Articles by David Sokol

IBS Review

April 9, 2015

Although this year’s International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas drew a third fewer attendees than last year’s, the show still saw the introduction of a range of innovative products as the industry tries to make itself more environmentally friendly.

Exclusive Renderings: Tadao Ando's First New York Building

David Sokol

April 3, 2015

No Comments

152 Elizabeth Street, to be completed next November, will exemplify Ando's rigorous, serene architecture. Tadao Ando's 152 Elizabeth Street will measure 32,000 square feet over seven stories. New York City first got a taste of Tadao Ando when the Japanese architect designed Masaharu Morimoto’s eponymous restaurant nine years ago. The Pritzker Prize laureate is poised to more completely sate local architectural appetite with 152 Elizabeth Street, a condominium rising in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood, Ando’s first freestanding building in New York. Unlike Morimoto, which was praised for its dynamic layout and dramatic combinations of materials, the forthcoming building will exemplify

Design Miami

David Sokol

March 9, 2015

No Comments

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

Design Miami

David Sokol

March 9, 2015

No Comments

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

Innovations in Glass

Continuing Education: The Future of Glass

Crystal Clear: Architects, scientists, and manufacturers look toward emerging technologies and materials to develop the next generation of glass and glazing products.

David Sokol

March 1, 2015

No Comments

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

The Van Alen Institute and Architectural Record Launch a Design Competition Survey

David Sokol

February 4, 2015

No Comments

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

2014's Best in Benefaction

David Sokol

January 12, 2015

No Comments

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

A Prague Stairwell's DNA Structure Revealed

David Sokol

January 1, 2015

No Comments

When commissioned to design the facade and interior of the Institute of Molecular Genetics for the Czech Academy of Science, the Prague-based firm Studio P-H-A decided to add some bling to biomedicine. Responding to the standard-issue rectilinear volume designed by fellow Czech firm Atelier Ypsilon, architects Jan Sesták and Marek Deyl appended a glittering steel staircase that takes the form of DNA’s double helix.

LEED Adds Social Equity Credits to Rating System

David Sokol

November 17, 2014

No Comments

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

L'Aire Visuelle

L'Aire Visuelle is a boutique for eyewear and eyecare designed by la SHED Architecture

David Sokol

November 15, 2014

No Comments

L'Aire Visuelle is a boutique for eyewear and eyecare designed by la SHED Architecture In 2012, the Laval, Quebec'based optical practice Duquette & Turgeon decided to recraft its image. Sporting a new moniker L'Aire Visuelle, the eye-care provider ditched its original coke-bottle branding for a logo and website with streamlined designer flair.