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  Chuck Hoberman Chuck Hoberman is the founder of Hoberman Associates, a multidisciplinary practice that specializes in creating products and structures that have the capacity to change in shape, size and function. His vast and varied project portfolio includes everything from toys and medical equipment, to deployable shelters and retractable domes. On Oct. 10, Hoberman will speak about “Transformative Structures” at the 2007 Innovation Conference in NYC. Jenna M. McKnight: What will you speak about at the conference? Chuck Hoberman: I will focus primarily on my collaborative work with several architectural firms. This includes projects in Spain and the Middle

William Mitchell is director of the MIT Design Laboratory, where he heads up the Smart Cities research group. The team is investigating how buildings and cities can respond more intelligently to their inhabitants. One of their recent projects is the CityCar Concept, a program involving stackable, electric vehicles that can be shared by urban residents. Hear Mitchell speak about “Technologies of Smart Sustainability” at the 2007 Innovation Conference. Photo: © Franco Vairani CityCar Concept vehicles Watch as Bryant Rousseau speaks with Mitchell about the future of cities, how to improve architecture schools, his SmartCar project, the great need today for

Tom Kundig, FAIA, is one of the four partners whose names grace the marquee of Seattle-based Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects. He’s best known for his residential work throughout the Pacific Northwest: small houses that open themselves to the surrounding environment, be it a natural or an urban one. This year, Kundig—along with three other designers—was honored with an American Academy of Arts and Letters Architecture Award. Photo: © Benjamin Benschneider Click here for a slideshow of Kundig’s residential work. What exactly does Kundig mean by “prospect and refuge”? Click here for his one-minute explanation. Architectural Record’s news editor, James

JM: Your firm is perhaps best known for its residential, but then you also have the other aspect which is museums and cultural spaces. Particularly when it comes to controlling light, I’m wondering if there are any similarities between the two building types? Photo: © Benjamin Benschneider Delta Shelter, Mazama, Washington, Completed in 2005 Are we seeing the end of the McMansion—and, if so, what is leading to its demise? Click here for Kundig’s one-minute answer. TK: Architecture is about the manipulation of light: both artificial light and day lighting. Architecture is basically shelter and whether that shelter is where

JM: You’re often described as a Pacific Northwest firm, but you’re doing stuff around the country, right? TK: There are four owners in the firm and all of us are doing more and more work around North America, both Canada and the United States. In fact, I had some people in the office take a map and note with red dots some of the projects I’m working on right now. It’s almost like a spiral that’s coming out of the center of Seattle and it’s reaching all the way to Alaska, reaching down to Texas, over to Spain, possibly something

BR: I’d like to name quickly a couple of projects and then maybe you could talk about your inspiration for them and what you think really sets them apart as architectural works: “The Ship” (1:00)? FS: Ah, yes. There’s no question that’s one of the many variations on what started as the leaf on the top of the Groninger Museum. And that was originally intended to go on top of a building that was and is built. It was supposed to be a rooftop addition. photograph: the Metropolitan Museum of Art/Anna Marie Kellen. Installation view of “Frank Stella on the

The Miami-based architect, who heads Oppenheim Architecture + Design, initially made his reputation with for-sale multifamily projects that combine a sleek Modernism with the tropical (and hedonistic) atmosphere of their surroundings.