LABROUSTE BROUGHT TO LIGHT Henri Labrouste is not exactly a household name, even in most architects' households. But an exhibit at New York's Museum of Modern Art through June 24 should help change that. The French architect (1801-1875) was educated at the French Academy in Rome, trained in classical architecture, and spent his early career in Paris designing public spectacles, such as the return of Napoleon's ashes to the capital in 1841. Labrouste even designed a tomb for Bonaparte's remains. — Published 2013.0424
	ADA LOUISE HUXTABLE When she died on January 7, Ada Louise Huxtable, America's first full-time architecture critic to write for a newspaper, went out the way she came in. She joined the New York Times in 1963 and a half-century later she continued to write intelligent and at times lacerating architectural criticism for the Wall Street Journal. In her last published piece, she heaped scorn upon architect Norman Foster's scheme to gut the stacks of the landmark New York Public Library. It was published three weeks before her death at the age of 91. — Published 2013.0109
	HERMAN HERTZBERGER RIBA GOLD MEDAL When Dutch architect and architectural theorist Herman Hertzberger was named the winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects' 2012 Gold Medal, he lamented the fact that architects don't garner the respect they did just a generation ago, and that their status in the construction industry has been downgraded, a reflection of the fact that they are not the master builders they once were. "We're not buried next to the king anymore," he observed. — Published 2012.0704
	EAST HAMPTON TOWN HALL - ROBERT A.M. STERN ARCHITECTS There are many approaches to sustainable architecture, and one of the most efficient and effective is the reuse of old buildings. Often, adaptive reuse is not as sexy as designing a high-tech green building from scratch, with its full complement of the latest gizmos. But reconceptualizing a building that already exists is often the most sustainable choice, because such structures contain embodied energy — the energy that was invested in their original design and construction. — Published 2012.0418
	STANLEY TIGERMAN: ARCHITECT AS CHAMELEON A bedrock belief in the classic theology of modern architecture was that architects always had to be original. Architects were to create a new built world that divested itself from the past, from classical architecture and its decoration, and invent brand-new, innovative buildings. In many ways, for a modern architectural designer, being original could be more important than being good. — Published 2011.1005
	NOTES FROM MANHATTAN: HIGH LINE TO WTC New York on the cusp of fall: the light has that very yellowy tint that only happens this time of year, and the air seems clear as crystal. A quick jaunt around Manhattan Island — literally one afternoon, just before the tenth anniversary of September 11th — reveals new, continuing, and still-becoming works of architecture. — Published 2011.0907
	STUDY IN ENGINEERING Architecture as a teaching tool is a very old idea. Think about those cathedrals whose stained glass and sculpture indoctrinated their congregations on the lessons of Christianity. And when Thomas Jefferson was planning the University of Virginia, it is said that he intended the architecture to function partially as text; he had designed the pavilions along the great lawn in different architectural styles to instruct students on Western architecture's greatest achievements. — Published 2011.0824
	DESIGN BY ARTS CORPORATION The Practice in 20-Dozen Words In 2000 Mike Latham formed Arts Corporation, a multimedia design firm that integrated his varied interests in architecture, art, and technology. The firm serves as the backbone for Latham's work in architecture, furniture design, and product design, and a springboard for his innovative work in sculpture and film. — Published 2011.0817
	AN EXCELLENT ADDITION Designing an appropriate addition to almost any National Historic Landmark should be seen as a challenge. When the landmark building is by Frank Lloyd Wright, the challenge acquires its own dimension in history. In their new addition to an American masterpiece of religious architecture — Wright's First Unitarian Society Meeting House in Madison, Wisconsin — The Kubala Washatko Architects has risen beautifully to such a challenge. — Published 2011.0525
	EZRA STOLLER Many of the finest examples of Modern architecture from the late 1940s to the late 1970s were "made" by a master — not necessarily the architect, but the man who captured the essence of Modern architecture through the lens of his large-format camera: Ezra Stoller. — Published 2011.0223

Michael Crosbie