On Tuesday the National Trust for Historic Preservation unveiled its 2008 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The private, nonprofit organization has released the list annually since 1988 to galvanize preservationists and community members to save threatened buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes. The effort has been mostly successful: only six of the 200 total identified sites have been lost so far.
The U.S. Green Building Council is giving the public a look at the first fruits of its sweeping revision of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. On May 19, the organization posted the working draft of LEED 2009 for a 30-day public comment period. LEED 2009 is the rating system component of a larger program referred to as LEED Version 3 (LEED v3), which will replace LEED 2.2. Other features of the new program include a revamped online project management tool and an expanded third-party certification process. In general, LEED 2009 increases the rating system's emphasis on
Ben van Berkel, cofounder of UNStudio with Caroline Bos, recently unveiled designs for Five Franklin Place, a condominium tower that will rise in Manhattan’s swanky Tribeca neighborhood. The project, whose 55 units range in price from $2 million to $16 million, is the Amsterdam-based architecture firm’s first major building in the United States. It is being developed by New York–based business partners David Kislin and Leo Tsimmer.
The University of Pennsylvania plans to announce today that Marilyn Jordan Taylor, FAIA, a long-time partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, will be the new dean of its School of Design.
Harmon Sews the Seeds of 'Earthy Modernism' If architecture is didactic, and Frank Harmon, FAIA, thinks it is, then his design for the American Institute of Architects North Carolina (AIA/NC) headquarters in downtown Raleigh is a master course in what the architect calls “earthy Modernism.” The 12,000-square-foot structure is intended to meet both LEED Platinum standards and the American Institute of Architects’ Committee On the Environment objectives. In addition to containing staff offices and a lecture hall for presentations, it will feature less obvious elements such as a community recycling center and an outdoor area for concerts and farmers’ markets.
Ceramic Frit Does Double Duty The downtown of Mesa del Sol, a 25-square-mile development in Albuquerque, will feature a cultural, office, and retail core whose design is unlike most others at the heart of similar master-planned communities. Designed by Antoine Predock, FAIA, with locally based Jon Anderson, AIA, as executive architect, the Town Center building will be clad in a glass curtain wall whose ceramic frit—that doubles as a film screen—was inspired by the cellular structure of bone. Images courtesy Forest City Covington NM LLC The Town Center building will be the office, cultural, and retail core of Mesa Del
Superdome's New Skin is Tougher Than Pig Skin In deciding how to repair the outside of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, a local design team faced a challenge of time and engineering. Locals love the bronze hue of aluminum panels that clad the arena’s curvy walls, but Hurricane Katrina had blown off some of those panels. Could the architects make repairs without stamping on incongruously shiny bits? Or, could they replace the entire skin without cheapening the dome’s resilient look? Images courtesy Trahan Architects The Louisiana Superdome’s steel skin is being replaced with new aluminum panels that will match
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum recently announced the recipients of its ninth annual National Design Awards, prestigious accolades that recognize achievements in a range of creative disciplines. Photo courtesy Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects Tom Kundig won the Cooper-Hewitt’s National Design Award in the architecture category. View images of projects by his Seattle-based firm, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects. Related Links: The ArchRecord Interview: Tom Kundig Rolling Huts by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Stilt Cabin by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Skinner Studio by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Rockwell to Transform Steel Mill Into Arts Center A Bedazzled, Pop-Up Restaurant
Charles Eames would have turned 100 on June 17. To commemorate his birthday, the United States Postal Service is issuing 42-cent stamps featuring the collaborative work of the influential designer and his wife, Ray.
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