SAN FRANCISCO AIA AWARDS 2004

During the past few years of economic slow-down, American architecture has witnessed several trends: thoughtful rehabilitation of a nostalgic past, a quiet exploration of the next phase of modernism, meeting or exceeding strict sustainability standards, and — especially in California — careful reinforcement against the next big earthquake. These trends are all represented in the 2004 design awards from the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIASF).

GOING GREEN IN NEW ENGLAND

It's no longer enough to be energy conserving. To be truly "green," a building should integrate efficiency and form, use renewable energy systems, and demonstrate sensitivity to its natural surroundings and to the health of its occupants. It should also rely on materials, construction methods, and operational procedures that cause minimal disturbance to the environment.

LEARNING FROM PIERRE KOENIG

"It was my notion, when I started, to make anonymous architecture for ordinary people." — Pierre Koenig (1925 - 2004)

Ironically, the beautiful steel houses of Pierre Koenig, with their stunning, frank simplicity, graceful proportions, and sunny, contextually attuned openness, could hardly expect anonymity in an American landscape of neocolonial, neoclassical, and neovernacular norms.

More Architecture News

News Last Week

News Department Archive