Lighting pioneer Joel Spira, founder of the Lutron Electronics Co. and inventor of the first solid-state electronic dimmer, died on April 8, 2015 at the age of 88. Spira served in the United States Navy from 1940 to 1946 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Purdue University (1948). He then worked for a defense contractor where he developed his lifelong interest in lighting control.Spira founded Lutron in 1961 with his wife Ruth in their New York City apartment, introducing the Capri dimmer soon after. Chairman and Director of Research for the company, Spira grew Lutron into
The imaginative installations of Daniel Libeskind, Kengo Kuma, and more. "Future Flowers" by Daniel Libeskind. Each year at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, the Italian magazine Interni engages international architects and designers for temporary exhibits that become spaces for experimentation. Working off the theme "Energy for Life" of the Expo Milano 2015 (opening May 1), this year Interni presents "Energy for Creativity" at the University of Milan. Within the many courtyards of the sprawling university complex, built beginning in 1456 as a hospital, are large-scale installations by the likes of Daniel Libeskind, Alessandro Mendini, and Philippe Starck (though if
Snøhetta's design will double the size of the restaurant's garden. To the epicures lucky enough to score a reservation at The French Laundry this spring: A three-Michelin-starred feast isn’t the only sensory treat that awaits you. Earlier this month, the 20-year-old restaurant in Yountville, California, put its kitchen on full display to the street. Approaching guests can glimpse the intricate choreography of chefs and servers through a 30-foot-long bay window inserted into a shipping container fronting Washington Street. Three additional containers complete the kitchen. Designed by Berkeley-based Envelope A+D, the quartet of shipping containers is the latest phase in a
During the Egypt Economic Development Conference held in March at the resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, the Egyptian government unveiled a vision for building a new capital city, a project unimaginatively christened The Capital Cairo. The master plan, designed by Skidmore Owings, & Merrill (SOM), was touted at the conference as one of several megaprojects that promise to transform Egypt’s economy, create jobs, and attract international investment. Heads of state, including Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi and emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, stood around an architectural model of the proposed capital and marveled at the prospect
More than 60 studios from 30 countries will be represented in the first-ever North American architecture biennial, to take place this fall. Bureau Spectacular, Township of Domestic Parts The Chicago Architecture Biennial, to take place October 3 through January 1, today unveiled the programming for its inaugural edition, to be the first of its kind in North America. The survey, themed “The State of the Art of Architecture,” will include both new and commissioned works from 63 participating firms—including Bjarke Ingels Group, Sou Fujimoto, Studio Gang, 2015 Venice Golden Lion winner Mass Studies—from a total of 30 different countries based
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced that projects certified under the Living Building Challenge (LBC) can automatically earn most of the points available under its LEED rating system for energy and water efficiency.
PNC is fine-tuning the features of its almost-complete, ultra-green tower in Pittsburgh with a full-scale mock-up. The Tower at PNC Plaza, designed by Gensler, is nearing completion in Pittsburgh. The 33-story building is expected to rely on natural ventilation for more than 40 percent of working hours and use only half of the energy of a standard office building. A squat 1,200-square foot outdoor mock-up erected in a Pittsburgh industrial park is helping PNC Financial Services Group refine The Tower at PNC Plaza, which the company claims will be the world’s greenest skyscraper. Scheduled to open this fall in downtown
Photo by Sean Hemmerle, via Graham Foundation As preparations to demolish part of Paul Rudolph’s Orange County Government Center continued, lawyer Michael Sussman awaited his day in court. Last week, Sussman filed suit in against Orange County and two officials—county executive Steven Neuhaus and county legislator Leigh Benton—to stop the county from proceeding with a plan to tear down part of Rudolph's building and significantly alter the rest, as proposed by the engineering and architecture firm Clark Patterson Lee (CPL). Sussman described architect Gene Kaufman’s competing plan—to convert the building into artist studios, and build a new government center—as “the
152 Elizabeth Street, to be completed next November, will exemplify Ando's rigorous, serene architecture. Tadao Ando's 152 Elizabeth Street will measure 32,000 square feet over seven stories. New York City first got a taste of Tadao Ando when the Japanese architect designed Masaharu Morimoto’s eponymous restaurant nine years ago. The Pritzker Prize laureate is poised to more completely sate local architectural appetite with 152 Elizabeth Street, a condominium rising in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood, Ando’s first freestanding building in New York. Unlike Morimoto, which was praised for its dynamic layout and dramatic combinations of materials, the forthcoming building will exemplify
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