The Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum will be built near the University of Chicago on the city's South Side, beating out potential sites at Columbia University and the University of Hawaii, the New York Times reported yesterday. While the library's exact location has yet to be finalized, two Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks—Jackson Park and Washington Park—are in the running. An architect has yet to be named.The location appears a logical choice: Obama taught at the University of Chicago Law School before running for office and Michelle Obama was raised on the South Side. The Obamas also have a house
When complete, DUS Architects’ canal house will resemble a traditional Dutch home. The firm has encouraged the public’s involvement, inviting visitors to see the printer in action. The house is printed piece by piece. A chunk of one room features an intricate tessellation-like pattern. In the summer of 1908, Thomas Edison filed a patent for a contraption that could construct a house—bathtubs and all—with a single pour of concrete.
In spite of unprecedented drought and new water consumption regulations, local landscape architects are ahead of the curve. Image courtesy Mia Lehrer + Associates Los Angeles–based landscape architect Mia Lehrer incorporates native plants and permeable surfaces into her designs. For her Vista Hermosa park, nearly every drop of water is absorbed or stored. Daily Water-Saving Tip #61 on the state of California’s website suggests, “Dig up that old shrub and replace it with a low water-use plant.” It may seem trivial, considering that the state’s water deficit stands at 11 trillion gallons according to NASA, but sound reasoning backs up
The pioneering postmodern architect dies at age 80. Michael Graves Denver Central Library Michael Graves, a pioneering postmodern architect and designer best known for the Portland Building in Oregon and his iconic Kettle with Bird Whistle, died today of natural causes at his home in Princeton, New Jersey. He was 80 years old. Related links Newsmaker: Michael Graves Michael Graves Retrospective As Firm Turns 50 Newsmaker: David Mohney, Acting Dean of the Michael Graves School of Architecture “For those of us who had the opportunity to work closely with Michael, we knew him as an extraordinary designer, teacher, mentor,
The German architect, who died yesterday, will receive the award posthumously. Roofing for main sports facilities in the Munich Olympic Park for the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1968–1972, Munich, Germany German architect Frei Otto, renowned for his lightweight, tensile structures, today was named the winner of the 2015 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The abrupt announcement came a day after Otto died at the age of 89 in Germany. “Throughout his life, Frei Otto has produced imaginative, fresh, unprecedented spaces, and constructions,” wrote the Jury in their citation. “He has also created knowledge. Herein resides his deep influence: not in forms to
