 |
COLIN ST. JOHN WILSON - TWO HOUSES
British architect Colin St. John "Sandy" Wilson (1922-2007) is best known for designing the British Library (1997) in London, a fraught but ultimately successful project begun in 1962. In Colin St John Wilson: Buildings and Projects, Roger Stonehouse reviews many of Wilson's works, including the Grantchester Road houses and Spring House. In an introduction to the book, drawn from a 1992 essay, Wilson reflects on the state of modernism in the early 1960s. —Editor Published 2009.0304
 |
 |
DELFT MEDIA LIBRARY
Durability through transformation. That was the architects' vision for the DOK Library Concept Center in Delft, the Netherlands.
The multimedia library occupies part of the overhauled Hoogovenpand, a 1970s mixed-use building facing a public square. Architects Liesbeth van der Pol of Dok architects (no relation) and Aat Vos of Aequo BV revitalized the gloomy building, creating the library space among existing commercial and residential functions. Published 2009.0128
 |
 |
KOLUMBA ART MUSEUM
In Cologne, Germany, a city ravaged by World War II, the Kolumba Art Museum embraces and preserves centuries of culture and pays poetic tribute to the layers of civilization unearthed on its site. Designed by reclusive Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the museum provides a stunning exception to the city's drab urban landscape built after the war. Published 2009.0107
 |
 |
STIRLING PRIZE FOR ACCORDIA HOUSING
Pairing sensitively designed housing with generous open space, the architects of Accordia created an enduring residential development in Cambridge, United Kingdom, that embodies the inherent sustainability of livable communities.
Their careful efforts have earned Accordia the Stirling Prize for 2008. Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios designed the project with Maccreanor Lavington and Alison Brooks Architects. This is the first residential project to receive the prestigious prize, now in its 13th year. Published 2008.1015
 |
 |
BRICK AWARDS 2008
The Durham County Regional Public Library in Durham, North Carolina, takes advantage of brick for environmental benefit.
Brick's thermal mass improves the energy efficiency of the LEED Silver-certified facility, helping to keep energy use 35 percent lower than that of comparable conventionally designed buildings. The brick was procured locally, and made from raw materials extracted regionally. Published 2008.1001
 |
 |
CURRIER MUSEUM OF ART
The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, reopened its doors in spring 2008 after an expansion designed by Ann Beha Architects. This was both a sympathetic and a very modern expansion, and the results provide quite an elegant increase in the museum's scope. Published 2008.0917
 |
 |
HOUSES FOR VICTORIANS
Underlying the almost infinite variety of Victorian houses were a few basic structural forms, repeated millions of times over by builders following well established principles.
The Masonry House Published 2008.0910
 |
 |
ROBIN HOOD IN QUEENS
Public School 42 in Arverne, Queens, a five-story prewar brick edifice, had a small library in a converted fourth-floor classroom. Physically and visually isolated from the core of the elementary school's activities, the library was relocated to the ground floor, where it replaced one of two gymnasiums. Published 2008.0723
 |
 |
A BLOCK IN TEMPLE BAR
O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects spent ten years working on one block in Temple Bar, the cultural quarter of Dublin, Ireland.
We started on conversion of the former Quaker Meeting House into the Irish Film Centre in 1986. Meeting House Square, with the National Photographic Archive and the Gallery of Photography, was opened to the public in 1996. Published 2008.0130
 |
 |
8NW8 IN PORTLAND'S PEARL
The ideals are familiar to any architect working in a big city: a project should be well designed, well built, and well integrated into its urban environment. And yet we have too few U.S. examples to follow when it comes to applying these principles to housing for the poor. Published 2007.0307
 |
Brick Construction page: [