Though green-building experts and construction lawyers laud the good intentions of the U.S. Green Building Council’s popular Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green-building rating system, many have serious concerns about at least one new requirement in the latest version of LEED, which went into effect on July 1. The requirement, a “precondition” of certification for all buildings under LEED Version 3, says owners must commit to sharing building energy and water-usage data for at least five years after a new building is occupied or an existing building is certified. Another change sending a chill down the spine of construction
Through the lens of Julius Shulman—that’s how many of us have experienced the iconic mid-century Modernist houses of Southern California. Most famous for his portrayal of Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #22, in 1960, and Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House, in 1947, Shulman’s prodigious body of work is quintessential: luminous and memorably composed images, highly evocative of time and place. “He had an incredible eye,” recalls photographer Juergen Nogai, who worked closely with Shulman in recent years, “a vision for telling a story, sometimes in a single photo.”
Images courtesy SNFCC Renzo Piano Building Workshop has been hired to design the Stavros Niarchos Foundational Cultural Center, which will be located in a seaside district in south Athens. The Olympic Flame has not sparkled in Athens since 2004, yet the city continues to transform itself as a result of the international sporting event. Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) has been hired to design the Stavros Niarchos Foundational Cultural Center (SNFCC), which will be located in the Faliron Delta, the seaside district in south Athens where many Olympic facilities were constructed. SNFCC, a 13-year-old organization that underwrites charitable activities supporting
Dutch architectural firm MVRDV and real estate developer TEDA Vantone have teamed up to build a large residential development in the center of Tianjin, a city of 11.7 million people in China. Image courtesy MVRDV TEDA will offer a total of 6,000 residences. Called TEDA, the 240,000-square-meter development (approximately 2.5 million square feet) will comprise 10 towers, with nearly 6,000 residences. Located on the banks of the Haihe River, it will sit adjacent to the new Yongle Bridge and the Tianjin Eye, a 110-meter-high Ferris wheel. The entire project is slated for completion later this year; as of February, four
The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) released renderings today of their forthcoming MahaNakhon tower and plaza in Bangkok, Thailand, with design led by OMA partner Ole Scheeren, head of the firm’s Beijing office. The 1.6 million-square-foot, $515 million complex plans to include 200 apartments, a 150-room “Bangkok Edition” hotel operated by Marriott Group International with hotelier Ian Schrager, and mixed-use public and commercial space. Construction begins later this year with an intended completion in late 2012.
Zaha Hadid, the Baghdad-born, London-based architect, has received two major commissions in as many weeks for large-scale projects to be built in Cairo, Egypt. Images courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects Hadid's firm has designed a mixed-used complex called Stone Towers (top). Her firm also won an invited competition for an “Expo City” in Cairo (above). First came word of a new speculative development southeast of the city center. The Stone Towers is a 5.5-million-square-foot office and retail complex set in 42 landscaped acres, including a five-star hotel and sunken gardens, all designed by the 2004 Pritzker Prize laureate. Two weeks later,
If a new professional designation catches on, designers and contractors involved in sustainable building projects could soon be seeking another set of initials to put after their names. Early last month, the Toronto-based nonprofit, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, launched a green roof professional accreditation exam. Photo courtesy Wikipedia Green roof at Mountain Equipment Coop, in Toronto. Related Links: Designing With Green Roofs ASLA Green Roofs Yields Impressive Benefits California Academy of Sciences Penn Sprouts Down-To-Earth Green Roof Green Roofs Take Root in North America The 100-question, multiple-choice test was offered for the first time on June 5 at the
Images courtesy Page & Turnbull (top and middle); courtesy Rockwell Group (above). Page & Turnbull is converting old buildings at the historic Presidio in San Francisco into The Walt Disney Family Museum. Rockwell Group is designing the interior architecture and installations. Related Links: Museum Proposal Stirs Debate in San Francisco RECORD Reveals: San Francisco Page & Turnbull is converting an old army barrack, a gymnasium, and a storage facility at the historic Presidio in San Francisco into The Walt Disney Family Museum. The 77,000-square-foot museum, which will present the life and work of the animation pioneer and entertainment entrepreneur, will
When Bay Area architect Chris Downey lost his sight last year, he refused to consider a career change. Though surgery for a benign tumor near his optic nerve had left him blind, he returned to work just a month later. “I could hardly walk around,” says Downey, 46, who at the time was running a green modular-housing firm. But, he recalls thinking, “There’s something worthwhile if you can figure out how to do it.” Photo ' Curt Campbell 'You might pick a material that looks great, but so what? [That doesn't matter] if it doesn't feel good,' says Chris Downey
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