FASHIONABLE IN TOKYO

A new flagship store of French fashion house Louis Vuitton has opened on Tokyo's Omotesando Boulevard. Designed by architect Jun Aoki, the building resembles a pile of trunks of different sizes and patterns in honor of Vuitton's origin as a trunk manufacturer. The facade is textured with the use of variously sized wire mesh. Next week writer Mahoko Hoffmann will explain how the novel structure was formed.

GREEN IN UK CITIES

The image of sustainable architecture has tended to be of vernacular buildings in a rural Arcadia. Cities after all are noisy, dirty, congested, resource hungry, and polluting. But sustainability is about more than a "back to the land" lifestyle choice. Next week David Rudlin and Nick Dodd, of the British consultancy, Urban and Economic Development Group, will explain their models for urban development which reflect changing environmental, demographic, social, and economic trends.

BREATHLESS IN SEATTLE

In November, AIA Seattle celebrated its 51st annual design awards program. In honoring Washington architecture, the jury commended both clients and architects for their leadership and for "doing the right thing." One of the honor award recipients was the Reeve Residence (photo by Art Grice), which Cutler Anderson Architects nestled into a cliff face on Lopez Island, with a breathtaking view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Next week we'll look at some of the other honor award winners.