Articles by Joann Gonchar, FAIA

Photos © Mamoru Ishiguro Hoberman recently completed his first building with an adaptive skin. Polycarbonate operable shutters shield the interior of the 15-story tower in Tokyo. Related Links: Chuck Hoberman Wants Buildings to Change ArchRecord Interview: Chuck Hoberman Planners, Designers Mull Implications of Digital Surfaces “Transformable design” is the term that Chuck Hoberman uses to describe the focus of his multidisciplinary practice, Hoberman Associates. The 19-year-old New York City-based firm fuses sculpture, engineering, and product design to create objects with the ability to change size and shape. It is perhaps best known for the Hoberman Sphere, which relies on a

After growing almost exponentially in recent years, attendance at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, held November 11 to 13 in Phoenix, hovered around 28,000, roughly equivalent to the size of the 2008 conference in Boston. In addition to a star-studded opening ceremony, headlined by Al Gore and Sheryl Crow, the convention featured a long list of educational sessions, field trips, and press conferences. Topics ran the gamut, from building performance to job growth. Here are a few highlights from Greenbuild 2009. Photo © William Hanley Greenbuild 2009, held in the Phoenix Convention Center, drew about 28,000 attendees. Topics of discussion

If a new professional designation catches on, designers and contractors involved in sustainable building projects could soon be seeking another set of initials to put after their names. Early last month, the Toronto-based nonprofit, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, launched a green roof professional accreditation exam. Photo courtesy Wikipedia Green roof at Mountain Equipment Coop, in Toronto. Related Links: Designing With Green Roofs ASLA Green Roofs Yields Impressive Benefits California Academy of Sciences Penn Sprouts Down-To-Earth Green Roof Green Roofs Take Root in North America The 100-question, multiple-choice test was offered for the first time on June 5 at the

Travelers visiting Quebec City this summer who haven’t been there for some time, and who approach by car along the Saint Lawrence from the West, will find a stretch of the river’s waterfront completely transformed.

Project Specs Promenade Samuel-de Champlain Quebec, Canada Daoust Lestage, Williams Asselin Ackaoui, and Option Aménagement << Return to article the People Architect Le consortium DAOUST LESTAGE inc. – WILLIAMS ASSELIN ACKAOUI – OPTION AMÉNAGEMENT  Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit Réal Lestage, urban planner – Project director Renée Daoust, architect, urban planner, partner Caroline Beaulieu, architect Lucie Bibeau, landscape architect Martin Adam, b. arch. Maria Benech, architect André Nadeau, landscape architect Simon Magnan, landscape architect Rachel Philippe-Auguste, architect Catherine St-Marseille, m.arch. Hubert Pelletier, industrial designer, m.arch. Nelson Couture, architect Jacques Michaud, senior technician Engineer(s): GENIVAR and SNC-Lavalin

Quebec City, famous for its cobblestone streets and 17th- and 18th-century architecture, is one of the few places in North America that might be mistaken for Old World Europe.

Project Specs Espace 400e Quebec, Canada Dan Hanganu + C't' Leahy Cardas << Return to article the People Architect Consortium Dan Hanganu + Côté Leahy Cardas, architectes Dan Hanganu, architectes 404, St-Dizier Montréal (Québec) Canada H2Y 3T3 T (514) 288-1890 F (514) 288-1182 Côté Leahy Cardas, architectes: 25, rue du Marché-Champlain Québec (Québec) Canada G1R 3A8 T 418.694.0872 F 418.694.7414 Designer: Dan S. Hanganu*, Gilles Prud’homme* Project architect: Gilles Prud’homme*, Diana Cardas* Team: Gilles Prud’homme* , Diana Cardas*, Jacques Coté*, Olivier Grenier, Paul Cartier*, Guillaume Lévesque, Pascal Gobeil, Jérome Henné, Anne-Catherine Richard, Mylène Lortie, Guillaume Bertrand, Isabelle Boudreault. (*: registered

Joe Addo looks beyond architecture for his native Ghana. Joe Addo Twenty years after leaving his native Ghana to attend the Architectural Association in London and then seek employment abroad, Joe Osae-Addo found himself contemplating a return to his homeland during a visit in 2000. The West African nation had just elected a new president, and Addo sensed a “democratic fervor” that had not existed before. “There was an atmosphere of optimism and euphoria, and I wanted to be part of it,” he says. In Los Angeles he had started a practice in the early 1990s focusing on small civic

One of the limitations of relying on images to explain architecture is that the practice can sometimes encourage viewers to see buildings primarily as objects.