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GREEN GAS STATION?
The irony of a LEED-certified gas station includes the fact that U.S. gas stations each currently deliver, on average, about 850,000 gallons of fossil fuel per year, representing about 8,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per gas station annually — not to mention the wide range of environmental impacts along the overall petroleum production chain. This station is a beautiful structure — but how green can it be? Does a greenwashing project like this — however elegantly designed as a structure — deserve coverage in a professional architecture magazine? What about the designers of such a project? Author Philip Jodidio discusses the broader context below. Comment online. — Editor — Published 2010.0407
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HAITI EARTHQUAKE — LOOKING FOR LESSONS
Is the lesson of the January 2010 Haiti earthquake simply about poverty? Poverty and a lack of building regulation seem to be the main culprits identified in most media coverage to date. But ArchitectureWeek thinks there's more to the quake than that. — Editor — Published 2010.0407
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NEW YORK AIA AWARDS 2010
Thirty feet above street level, a narrow new park winds through a former industrial area on the West Side of Manhattan, near the Hudson River. This unexpected urban oasis is the High Line, a series of grasses and shrubs, walkways and benches, created atop a defunct elevated freight railway. — Published 2010.0331
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HOUSING ON RUE DES VIGNOLES
Eden Bio can be difficult to find. One might think it would be hard to conceal almost 100 new public housing units in this part of Paris's 20th arrondissement, but local architect Édouard François has managed to do so, inserting rows of low-rise apartments, duplexes, and small houses into the middle of a city block while presenting a minimal, modest face to the street on three sides. — Published 2010.0317
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NEW IRISH HOUSES BY DOMINIC STEVENS
The resume of Dominic Stevens includes the following manifesto: "I run a one person practice from a truck container in a field in rural Ireland. I divide my time between architecture, caring for my children and growing organic food. I carry out one building project at a time informed by ongoing theoretical work. My work evolves as a series of firmly held beliefs tempered by practice." — Published 2010.0310
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NORTH AMERICAN WOOD
The Richmond Olympic Oval, the venue for long-track speedskating events in the recent Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, is capped by a massive roof almost 6.5 acres (2.6 hectares) in size. The LEED Silver-certified building, designed by Cannon Design, features prefabricated pine panels spanning between hollow composite wood-steel arches to form a rhythmically pleated timber ceiling over the ice. — Published 2010.0310
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GSA'S GREEN OFFICE BUILDINGS
Kevin Kampschroer was recently named the permanent director of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings in the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Here's some of his perspective on green building, as shared with Congress in testimony on converting federal buildings across the country into higher-performing, more-efficient green buildings. — Editor — Published 2010.0303
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ANIMAL HOSPITAL, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
Seen on approach at just the right angle, it might be mistaken for a broad grassy hillside with a glass pavilion.
As one circles around eastward, the "hillside" quickly opens up to reveal the upper green expanse as the roof of a building — the new Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow. — Published 2010.0224
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BECHTLER MUSEUM BY BOTTA
Clad in a glazed terra cotta tile that lends it an orange hue and a sleek feel, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, shows Swiss architect Mario Botta shifting subtly from his signature brick and stone. — Published 2010.0217
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AIA NATIONAL DESIGN AWARDS 2010
Among the brick buildings and live oaks at Rice University in Houston stands the Brochstein Pavilion, a cleanly patterned, rhythmic composition of glass and metal. With indoor and outdoor seating shaded from the Texas sun, this structure by Thomas Phifer and Partners offers a casual gathering space in the central quad, inviting activity while blending into the existing campus fabric.
The pavilion was among the 28 projects recognized by the American Institute of Architects in its 2010 AIA Institute Honor Awards. — Published 2010.0210
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