Steven Ehrlich Architects has revealed its design for a new arts center at the University of California, Irvine. The firm won a design-build competition with EDGE Development, Inc. Image: bioLINIA

New Orleans · 2008.0114
The design has been revealed for ICInola, a mixed-use loft development in the historic Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Four buildings will house 105 lofts above 50,000 square feet (4,600 square meters) of retail space. Each building will represent a European influence in New Orleans: German, French, Italian, or Spanish.

The development is expected to be LEED certified. Green features will include solar panels and rainwater cisterns. The first phase of construction is scheduled to begin in March 2008. Opening is scheduled for spring 2009.

Wayne Troyer Architects of New Orleans, is providing architectural design services. Dan McElmurray, LEED AP, is performing landscape architecture.

Granada Hills · 2008.0115
The Valley Bomb Squad and Training Facility has opened on the Granada Hills, California, campus of the Los Angeles Police Department. The Santa Monica office of WWCOT designed the $7 million facility to allow for active emergency response, while also incorporating flexibility to accommodate future growth and technologies.

Two colors of plaster visually separate the public and technical wings of the 9,200-square-foot (850-square-meter) building, with corrugated metal as an accent. The public wing includes a trapezoidal training room, a metal-clad canopy, and a distinct glass entry.

Milton · 2008.0114
Construction is complete on the new fitness center at Whiting Naval Air Station in Milton, Florida. The Orlando office of VOA Associates Incorporated provided architecture and interior design services in partnership with the Harahan, Louisiana, office of Walton Construction Company, LLC. The new two-story, 28,000-square-foot (2,600-square-meter) facility replaces a building that was damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

Irvine · 2008.0114
Steven Ehrlich Architects has revealed its design for a new $33 million arts center at the University of California, Irvine. Teamed with EDGE Development, Inc., the architecture firm won a design-build competition for the project. As part of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, the 60,000-square-foot (5,600-square-meter) project will include a 100-seat theater, exhibit space, production shops, studios, and offices.

The building will feature a variety of open-air spaces along its perimeter, including balconies, terraces, open walkways and a colonnade. Corridors will surround specialty spaces that require high levels of environmental control, including sound, light, temperature, and humidity. The project is expected to receive LEED Silver certification.

Philadelphia · 2008.0114
Blackney Hayes Architects of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has promoted Katherine Dowdell, AIA, and Laura A. Prickitt, IIDA, to principal. Dowdell has over 25 years of experience and was previously a senior associate focused on historic preservation and low-income housing. Prickitt also has over 25 years of experience, and will continue as a director of interior design in addition to her new role.

The firm also promoted Christopher Stigler, AIA, and Jennifer Winters, IIDA, to associate.

Pasadena · 2008.0114
The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, recently broke ground for the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Center for Information Science and Technology. Frederick Fisher and Partners of Los Angeles designed the building, which will include several small classrooms, an 80-seat lecture hall, a large instructional computer lab, and an outdoor gathering area, as well as studio and office space. A two-story lounge and a two-story atrium were designed to foster collaboration. The building has been designed to achieve LEED Silver certification. Completion is scheduled for summer 2009.

New York · 2008.0114
Wilfried Laufs, Ph.D., has joined Thornton Tomasetti as vice president, based in the firm's New York City office. He brings experience in the engineering of innovative special structures and structural glass design of buildings.

Laufs was previously executive vice president at Werner Sobek Engineering & Design. His design portfolio includes the double curtain wall facade for the redevelopment of the BBC Broadcast House in London, the New Bangkok International Airport, and the LG Electronics Research Headquarters in Seoul. Laufs is also an adjunct assistant professor in the civil engineering and engineering mechanics department at Columbia University.

London · 2008.0114
Construction is complete on the new Cremorne Riverside Centre in London, United Kingdom. Sarah Wigglesworth Architects of London designed the canoeing facility, located on the River Thames in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

The £550,000 facility consists of two buildings: one to house the boat store and offices, the other to provide changing rooms. Both have identical lozenge-shaped plans, but with roofs that pitch in opposite directions. They are clad in Cor-ten® steel to resemble rusting boat hulls.

The two buildings are constructed out of timber on a steel base. The walls are insulated with sheep's wool from Cumbria in northwestern England. Heating is provided through a ground source heat pump. No demolition material was removed from site; some of it was used to help create a "brown roof," providing habitat for insects to attract insectivorous birds.

Because the new buildings are sited closer to the river edge than is typically permitted, the Environment Agency required that the buildings be removable in case of flood, to allow repairs to be performed on the river wall. Both buildings may be disassembled in sections.

New York · 2008.0114
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel, Architects, PC (GKV Architects) of New York City has revealed its design for a 15-story mixed-use building planned for a corner site adjacent to the NoHo Historic District in Manhattan. The 145,000-square-foot (13,500-square-meter) building will house commercial space on the ground and basement levels, with rental apartments above.

The building will include a six-story base to recall the site's historic street wall condition. The higher stories will be set back from both street frontages. Double-hung windows in punched openings echo the facades of adjacent historic properties. Expressed columns and larger window openings at the corners of the building will help to modulate the scale.

The site also includes the historic Samuel Tredwell Skidmore House, which will be restored and returned to its original use as a single-family residence.

Los Angeles · 2008.0111
Construction is underway on the Barn Lofts, an adaptive reuse project in downtown Los Angeles, California, near the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Rockefeller Partners Architects of El Segundo designed the project, which will feature 38 three-level residential units with rooftop balconies, clerestories, and skylights. The design team will apply for LEED certification.

Austin · 2008.0109
The second phase of Town Lake Park in Austin, Texas, is complete. Austin-based landscape architecture and planning firm TBG designed the 54-acre (22-hectare) cultural park, which first opened in 2004 on Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake). The new elements of the park include a pedestrian promenade, fountain plaza, observation hill, labyrinth, and children's art garden. A new one-acre (0.4-hectare) pond holds and treats stormwater runoff. Additional amenities are planned for two future phases of construction.

Philadelphia · 2008.0107
Robert G. Thompson, AIA, has retired from his position as CEO of KlingStubbins. Three co-leaders will guide the firm for the next several years. Bradford White Fiske, FAIA, a 23-year veteran of the firm, continues as national director of design. Robert T. Hsu, AIA, has been promoted to national director of projects. He has been with the firm for 16 years. Michael R. Lorenz, PE, LEED AP, will serve as national managing principal after 22 years with the firm.

Herzogenaurach · 2008.0107
Construction has begun on Puma Plaza, the new headquarters for the Puma Group in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Klaus Krex of da capo al fine architects in Nuremberg, Germany, designed the 50,000-square-meter (540,000-square-foot) project, which will include three buildings. The retail building resembles the characteristic red shoe box for Puma shoes, and also sports a 1,000-square-meter (11,000 -square-foot) solar array.

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