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TIMBER FRAME HOUSES
Anyone who steps inside a timber-frame, or post-and-beam, house for the first time invariably comes away impressed — even a bit awed — by what is encountered. The complete structural skeleton of the house is on view, but it's not just any structure: It is like entering a strange yet beautifully natural forest of sturdy wood trunks, graceful limbs, and branches that soar high overhead. — Published 2001.1010
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FAST CAMPUS FOR SUN
In just 11 months between preliminary design and occupancy of the first building, Sun Microsystems and the international architecture firm Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz (KMD) created a new corporate campus in the "Silicon Valley" city of Newark, California. — Published 2001.0926
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BOSTON RECONNECTING
As inconceivable as it may seem today, a wide swath of downtown Boston — including vibrant ethnic neighborhoods, historic pre-Revolutionary buildings, and a tangled but charming street pattern — was mowed down like weeds in the mid-1950s to make way for an elevated highway.
This was decades before the Boston-as-perennial-boomtown that we've known recently. A master plan prepared in 1956 by I.M. Pei and Associates stated darkly: "Stagnation and resultant blight are the condition of the Boston peninsula." — Published 2001.0912
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BASIC SAFETY RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION
"This company has safety rules to keep you from getting hurt on the job. It is your responsibility to learn these rules and to follow them at all times." So opens a new construction-site rulebook.
The Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America has published an easy-to-read illustrated booklet to provide workers with a basic understanding of job-site safety. In addition to the pages shown here, it treats such topics as material handling, ladder safety, and trench safety. — Published 2001.0829
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SAVING VENICE
One of the most visited tourist centers in the world is today threatened by the very element that makes it famous. The canals of Venice can no longer hold back the rise of the tidal waters.
Of major architectural significance in the sinking city and one of the lowest areas of the island is the Piazza San Marco. The plaza now becomes fully immersed during the highest tides of autumn and winter. — Published 2001.0815
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ADOBE THAT SURVIVES EARTHQUAKES
When an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter Scale rocked the Andean region for over a minute in June, 2001, the southern Peruvian mountain town of Moquegua was literally shaken to pieces. But amid the rubble, three traditional adobe houses were left intact. — Published 2001.0808
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TENSILE PAVILION IN BOSTON
In 1997, when the Boston Harborlights (BHL) Amphitheater faced imminent closure, those planning its replacement were sure they wanted another tent structure to house Boston's waterfront summer concert series.
BHL management and Boston-based music promoter, The Don Law Company (DLC), wanted a new facility that, like the old one, would give a feeling of being outdoors, with spectacular views of Boston Harbor, while still providing protection from the elements. — Published 2001.0725
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ROOFS OF DUBROVNIK
Walking on the ramparts of the walled city of Dubrovnik feels like being part of a Renaissance painting. It is so picture-perfect that even George Bernard Shaw's over-quoted observation of Dubrovnik being "paradise on earth" seems like a British understatement.
From the viewpoint on the ramparts, the homogeneous architecture of Dubrovnik is distinct; every single building in the old city bears clay roof tiles, red and honey rooftops that glitter in contrast with the turquoise sea. — Published 2001.0718
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A DESERT DEVELOPMENT
An unusual development is growing out of the Sonoran Desert, at the foot of the McDowell Mountains near Scottsdale, Arizona. This region is home to both the beautiful saguaro cactus and a legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Now, DC Ranch is also making it home to a new community. — Published 2001.0627
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A UNIVERSAL HOUSE
As housing evolves over the next 15 to 20 years, it may be molded less by technological innovations than by demographic and marketing trends. "Universal design," a term coined by Ronald L. Mace, FAIA in the early 1980s, respects and strives to accommodate the broadest possible spectrum of human ability in the design of all products and environments. — Published 2001.0620
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