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LY: Another problem with the former design is that people had trouble finding the galleries upstairs. When did you first notice this? MH: In 1924, when they placed the earliest galleries and period rooms on the top floor. It was always a problem for people to get to the beginning of the sequence. The principal goal of our effort was to clarify patterns of access—pathways for visitors. And the 1980 design did not solve the linkage issue between the 1924 structure and the rest of the building. At that time, they tried to integrate the wing with the main building,

Brooklyn Arts District Plods Ahead Despite delays and the cancellation of high-profile plans, the BAM Cultural District in downtown Brooklyn is slowly but surely moving forward. Envisioned as a hub of artistic activity clustered around the existing Brooklyn Academy of Music, four projects are scheduled to break ground later this year. Image courtesy Downtown Brooklyn Partnership Related Links: BAM's Next Wave BAM District Regains Momentum The district was originally organized around a master plan completed in the year 2000 by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, and included an Enrique Norten-designed glass library shaped like a

Beyer Blinder Belle to Restore Budapest’s Exchange Palace Images courtesy Beyer Blinder Bell Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners is designing a major renovation and adaptive reuse of Exchange Palace, a historic landmark occupying two city blocks in central Budapest. New York firm Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners (BBB) has announced that it will begin a major renovation and adaptive reuse of Exchange Palace, a historic landmark occupying two city blocks in central Budapest. The 1905 building was designed in the Hungarian Secessionist style by Ignacz Alpar, and according to BBB principal and project lead Jack Beyer, it “is

Several of the American Institute of Architects’ 2008 model contract documents for integrated project delivery are being challenged by a prominent lawyer who also is an architect and general counsel for a major A/E/C firm. The documents under fire are all related to the creation of a limited-liability company called a single-purpose entity (SPE). Their names are: C-195, or “Standard Form Single Purpose Entity Agreement for Integrated Project Delivery”; C-196-2008, or “Standard Form of Agreement Between Single Purpose Entity and Owner for Integrated Project Delivery”; and C-197-2008, or “Standard Form of Agreement Between Single Purpose Entity and Non-Owner Member for

Clark Manus, FAIA It could be paying heed to the current economic crisis. It could be following President Obama’s lead in tackling tough social problems. And it might feel emboldened by recent federal legislation that architects lobbied for: the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, which calls for grants to be made available to public school systems for facility upgrades, and the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which contains a range of promising construction projects. The “it” is the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and its recent election of new officers reflects a heightened commitment to

Big changes are in store for the nearly 18,000 people enrolled in the Intern Development Program, administered by the National Council for Architectural Registration Boards. Starting July 1, interns will have additional options for gaining needed training units and will have to meet much tighter deadlines. Six-Month Rule The most immediate impact will be the implementation of the new “Six-Month Rule,” which requires interns to submit training units in reporting periods of no longer than six months and within two months of completion of each reporting period. Any units beyond those periods will be lost; however, interns who start a

Philadelphia, with the nation’s largest concentration of health care resources within a 100-mile radius—including America’s first hospital, founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin—has long provided a vigorous market for architects working in the health-care sector.  Image courtesy AIA New York Via Verde, a multifamily project designed by Grimshaw Architects and Dattner Architects, is planned for the South Bronx. Related Links: Architects in the South Feel the Economic Pinch Midwest Architects Slog Through Recession Architects in the West Hit Hard by Recession Architectural Billings Index Shows Signs of Hope Special Section: Construction Stimulus But in the past year, Mark Hebden, executive

Architect Ellerbe Becket, of Kansas City, has been retained by New Jersey Nets owner and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, of Forest City Ratner Cos. (FCRC) to come up with a new design for the long-delayed and controversial Atlantic Yards basketball and entertainment arena in Brooklyn. Ellerbe Becket replaces Gehry Partners. New York City-based structural engineer Thornton-Tomasetti, and mechanical-electrical-plumbing engineer, WSP Flack + Kurtz, will remain on the project. FCRC says it hopes to unveil new images of the arena, named Barclays Center, in late June and intends to break ground later this year in anticipation of a completed arena

The New Acropolis Museum, Bernard Tschumi’s minimalist counterpoint to one of the world’s great archaeological sites, officially opens June 20, eight years after he won an international competition to design it, and three decades after the idea for a new Acropolis museum first surfaced. Image courtesy Bernard Tschumi The New Acropolis Museum officially opens on June 20. Related Links: A Temple to Transparency Rises in Athens “The design was chosen for its simple, clear, and beautiful solution that is in accord with the beauty and classical simplicity of the museum’s unique exhibits,” says professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, president of the private