Articles by Joann Gonchar, FAIA

New Report Assesses Cancer Risk of Chemicals in Building Materials

June 30, 2011

U.S officials have issued a warning list of chemicals and biological agents that may put people at increased risk for cancer. The congressionally mandated 12th Report on Carcinogens (RoC), prepared for the Department of Health and Human Services and released on June 10, contains new classifications for several substances found in building materials. Related Links 12th Report on Carcinogens The designation of formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen garnered the most attention, with industry representatives voicing their objections. The American Chemistry Council, for example, said the “unscientific decision” would jeopardize thousands of U.S. jobs since the chemical is in such

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

June 30, 2011

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The Barnes Foundation’s long and often contentious effort to relocate its highly regarded art collection to the Center City district in Philadelphia will reach a new milestone this weekend with the closure of its Merion, Pennsylvania galleries.

Glass/Wood House by Kengo Kuma and Associates

New Canaan, Connecticut

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

April 16, 2011

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For his first commission in the United States, Kengo Kuma had to carefully design an expansion to a mid-century Modern house in Connecticut.

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

March 16, 2011

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As a tagline, “building better libraries for stronger communities” might be a little trite, but it does sum up San Francisco’s ambitions for its branch-improvement program — an ongoing building campaign funded in part by a $105.9 million bond passed by city voters in 2000.

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

February 15, 2011

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To First-time visitors to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), it might appear that the fruits of its $345 million capital project are limited to the recently opened Arts of the Americas Wing at the building’s eastern end, designed by London-based Foster + Partners.

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

January 16, 2011

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James P. Barrett is the national director of integrated building solutions at Turner Construction Company, where he oversees the adoption of building information modeling (BIM) on projects.

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

November 22, 2010

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The Irish capital revamps its riverfront industrial lands, creating a mixed-use development with architecture by design luminaries such as Libeskind, Roche, and Calatrava. Photos courtesy DDA The Grand Canal Theatre, by Studio Daniel Libeskind (above). Click on the slide show button to see more images of architecture in the Dublin Docklands. The economic boom that began in the mid-1990s and transformed Ireland from one of Europe’s poorest countries into a Celtic Tiger has been all but dead for several years. However, the fruits of the more prosperous times are evident everywhere, including in the Dublin Docklands — about 1,300 acres

Media Production Center, Columbia College Chicago

Jeanne Gang turns to cinema to shape the spaces inside a new academic building.

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

November 15, 2010

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The southern reaches of Chicago’s South Loop might seem an odd place for a college academic building: The neighborhood is a gritty mix of warehouses, surface parking lots, loft conversions, and recently constructed residential towers.

Cambridge Public Library

Legible and Luminous: William Rawn’s pristine glass box for the Cambridge Public Library quadruples the size of the original historic building.

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

October 16, 2010

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Anyone who doubts the relevance of libraries in the age of e-readers, amazon.com, and the iPad should visit the new central branch of the Cambridge Public Library (CPL), in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Joann Gonchar, FAIA

September 16, 2010

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Ask any seasoned journalist, and he or she will likely confirm that the office environment for a news and media organization needs to support several seemingly incompatible activities, often occurring simultaneously. At any given moment, reporters are gathering information on the phone, impromptu meetings are happening in aisles and corridors, while writers and editors are trying to complete stories on tight deadlines. STUDIOS Architecture grappled with these demands when it designed offices for Dow Jones, the news and financial information provider best known as publisher of the Wall Street Journal. Soon after Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate, News Corporation (News Corp.),

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 ICC CEU

Explore modern façade and glazing systems that enhance daylighting, fire safety, and thermal performance while expanding architectural design possibilities.

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 ICC CEU; 1 PDH

Explore façade retrofit strategies and award-winning design concepts that can transform aging office buildings into healthier, higher-performing workplaces for today’s hybrid workforce.