CLIMATE CHANGE: STRONGER, FASTER, SOONER Recent scientific research — published since the deadline for the latest assessment report from the IPCC — reveals that global warming is accelerating far beyond the 2007 IPCC forecasts. This brief collects some of the key findings, including particular impacts of climate change in Europe. — Published 2008.1112
	HOUSE FOR SWEDEN The 70,000-square-foot (6,500-square-meter) building for the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C., is set on a narrow peninsula at the confluence of Rock Creek and the Potomac River. Surrounded by water on three sides, the peninsula faces south and commands spectacular views up and down the Potomac. The prominent site called for an emblematic building through which the essence of Swedish culture, technology, design sensibility, and governance would be expressed. — Published 2008.0910
	BEIJING BIRD'S NEST - ENGINEERING Part One of this two-part series on Beijing National Stadium looked at the project from an architecture perspective. — Published 2008.0827
	BEIJING BIRD'S NEST - ARCHITECTURE This is the first part of a two-part series about Beijing National Stadium. Part one looks at the stadium from the architects' perspective, part two from the engineers'. In the weeks and months leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese government faced a range of complications, from polluted skies to Tibet protests. — Published 2008.0820
	PRESERVING CULTURAL LANDSCAPES Just as the concept of cultural landscape can mitigate polarized views of nature versus artifice, so it can bridge divisive opinions on the relative importance of "architecture" versus "history." — Published 2008.0604
	AUSTRALIAN GOLD FOR RICHARD JOHNSON Over the course of his 38-year career, Richard Johnson, designer of many major cultural buildings in Sydney, has worked on scales ranging from exhibit design to urban design. His projects have included world expo pavilions, museums, embassies, schools, office buildings, hotels, master plans, and landscape design, many with his current firm, Johnson Pilton Walker of Sydney. The Australian architect has been awarded the 2008 Gold Medal for Architecture by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA). — Published 2008.0423
	LES ARCHIVES DÉPARTEMENTALES There is something inherently abstract about the government archive. Storage of old records can too easily be seen as a utility function free of aesthetic aspiration. Compared to a classic library program, an archive might be seen as exaggerating the stacks while minimizing the interacting human element. In some archives this tendency leads to the place where the technical function of storage obliterates the impulse for architecture. — Published 2008.0319
	ASSEMBLY BY ROGERS Despite the breathtaking views over Cardiff Bay toward Penarth Marina, visitors to the new National Assembly for Wales, standing on the grand, slate-clad terraces, will find it is impossible to stop looking inland. Designed by Richard Rogers, known for his iconic buildings such as Lloyds of London, Centre Pompidou, and the Madrid Airport, the National Assembly building opened in March 2006 after years of political wrangling. — Published 2006.0802
	SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT On October 15, 2005, the winner of the United Kingdom's prestigious Stirling Prize was announced. This year the honor went to the new Scottish Parliament, which has been hailed as one of the most innovative designs in Britain today. It is a vastly ambitious and complex building, and to visit it is a hugely rewarding experience: there is so much to take in, so many architectural and metaphorical references, so many technical challenges surmounted. — Published 2005.1019
	INNOVATION AT IRVINE For residents of Los Angeles, California, the county line to the south is often referred to as "the orange curtain." Stereotypes of Orange County depict a different world politically and architecturally: "red" versus "blue," suburban versus urban, predictable versus vivacious. The orange groves after which the county is named have all but disappeared, replaced by office parks and subdivisions of million-dollar houses. — Published 2005.0518

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