On Friday, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) plans to announce the winners of its “Green Community” international competition, which drew 260 entries from 15 different countries. The competition was conducted in collaboration with the National Building Museum (NBM) in Washington, D.C., whose current exhibition of the same name (on display through October) features examples and analysis of 14 green communities located throughout the world. Taking its cue from the exhibition, the competition’s call for entries asked students to reimagine a specific area in their towns, considering issues such as reuse, remediation, conservation, sanitation, and water management, among
Editor’s note: You may read the news digest below or listen to it, plus other news headlines from ArchitecturalRecord.com, as a podcast by clicking this link. Click the play button to begin | Click here to download The Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards project scored a significant victory in court this week when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against developer Forest City Ratner, which is seeking the use of eminent domain to seize a dozen properties at the Brooklyn site where it plans to build the $4 billion mixed-use complex. “Plaintiffs have not set forth facts supporting a plausible claim
Preservationists in Great Britain are backing stronger planning powers that would affect the look—and height—of London’s future buildings. In March, the government released its White Paper on Heritage, which called for creating development buffer zones around 27 World Heritage sites, including the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament. It followed closely on the heels of calls from UNESCO to prevent skyscraper construction near heritage sites that are at risk from rising sea levels and other effects of climate change. Image: Courtesy English Heritage English Heritage’s interpretation of Rafael Viñoly’s looming Walkie-Talkie. Among the towers that could be affected
Ashley Scott Kelly and Rikako Wakabayashi, a Brooklyn-based architecture team, took home first prize in the Van Alen Institute's 'Envisioning Gateway' ideas competition this week. Launched last winter, the competition asked designers to re-conceive the National Recreation Area, a 26,607-acre waterfront zone along the New York-New Jersey coast that comprises one of the region's largest open spaces. It yielded 230 entrants from 23 different countries.
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) announced its 2008 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites today. This year’s list highlights buildings and other heritage sites that are threatened by political conflict, unchecked development, and, for the first time, climate change. Two places, much in the world’s headlines, made this year’s list for different reasons. New Orleans was cited for the ongoing risk that climate change presents to its future. “Historic neighborhoods, already pummeled by Hurricane Katrina, are now struggling to restore homes while also preparing for future challenges posed by rising sea levels and the likelihood of stronger
The looming acquisition of a software vendor that supports interoperability of competing electronic design and construction products by a leading vendor of design software is both raising concerns and welcomed. On May 31, Autodesk announced it had signed an agreement to acquire NavisWorks, which produces a universal file reader for 3D coordination, collaboration and construction sequencing, for $25 million. “The news concerns me greatly,” says Mark V. Holland, chief engineer for Omaha-based steel fabricator Paxton & Vierling Steel. “Will the application keep its original direction of being a universal reader in the building information modeling world?” Jay Bhatt, senior vice
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced the designation of 13 new National Historic Landmarks earlier this spring. This designation signifies the importance of these sites in representing the nation’s heritage. Although the list contains many historic sites, such as the Japanese internment camp at Topaz, Utah, it also includes architecturally significant structures.
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