MUSEUM OF MEDICAL HISTORY One particular drawing speaks volumes about the task that faced the architects of the new Russell Museum of Medical History and Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital. That drawing is a simple study of the density and urban configuration of the building's Boston surroundings. — Published 2012.0523
	GREEN TOP TEN - BUILDINGS FOR EDUCATION In Newberg, Oregon, southwest of Portland, the first building has been built on a new 15-acre (6-hectare) campus for Portland Community College (PCC). The structure's distinctive forms provide a visual clue about the strategies — including passive cooling and extensive daylighting — that were used to achieve its goal of zero net energy use. — Published 2012.0516
	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
	DISTILLED FARMHOUSE Compelled by sentimentality and the knowledge that the former owners (a farm family) would be retained to work the land, a Chicago couple commissioned architect Margaret McCurry to convert a 26-acre (11-hectare) farm in Galien, Michigan, into an expanded family compound while preserving as much as was practical of the original farmhouse. — Published 2012.0411
	NEW URBANISM NOW David Brower Center, Berkeley, Calfornia — Safeway No. 2912, Georgetown, Washington, D.C. — Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts — SCAD Museum of Art, Savanna, Georgia — Lafitte Housing, New Orleans, Louisiana — Wyvernwood Mixed-Use, Los Angeles, California — Town Center, Mount Rainier, Maryland — Verkykerskop Farming Town, South Africa — Vision for Berrien Springs, Michigan — And more... — Published 2012.0328
	ST. PANCRAS HOTEL It rises regally from the front of London's St Pancras railway station — Sir Gilbert Scott's confection of a masterpiece, which has not made its way lightly through the years. — Published 2012.0229
	CINCINNATI STUDENT CENTER BY MOORE RUBLE YUDELL As architects, we generally consider how a building meets the ground — in essence, we design a base that holds the building in place. But we seldom have to design this base while traversing a change in grade some 50 feet (15 meters) along nearly 500 feet (150 meters) of a building's length. — Published 2012.0222
	AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE AWARDS 2011 On a tiny site measuring only seven by six meters (23 by 20 feet), a compact new home rises four and a half stories amidst the urban fabric of Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, Australia. Designing for himself and his partner, Sue Bassett, architect Domenic Alvaro achieved an unexpected sense of expansiveness within this small space through the use of large precast concrete panels and plate-glass windows, with minimal additional interior detailing. — Published 2012.0125
	SHUBIN + DONALDSON - FROM FUEL TO BISCUIT The apparent placelessness of Los Angeles, where one community bleeds into another with little visible distinction, can partially be attributed to its major industries — advertising, television, movies, the web — because these businesses live placelessly, mostly in periodicals, or on screens in the theater, in the family room, and at the desk. — Published 2011.1130
	LEED FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS The Empire State Building made headlines recently for achieving LEED Gold certification following a major green retrofit project that will reduce the skyscraper's energy consumption by more than 38 percent. The building's electric chiller plant was rebuilt, electric meters were installed at the tenant level, and all 6,514 window units were removed, refurbished to improve their energy efficiency, and reinstalled. — Published 2011.1012

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