In response to growing concerns from the market, USGBC is postponing plans to ballot the next version of LEED until 2013. The committees have been anticipating these changes for a long time, after the decision with LEED 2009 to minimize technical changes and focus on the reorganization and weighting of the credit structure. As a result, the credit requirement changes in the proposed LEED v4 rating system are the most extensive in LEED’s twelve-year history. Image courtesy KPF The KPF-designed BASF headquarters recently achieved double LEED Platinum certification, reflecting support for LEED 2009 from one of the largest chemical companies
This year marks the 25th anniversary for the organization's list, which draws attention to historic buildings, landscapes, and communities that are under threat. Photo courtesy Clara Daly/ward9.com/NTHP Ellis Island Hospital Complex. Click to view more images. Related Links: 2011 List of Most Endangered Sites 2010 List of Most Endangered Sites 2009 List of Most Endangered Sites 2008 List of Most Endangered Sites 2007 List of Most Endangered Sites 2006 List of Most Endangered Sites 2005 List of Most Endangered Sites 2004 List of Most Endangered Sites Today the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its 2012 list of America’s 11
Whether they pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree, many architecture students are forced to take out loans to cover tuition. With design jobs rarely offering large salaries, architects can spend years, if not decades, paying off that debt. Image courtesy Wikipedia Tuition at Harvard's Graduate School of Design is $40,440 per year. Related Links: 2011 America’s Best Architecture Schools Now, that repayment period could get even longer. On July 1, the interest rate on federally subsidized student loans is set to double, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The hiked rate will apply to new loans, not existing ones. The
Photo courtesy London 2012 Firms that designed venues for the 2012 London Olympics, but didn’t pay “sponsorship” fees, weren’t allowed to promote their involvement. Related Links: Special Report: London Now! For Deborah Saunt, principal of the London-based DSDHA, designing a building for the 2012 Games—the tallest tower in the athletes’ village—was the kind of break most young architects can only dream of. But it wasn’t clear how Saunt would parlay the commission into more business. Like all the architects involved in the Olympics, Saunt signed a contract ceding publication rights to the city’s Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). That meant she
Image courtesy EMC The Eisenhower family approves of recent changes but remains unhappy with the large metal tapestries. Related Links Gehry Modifies Design for Eisenhower Memorial American Enterprise Institute Responds to Critique of Forum on Memorial Design Modernism Takes a Beating at Forum on Memorial Design Ever since Gehry Partners unveiled changes to its design for the national memorial to President Dwight Eisenhower on May 15, the big question has been whether the Eisenhower family will now support the design. The adjustments, such as changing bas reliefs to statues and making one statue depict Eisenhower as a young man instead of
Funding shortfalls could hinder ambitious waterfront schemes planned for several U.S. cities. Image courtesy Michael Maltzan The Lens, St. Petersburg, Florida. Click to view more images. Related Links: Brooklyn Bridge Park Toronto Waterfront Vision Focuses on Tourist Dollars A Stunning Revival for Hamburg’s Old Port Waterfronts get architects—and politicians—thinking big, and sometimes too big. Even Daniel Burnham (he of “make no little plans”) proposed festooning Chicago’s lakefront with five massive piers, of which only one was ever built. Now that structure, the 3,300-foot-long Navy Pier, is about to get a face-lift that residents hope isn’t too large a financial burden
In the ongoing debate over whether memorials to commemorate political and military events and leaders should embrace architectural modernism or stick with classicism, several conservative groups have taken a firm stance in favor of classicism. Photo courtesy Wikipedia The National World War II Memorial (2004) was designed by Friedrich St. Florian. Related Links: Gehry Modifies Design for Eisenhower Memorial Gehry Hopes to Meet With Eisenhower Family to Allay Concerns A Monumental Debate On May 18, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a right-wing think tank focused on public policy, teamed up with the National Civic Art Society (NCAS), an advocacy organization
Image courtesy Dreamhub The 620-m-tall Landmark Tower, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, will dominate Seoul's 3.4-million-sq-m multibuilding Yongsan International Business District. Unusual double-helix external bracing will stabilize a 620-meter-tall tower at the center of the 20-building Yongsan International Business District, planned for a 3,000-hectare site next to the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. The conical skyscraper is among the first of the major buildings scheduled to start construction soon, now that conceptual designs for the 3.4-million-square-meter brownfield development have been completed. Teams of local and international architects and engineers announced their concepts for each of Yongsan's planned buildings
Courtesy of Hirsch Bedner Associates No one sleeps at Antilia, a $1-billion residence built for India's richest man, because it violates the tenets of Vastu Shastra, an ancient version of feng shui. The ballroom is one of many spaces used by the family during the day. The 27-story "house" has 168 parking spaces, nine elevators, three helipads, a health spa, a 50-seat theater and more. A lavishly decked-out 27-story residence in the heart of South Mumbai—built for India's richest man and the ninth wealthiest person in the world—is swathed in secrecy. All are mum about the details of how the
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