Editor’s note: You may read the news digest below or listen to it, plus other news headlines from ArchitecturalRecord.com, as a podcast by clicking this link. Click the play button to begin | Click here to download Frank Gehry’s so-called “Ohr pods,” 40-foot-tall cylindrical structures whose warped metal forms resemble the eccentric pottery of the 19th century Mississippi artist George Ohr, have been fabricated and construction bids are set to go out by the end of the month, the Mississippi Sun Herald reported on October 21. The four pods will contain galleries at the Ohr O’Keefe Museum of Art, which

For much of its 11-year life, the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver (MCA) has been overshadowed by the better-known Denver Art Museum. Most recently located in a former fish market downtown, it struggled to attract visitors—despite some well-received shows put together by executive director and chief curator Cydney Payton. But on Sunday the museum will open its new, permanent home: a dark-gray glass box designed by the London-based architect David Adjaye, the rising star’s first public building in the United States. Click this link to hear a six-minute conversation between MCA Denver architect David Adjaye and RECORD reporter David Hill. Images:

For much of its 11-year life, the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver (MCA) has been overshadowed by the better-known Denver Art Museum. Most recently located in a former fish market downtown, it struggled to attract visitors—despite some well-received shows put together by executive director and chief curator Cydney Payton. But on Sunday the museum will open its new, permanent home: a dark-gray glass box designed by the London-based architect David Adjaye, the rising star’s first public building in the United States. Click this link to hear a six-minute conversation between MCA Denver architect David Adjaye and RECORD reporter David Hill. Images:

An overall decline in construction starts in the United States could prove more dire than originally thought. McGraw-Hill Construction, RECORD’s corporate affiliate, estimates that the industry experienced an 8 percent decline in construction starts in 2007 and it forecasts another 2 percent drop in 2008. This forecast was released today during McGraw-Hill Construction’s 2008 Construction Outlook conference in Washington, D.C. After reaching a record $668.9 billion in total construction starts in 2006, values are expected to hit $626.7 billion for 2007 and $614.1 billion in 2008. Last year, McGraw-Hill Construction predicted that starts in 2007 would drop 1 percent, as

Most green roofs are located out of sight and beyond reach, but the future tenants of a residential and retail project now under construction in Philadelphia will get to enjoy a green roof designed to serve as both a garden and a storm-water treatment system. Photo: Courtesy Erdy McHenry Architecture A green roof will cap the Radian's street-level shops. The roof will be located atop the ground-floor retail podium of the Radian, a 154-unit privately owned student housing-complex on the University of Pennsylvania's Philadelphia campus. Ringed by dense plantings of black-eyed Susans and other flowering species, the space is located

Worries over how long the credit crunch will continue to impact residential construction are having a spillover affect on lending in other construction markets. The Architectural Billings Index (ABI) reflected these jitters in September, falling 2.8 points for a score of 51.1. It was the index’s second down month in a row. The number of inquiries for new projects in September, meanwhile, rose slightly for a score of 61.4. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) compiles these indices based on surveys sent to 300 mainly commercial firms; any value over 50 indicates growth. Studies have shown a correlation between the

In architectural terms, the 2007 World Series, which opens tonight in Boston, pits the Red Sox’s venerable 1912 Fenway Park against the Colorado Rockies’ 1995-vintage Coors Field in Denver—old bricks v. new bricks. Fenway is the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, but it’s receiving a makeover informed by the latest thinking on sustainability. The Red Sox are planning to add photovoltaic panels and make additional green improvements with advice from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Although there is not yet a standardized way of greening a stadium, the Sox join a host of other ball clubs pursuing LEED-inspired, or

The Netherlands’ obsessive relationship with water dates to the construction of the first polders in the Middle Ages. But only in recent decades have Dutch designers and engineers considered coexisting with water, rather than holding it back. The Rijswijk-based architecture firm Waterstudio, for example, has gained prominence as visionary designers of floating homes both locally and as far afield as Dubai, while organizations like the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects has sponsored resources including “H2olland,” an online exhibition that explores new opportunities for a life afloat. Images Courtesy Ronday Winkelaar Architects Architects Maxim Winkelaar and Bob Ronday won a competition

When Paul Chan visited New Orleans for the first time in November 2006, the digital media and video artist expected to hear the sound of jackhammers and to see evidence of post-Katrina progress. He instead witnessed a far different scene: “The streets were still, as if time had been swept away along with the houses. Friends said the city now looks like the backdrop for a bleak science fiction movie. ... I realized it didn’t look like a movie set, but the stage for a play I have seen many times. It was unmistakable. The empty road. The bare tree