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ARCHITECTURAL WEAVING
Weaving is most often associated with textiles, but it is also relevant to architecture. It is a construct and a craft that can purposefully and aesthetically order building systems. Just as a thread can be pulled from a woven fabric and a new one inserted in its place, so too can building and urban systems be removed, replaced, or added when the whole is conceived as an exposed woven tapestry. — Published 2003.0423
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AN ELEGANT SHED IN AMSTERDAM
As part of a construction project at Amsterdam Central Station, a temporary parking garage has been built, not for cars but for 2500 bicycles. The remarkable structure near the Hotel Ibis overhangs a canal, allowing touring boats to maneuver below.
Open to the weather and shaped by its sloping ramps, the project is the product of the young Dutch firm VMX Architects under the leadership of project architect Don Murphy. — Published 2003.0409
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LONG-SPAN STRUCTURES
When is a span a long span? One answer is: when, as a consequence of the size of the span, technical considerations are placed so high on the list of architectural priorities that they significantly affect the aesthetic treatment of the building. — Published 2003.0326
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AIR-FORMED CONCRETE DOMES
Throughout history, structurally efficient domes have been built from masonry, wood, concrete, and even ice. But there's still plenty of room left in dome technology for invention and construction efficiency. New ways to form, reinforce, and insulate "air-formed" concrete domes have been a primary focus of my architectural practice for about 25 years. — Published 2003.0122
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ARCHITECTURAL STONEWORK
The application of stone can result in architecture unlike that created from any other material. And it can be of greater interest today than it has been in the recent past. If architects redirect their attention to this material, they may discover, as I have, that it is sensuous to the touch, striking to the eye, and pleasing to the soul. — Published 2002.1002
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NEW LONDON HOUSING
In the past few years, London has seen the emergence of well publicized millennium projects, drawing the world's attention to the city as an architectural mecca. But design innovation is in more than just the high-profile public structures of the Great Court at the British Museum, the Millennium Bridge, or the Millennium Dome. Less publicized trends are visible in the realm of low-rise multifamily residential architecture. Kenneth Powell explains how they exemplify London's skill at blending new and old. — Editor — Published 2002.0821
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WORKING STEEL
Much effort in the design of building structures is focused on economy combined with safety, in terms of both the quantity of material used and the amount of fabrication needed to assemble the structure. The appropriate use of structure can often be seen in the "fine tuning" of the balance of material used and fabrication undertaken. — Published 2002.0717
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HERETICAL TENT
In the south of France is a house whose tent-like form follows the contours of the land and mimics the curvature of a nearby ancient stone wall. It is an example of "architecture by stealth." Not only does its green fabric covering blend into the natural environment, but the structure is nearly invisible to building officials.
"Maison Barak" is also figuratively green, with a geothermal heat source and a relatively light footprint in its grove of olive trees. — Published 2002.0529
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POSTCARD FROM EAST LONDON
Dear ArchitectureWeek,
The unassuming suburb of East Ham in the borough of Newham in the east end of London is not the place you would expect to find a national design award winner, but this unique pedestrian bridge has won the recent Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Structural Steel and Building Construction Industry Award. — Published 2002.0313
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TREE SCULPTURE ENGINEERING
Contemporary interpretations of themes from Native American culture grace the recently expanded Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. These architectural elements include free-standing sculptural "trees" that spread their branches to create a variety of overhead canopies.
Although these trees, designed by the interior architecture firm The Rockwell Group, do not support any of the building's structure, their fabrication posed significant challenges to consulting engineers at M.G. McLaren, P.C. — Published 2002.0213
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