BILLION-SQUARE-FOOT GREENBUILD "The USGBC has just reached a historic milestone," announced Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council. "We have one billion square feet [93 million square meters] of LEED-certified construction." Speaking to an audience of thousands at the organization's annual Greenbuild conference and expo, held in Chicago in November 2010, Fedrizzi also cautioned the cheering crowd, "We're still at the beginning of the journey." — Published 2011.0126
	NICE AND NARROW The Borneo Sporenburg development lies in one of Amsterdam's former working harbors. The city and West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture planned an urban development with a density of 40 dwellings per acre (100 dwellings per hectare). The area was, therefore, subdivided into strips, and the block on which the Stuurmankade 266 to 304 townhouse project by KCAP was constructed is part of several elongated tracts of land. — Published 2011.0126
	RIPPLE EFFECT Your first reaction to seeing Aqua Tower as it commands the Chicago skyline might be, "What happened to that skyscraper?" It looks as if some of its concrete floor fins might have been worn away over years of exposure. Or perhaps some kind of pervasive organism has taken over a sleek glass tower, crawling all over its facade — the Blob meets Howard Roark's Enright Building. — Published 2011.0105
	HOUSING AWARDS FROM HUD AND THE AIA Residents of Congo Street in Dallas, Texas, loved their tight-knit community of homeowners and long-term tenants. By 2008, however, the neighborhood's modest, century-old houses had fallen into disrepair. The local firm buildingcommunityWorkshop worked with five homeowners to develop a unique plan for renovating their homes without displacing anyone from the neighborhood during the process — and while also reaching for LEED Platinum. — Published 2010.1208
	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
	AUSTRALIA ARCHITECTURE AWARDS 2010 In an inner-city suburb of Sydney, Australia, a compact new public building combines the functions of library, neighborhood center, and daycare facility with striking style, while including a wide range of green features, from mixed-mode ventilation to an automated system of wood louvers that track the movement of the sun. — Published 2010.1117
	PORTLAND AIA AWARDS When the University of Oregon made plans with longtime athletics benefactor Phil Knight, chairman of Nike, to build a new study center for student athletes on the Eugene campus, the stated goal was to create a building of striking beauty that celebrates the landscape. The resulting John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes is a gleaming glass cuboid set against a reflecting pool, impressing passersby with its pristine presence while providing abundant outdoor views to the select athletes within. — Published 2010.1110
	URBANISMS / TURKEY In Akbuk, Turkey, overlooking the Aegean Sea, a new eco-reserve of small town fragments, like islands in a preserved landscape of cultivated natural vegetation, will be characterized by advanced technologies in sustainability, while also anchored in the poetic reverie of this ancient site. The nearby ancient Greek town of Miletus inspires a compact gridded plan. — Published 2010.0714
	10 WEYMOUTH STREET, LONDON In central London, a renovation by Make Architects gives a radical new aesthetic and improved energy efficiency to an unremarkable 1960s apartment building. The basic project outline for 10 Weymouth Street might not seem glamorous — upgrading a concrete-framed postwar housing block, with an addition overlooking the mews — but in the hands of Make, the results are golden. — Published 2010.0707
	LISTENING Architecture firms commonly advertise on their websites that they "listen." Similarly, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recommends that after clients have interviewed potential architects and have chosen a leading candidate that, among other items, the clients consider whether "the architect really listened to what you were saying." The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) states that at the initial meeting, after an architect has been chosen, "your architect will listen carefully to your intentions..." The word listen is used frequently enough to suggest its importance but it is also used loosely. — Published 2010.0623

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