Clifford A. Pearson

American Architecture Today

February 15, 2008

Christopher Hawthorne is the architecture critic of the Los Angeles Times. Christopher Hawthorne “L.A. IS THE MOST INTERESTING CITY IN THE country right now, because of what’s happening with its urbanism, more than its architecture,” states Christopher Hawthorne, who has been the architecture critic of the Los Angeles Times for three years. The city that became synonymous with sprawl has “hit the limits of its growth and is turning back on itself,” he explains. “But it’s not just getting denser; it’s having to redefine itself as a city.” This redefinition is affecting everything from mass transit and

American Architecture Today

Clifford A. Pearson

February 15, 2008

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Six critics examine the state of American architecture from their hometowns. Taking the measure of American architecture depends on where you look. What’s generating buzz in Chicago might not resonate in L.A. And the issues driving design in Miami might not mean much in New York. Although big-name, international architects are working all over the United States—Renzo Piano, for example, has current or recently completed projects in New York, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, and Atlanta—smaller, domestic firms are playing important roles, too. This mix of big and small, global and regional is shaping the American architectural landscape. The projects shown

Strickland-Ferris Residence

Frank Harmon raised the Strickland-Ferris Residence off the ground, then let its roof take flight.

Clifford A. Pearson

January 19, 2008

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A steep escarpment and a wooded site shaped Frank Harmon’s design for the Strickland-Ferris Residence in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Moongyu Choi+GaA Architects Stacks the Deck With Multi-Layered Designs

Clifford A. Pearson

December 19, 2007

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No wonder concrete buildings dominate the cityscapes, and a muscular approach to space and form drives design.

InterActiveCorp Building

Frank Gehry's first building in New York City, the IAC headquarters, pioneers a new neighborhood, eliciting positive and negative reactions

Clifford A. Pearson

October 19, 2007

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With its ethereal, milky-white skin and faceted curves, Frank Gehry’s IAC Building stands out against the heavy, industrial structures surrounding it on the western fringe of Manhattan’s rapidly evolving Chelsea neighborhood.

Ginzan Onsen Fujiya by Kengo Kuma and Associates

Yamagata, Japan

Clifford A. Pearson

September 3, 2007

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Kengo Kuma wraps a hot springs hotel, Japan's Ginzan Onsen Fujiya, in screens as exquisitely delicate as a cricket cage.

Peter Gluck Builds an Open-and-Shut Case for Inventive Design with the Inverted Guest House

Clifford A. Pearson

July 19, 2007

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I wanted to build a barn,” says Richard Yulman, the client for the Inverted Guest House in Lake George, New York.

Olympic Sculpture Park

Weiss/Manfredi weaves the Olympic Sculpture Park and its mix of art and design into the urban fabric of Seattle

Clifford A. Pearson

July 19, 2007

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Architects talk a lot about “landscape” these days, using the word in so many different ways it’s often hard to know what they mean.

George Yu, Vanguard Architect, Dies at 43

Clifford A. Pearson

July 17, 2007

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George Yu, a pioneer in digital architecture, died in Los Angeles of a type of lung cancer that afflicts nonsmokers. He was 43 years old. As both a designer and teacher, Yu helped shape the way that architects envision and use new technologies such as digital imaging and fabrication. But his work always kept the human user in the foreground, never turning technology into an ideology or fetish. He was able to do this, in part, by developing a keen sense for materials, light, and space. Photo © Gary Leonard George Yu Related Links: George Yu Exhibits in the 2004