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TRIANGLE HOUSE IN NORWAY
Local zoning restrictions determined both the plan and the height of the Triangle House in Nesodden, Norway, which offers views toward the sea through a surrounding pine forest. Published 2010.1201
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NEW SAN FRANCISCO ARCHITECTURE
SFMOMA commissioned a new sculpture garden for the top of its parking structure, with provisions to connect to the main San Francisco Museum of Modern Art building — a late-20th-century classic that prefigured the wave of museums constructed following the Guggenheim Bilbao in 1997. Jensen & Macy Architects conceived of the garden, which was completed by successor firm Jensen Architects, as a gallery without a ceiling. Published 2010.0609
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BECHTLER MUSEUM BY BOTTA
Clad in a glazed terra cotta tile that lends it an orange hue and a sleek feel, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, shows Swiss architect Mario Botta shifting subtly from his signature brick and stone. Published 2010.0217
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NEW SACRED SPACE
Chartres Cathedral in France is the "thought of the middle ages made visible," according to art historian, Emile Male. Through sculpture, stained glass windows, and high arches, it is understood as encapsulating an essence of the Christian spiritual mind of the time. Today, in an increasingly secularized world confronted with diversity, confusion, and a continued decline in church attendance, is there still a need for sacred architecture? If so, what is its contemporary expression? Published 2007.0509
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BOTTANICAL SPA
The Tschuggen Bergoase spa, nestled in the mountains near St. Moritz, Switzerland, takes on a cathedral-like quality. It was designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta who is renowned for his museums and sacred spaces. In contrast to the neighboring Tschuggen Hotel, the spa wears a sleek, timeless design that signals a shift into an interior space of natural quiet. Published 2007.0207
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HOW BOTTA BUILDS
Creating an edifice draws on an almost mystical process of imagining and materializing something from nothing, of developing original thought forms and manifesting them in the physical environment. Swiss-born Mario Botta provides a unique perspective on this creative process. He is best known in the United States for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is considered one of the world's foremost architects for churches and museums. Published 2006.0830
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INTERVIEW WITH AN EMERGING ARCHITECT
Few architectural commissions are more attractive than an art museum. So no one was surprised in 1999 when the design competition for the Forum for Contemporary Art in St. Louis, Missouri drew an international "who's who" of architects and firms — Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, Enrique Norton, Peter Zumthor. Published 2002.0102
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ART TO GO WITH ARRIS
There's no longer any question that large architectural projects call for sophisticated computer-aided design systems for their execution. But sometimes very small projects do too.
As recently demonstrated in the new San Francisco Museum of Modern Art store at the San Francisco International Airport, a top-of-the-line design system can work very well to control the design quality — and cost — of a small architectural gem. Published 2001.0905
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BUILDING TYPE BASICS FOR MUSEUMS
After a period of decline, reflecting stagnant public interest in viewing art and in expressing cultural heritage, museum construction took a sharp upturn in the 1980s as the public in the United States and overseas took a new interest in that heritage. Published 2001.0808
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Mario Botta