Gonchar, FAIA| Architectural Record

Standards for High-Performance Building in the Works

January 31, 2008

In the not too distant future there could be two U.S. standards for green buildings. Later this spring, the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), in conjunction with two other industry organizations, is planning to release for public comment a second draft of its standard for high-performance buildings. Meanwhile, the three-year-old non-profit Green Building Initiative (GBI) is also working toward establishing its Green Globes rating system for commercial buildings as an official standard. Both organizations are following the protocols of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and expect to release fully completed and approved documents by the

Tempe Center for the Arts by Barton Myers Associates and Architekton

Tempe, Arizona

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

January 18, 2008

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Crimped and folded like the tectonic plates of the nearby Papago and Camelback Mountains, the roof that tops the Tempe Center for the Arts in Arizona provides the facility with its signature element.

Fashioning an aural architecture

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

January 16, 2008

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Crimped and folded like the tectonic plates of the nearby Papago and Camelback Mountains, the roof that tops the Tempe Center for the Arts provides the facility with its signature element. Made of concrete over metal deck and supported by exposed tubular trusses, the iconic roof shelters the collection of programmatic elements that compose the $67.6 million center, including a 600-seat proscenium theater, a 200-seat studio theater, and a 3,500-square-foot gallery.

Leven Betts Studio Crafts Its Project-Specific Solutions at a Variety of Scales

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

December 19, 2007

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Employing what they call a "research-and-diagram-based process," David Leven and Stella Betts, of New York City'based Leven Betts Studio, have been creating environments that are inventive, spare, and elegant for the past decade. Their method involves scrutiny of site, program, and material, to create an organizational framework and physical structure.

ASLA green roof yields impressive benefits

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

November 19, 2007

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Earlier this fall, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) released performance data for the green roof planted on its Washington, D.C., headquarters. The findings demonstrate a number of environmental benefits, including a significant reduction in storm-water runoff, retaining 27,500 gallons of water, or nearly 75 percent of precipitation, during a 10-month monitoring period. Photography: Courtesy ASLA The installation includes planted “waves” that hide rooftop mechanical units. The results suggest that widespread implementation of green roofs and other sustainable site development practices could be a viable storm-water-management option, particularly in cities with older, and overburdened, combined sanitary and wastewater transportation

Owners tout operational advantages, but dual LEED certification is slow to catch on

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

November 19, 2007

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Since the launch of LEED for Existing Buildings (EB) three years ago, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has seen modest participation in its program focused on encouraging best practices in the ongoing operations and maintenance of already constructed buildings. So far, about 400 buildings have been registered with the council, while approximately 75 projects have achieved certification. Photography: © Timothy Hursley (top); dbox advertising and design (above) Two previously certified NC projects, the Clinton Library (top) and the Solaire (above), are seeking EB certification at the Platinum level. According to council estimates, fewer than five of these EB-certified projects

Conference examines a single material's properties and its inherent ironies

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

November 15, 2007

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If there were a prize for the project most often mentioned during the conference “Engineered Transparency: Glass in Architecture and Structural Engineering,” it would go to the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, in Ohio, designed by SANAA [RECORD, January 2007, page 79]. The first to present the building was the Tokyo-based firm’s principal, Kazuyo Sejima, in her keynote address on September 26 for the two-day event at Columbia University, in New York City. Photography: ' Christian Richters The apparent simplicity of Toledo’s Glass Pavilion belies its complexity. Several of the subsequent 30 speakers, including architects, consultants, and

Monastery of Our Lady of Novy Dvur

In a remote corner of Bohemia, John Pawson sculpts light, carving out a powerful yet ethereal home for the brothers of Novy Dvur.

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

September 3, 2007

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On the surface at least, it is hard to imagine a more incongruous combination of architect and client: the London-based John Pawson, known for his starkly Minimal and elegant temples to material culture, and a community of Cistercian monks whose lives revolve around prayer, study, and physical labor.