HONG KONG VILLAGES When the British occupied a "barren rock" following the First Opium War in 1841, Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston was "greatly mortified and disappointed" at the island's perceived worthlessness. Since then, however, Hong Kong has become one of the world's most important entrepreneurial, architectural, banking, and trading centers. — Published 2006.0927
	HUGH STUBBINS, MODERN TOWER On New York City's Lexington Avenue at 53rd Street, Citicorp Center (built 1976 to 1978) reaches into the sky like a giant sheathed in aluminum and glass. Its designer, architect Hugh Stubbins, Jr., who challenged modern skyscraper orthodoxy of the time, died July 5, 2006 at the age of 94. — Published 2006.0809
	DUBLIN HABITAT In crafting a modern setting within a historic context, the Irish firm of Douglas Wallace Architects has struck a delicate balance between respectful homage to the past and a stylish adventure into the future. In the new Habitat store in Dublin, they have converted an 18th-century Bank of Ireland and a 1960s office building into a large retail establishment for the city center. — Published 2005.1214
	QUARRY TO KITCHEN For thousands of years, people have used granite and marble to protect their places of power and wealth. Communities have built palaces, libraries, temples, and banks from stone, but most individuals have found it too expensive to install in their homes or workplaces. Recently, a group of companies from southern Brazil have joined forces to provide affordable finished products made from these luxurious materials. — Published 2005.1109
	STARI MOST — MOSTAR RECONNECTION When a beloved and highly symbolic historic bridge was destroyed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the early 1990s, the whole world grieved. The single-arched Stari Most ("Old Bridge") in Mostar was erected in 1566 by architect Mimar Hajruddin at the height of the Ottoman Empire. It not only connected the city physically but, by the 20th century, had come to symbolize the coming together of many nationalities and ethnicities. — Published 2004.0804
	BUILDING TALL Since the 1980s, architects of tall buildings have sought variety in geometric massing and silhouette, coupled sometimes with a striving for height for its own sake and not just as a way of increasing floor area on a restricted site. Economy in the costs of construction seems sometimes to have been considered less important than before. — Published 2003.0618
	HIPPER BANKING IN PORTLAND According to the designers of a bank branch in the once-industrial, now-chic Pearl District in Portland, Oregon, button-down bankers in marble-columned buildings are now passé. Such old-fashioned symbols of stability and conservatism are being supplanted by new ideas about banking — and by comfortable, artsy spaces for customers. This new branch office of Umpqua Bank is the creation of architecture firm Thompson, Vaivoda & Associates and ZIBA, a design and branding — Published 2003.0604
	I. M. PEI'S CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION The National Building Museum and Turner Construction Company have awarded Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei, FAIA, the second annual Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology. This award recognizes notable advances and high achievement in construction methods and processes. — Published 2003.0423
	NORMAN FOSTER : ANALOG AND DIGITAL ECOLOGY Norman Foster's keynote address at this year's Bentley International User Conference in Philadelphia on Tuesday reminded me again why he is considered one of the most intelligent architects practicing today. In a wide-ranging talk that tied together themes found in his work for over 30 years, Foster stressed the importance of melding the technological with human experience, or the "digital with the analog," as he called it. — Published 2000.0920
	ILLUMINATING FOSTER The young German artist Thomas Emde, whose medium is light and color, has just added the finishing touches to a Norman Foster building. The Commerzbank in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is said to be the world's first "ecological high-rise." With Emde's light installation, the special characteristics of the building are now as visible at night as they are during the day. — Published 2000.0913

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