CULTURE THIS WEEK       TENTH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUE

SOLID GREEN PRACTICE

Tenth anniversary special issue article—originally published in May 2009.

Given the urgency of our response to climate change and other environmental needs, is it really okay to keep building new non-green buildings?

Here are nine U.S. firms that took sustainability to heart and made green design a centerpiece of their work, and have now taken the next logical step: they have committed to create only green buildings, from here on out.

PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE OF CURITIBA

Tenth anniversary special issue article—originally published in September 2007.

Curitiba, Brazil — called "the world's greenest city" by the New York Times Magazine in May 2007 — is increasingly well known for its long-term success in integrated land use, transportation, and environmental planning, including its exciting public bus system. Less well known is the extensive program of public architecture that helps animate the urban fabric of the city, weaving together parks and open space, tourism, urban identity, and industrial reclamation.

EXTRAORDINARY INTERPRETER

Tenth anniversary special issue article—originally published in July 2007.

At a time when the stylistic vogue in Europe was moving from Arts and Crafts into what became known as Modernism, out in the far West of America a talented and remarkable architect was expressing a special regional style that also continues to resonate strongly.

And her name was not Frank.

ZAMBIAN VERNACULAR

Tenth anniversary special issue article—originally published in August 2002.

Zambia gained independence from Britain in 1964, the country has experienced a continuing shift toward urbanization that is reflected in its architecture. As in other parts of Africa, Zambia's rich architectural legacy is gradually giving way to Western-style constructions.

Zambian vernacular architecture is organic, beautiful, and most importantly, comfortably integrated with the local climate, culture, and harvest cycles. Yet this building culture is not being passed on to younger generations.

SEASIDE TURNS 20

Tenth anniversary special issue article—originally published in September 2001.

Seaside, the little Florida coast town that spawned New Urbanism, is 20 years old this year. To celebrate its birthday, the town is organizing a series of events and sponsoring a competition to create a new Ceremonial Landmark.

WILLIAM TURNBULL - BUILDINGS IN THE LANDSCAPE

Tenth anniversary special issue article—originally published in May 2001.

We ended up on the rugged north coast of California, on an overgrazed sheep meadow, hard by the surf breaking at the foot of the rocky cliffs. The ground was not flat but shaped into low mounds and swells, edged on one side by the ribbon of Highway 1 and indented on the other by ocean forces seeking weak points in the rock.

— William Turnbull, Jr.,

WE ARE WHAT WE BUILD

Tenth anniversary special issue article—originally published in May 2001.

Book Review: The Culture of Building by Howard Davis. Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-1951-1294-6.

It's not often that a book appears with the potential to fundamentally change the way we think about the built world. The Culture of Building by Howard Davis is such a book.

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