7 WORLD TRADE CENTER Seven World Trade Center was the third building to collapse on September 11, 2001, and it is the first to be rebuilt. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the new building is composed of 42 floors of office space set above eight floors of Con Edison transformers (located in large concrete vaults at street level). — Published 2009.0603
	ROTTERDAM PERISCOPE Willem Jan Neutelings of Neutelings Riedijk Architects spoke with Emiliano Gandolfi, a correspondent for The Plan magazine, about the Dutch firm's design approach as exemplified in the Shipping and Transport College in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. — Editor Emiliano Gandolfi: Part of the gradual revitalization of the port of Rotterdam, the Shipping and Transport College is the ultimate "urban icon," not at all what one would expect of a school building. How did it come about? — Published 2009.0520
	GREEN SYNAGOGUE When the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston, Illinois, set out to build a new synagogue, they found the goal of achieving LEED Platinum certification arising naturally from the spiritual context. "The Torah teaches us that the earth does not belong to us, that we are but stewards of God's creation," says Rabbi Brant Rosen. "Building the most sustainable facility possible was for us a religious act." — Published 2009.0415
	MULTI-ELEPHANT HOUSING BY FOSTER The Copenhagen Zoo's new Elephant House by Foster + Partners emerges gently from the surrounding park grounds, its two leaf-patterned glass domes topping walls of pink-hued concrete. At once playful and serious, transparent and solid, this modern menagerie provides both high-quality living conditions for the animals inside and an exciting and interactive visitor experience. — Published 2009.0401
	MODERN PREFAB BY MARMOL RADZINER The Rincon 5 by Los Angeles firm Marmol Radziner recalls the pristine residential architecture of Mies van der Rohe, though this guest house may have more in common with the humble American mobile home. — Published 2009.0318
	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
	TOKYO SWATCH BY SHIGERU BAN The new Swatch flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza district immediately stands out from the surrounding high-end fashion boutiques on this densely packed street. There is no doorway, no visible sign, and no glass storefront. Instead, a towering four-story void in the streetscape seems to signify a civic-scale entry. — Published 2009.0218
	YALE ART AND ARCHITECTURE BUILDING The Yale Art and Architecture building in New Haven, Connecticut, designed by legendary architect Paul Rudolph and completed in 1963, is now close to how its architect intended it to be, after a 45-year journey through celebration, fire, indifference, and abuse. One of the most iconic architecture school buildings in the world, the object of a love-hate relationship with those who have known it, has found new repose amid a complex mixture of adoration, restoration, and exhilaration. — Published 2009.0204
	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

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