LIBRARIES OF EXCELLENCE

The American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association have announced nine recipients of the 2007 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards. One of those so honored is the Santa Monica College Library expansion and renovation by CO Architects (photo by Tom Bonner). The jury observed: “The architects have transformed an outdated library into a modern community landmark." Next week, we'll look at this and the other award recipients.

HEARST TOWER RISES

Norman Foster is a master of levitating buildings of dubious design, treatment, or association to the pantheon of architectural icons. The Hearst Tower in Manhattan is the most recent example of this resuscitation. Next week, writer, historian, and photographer William Lebovich will show how Foster blended architectural and engineering articulation in the 42-story glass tower that emerges from a cast-stone six-story building of the 1920s.