Diamond and Schmitt Architects recently unveiled its design for a new photography gallery and renovation project at Ryerson University's School of Image Arts in Toronto, Ontario. Image: Cicada Design/ Diamond and Schmitt Architects Extra Large Image

Lima · 2008.0421
A $130 million addition to St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima, Ohio, has opened. The Minneapolis, Minnesota, office of Ellerbe Becket designed the 340,000-square-foot (32,000-square-meter) addition.

All rooms are private and have outside views. Sensor controls minimize use of artificial lighting. Local, natural, and recyclable materials were used, including natural linoleum instead of vinyl flooring, and demolition materials were recycled. St. Louis, Missouri-based McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. constructed the project.

Chicago · 2008.0418
PSA-Dewberry has adopted the 2030 Challenge, a global initiative aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels through sustainable strategies in building design. The 2030 Challenge was created by Architecture 2030, the non-profit organization established by architect Edward Mazria, AIA.

The challenge requires each new building project or major renovation to be designed to achieve an energy consumption performance standard of 50 percent of the regional or national average for that building type. For new building projects, this performance standard will increase to 60 percent in the year 2010. Every five years, the standard will increase by an additional 10 percent to achieve a standard of carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030.

Las Vegas · 2008.0418
Restaurant Charlie has opened in The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Joshua Zinder Architecture + Design LLC of Princeton, New Jersey, designed the restaurant for chef Charlie Trotter. On the edge of the casino floor, the restaurant's front facade includes alternating lines of etched glass, creating a multidimensional effect. Lacewood piers echo Japanese timber framing and folded paper. The interior features horizontal bands of figured hardwood surrounded by Venetian plaster, and an illuminated, patterned ceiling that mimics the floor's intricate stonework. A table on a platform suspended above the kitchen seats up to eight guests.

Dallas · 2008.0416
RTKL Associates Inc. has promoted Patrick F. McCurdy, AIA, and Alice Wainwright, RN, to vice president in the firm's healthcare group. John D. Seely, AIA, recently joined RTKL also as vice president in the healthcare group.

McCurdy is a project manager and operations manager in the Los Angeles, California office. He has has over 19 years of experience, and recently managed two projects for the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City.

Wainwright is based in the firm's Dallas, Texas, office. A registered nurse and former healthcare executive, she leads the firm's facility transition planning team, and is currently involved in projects for Peace Health in Eugene, Oregon, and for the UC Davis Health System in Sacramento, California.

Seely will serve as a studio design leader for the firm's healthcare group, based in the Dallas office. He was previously with Page Southerland Page, where his recent projects included Norman Regional Medical Center's Westside Campus in Norman, Oklahoma.

Seattle · 2008.0415
Design firm NBBJ has promoted David Yuan to partner. Based in the firm's Seattle, Washington, office, Yuan has been with NBBJ for 17 years and is a leader of the firm's commercial practice. Specializing in large-scale, mixed-use projects, Yuan has led teams on such Seattle projects as the Schnitzer 5th and Madison tower, WaMu Center, and expansion of the Seattle Art Museum and Pacific Place.

The firm has also promoted six staff members to principal. Jane Ayers of the New York City office, has spent much of her 25-year career developing retail environments. Scott Hunter, AIA, LEED AP, leads the Los Angeles, California, studio's corporate and commercial work. Kathleen Kelly, AIA, LEED AP, of the Columbus, Ohio, office, specializes in the science and education market. Larry Goetz, AIA, recently moved to NBBJ's Shanghai, China, office to help expand the firm's Asian practice. Dick Lee and Allen Whitaker, AIA, are both healthcare practice leaders in the Seattle office.

Oslo · 2008.0415
The new Operaen opened recently in Oslo, Norway. Snøhetta of Oslo designed the 1,450-seat opera house, which is the new home of the national opera company of Norway. In addition to the main space, the building contains a second, flexible-format auditorium, plus rehearsal, production, and administrative facilities.

The acoustic design was performed by a joint venture of international auditorium acoustic design company Arup Acoustics and local consulting firm Brekke & Strand akustikk. The auditorium is narrow low down to provide clarity and intimacy, and wide at the top to allow reverberation.

Hemet · 2008.0415
The Water + Life Museums in Hemet, California, have received LEED Platinum certification. The 70,000-square-foot (6,500-square-meter) museum complex, which includes the Center for Water Education and the Western Center for Archeology and Paleontology, is located on a 17-acre (seven-hectare) campus in the desert. The $40 million project was designed and constructed by Lehrer + Gangi Design + Build.

Translucent banners hang across 8,000 square feet (750 square meters) of deeply recessed, east-facing glass to identify the museums and reduce solar gain. Windows of heat-blocking glass transmit abundant daylight, and artifical lighting is sensor-controlled. The mechanical system includes radiant-floor and forced-air units.

A 540-watt, 3,000-panel photovoltaic installation provides the complex with almost half of its total power needs. The solar panels also shade the roof. Special translucent panes provide dappled light to outdoor loggias. Landscaping features native and drought-tolerant plants that are drip-irrigated with reclaimed water.

Lehrer + Gangi Design + Build was formed for this project by Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA, of Lehrer Architects, and Mark Gangi, AIA, and Frank Gangi, MBA, of Gangi Development. The museums' prime benefactor is the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Ann Arbor · 2008.0414
Construction has been completed for a new nanofabrication facility at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Detroit office of SmithGroup designed the project, which consisted of a 32,000-square-foot (3,000-square-meter) addition to the existing Solid State Electronics Laboratory.

The expansion incorporates a modular, non-progressive aluminum wall-panel system within the clean room, which will allow for the partitions to be easily moved or modified. Renovations to the existing building and new mechanical equipment will improve the overall performance of the laboratory.

New York · 2008.0414
A 10,000-square-foot (900-square-meter) renovation project is complete for the national headquarters of investment firm Accretive LLC. The New York City office of TPG Architecture designed the project, which transformed the entire 31st floor of 51 Madison Avenue, New York City.

The office contains sliding glass doors throughout, back-painted glass, and LED installations. Limestone floors finish the lobby and reception area, with wood flooring and high-end millwork in the rest of the space. The team also included Aragon Construction of New York City.

Los Angeles · 2008.0414
Ground has been broken for a new $43 million research and nursing education building at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. HOK designed the two-story, 63,000-square-foot (5,900-square-meter) building, which will house a school of nursing and facilities for laboratory and clinical research. The construction manager is S.L. Leonard & Associates of Camarillo, and the general contractor is Irvine-based gkkworks. Completion is expected by fall 2009.

Toronto · 2008.0408
Diamond and Schmitt Architects of Toronto, Canada, has revealed its design for a new photography gallery and substantial renovation of Ryerson University's School of Image Arts (rendered above) in downtown Toronto. Currently housed in an almost-windowless former brewery warehouse, the building will be re-clad in glass. The new building envelope will significantly improve the energy efficiency of the existing building, as well as creating 1,200 square meters (13,000 square feet) of new educational space.

The focal point of the renovation will be a new gallery on the ground floor to house a collection of 20th-century photographs. A transparent colonnade will highlight the gallery. The renovated ground floor will include a transparent new entrance to the facility and a study space for students. The facade will become an inhabited space, further animated by multicolored LED lighting.

Another Toronto project by Diamond and Schmitt opened recently. The firm designed a renovation of the Museum Subway Station, with column designs based on artifacts from Toronto museums.

Camarillo · 2008.0404
The John Spoor Broome Library has opened on the campus of California State University Channel Islands, in Camarillo, California. The two-story building was designed by Foster + Partners, based in London, United Kingdom, with Gruen Associates of Los Angeles as executive architect.

A new structure of concrete, steel and glass was fitted into a void of an existing Spanish colonial revival-style structure built in the early 1950s. The 137,000-square-foot (12,700-square-meter) project comprises 71,000 square feet (6,600 square meters) of new construction and 66,000 square feet (6,100 square meters) of renovation.

The addition is transparent, revealing the library stacks and transmitting indirect light. The former exterior wall of the original building forms a backdrop for the new stacks. Reading rooms, classrooms, and offices are located in the renovated space. Structural elements are exposed, including concrete walls and structural steel connection details at column tops and braces. A louver system casts changing shadows on the entry plaza.

New York · 2008.0401
Michel R. Franck, AIA, has joined Spacesmith — an architecture, planning, and interior design firm in New York City — as managing principal.

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