AUROVILLE TODAY Since the 1960s, architects have been drawn to the intentional community of Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India, attracted by policies of self-sufficiency and ideals of spiritual development. Auroville has adopted an experimental attitude toward urban planning and architectural design, unfettered by building regulations. There are 24 architects currently working in Auroville, population around 1700. — Published 2005.1116
	MODERN MOSQUE "It doesn't look like a mosque," said the Muslim woman when I asked for street directions to the Assyafaah Mosque in Singapore. Designed by Singapore-based Forum Architects, the mosque's architecture breaks with tradition. "It's modern," said the woman. — Published 2005.0803
	SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY Were the architects inspired by sculpture when they designed the idiosyncratic form of the Seattle Public Library? Were they perhaps influenced by the angularity of the nearby street sculpture, Vertebrae, by Henry Moore? — Published 2005.0420
	HERETICAL TENT In the south of France is a house whose tent-like form follows the contours of the land and mimics the curvature of a nearby ancient stone wall. It is an example of "architecture by stealth." Not only does its green fabric covering blend into the natural environment, but the structure is nearly invisible to building officials. "Maison Barak" is also figuratively green, with a geothermal heat source and a relatively light footprint in its grove of olive trees. — Published 2002.0529
	URBAN DESIGN ESSENTIALS "City Comforts" presents a metaphor — the urban village — as a way of describing the mix of intimacy and anonymity that I believe most people desire and which is largely missing in our large urban settlements. It is an attempt to refocus our public policy discussion from abstract generalities, colored maps, and grandiose projects to the details that create our daily experience. It is about a way of looking at and speaking about our immediate environment. — Published 2001.0815

Robert Such