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UK DEVELOPS ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS
When the United Kingdom ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, it was taking a lead from continental Europe. This ratification demonstrated a high level of government awareness of environmental issues that is more akin to that of Britain's nearest neighbors than to that of its wartime ally, the United States. — Published 2003.1015
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RUSTIC CABIN ESSENCE
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, The Civilian Conservation Corps built countless structures in U.S. state and national parks, providing jobs to unemployed youth. Many of these bridges, benches, and cabins were designed and documented by Albert H. Good, consulting architect for the National Park Service. His goal was to present structures that "appear to be a part of their settings." During this 70th anniversary year of the CCC, we look back at some of his classic cabin designs. — Editor — Published 2003.1001
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MEZZANINE ADDITION SPANS 175 FEET
When the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta needed a new student recreation center, they found the space for it in an unusual way. They converted the 1996 Olympic swimming and diving venue into a multipurpose facility by stretching a new floor across the 175-foot (53-meter) span above the existing pool and spectator seating. St. Louis-based Hastings & Chivetta Architects, Inc. designed the renovation. — Published 2003.0917
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CALATRAVA WAVE IN TENERIFE
It was originally intended to be a simple concert hall, but the multifunction building for the city of Santa Cruz, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, also promises to be a landmark. The distinctive, overhanging "wave" curving out over the white concrete Auditorio de Tenerife is the latest creation of renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. — Published 2003.0903
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STRUCTURAL ALUMINUM
Today the choice of aluminum as a structural material suffers from a malady similar to that which afflicted tomatoes in the eighteenth century: many people fail to consider it out of superstition and ignorance. Whereas Europeans shunned tomatoes for fear that they were poisonous, engineers seem to avoid aluminum for equally unfounded reasons today. — Published 2003.0820
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CONCRETE AND LEAD FOR STANFORD
Construction is nearing completion for the Center for Cancer Treatment and Prevention at Stanford University in California. The building, located in the heart of earthquake territory, will contain seven linear accelerators to deliver therapeutic radiation to its clinics.
Guarding against both earthquakes and radiation has posed significant challenges for the general contractors, Rudolph and Sletten, Inc. They had to develop novel shoring systems and strict safety measures for workers handling leaded building materials. — Published 2003.0806
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THE DEMOLITION OF PENN STATION
New York's Pennsylvania Station (1910) by McKim, Mead & White was one of the great engineering and architectural feats of the early 20th century in the United States. The station remained a civic landmark until its demolition in the 1960s, during which a young photographer documented its demise. — Editor — Published 2003.0723
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AVOIDING PAINT TOXICITY
When considering paint choices for a project, several factors must be balanced, including cost, long-term performance, and the effect on indoor air quality. Each of these factors is so important that it can be difficult to understand priorities. — Published 2003.0709
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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
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SMARTER BUILDING IN DENVER
In the United States, building "smart" — striving for compact, mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods — can be hard. There are many reasons: less-proven markets for pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, higher costs of building, inflexible mortgage lending requirements, often-rigid building codes and zoning regulations, and the community opposition that may challenge any development. — Published 2003.0604
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