Spread over 55 acres and featuring more than 255,000 different types of plants, the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver offers the ideal setting for urban dwellers wanting to commune with nature.

Image courtesy OMA OMA has won a competition to design a regional library in the northwestern city of Caen. Related Links: High Hopes in Hong Kong OMA to Buoy Hamburg’s Waterfront Singapore Scotts Tower Cornell Groundbreaking Could End Saga After years of “sending love letters to France,” OMA has won a competition to design a regional library in the northwestern city of Caen, says associate in charge Clément Blanchet. It will be the firm’s first cultural building in the country. In a phone interview from the Netherlands, Blanchet said that OMA, founded in 1975, has been eager to expand its

Image courtesy V&A Kengo Kuma has won the competition to design a new Victoria & Albert Museum in Dundee, Scotland This is the incredible ship-like building that will dominate Dundee' s waterfront from 2014. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma beat worldwide competition to win the honour of designing the city's £47 million Victoria & Albert Museum. Work on the amazing structure will begin in 2012 and the museum—the V&A's new international centre for design—is scheduled to open in 2014. It's hoped the project at Discovery Point will transform Dundee's fortunes in the same way the Guggenheim changed the Spanish port of

The Asian metropolis is spending $2.8 billion to construct an enormous cultural district. The goal: to become one of the greatest cities in the world. Image courtesy Foster + Partners Click on the slide show button below to view schemes by Foster + Partners (pictured), Rem Koolhaas/OMA, and Rocco Design Architects. With the recent unveiling of three competing master plans for the colossal West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), Hong Kong finds itself at a watershed moment—one that will not only shape a prominent waterfront site, but also help define the city’s place in the ever-changing firmament of global cultural destinations.

Bierman Henket Architecten and Wessel de Jonge Architecten, whose principals co-founded Docomomo International, have nabbed the 2010 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize. Photo © Michel Kievits/Sybolt Voeten For their meticulous restoration of the Zonnestraal Sanatorium, Bierman Henket Architecten and Wessel de Jonge Architecten have won the 2010 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize. “We associate Modernism of the late 1920s with gleaming whiteness,” says Barry Bergdoll, Museum of Modern Art architecture and design curator. “This is not architecture that looks particularly good in a ruinous state.” Yet, in 1995, the Modernist landmark Zonnestraal Sanatorium, located in Hilversum, Netherlands, was the picture

Image courtesy MVVA A team led by MVVA won the competition to design the grounds surrounding Gateway Arch. Click on the slide show button below to see schemes by all five finalists. Related Links: Shortlist for Gateway Arch Competition Announced Saarinen's Gateway Arch Celebrated in Documentary Design Competition to Enliven St. Louis Arch Park In the 1960s, when the Eero Saarinen-designed Gateway Arch in St. Louis was built, the work created an American icon as recognizable as the Statue of Liberty. But plans never materialized to develop the surrounding grounds into a fully accessible public site, leaving the Arch isolated

« Return to Recession & Recovery In the past two years, the recession has taken its toll on the profession, leaving many hunting for work. Exactly how many architects are unemployed, however, can be the subject of debate. Assessing the jobless rate for the design profession can produce wildly disparate results—and architects, economists, and recruiters aren’t precisely sure how bad things are. Part of the problem, they say, stems from the fact that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lumps architects under its sweeping “Architecture and Engineering Occupations” category, which is tilted heavily toward engineers. In fact, of the 20

Photo courtesy University of Iowa The Max Abramowitz-designed Hancher Auditorium, which suffered severe damage during the 2008 flood, likely will be torn down. Photo courtesy University of Iowa Related Links: Midwest Flood Wreaks Havoc on Landmarks As it continues to rebuild and fortify after the devastating flood of 2008, the University of Iowa has chosen Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects to design its new main theater. On September 15, the school announced that the New Haven firm had won a competition to create a replacement for Hancher Auditorium, a performing-arts facility by architect Max Abramowitz that was significantly damaged when the

Image courtesy Shelbourne Development Chicago Spire’s foreclosure lawsuits heat up as condo market remains frozen. Foreclosure lawsuits mounting atop the $2-billion Chicago Spire project come at a time when the Windy City’s glut of condominium inventory has forced developers to make other deals. In the near term, “I think any high-rise residential developments will be rentals,” says Gail Lissner, vice president of Appraisal Research Counselors, Chicago. A dozen rental high-rises are planned downtown, she says, including a 49-story tower that is being floated by luxury apartment developer AMLI Residential, Chicago. As for condos, such as the 2,000-ft-tall Spire—which so far