Suzanne Stephens

Renzo Piano Comments on the New York Times Building

February 15, 2008

[In an interview with RECORD deputy editor Suzanne Stephens in preparation for the magazine’s coverage in its February 2008 issue, the architect reflected on the building and underscored certain concerns relating to architecture at the current moment.] Photo © Annie Leibovitz/courtesy Renzo Piano Building Workshop Related Links: The New York Times Building Curtain-Wall Ingenuity A Look Back in History Videos Slide Show “Constantly present in my mind when designing the New York Times Building was that today's architecture should be inspired by what is happening with the climatic crisis. In the way the last [20th] century opened with an interest

Höweler + Yoon Blurs Edges Between Art and Architecture With Digital Aplomb

Suzanne Stephens

December 19, 2007

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Two young architects, Eric Höweler and J. Meejin Yoon, stepped into the architectural limelight in 2004 not with a building but an interactive LED light installation, created for the Athens Olympics.

Alessi Flagship Store by Asymptote Architecture

New York

Suzanne Stephens

September 3, 2007

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Asymptote's glowingly mist-blue store for Alessi adds drama to New York's SoHo neigborhood.

Bloch Building, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Steven Holl Architects merges architecture, art, and landscape into a unified experience for the Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City

Suzanne Stephens

July 19, 2007

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During construction, the reaction to Nelson-Atkins’ Bloch Building ran the gamut from irascible to irate.

LeMessurier, Talented Engineer, Dies at 81

Suzanne Stephens

June 27, 2007

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Photo by John Brooke, courtesy Irene Jenks Charismatic, daring, artistic. We don’t always associate these qualities with structural engineers, but the highly esteemed Bill LeMessurier, who passed away June 14 at the age of 81, embodied all of them. Trained as an architect at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, LeMessurier graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in building engineering and construction in 1953—“then all his [Harvard] classmates hired him,” remembers his wife, Dorothy, who married him the same year. Indeed, since LeMessurier started his eponymous practice in 1961, he distinguished himself with a

Margaret Helfand, Noted Female Architect, Dies at 59

Suzanne Stephens

June 26, 2007

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Margaret Helfand, FAIA, died June 20 at the age of 59. Her death was due to colon cancer. Since she opened her office in 1981, Helfand had created a body of work distinguished for its clean, Modernist vocabulary and skillful use of natural materials, combined with a quiet and subtle inventiveness. Her commitment to the craft of construction, the exploration of materials of varying textures, as well as her attention to details, set Helfand apart from a number of her colleagues. Photo: Courtesy Helfand Architecture Margaret Helfand Except for a brief partnership, Helfand practiced on her own and gradually broke

Paul Rudolph Penthouse

Della Valle Bernheimer's thoughtful renovation of the Paul Rudolph Penthouse in New York rises from his original intentions

Suzanne Stephens

June 19, 2007

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This could be called one of the toughest renovation jobs imaginable.

Philip Johnson's Glass House: An Essay in Timelessness

Suzanne Stephens

June 16, 2007

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A classic example of Modern architecture is spiffed up for its public debut.

Meinel Optical Sciences Expansion

Rich'rd and Bauer designs an outstanding laboratory space for the Meinel optical sciences expansion at the University of Arizona in Tucson

Suzanne Stephens

May 19, 2007

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Richärd + Bauer, a young Phoenix-based firm, has demonstrated numerous times in its 11-year history that it can still advance architectural quality in inexpensive institutional buildings.