A CLOSE-UP ON MUSEUMS

John Wiley & Sons has launched a new series, Building Type Basics that will offer practitioners useful information about the principal building types and provide answers to questions architects routinely encounter in the crucial early stages of design. In Museums, author Arthur Rosenblatt has selected a few stellar examples from around the world and documented them in terms of program, codes, circulation, mechanical systems, wayfinding, financing, and other factors. Next week we'll examine his approach through the design particulars of Mario Botta's San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

BREATHING EASIER IN CLEAN INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS

"When you can't breathe, nothing else matters." This is the poignant motto of the American Lung Association, a crusader for clean air. They have created a healthy "Breathe Easy Office" environment for their employees that reduces indoor air pollution and raises the awareness of indoor air quality as a serious public health issue. Next week we'll look at how their choice of materials and construction methods has reduced biological agents, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, radon, and other pollutants.

ADOBE THAT SURVIVES EARTHQUAKES

When an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter Scale rocked the Andean region for over a minute in June 2001, the southern Peruvian mountain town of Moquegua was literally shaken to pieces. But, amid the rubble, three traditional adobe houses were left intact. The houses were part of a pilot scheme run by Peruvian engineers hunting for an affordable and effective way to strengthen the traditional mud brick constructions that house nearly half the population. South American correspondent Sophie Arie will describe how wire mesh reinforcing can protect these houses from crumbling.