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GOTHIC KALEIDOSCOPE
The Gothic style flourished in Central Europe during the late Gothic period, with many of the most exciting innovations in vault design found in churches built in the regions of present-day Germany and the Czech Republic. Published 2010.0203
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ESHERICK'S CARY HOUSE
The Cary House in Mill Valley, California (1961) was a pivotal project for Joseph Esherick, gathering in the experience and the formal explorations of the gable and chalet manners and looking forward to the single-slope roofs that became the icon of the Sea Ranch style. Published 2010.0203
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TRANSPARENCY IN PRESERVATION
Continuity and the ability to recognize original design intent is critical to the preservation of modern architecture. Original design intent is the visual and conceptual expression of the designer's creativity and therefore informs every aspect of both the building and its construction. Published 2010.0127
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YALE'S GREEN ARK
Every so often, an exceptional work of architecture emerges from an opportune convergence of just the right client working with just the right team of architects, engineers, and consultants on a building that is just right for the times. Kroon Hall at Yale University is one of these. Published 2010.0106
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POSTCARD FROM PORTLAND
Dear ArchitectureWeek,
If you visited Portland, Oregon's Saturday Market prior to 2009, then you might remember a collection of vendor stalls arranged under the concrete approach ramp of the Burnside Bridge, spilling out to the south, wrapping around a ponderous and slightly run-down brick building, and continuing toward the historic Skidmore Fountain. And if you visit that site today, you'll notice things have changed. Published 2009.1216
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CHRISTMAN BUILDING
For the new Christman Company headquarters in downtown Lansing, Michigan, SmithGroup set out to design modern, high-end offices within a historic building. What resulted, somewhat surprisingly, was a sustainable exemplar.
Christman, a Lansing-based construction company, had purchased a 1928 building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and set a modest goal for sustainable renovation: basic certification under LEED for Core & Shell. Published 2009.1216
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CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
A stunning new addition has opened at the Cambridge Public Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Using ideas of transparency, inclusiveness, and efficiency as starting points, William Rawn Associates designed the glass-and-steel addition as a modernist foil to the original 1888 library by Van Brunt & Howe. Published 2009.1209
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PUGH + SCARPA STEP UP
Walking or driving past the new Step Up on Fifth project in downtown Santa Monica, California, one could mistake the colorful building — with its front facade of yellow, white, and purple metal panels — for a contemporary art center or a fashionable condominium. The mixed-use residential building in the heart of this affluent, picturesque city was actually built to serve people suffering from mental illness and homelessness. Published 2009.1202
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MAGGIE'S CENTRE GETS 2009 STIRLING PRIZE
On a difficult corner site along a busy street, Maggie's Centre in London provides an uplifting sanctuary in which cancer patients and their families and friends can receive support and information. The building's bold orange masonry wall beckons visitors into daylit spaces shielded from the street beneath a floating roof canopy.
This humane health support facility designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has received the Stirling Prize for 2009. Published 2009.1021
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PORTOLA VALLEY TOWN CENTER
When Portola Valley, California sought an updated, seismically safer civic complex, the existing mid-20th-century wood-and-concrete-block campus was deconstructed and its parts repurposed, along with other salvaged components, to create a sustainable new facility on another portion of the site.
The resulting Portola Valley Town Center is targeted for LEED Platinum certification and was named one of the Top Ten Green Projects for 2009 by the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE). Published 2009.1007
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