Weeks after the federal government enacted the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, two students at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Wayne Congar and Troy Therrien, have convened an open ideas competition, dubbed Imagining Recovery, devised to integrate design into the conversation of how and where stimulus dollars should be spent. Calling the competition an attempt to "make sense of these numbers that are being thrown around," Congar hopes that the submissions will help interpret the 1500-plus page American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and create visions for the future. In a larger sense, the organizers hope
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the 2009 winners of its Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture, along with the recipients of its Honors for Collaborative Achievement. The 2009 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture is given for architectural achievement or advocacy in three categories: public-sector architects, private-sector architects with a notable portfolio of public facilities, and public officials or other individuals who have expanded the public’s awareness of design excellence. The award for public-sector architect went to Roger Boothe, AIA, the director of urban planning for the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Boothe is a graduate of the
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the 2009 winners of its Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture, along with the recipients of its Honors for Collaborative Achievement. The 2009 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture is given for architectural achievement or advocacy in three categories: public-sector architects, private-sector architects with a notable portfolio of public facilities, and public officials or other individuals who have expanded the public’s awareness of design excellence. The award for public-sector architect went to Roger Boothe, AIA, the director of urban planning for the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Boothe is a graduate of the
The Copenhagen-based firm Tegnestuen Vandkunsten has been awarded the 10th Alvar Aalto Medal. The prize is administered by the Finnish Ministry of Education, the Finnish Association of Architects, the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the Finnish Society of Architecture, and the Alvar Aalto Foundation. Since its creation in 1967, the award has been given approximately every five years for “significant achievements in creative architecture.” This is the first time the award has been given to a firm, rather than an individual. Low-cost housing and social housing have been a focus of Tegnestuen Vandkunsten since its inception in 1970. Founded by four
Reports surfaced Monday morning of a devastating fire at the OMA-designed TVCC building, which sits next to the iconic Z-shaped CCTV tower in central Beijing. Monday was the last day of the Spring Festival in Beijing, a holiday accompanied by widespread and mostly unofficial firework celebrations throughout the city. There is speculation that a stray firework ignited the blaze. No injuries have been reported. Photo ' Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images There is speculation that a stray firework ignited the blaze. According to the Chinese Xinhua News Agency, the fire was under control by midnight Beijing time (11 a.m., U.S. Eastern Standard
Newly inaugurated President Barack Obama’s pledge of large-scale investment in U.S. infrastructure and Los Angeles County’s passage last November of Measure R—a tax measure that promises to provide up to $40 billion for transit-related projects over the next 30 years—have prompted an open ideas competition sponsored by the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and The Architect’s Newspaper. The competition brief invites architects, engineers, urban planners, and students to propose projects that “rethink the relationship between transit systems, public space, and urban redevelopment.” Entrants are asked to work within the parameters of the L.A. legislation, focusing on “specific rail extension
The American Institute of Architects has named the six winners of the 2009 Honor Awards in the category of Regional and Urban Design. The AIA said the projects “range from singular buildings with an impact on the urban context, to zoning codes and master plan projects, to designs for entirely new cities.” Many of the selections were proposals to renew neglected or overlooked areas, including two—the Orange County Great Park by TEN Arquitectos and The Treasure Island master plan by SOM— that revitalize former military sites.
The American Institute of Architects has announced the recipients of the 2009 Honor Awards for Interior Architecture. The 10 honorees represent a mix of commercial, residential, and cultural projects that, according to the AIA, "skillfully used natural light and provided unique architectural approaches to common design problems."
The American Institute of Architects has announced the winners of the 2009 Honor Awards for Architecture. The nine honorees represent a range of buildings with widely varying budgets, scales, and contexts. According to an AIA press release, “these projects have a tremendous impact on the social and physical fabric of the communities they serve.”
On Friday, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) plans to announce the winners of its “Green Community” international competition, which drew 260 entries from 15 different countries. The competition was conducted in collaboration with the National Building Museum (NBM) in Washington, D.C., whose current exhibition of the same name (on display through October) features examples and analysis of 14 green communities located throughout the world. Taking its cue from the exhibition, the competition’s call for entries asked students to reimagine a specific area in their towns, considering issues such as reuse, remediation, conservation, sanitation, and water management, among