Construction has begun on HL23, a condominium building in New York City designed by Neil M. Denari Architects. Image: Neil M. Denari Architects Extra Large Image

Minneapolis · 2008.0329
Architect Ralph Rapson died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 29, 2008, at age 93.

Rapson was born in Alma, Michigan, in 1914. He studied at the University of Michigan and later at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, under Eliel Saarinen. He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and led the architecture department of the New Bauhaus in Chicago (now IIT Institute of Design) before becoming head of the architecture school at the University of Minnesota in 1954. He served in that post until 1984.

Rapson's built works include a number of U.S. embassies in the early 1950s, including in Stockholm (1954); and the Guthrie Theater (1963) in Minneapolis, which was demolished in 2006. His 1945 Case Study House #4 design was reworked in 2003 for a series of prefabricated houses.

Rapson never retired from his firm, Ralph Rapson and Associates, Inc. In a 2002 profile in Minnesota magazine, he quipped, "I expect to be carried off on my drafting board." And indeed, Rapson's last day in the office was the day before he died.

New York · 2008.0402
Construction recently began on HL23 (rendered above), a residential tower in New York City designed by Neil Denari, principal of Neil M. Denari Architects, based in Los Angeles, California. Located on a site that is half-covered by the High Line, a historic elevated railway bed for which a park is planned, HL23 will occupy a narrow footprint, then widen in plan as it rises, cantilevering over the rail line. LEED Gold certification will be sought for the structure.

The 14-story building will house 11 condominium units. Diagonal perimeter bracing on the concrete-and-steel frame structure will minimize the number of interior columns necessary. Spandrel-free curtain walls on the north and south facades, conceived in collaboration with Front Inc. of New York, will consist of large window panels measuring over 11 feet by six feet (3.4 meters by 1.8 meters). The windows will be framed by very thin stainless steel mullions. Patterned white ceramic frit will be applied in some areas to protect privacy and reduce glare. A system of curving, three-dimensional stainless steel panels will clad the east facade.

Other firms on the project team, all based in New York, include Marc I. Rosenbaum, collaborating architect; Thomas Juul-Hansen, LLC, interior architect; and the Spector Group, consulting architect for construction administration.

Hesperia · 2008.0329
On March, 29, the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth) in Hesperia mourned the passing of its founder, Nader Khalili, who died on March 5, 2008, at age 72.

Khalili is known for his work developing low-cost techniques for building houses from simple materials, as described in the inaugural issue of ArchitectureWeek. The Iranian-born architect was committed to designing shelter for refugees and the poor, and served as a consultant to the United Nations.

In Iran in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Khalili developed a method for creating ceramic houses, which he called Geltaftan. He then taught a course about ceramic architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), and developed a technique for constructing dwellings from sandbags and barbed wire, known as Superadobe.

Khalili received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1994. He authored several books, including the autobiography Racing Alone, Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to Build Your Own, and Sidewalks on the Moon: The Journey of a Mystic Architect through Tradition, Technology and Transformation, as well as two volumes of translations of poetry by Rumi. The book Emergency Shelter will be published posthumously.

Stamford · 2008.0326
Construction is underway on Windermere on the Lake, a high-end residential development in the North Stamford area of Stamford, Connecticut. The 74-acre (30-hectare) development will comprise 24 semicustom-designed houses, with 25 acres (ten hectares) donated to the Stamford Land Conservation Trust and an additional 25 acres of permanent open space.

Bartels-Pagliaro Architects of Norwalk designed four house styles for the project, influenced by the work of British Arts and Crafts architect C.F.A. Voysey. Sustainable features include FSC-certified oak plank flooring, high-performance hybrid insulation, solar-powered street lighting, and permeable walkways.

Phoenix · 2008.0320
Architecture and urban design firm [merz] project of Phoenix, Arizona has revealed its design for the Victor, a residential building planned for Phoenix. LEED Silver certification is expected for the 37-unit building, which features durable, recyclable cladding materials, including integrally colored concrete block, standing-seam galvanized metal siding, fiber-reinforced concrete panels, and composite-lumber sun screen. Bruckal Redevelopments Group is the developer.

New York · 2008.0318
International building engineering and technology firm Thornton Tomasetti has named managing principal Thomas Z. Scarangello as chairman, president Daniel A. Cuoco as president and chief executive officer, and executive vice president Robert P. DeScenza as chief operating officer. Richard L. Tomasetti, past chairman and CEO, will remain active with the firm as founding principal and chairman of the newly formed charitable arm, the Thornton Tomasetti Foundation .

Scarangello has been with firm since 1979 and has been principal in charge of engineering for many award-winning projects internationally. Cuoco has been with the firm since 1971, and has extensive experience in the design of major structures and the investigation of building failures and collapses. DeScenza has been with the firm since 1978 and has been involved in the design of many structures, including high-rise and long-span projects. Since 2005 he has overseen operational activities of the firm in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

Zurich · 2008.0318
Renovation and expansion of the Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, is complete. Foster + Partners served as architect and master planner for the project, collaborating with local architect Itten + Brechbühl.

The renovation restored the red-and-ochre exterior of the hotel, designed in 1899 by Jacques Gros, and reinstated the grand southern entrance. The interior planning was transformed to create a series of connected public rooms. A railway station for the site, located above Lake Zurich, has also been reinstated.

Two new glazed wings house additional hotel rooms and a 4,000-square-meter (43,000-square-foot) spa. Aluminum screens, stencil-cut in a tree pattern, form balustrades on the facades. Triple-glazing, natural shading, and geothermal heat pumps contribute to energy efficiency.

Milan · 2008.0310
A top-floor remodel is complete at the neoclassical La Rinascente department store in Milan, Italy. Architecture firm Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, based in London, United Kingdom, designed the project, which reconfigured the seventh floor, extending the central area to the restaurant and terraces facing the Duomo di Milano (Piazza Duomo) and increasing the capacity to include a food market. The defining feature is the ceiling: a three-dimensional feature-lit amber ceiling based on a triangular geometry.

San Diego · 2008.0303
Construction continues on the first office building in the Summit Rancho Bernardo Campus development near San Diego, California. DES Architects + Engineers of Redwood City is the project designer for the five-story, $40 million office tower, made of granite, limestone, metal panels, and glass curtain walls.

The building was designed to receive LEED Silver certification, as will be the ten additional towers planned for subsequent phases of the development. Resource-efficient features will include efficient HVAC equipment, highly reflective roofs, high-performance glazing systems, extensive daylighting, and water-conserving fixtures. Interior build-outs will also be designed to meet LEED standards. Over 75 percent of construction waste from the campus will be recycled.

Rudolph and Sletten, Inc. is providing general contracting, construction management, and preconstruction services for the 105-acre (42.5-hectare) campus.

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