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CHILEAN LAKESIDE
Nestled in the foliage of Lake Colico near Santiago, in Chile's Region IX, Lakeside House looks at first like a diminutive medieval castle with a stone facade. But this appearance is only the prelude to an expansive glass structure that inserts its inhabitants into the heart of nature. — Published 2006.0329
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TEN YEAR HOUSE
Any telephone user knows how frustrating it is to be "on hold." When an entire design project is put on hold, however, the challenges multiply. Building codes may change, and the architects may develop new design approaches. When the Santa Monica, California firm of Pugh + Scarpa saw a residential design process stretch out to ten years, they treated it, finally, as an opportunity to inject an old project with new ideas. — Published 2006.0315
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SAN FRANCISCO'S NEW DE YOUNG
With its all-encompassing copper skin and nine-story twisting ascent to an Olympian view of San Francisco's skyline, the new de Young Museum presides imperially over Golden Gate Park. — Published 2006.0301
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HOUSE BY UNIT A
Nestled on the edge of a town in southwest Germany is the Fleischmann House. Its owner, a photographer, craved open, visually quiet surroundings to counteract the visual bombardment of his profession. One-third studio, two-thirds open-plan dwelling, the house is a sustainable abode flavored by Japanese tradition.
The building plan is rectangular. Maki Kuwayama, of unit a architects, describes both the exterior architecture and interior design as "simple and clean... not so much a style as a lifestyle choice." — Published 2006.0222
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MADRID TAKES FLIGHT
In 1930 Le Corbusier wrote: "the beauty of an airport is in the splendor of wide open spaces" and added that the most appropriate architecture would emphasize "sky, grass, and concrete runways." Barajas New Area Terminal (NAT) in Madrid, a joint venture between Richard Rogers Partnership (London) and Estudio Lamela (Madrid), lives up to that height of inspiration. — Published 2006.0215
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OF GLASS AND WARMTH AND WOOD
When a theological seminary commissioned a worship space that would be timeless, spiritually uplifting, and ecumenical, architect Joan Soranno returned to first principles, posing to herself the question: "what is each individual's relationship to God?" In a striking play of form and material, her answer offers a fresh take on religious architecture. — Published 2006.0201
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LIBRARY ENLIGHTENED
The original Skillman Library was always a bit of an arsenal for books. Designed by Philadelphia architect Vincent Kling and constructed in 1963 on the campus of Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, it was a limestone and brick fortress with narrow slit windows and all the warmth of a bunker. The design of the limestone cornice at the building's top even suggested battlements. — Published 2006.0125
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BALTIMORE BERYL
The 179-year-old Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is one of the cultural gems of Baltimore, a city that seldom receives the recognition it deserves for its rhythmic 19th-century classical architecture, occasionally edgy 20th-century modernism, and outstanding cultural and educational institutions. — Published 2006.0111
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DUBLIN HABITAT
In crafting a modern setting within a historic context, the Irish firm of Douglas Wallace Architects has struck a delicate balance between respectful homage to the past and a stylish adventure into the future. In the new Habitat store in Dublin, they have converted an 18th-century Bank of Ireland and a 1960s office building into a large retail establishment for the city center. — Published 2005.1214
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PIANO TONE
The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia now bears the signatures of two living masters. Richard Meier designed the original in 1983; the expansion by Renzo Piano opened in November, 2005. The new addition reinforces Piano's reputation as a designer of cultural palaces that are distinctive without being ostentatious — and spare without an overly minimalist chill. — Published 2005.1130
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