THREE WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

The gender issues surrounding architecture are extraordinarily complex and, frequently, highly emotionally charged. Even publishing a book about women architects raises eyebrows among women who prefer to be considered simply as architects and who want their work to be read on its own merits. Next week we consider the work of three architects on its merits as we stroll through a new book by Maggie Toy, The Architect: Women in Contemporary Architecture. We'll look at the work of Frances Halsband, Eve Laron, and Itsuko Hasegawa, whose Niigata City Performing Arts Center is pictured here.

CHARTING NEW WAYS OF SEEING

When the Colombian Ministry of Culture hired Coco Raynes Associates to create an accessible master plan for National Museum of Colombia, the goal was to help all visitors learn about their country's history. The ambitious plan was to be all inclusive and reach out equally to children, visitors using wheelchairs, the visually impaired, and the illiterate. The resulting experience is a tactile and audio interaction with replicas of pre-Colombian artifacts, which visitors are encourage to touch, and descriptions etched in Braille on glass surfaces. Next week designer Coco Raynes, will describe other features of one of the most accessible museums in the world.

BUILDING GREEN IN NEW ENGLAND

In March, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association announced winners of the Northeast Green Building Awards. The competition, sponsored by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust demonstrates, according to Warren Leon, NESEA executive director, that "...green buildings, with all of their many health and environmental benefits, are a feasible and positive choice for future construction projects in the Northeast." First prize winner — emphasizing affordability as well as sustainability — was "Erie-Ellington Homes" in Boston, by the Hickory Consortium. Next week we'll look at this and other winning projects.