Boston has its fair share of upscale shopping malls and fashion boutiques but for the real deal—a Boston original—begin your shopping day at LouisBoston, the name in high fashion and bespoke tailoring since the late 1800s. Located in an Italianate-style building originally erected in 1863 as the city’s natural history museum, designed by William G. Preston, LouisBoston is a touch of Paris in Boston’s Back Bay. If you’ve been to Paris’s trendy Colette boutique, you’ll feel right at home here. The ground floor features an elegant housewares department, a candy bar—a counter where you can buy hand-crafted gourmet chocolates—unique art

Approximate length = 1.8 miles Estimated walking time = 2 hours Begin your tour at the Downtown Crossing stop on the Red and Orange subway lines. At street level in the entry to Filene’s Basement department store, you’ll see a pavement marking that declares this spot to be the Hub of the Universe, one of Boston’s many nicknames. The moniker is derived from an earlier version coined by poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, who dubbed Boston “Hub of the Solar System.” Photo courtesy Greater Boston CVB/ FayFoto A street in Boston’s historic Beacon Hill neighborhood. Related Links: History/overview Museums Galleries Shopping

Boston's young and mid-career practices find common ground in their training and research-based design. The bold cantilever of Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Institute of Contemporary Art thrusting over the waters of Boston Harbor revealed to locals that there could indeed be life beyond brick [RECORD, March 2007, page 108]. There is also something happening in Boston from the bottom up, an effervescence of local firms, startups that promise to sweep away some of the cobwebs that still accrue to the “Athens of America.” Photo ' John Horner Related Links: Amherst Residence by Anmahian Winton Grant/Fulton Recital Hall by Brian Healy

Boston's young and mid-career practices find common ground in their training and research-based design. The New Establishment Members of the newly emerged generation of Boston architects would cavil with the notion that they are in any way a new establishment—a common theme in all of these practices is not one of style but the imperative for constant critical enquiry. If there is any merit in the attempt to identify a DNA of Boston architecture, it is to find it in the uniform rejection of such complacent categorization. Photo ' Peter Vanderwarker Related Links: Amherst Residence by Anmahian Winton Grant/Fulton Recital

Three design teams explore the potential of electrochromic-glazing technology to enhance building-envelope performance and aesthetics. Photo courtesy Studio 804 The LEED Platinum and Passive House'Certified Center for Design Research at the University of Kansas features a trombe wall behind an electrochromic butt-glazed curtain wall developed with SageGlass. To earn one AIA learning unit (LU), including one hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read each of the articles below, and complete the test online. Upon passing, you will receive a certificate of completion and your credit will automatically be reported to the AIA. Find additional information regarding credit-reporting and

Two libraries in remote locations on different continents demonstrate the impact of small projects on communities in need. Both buildings contribute to the civic realm and create spaces that encourage users to engage with the architecture—and have fun. Photo courtesy Olivier Ottevaere & John Lin The architects used an existing public plaza and retaining wall as key elements in their design. The Pinch Yunnan Province, ChinaOlivier Ottevaere & John Lin Devastated by a major earthquake in September 2012, the Chinese village of Shuanghe in the southwestern province of Yunnan suffered neglect and then misguided governmental attention. After living in tents

Photo © BC architects & studies Using soil from the site for compressed-earth blocks, and local stones for mortarless walls helps anchor the 1,500-square-foot building to its physical and cultural context. Library of MuyingaMuyinga, BurundiBC architects & studies The first phase of a school for deaf children, the 1,500-square-foot Library of Muyinga, in northeast Burundi, combines inexpensive local materials with a modern approach to design. 'It's an architecture of low resources,' says Laurens Bekemans, who with partners Wes Degreef, Nicolas Coeckelberghs, and Ken De Cooman started the Brussels-based BC architects & studies (BC-AS) in 2011 as they were all graduating