After a decade of creating jutting projections for museums, Daniel Libeskind has attempted to redefine the look of another institution: the shopping mall. Called the Westside Shopping and Leisure Centre, the low-slung 1.5-million-square-foot facility in Bern, Switzerland, is the first project of its type for the New York-based architect. It opened on October 8.
The plunging financial markets this month, followed by unprecedented responses from the federal government, have left many Americans bracing for a deep recession. In the architecture profession, however, the downturn has already arrived, according to a key measure of the market for architectural services. Image courtesy AIA As of August, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI), which the American Institute of Architects compiles in part from statistics provided by firms, had dipped below 50 for seven straight months. Anything below 50 represents a billings decrease. As of August, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI), which the American Institute of Architects compiles in
RMJM’s Global Education Studio (GES) is designing master plans for two separate university campuses in Libya—making it the first American architecture office to work in the North African country since the U.S. lifted sanctions against it in 2004. While RMJM is based in the United Kingdom, its Global Education Studio is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. Image courtesy RMJM Global Education Studio RMJM’s Global Education Studio, based in New Jersey, is designing master plans for two university campuses in Libya—making it the first American architecture office to work in the North African country since the U.S. lifted sanctions against it
Alvaro Siza, the quietly respected Portuguese architect, is the recipient of the 2009 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Gold Medal. The award honors a body of work amassed over a lifetime that has had an international influence. Siza will receive the award at a ceremony at RIBA’s Florence Hall in February. Photo courtesy RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects announced on October 7 that Alvaro Siza is the recipient of the 2009 Gold Medal. “He’s a very complete and profoundly thoughtful architect, and it’s high time he got the RIBA Gold Medal,” says RIBA President Sunand Prasad. “There’s
With researchers estimating that a majority of the world’s population will live in cities by 2025, an urgent need to better understand the urban landscape has arisen. In that spirit, The New School, a Manhattan-based university, has created an environmental studies program centered on urban ecology and design. The program will launch in 2009, pending state approval. Photo courtesy The New School The New School, a Manhattan-based university, has created an environmental studies program that focuses on urban ecology and design. The program will launch in 2009, pending state approval. Two degree tracks will be offered: a bachelor of science
Foster + Partners has designed a major new waterfront development for Rimini, Italy, a mid-sized city located on the Adriatic Sea. The firm unveiled its proposal, a collaboration with developer Gruppo Gecos, in June after local officials invited ideas to improve the area.
Brilliant inventions usually result when someone asks the right question at the right time. Taja Sevelle, the founder and executive director of Urban Farming, a Detroit-based nonprofit dedicated to eradicating hunger, had just such a query for architect Robin Osler when the two met last year for the first time: If sedum and other non-edible plants thrive on green roofs and walls, why not tomatoes, peppers, and onions? If so, she reckoned, these gardens could supply free, healthy food for economically distressed neighborhoods. Images courtesy Urban Farming Food Chain In Los Angeles, walls covered in food plants are being installed
One of the world’s great architecture patrons has hired two distinguished architects—the Indian Modernist Charles Correa and Pritzker Prize winner Fumihiko Maki—to design a $200-million cultural and religious complex in Toronto.
In a white paper released last week, Michelle Kaufmann Designs, a California-based firm, laid out the case for a “sustainability” labeling system for houses that mimics the labeling system for packaged food.
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