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ART WATTS
In harnessing solar energy, the usual approach is to bolt an array of panels onto the roof of a building and plug it in. But recent advances such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) allow designers to incorporate solar cells seamlessly into a building's exterior.
Canadian glass artist Sarah Hall is taking this idea in a novel direction by using solar technology to create a striking contemporary version of stained glass that illuminates the aesthetic potential of PV. — Published 2012.0606
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CREATIVE CONCRETE
When we think of sustainability, images of solar panels, thick insulation, and rainwater cisterns might come to mind. But Canadian architect and researcher Mark West is rethinking the bones of concrete structures to find ways to make them as efficient as possible.
West is director of the University of Manitoba's Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (CAST), where the research revolves around fabric-formed concrete. The process uses pliable fabric to make innovative, efficient structural shapes. — Published 2012.0328
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CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM - SAFDIE IN ARKANSAS
For those familiar with the remote and quiet beauty of the Ozarks of Northwest Arkansas, the sudden appearance of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville seems somewhat miraculous. — Published 2012.0201
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WYLY THEATRE BY REX AND OMA
The first thing that strikes a visitor to the new Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas, Texas, is that the building doesn't look like a theater at all. It's a basic box elongated upward. The typical theater configuration, with an auditorium surrounded by a public lobby and back-of-house support spaces, has been completely reshuffled by architects REX and OMA into a vertical stack. — Published 2010.0908
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FOSTER'S NEW OPERA
The extroverted Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House by Norman Foster has sprung up in Dallas, Texas, across the street from the internally dynamic Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre by REX and OMA. — Published 2010.0526
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HEADING FOR NET-ZERO
Some projects come along at pivotal moments. Such was the case for the Rose House in Portland, Oregon, a compact home that served as a laboratory for energy-efficient residential design in 2004, and ended up setting the bar as the first house in the state designed to achieve zero net energy use. — Published 2010.0421
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PELLI'S PLATINUM VISIONAIRE
At first glance, the glossy new 35-story condominium tower slicing into the lower Manhattan skyline doesn't stand out as a beacon of sustainable design. Its sleek form — an extruded curving wedge accented with red terra cotta bands — looks more Ferrari than Prius. And the structure's granite base and travertine lobby walls are elements not usually associated with green building. — Published 2009.0610
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REBUILDING BEAUFORT
Just north of London, off the M25 highway, a single large wind turbine reaches into the air and turns steadily above the bucolic English countryside. The turbine serves to generate power, and also as an emblem of the headquarters of the wind energy company Renewable Energy Systems (RES), set among the hedge rows and rolling hills of Hertfordshire. — Published 2008.0116
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THE SUSTAINABILITY OF NINA MARITZ
Architects practicing in wealthy countries are becoming increasingly aware that our resources are finite and that if climate change goes unchecked, we could face a much warmer, harsher environment. Scientists present us with images of expanding deserts, sinking water tables, and material scarcity.
For Namibian architect Nina Maritz, the challenges of working in a harsh environment with limited means are already an everyday reality. Her work presents a model for making compelling buildings despite "a poverty of resources." — Published 2007.0613
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BIG RIPPLES
Magic in architecture often occurs when the client presents the architect with clear criteria and formidable challenges and when, rather than engineer around obstacles, the designer embraces the challenges as opportunities to enrich the project.
Such was the case with the Heifer International Center, in Little Rock, Arkansas, designed by Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects. The result is a building that meets the client's needs with stellar design and an anticipated LEED-Gold rating. — Published 2007.0404
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