HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ARCHITECTUREWEEK

All of us at ArchitectureWeek wish you a joyful Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, and a Happy New Year for 2006. ArchitectureWeek No. 316, including the articles previewed here, will be released on January 3, 2007.

JUDGING CHIC

The new Federal Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon by Thom Mayne of Morphosis, is in some ways an outstanding building for this small city. The main circulation core has visual excitement, with slender, quasi-Aalto-esque columns ascending amid light and curving expressions of walls that are continuous from outdoors to in. But whether this is profound architecture is a more complex question. In our next issue, ArchitectureWeek editor-in-chief Kevin Matthews will offer his thoughts.

CARGO CONTAINER HOUSES

California architect Peter DeMaria has been designing houses built from adapted and recycled cargo containers. His first model house, in Redondo Beach, is expected to serve as an example for residential construction across the United States. It is the first two-story container-built structure approved under Uniform Building Code (UBC) standards. In the next issue, ArchitectureWeek will explore the alternative construction methodology as a way of controlling construction costs without compromising design quality.