The Langara College Library & Classroom Building in Vancouver, British Columbia, was designed by Teeple Architects. Photo: Shai Gil Extra Large Image

College Station · 2008.0611
Ground has been broken for The Lofts at Wolf Pen Creek, a mixed-use student housing development in College Station, Texas, home of Texas A&M University. Meeks + Partners of Houston designed the high-end 679-bed project to be pedestrian-oriented.

The four-story stucco-and-brick structure will include 253 stacked flats and 11 townhouses arranged around landscaped courtyards, along with a seven-level parking garage, 9,000 square feet (840 square meters) of ground-level retail space, and a 12,500-square-foot (1,200-square-meter) clubhouse. The Wolf Pen Creek Park and trails are readily accessible from the 8.6-acre (3.5-hectare) project site.

Copenhagen · 2008.0610
The new Elephant House has opened at Copenhagen Zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark. Foster + Partners designed the project, its first zoological building.

The project has been driven by research on elephant behavioral patterns. The tendency for bull elephants in the wild to roam away from the main herd prompted a plan organized around two separate enclosures. The main herd enclosure will enable the elephants to spend the night together, as they would in the wild — a novel feature for such a facility.

Lightweight, glazed domes cover the structure, transmitting daylight and giving a sense of openness. Distinctive fritting on the glazing simulates a canopy of trees. Four species of tree were sampled, then a computer script was written to rotate, scale, and randomly populate the roof canopies, so that no two "leaves" are the same. The overlapping pattern provides dappled light. Operable windows allow natural ventilation. Public viewing terraces run around the domes

Rotterdam · 2008.0609
The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has revealed its concept design for a mixed-use building in the Coolsingel shopping district of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The historic ABN-AMRO bank building will be integrated into the 120,000-square-meter (1.3 million-square-foot) project, which includes 30,000 square meters (320,000 square feet) of retail space and 70,000 square meters (750,000 square feet) of office, residential, cultural, and recreational space. OMA partners Floris Alkemade and Rem Koolhaas are leading the project.

In contrast to the many new tower developments in Rotterdam, the project will insert the form of a cube into existing buildings. Voids within the cube will bring daylight in and provide views. The site will include a courtyard adjacent to the ABN-AMRO building, built after World War II.

The base of the cube will consist of five floors of retail space. Public spaces, such as restaurants, and exhibition and media spaces, will be located in the middle and top floors of the cube. Slanted public elevators will draw visitors upward. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2011, opening in 2013.

St. Louis · 2008.0606
A Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) facility was recently completed in North St. Louis County, Missouri. The St. Louis office of Rosemann & Associates, P.C. designed the $3 million adult day health project, which renovated the 13,000-square-foot (1,200-square-meter) former Corpus Christi Church (1967). The redesigned space includes a 3,000-square-foot (280-square-meter) building addition, medical clinic, exam rooms, physical, occupational and recreational therapy areas, social services offices, administrative offices, chapel, kitchen, and community space.

Vancouver · 2008.0605
A new library and classroom building (pictured above) opened recently at Langara College in Vancouver, Canada. Teeple Architects of Toronto designed the project, which is targeted for LEED Gold certification.

The building is heated and cooled geothermally and naturally ventilated. A weather station on the roof senses wind direction, wind speed, and humidity. The station activates vent windows in the building's wind towers. These systems help make the building approximately 71 percent more energy efficient than the Model National Energy Code calls for.

The library defines a new forecourt, a new west court, and a new student quad. The reflecting pool in the forecourt links the college to the street.

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