From a wall made of beer bottles to a traveling prayer room that evokes a covered wagon, the recipients of the AIA’s 2009 Small Project Awards run the gamut. The 20 winners were announced in May and recognized at the association’s annual convention in San Francisco. Now in its fifth year, the awards program is divided into three categories: objects (up to $50,000 construction budget); structures (up to $500,000 construction budget); and “accessible” residential designs. The jury included: Louis Smith (moderator), AIA, Microtecture; Kenneth Workman, AIA, RWA Architects; Sanford Steinberg, AIA, Steinberg Design Collaborative; Eric McRoberts, AIA, RLPS; Katherine Austin,
The overall design market has taken a big hit during the recent recession. But for many owners, hard times have stirred increased interest in the more practical elements of sustainable design, such as energy efficiency. The ENR Top 100 Green Design Firms generated $2.85 billion in revenue in 2008 from projects registered with such green design programs as the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, an increase of 63.9% over $1.74 billion in 2007. More detailed information on the Top 100 Green Design Firms: View complete list with revenue and market data. Current Top Green Design
In Bilbao, the Guggenheim Museum invented the contemporary strain of iconic, even city-defining, museum buildings, where the architecture threatens to outshine the artwork. But the struggle between collection and container dates back even further to the museum’s flagship building in New York City.
One White House nomination is still forthcoming for a job that has relevance to the design world, even if most Americans don’t know of its existence: the Architect of the Capitol.
It appears that Frank Gehry, FAIA, is finding fertile ground in New Orleans. In addition to designing a duplex for Brad Pitt’s “Make It Right” project, Gehry has teamed with urban planner and artist, Robert Tannen, to create a modular shotgun house that they say will be affordable, sustainable, and compatible with the city’s historic housing types.
Fueled by programs begun in the Great Depression, sprawl has been the dominant mode of residential development in the U.S. for decades. But the current recession and credit freeze, coupled with high-energy prices, have prompted a reassessment. “We're seeing a pretty remarkable historical moment,” says Dolores Hayden, professor of architecture and urbanism at Yale University. "When the economy is declining, it's a tremendous opportunity to rethink this system.” Image courtesy U.S. Census Bureau (top); Photo courtesy Wikipedia (above). New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago continue to be the largest cities in the U.S., according to a report released July 1
The British architect Richard Rogers recently made headlines when he lambasted Prince Charles for interfering with the democratic planning process. Specifically, Lord Rogers was displeased with the prince's involvement in scuttling one of the 75-year-old architect's major commissions, Chelsea Barracks, which called for the construction of a dozen-plus glass-and-steel buildings in west London.
Designed by Japanese firm SANAA with structural engineering by Japan-based SAPS and UK-based ARUP, this year’s structure promises to be a departure from years past, if only because SANAA, according to the partners Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima, “started out trying not to make ‘architecture.’”
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