RECORD has asked contributors to the 2008 Venice Biennale, which runs through November 23rd, and members of our staff to recommend places to go—beautiful squares, forgotten buildings, beloved eateries—while in town for the exhibition. Nigel Coates Designer and Professor of Architecture, Royal College of Art, London Image courtesy Nigel Coates Nigel Coates For a genuine “slice of Venetian life,” Nigel Coates suggests visiting the Via Garibaldi, once a canal but now one of the few places in Venice not “overrun with the trappings and mentality of tourism.” He has two suggestions for spots to dine on the street: The Trattoria

In July 2001, Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Olympics, and it started gearing up immediately.

Where to go and what to see in Beijing: Personal suggestions for architects from people shaping the city and members of our staff. Robert Bernell Owner, Timezone 8 Photo courtesy Timezone 8 Robert, Owner of Timezone 8 Robert Bernell owns the café and bookstore Timezone8, located in Beijing’s art hub, Factory 798. Bernell describes his enterprise as the “best café in Beijing,” noting its thousands of art and design books and a large array of magazines, as well as fair-trade, organic coffees. The bookstore is located across from the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, which Bernell recommends for its collection

Where to go and what to see in Beijing: Personal suggestions for architects from people shaping the city and members of our staff. Clifford Pearson Deputy Editor, Architectural Record Photo courtesy Architectural Record Clifford Pearson, Deputy Editor, Architectural Record and Editor-In-Charge of Architectural Record’s China Edition While in Beijing, Clifford Pearson, deputy editor at Architectural Record and editor-in-charge of our tri-annual China publication, suggests strolling through Beihai Park. On clear days, the park offers wonderful views of the Forbidden City and an opportunity to watch Beijing’s older generations practicing their calligraphy—using brushes dipped in water—directly on the pavement. It illustrates

Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the recipients of the sixth annual Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture, plan to take their $200,000 honorarium and invest it—not in stocks or bonds, but in the future of urbanism and the environment. At their acceptance speeches made during the awards ceremony in Chicago on March 29, 2008, the husband and wife team pledged to donate their winnings to a nonprofit research center for the publication of books related to New Urbanism and classical architecture. Richard Driehaus, the Chicago-based investor and philanthropist who sponsors the prize, said he would match their gift, for

New Harmony, Indiana Richard Meier, FAIA A Kinesthetic Experience in a White Pavilion Photo © Ezra Stoller/Esto Related Links: Honor Awards: Architecture Honor Awards: Interiors Honor Awards: Regional and Urban Design 25 Year Award: The Atheneum Firm Award: KieranTimberlake Associates Gold Medal: Renzo Piano The Atheneum, in New Harmony, Indiana—designed by Richard Meier, FAIA—this year’s winner of the AIA 25 Year Award, stands strong and proud in the landscape. The building, which opened in 1979, serves as an entrance to the municipality—a town once dubbed the “Athens of the West”—and as a visitors’ center. The building sits between the banks