Images courtesy Urban Lab “Eco-boulevards” inserted into Chicago’s street system would clean wastewater. In 2007, the nine-year-old architecture studio UrbanLab won The History Channel’s City of the Future ideas competition with its entry, Growing Water. Most notably, the submission envisioned how Chicago could insert “eco-boulevards” into the street system that would clean wastewater and storm water by bioremediation. The concept has gained traction among decision makers in the city’s transportation and environmental departments, as well as the mayor’s office, according to Martin Felsen, AIA, UrbanLab coprincipal with Sarah Dunn. But for a young office juggling a gamut of residential and
From October 17 to 30, a temporary prefab “neighborhood” in Philadelphia will offer an optimistic view of what a revitalized city might look like in the near future.
Photos courtesy MacArthur Foundation John Ochsendorf (top); Jennifer Tipton (above). On Tuesday, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the recipients of its 2008 MacArthur Fellowships, commonly known as the “genius grants.” Among the 25 winners are engineer and architectural preservationist John Ochsendorf, and stage lighting designer Jennifer Tipton. The annual fellowships provide each recipient $500,000, paid in quarterly installments over five years, to use as they please, with no strings attached. Winners are selected for their “creativity, originality, and potential to make important contributions in the future,” according to the foundation. The fellows typically span a wide
The Museum of the City of New York recently celebrated the completion of the first phase of an extensive, $97-million renovation and expansion plan designed by Polshek Partnership Architects. The most notable component of phase one is a new single-story, 3,000-square-foot glass pavilion attached to the rear of the existing building at 1220 Fifth Avenue. Other important features remain largely invisible because they’re located underground: the $28 million project adds two additional levels beneath the pavilion for a much-needed curatorial center, which provides environmental controls and equipment to help preserve the museum’s photographs, prints, textiles, and other artifacts. The museum’s
Environmental sustainability has long played a role in Princeton University’s plan for its 380-acre campus in central New Jersey. While consulting on the landscape design from 1912 to 1943, the landscape architect Beatrix Farrand employed conservation measures, such as creating underground cisterns to collect rainwater for irrigation. So it follows that the school’s latest campus plan—its most ambitious to date—has a green focus.
The U.S. Green Building Council recently announced the 13 recipients of grants totaling $2 million. After identifying an alarming dearth of research in the field of sustainable design and construction, the USGBC created the Green Building grant program to further the development of sustainable building practices and increase green market share. The grants range from $90,000 to $250,000. Speaking of the winning proposals, USGBC president Rick Fedrizzi said that they “drive knowledge, policies, tools, and technologies and inspire corresponding industry and government-wide action.” The field of contenders was competitive and diverse, with 216 pre-proposals and 38 full proposals. The winning
Photo courtesy RECORD archives Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA, who was the editor of Architectural Record from 1990 to mid-1996, passed away on September 10 while visiting Germany. He was 78 years old. The cause of death was cancer, according to his wife Felicia Drury Kliment. Kliment had a varied career, working as a magazine and book editor, an architect, and a teacher. He led RECORD during the construction industry’s worst recession since the 1930s, shaping a leaner publication that emphasized straightforward writing and concern for architectural practice, not just architectural design. “Stephen Kliment upheld the century-old
BusinessWeek and Architectural Record magazines have announced the winners of their 11th annual "Good Design is Good Business" international competition. This awards program honors innovative architecture that demonstrates exemplary design, while helping clients achieve their business goals. Six projects from around the globe received the 2008 award.
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