolio. The project represents a long-held goal of the firm’s founder and of the university as well—the original blueprints for the university, founded in 1925, included a chapel that
The U.S. Department of State's new Design Excellence program is coming to fruition. Courtesy Davis Brody Bond Architects and Planners Davis Brody Bond Architects and Planners' U.S. Embassy in Jakarta is under construction. The project was commissioned before the State Department's Design Excellence program, but embodies the principles of the new initiative. After years of building standardized embassies and consulates on the edges of cities, focused solely on security and the bottom line, the U.S. Department of State launched an ambitious Design Excellence building program two years ago. It is now coming to fruition. Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects has
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York City was dedicated this morning—nearly 40 years after it was designed by architect Louis I. Kahn. Former President Bill Clinton speaking at the dedication of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York City on Tuesday. The long-awaited Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York City was dedicated this morning—nearly 40 years after it was designed by architect Louis I. Kahn.
In a time of 24/7 connectivity and cloud computing, it is essential for architects to make room for “forms of low-tech creativity,” said Jeanne Gang, principal of Chicago-based Studio Gang Architects, describing both the way she designs (by hand as well as by computer) and the materials she uses in her buildings.
After a spike prompted by a 2009 federal stimulus package, construction of government buildings continues to drop. This year starts are expected to decline further, to $8.4 billion. Source: McGraw-Hill Dodge Analytics Click the image above to view a full presentation of these stats [PDF].
Waller Creek Design Competition, CMG and Public Architecture A competition jury in Austin is considering four very different design approaches to transform a 1.5-mile stretch of derelict urban parkland. The finalists’ conceptual plans for the riparian linear park, which meanders through the downtown, represent the middle phase of an international competition targeting the blighted banks of Waller Creek. An announcement is expected on October 18 to name the winning team of landscape architects partnered with an architecture firm. The selected team’s design will be the capstone for a massive public works project expected to spur dramatic redevelopment of 15 blocks
Mumbai firm CRIT’s proposal looks beyond their city’s existing infrastructure. The Urban Future Award finalists go on view today in Istanbul. The winner of the €100,000 prize will be announced on October 18. At least since Jane Jacobs took on Robert Moses’s plan for a freeway through Greenwich Village, the car has played the villain in urbanist narratives. But German automaker Audi hopes to change the role of its product in the next chapter of the story. Next week, it will present the second Audi Urban Future Award, the culmination of a biennial competition to reimagine the city beginning with
Singapore hosted the 2012 World Architecture Festival last week. The annual event convenes juries to select top new and future projects in categories ranging from Cultural facilities, Houses, and Health Care to World Building of the Year. Click on slide show below to see each of this year’s winners. World Building of the YearWilkinson EyreCooled Conservatories at Gardens by the BaySingapore