Ingrid Spencer

Circuit of The Americas

Formula for Success: Miró Rivera Architects creates a sprawling, zoomy venue for motor sports, music, and more in the capital of the Lone Star state.

Ingrid Spencer

October 16, 2013

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Though it isn't quite all tumbleweed and Longhorns on the 20-minute drive from downtown Austin to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA)—the only facility in the United States specifically built to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix auto race—the barren landscape looks and feels like rural Texas.

The George W. and Laura Bush Residence

Ingrid Spencer

May 16, 2013

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A Client for All Seasons: Laura Bush took a lead role in the design of the new presidential library, as she did once before with the family ranch house. With the George W. Bush Presidential Center by Robert A.M. Stern Architects opening in Dallas this month, it is worth taking a look at another architectural commission from “W.” The rarely seen ranch house in Crawford, Texas, was designed by David Heymann of Austin in 1999. A vacation house, of course, is very different in scope and intent from a presidential library. But the two architects involved in each project agree

Quick Take: Robert A. M. Stern Architects' George W. Bush Presidential Center

Ingrid Spencer

April 20, 2013

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The George W. Bush Presidential Center by Robert A. M. Stern Architects is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas. Visitors enter through the limestone portico. The George W. Bush Presidential Center, designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects and located on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, does not reflect the colorful nature of the 43rd president’s personality. Nor does it symbolically suggest the fact that Bush was the first president of the 21st century. Although the three-story brick-and-limestone building is the first presidential library to contain e-mails—some 200 million—its design is traditional,

BBVA Compass Stadium

Muscular Mesh: Populous’s new BBVA Compass Stadium for Houston’s soccer team vividly conveys energy and dash.

Ingrid Spencer

December 16, 2012

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In a country fueled by a love for sports, it seems strange that only 23 years ago there were no soccer-specific stadiums in the U.S.

Atlanta Now

Ingrid Spencer

June 1, 2012

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Photo © Keven C. Rose After the Deluge How have past Olympic cities measured up for reuse, post-Games? Barcelona Now Athens Now Beijing Now Sydney Now For the city of Atlanta, the legacy of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games goes deeper than the moments of triumph and tragedy, including the pipe bomb attack that killed two and injured 110. The $1.8 billion spent on infrastructural improvements and construction has actively contributed to Atlanta's transformation into a modern-day metropolis. While some of this funding was directed at infrastructure, much went into new facilities, including the 17-building Olympic Village, built on the

Kia Motors America Research and Development Headquarters

Ingrid Spencer

May 16, 2012

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Kia Motors may be South Korea's oldest car company'it was established in 1944 as a manufacturer of bicycle parts'but traditional thinking is not what makes it an industry leader. The company's Research and Development Headquarters in Irvine, California, designed by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), proves Kia's commitment to design and the U.S. market, where sales have increased by 77 percent since 2008, when the project was completed. 'Both our company's vision and design philosophy are the context for what Kia wanted to project to our team members and to the public,' explains John Yoon, Kia

GE Renewable Energy Global Headquarters

Ingrid Spencer

May 16, 2012

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For GE, staying at the forefront of renewable energy research is such a priority that the company has invested $6 billion in that effort. The nation's top-selling wind-turbine company, GE has plans to build the largest 400-megawatt thin-film solar-panel factory in the country by 2013. The company's LEED Silver renewable energy headquarters building in Schenectady, New York, stands as a significant commitment to the growing success of its renewable energy division. It is also an investment in the community, its workforce, and the 628-acre, 120-year-old campus'a mix of manufacturing and administration buildings that hadn't seen a significant architectural project since

200 Fifth Avenue

Ingrid Spencer

May 16, 2012

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An original 1909 marketing brochure, found during the renovation of 200 Fifth Avenue, touts the white terra-cotta cladding on a wall surrounding the courtyard as a reflective surface that would bring daylight into the heart of the workspaces within. Along with STUDIOS Architecture's bold design, that 100-year-old brochure helped convince New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission that replacing the terra-cotta wall with a glass curtain wall would respect the original architects' intentions. The change was allowed, and STUDIOS transformed the aging 14-floor edifice into a LEED Gold Certified, Class-A office building. 'They used the latest technology from their day, and we're

Woodchester House

Robert Grace designs a transparent 'orangery,' creating a harmonious link between a stately Georgian mansion and the lush English garden behind it.

Ingrid Spencer

February 15, 2012

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According to English Heritage (which oversees historic buildings for the British government), Woodchester House, a Georgian mansion built in 1746 and located on 30 acres of Gloucestershire countryside, is architecturally untouchable and unchangeable.

House Flora

A concrete house in Taiwan by Behet Bondzio Lin Architekten contains many spatial surprises within a narrow structure.

Ingrid Spencer

January 16, 2012

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Designing a house on a narrow lot in the bustling city of Taichung, Taiwan, called for a certain imagination—especially when it was intended for a family of three with an extensive art collection.