A day prior to the preview of Design Miami, America learned it had endured a yearlong recession.

Architects, scientists, and manufacturers look toward emerging technologies and materials to develop the next generation of glass and glazing products. Image courtesy Ubiquitous Energy Ubiquitous Energy's ClearView Power is a clear photovoltaic coating that can be applied to glass. To earn one AIA learning unit (LU), including one hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read each of the articles below and complete the test online. Upon passing, you will receive a certificate of completion and your credit will automatically be reported to the AIA. Find additional information regarding credit-reporting and continuing-education requirements at ce.construction.com, under “requirements.” Innovations In

Love them or hate them, design competitions elicit strong emotions from architects and design professionals. But very little hard data exists to guide the people who enter them or those who organize them. “Some designers complain about competition organizers who write vague briefs, don’t respect intellectual property, and make everyone work for free,” says Van Alen Institute (VAI) competitions director Jerome Chou, adding, “But designers also tell us competitions offer opportunities to take on interesting challenges, to experiment, and to work in new sectors.” Over the course of its 120-year history, VAI has organized hundreds of competitions and, as Chou

Design-oriented nonprofits and foundations choose their best contributions to the built environment last year. The Design Trust for Public Space erected the Boogie Down Booth as part of its Under the Elevated project. The temporary installation transformed an underused space beneath subway tracks in the South Bronx into a seated bus stop with solar-powered lighting and directional speakers playing local artists’ music. The end of one year and the start of a new one belong to the makers of lists—of most fascinating people, brightest ideas, and biggest red-carpet disasters. At RECORD, we decided to combine clickbait and goodwill, asking a

If sustainability is a three-legged stool of environmental, economic, and social performance, then LEED is a bit wobbly: historically, the rating system has not taken on community welfare with the same breadth and depth as it has climate change and resource conservation. “It’s not as if social-equity benefit was absent from LEED,” says U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) vice president of LEED Brendan Owens, citing how power-plant emissions disproportionately impact marginalized communities. “But we knew we could do more.” To begin righting the imbalance, USGBC posited social equity as one of seven system goals for LEED v4, and formed a

In July, Autodesk acquired the experimental New York design firm The Living, led by architect David Benjamin, in order to enhance its research capabilities. This union is just one effort by the software leader to engage in wide-reaching discussions about the future of design. Last year it opened Autodesk Workshop at San Francisco’s Pier 9, a 27,000-square-foot playground for employees and partners to explore advanced manufacturing resources. And, more recently, a summer-residency program charged participants with writing science fiction. “We have an extraordinary talent base that can make stuff,” says Jeff Kowalski (left), “but we also need those folks who

The Weidlinger House in 1953. Restoration of renowned structural engineer Paul Weidlinger’s Wellfleet, Massachusetts, vacation residence has been completed. According to the Cape Cod Modern House Trust (CCMHT), which led the preservation project, the house is unique among its counterparts. “Compared to other Modernist houses on Cape Cod, which express local building vernacular and relate to nature closely, this building is uncompromisingly rationalistic,” says CCMHT founding director Peter McMahon. Weidlinger, who had an expertise in special structures and was closely linked to the pioneers of 20th-century Modernism, designed his own three-bedroom cottage, completed in 1953. One of those famous peers,

Last month the Related Companies founder and chairman gave $30.5 million to the World Resources Institute (WRI), where he serves on the board of directors. Ross spoke with RECORD about his donation and the accompanying launch of the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.  Last year, real estate magnate Stephen M. Ross began a spending spree of the most public and benevolent kind. In September, several months after signing the Giving Pledge to donate at least half of his wealth to charity, the chairman and founder of Related Companies—the real estate company currently executing the $20 billion redevelopment of