Bernard Zimmerman, FAIA, wore many hats in the Southern California architectural community. He was an architect, planner, educator, preservationist, mentor, and curator. But friends and colleagues say he will be best remembered as the conscience of his profession, a passionate advocate for architecture and design who wasn’t shy about voicing opinions about what he loved and what he loathed. Zimmerman died June 4 at his Los Angeles home after a long illness. He was 79.
Today actor Brad Pitt’s organization Make It Right (MIR) released 14 new designs that will be among the 150 houses reconstructed in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. With this second round of schematics, MIR is offering residents the opportunity to rebuild affordable duplexes in addition to the single-family schemes introduced in 2007. Image courtesy Make It Right William McDonough + Partners Related Links: Pitt Selects More Architects for MIR First "Make It Right" Homes Complete Pitt Unveils Sustainable Designs for New Orleans “We always wanted to expand the design catalog, and doubles
Below is a roundup of the news stories either featured or mentioned in the July 2009 print edition of RECORD. The indicates that you can only read the full story online.
Code officials could see a new universal regulatory framework to guide the design and construction of green commercial buildings by the end of next year. On June 29, the American Institute of Architects, along with the International Code Council (ICC) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), announced their intent to create an International Green Construction Code (IGCC). The new code aims to cover all aspects of sustainability in the built environment, from roofing to ventilation strategies, drawing from existing codes and standards to create one universal code. The code will apply to new construction and renovations. “We
Photo @ Nick Milkovich Architects Arthur Erickson Canada’s most influential architect, Arthur Erickson, died on May 20 at the age of 84. Erickson is the only Canadian ever to be awarded the AIA’s Gold Medal (1986). He built to acclaim in Japan, Kuwait, England, and up and down the U.S. West Coast, from the San Diego Convention Centre (1981) to the Tacoma Museum of Glass (1996). His legacy, however, is most evident in the city of both his birth and death, Vancouver. One has to go all the way back to Daniel Burnham’s shaping of Chicago to find another North
F&S Partners, a Dallas-based firm that specializes in the design of educational, recreational, and religious projects, announced today that it is merging with SmithGroup, one of the nation’s top architecture and engineering firms. Founded in 1962 as Fisher and Spillman Architects, the F&S Partners office will now carry the name “SmithGroup/F&S.” It will provide architecture, interior design, MEP, and planning services to clients throughout the Southwest. No jobs will be eliminated at the 40-person F&S Partners. According to a prepared statement, all of its employees will remain on staff, and its five principals will continue to hold their management positions.
After decades of false starts, one of architect Louis Kahn’s final works, a 4.5-acre park in New York City to honor President Franklin D. Roosevelt, is scheduled to break ground in mid-August on the synergistically named Roosevelt Island, in the East River. Image courtesy Vladislav Yeliseyev Today, the nine-member board of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation voted 7 to 1 in favor of the proposal. Related Links: Is Kahn's FDR Memorial Back on Track? Today, the nine-member board of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), which is the public authority that runs the island, voted 7 to 1 in favor