SMOKE AND MIRROR SLEEPOVERS Two new hotels, one small and one very small, are explorations in the use of light and reflection to transform space — and to create a world unlike anything hotel guests might inhabit day-to-day. — Published 2006.0628
	SONG OF FOUR SEASONS The newly opened Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects, Inc., combines the best features of traditional European grand opera houses within a thoroughly modern envelope. With a world-class opera company in each of Canada's three largest cities, it may come as a surprise that none claims a purpose-built modern opera house. Until now. — Published 2006.0621
	GRANDE BIBLIOTHÈQUE DU QUÉBEC A grand pedestrian promenade behind the front facade of the new Grande Bibliothèque of the Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec (BAnQ) links directly with the Metro, creating a 24-hour public thoroughfare tied into the fabric of the local community. The new library, in Montréal's Latin Quarter, houses two major collections: a large national reference library and an extensive lending library. But the 355,000-square-foot (33,000-square-meter), five-story glazed structure serves more than books. — Published 2006.0614
	DOWN UNDER HOUSES Contemporary residences by Australian and New Zealand architects share several common themes, most notably a sense of environmental stewardship and a desire to blend with the surrounding landscape, whether it's a historic urban street or a protected coastline. These architects favor indoor/outdoor rooms and often zone houses into pavilions. "Green" features abound, including natural ventilation, use of natural materials, photovoltaic panels, and rainwater collection systems. And often, the location itself is spectacular and framed in views from the interior. — Editor — Published 2006.0531
	BUENOS AIRES ROW From the New York brownstone to the Shanghai shop house, the rowhouse enjoys widespread success as an urban housing type. A mid-rise infill development in Buenos Aires, designed by Argentinean firm Canda Gazaneo Unga, illustrates the rich potential of this type, translating it into an elegant modern idiom and configuring it to achieve contemporary urban densities. — Published 2006.0524
	ABBOTT'S WHARF HOUSING On a former industrial site in East London, overlooking the Limehouse Cut canal, renowned housing designers Jestico + Whiles have completed work on Abbotts Wharf, a landmark housing development. It is situated in the ethnically diverse regeneration area known as Limehouse, an up-and-coming neighborhood with commuter links and views to the center of London. — Published 2006.0517
	NAVY TEMPLE In addition to the usual challenges facing an architect designing a synagogue, Joseph Boggs confronted a few special ones at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Any contemporary U.S. synagogue designer has to create a sanctuary large enough to hold the High Holiday full house while creating a space that still feels intimate when mostly empty during the weekly services. — Published 2006.0503
	RECREATIONAL MORPHING A generation ago, the University of Cincinnati was a commonplace American commuter school riddled with surface parking lots, the campus severed by a busy thoroughfare. Despite being nestled in the heart of a large city, it felt suburban. But over the ensuing years, the university has undergone a billion-dollar makeover. — Published 2006.0426
	HOUSE FOR MIDNIGHT SUN In the river delta of Oulu, Finland, the natural environment is likely the toughest factor an architect has to consider. In the upper reaches of cold country, the price one pays for summer's midnight sun is long, cold winters — which usually make large glass surfaces impractical and fortress-thick walls a sound investment. — Published 2006.0419
	PATAGONIAN LUXURIES An exotic location like Chilean Patagonia demands an exotic hotel. Hotel Remota's design draws from the dazzling explosion of islands, glaciers, icebergs, and mountains on this southern tip of South America. Inspired by Patagonian sheep farm buildings, Hotel Remota offers warm interiors to shield visitors from the wind and cold. A central courtyard introduces visitors to the Patagonian wilderness: except for a few large boulders, the plaza is empty, but full of suggestion. — Published 2006.0405

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