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HEARST TOWER
Pritzker Prize laureate Norman Foster is a master of levitating buildings of dubious design, treatment, or association to the pantheon of architectural icons. The Hearst Tower in Manhattan, which he designed in collaboration with architects Adamson Associates and Gensler, is the most recent example of this resuscitation.
The 42-story glass- and metal-skinned tower is characterized by a large diagonal grid, emphasized by vertically alternating recessed and projecting multistory corner triangles. — Published 2007.0523
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AIA'S BEST LIBRARIES 2007
When Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie opened his first public library in his hometown of Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1883, the motto he had inscribed over the door was "Let there be light." Although he was probably referring to the enlightenment of learning, his words resonate today in the importance modern architects place on daylighting in libraries. — Published 2007.0523
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HOK STRAW BALE
For over a decade, straw-bale construction has been growing in popularity among "alternative" house builders. The durable, low-cost, nontoxic, highly insulating, pest-resistant, and potentially structural material is especially practical in hot arid climates. It was used extensively in the treeless grasslands of the U.S. Midwest early in the 20th century. — Published 2007.0516
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LEED GOLD HOSPITAL
Because of unusually strict technical, mechanical, and air quality requirements, hospitals are one of the most difficult building types to design sustainably. Yet the Providence Newberg Medical Center by Mahlum Architects has achieved a LEED Gold rating — the first hospital in the United States to do so. It is also the first U.S. hospital to acquire enough renewable electric power to meet all its needs. — Published 2007.0502
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SWEETWATER CREEK
Like many other buildings that receive the coveted Platinum-level LEED certification, the Sweetwater Creek State Park Visitors Center, near Lithia Springs, Georgia, features numerous energy conservation measures and has a roof full of photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. — Published 2007.0418
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BIG RIPPLES
Magic in architecture often occurs when the client presents the architect with clear criteria and formidable challenges and when, rather than engineer around obstacles, the designer embraces the challenges as opportunities to enrich the project.
Such was the case with the Heifer International Center, in Little Rock, Arkansas, designed by Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects. The result is a building that meets the client's needs with stellar design and an anticipated LEED-Gold rating. — Published 2007.0404
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MAYNE COURTHOUSE
The new Federal Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon by Thom Mayne and his Los Angeles firm Morphosis, is in some ways an outstanding building for this small city. Mayne certainly delivers a strong dose of visual excitement. The depth of art in this architecture is more open to question. — Published 2007.0103
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BUILDING BOSTON 2006
The annual Build Boston conference, now in its 22nd year, was held in November 2006. Over 15,000 attendees explored important recent developments in the design/ construction industry at this trade show brimming with 350 booth exhibits and over 230 seminars. — Published 2006.1213
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PREFAB PLATINUM
On a cloudy day in April 2006, a crowd of curious onlookers gathered on a hillside street in Santa Monica, California, to watch the installation of the first LivingHomes prefabricated house. Over the course of eight hours, 11 modules were hoisted by crane onto a concrete slab in a dramatic departure from traditional residential construction. — Published 2006.1206
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OREGON ENGINEERING
Engineering students today face a different future from that of their predecessors. As design professionals develop new approaches to sustainability in architecture, old ideas about technology and mechanical controls as the ultimate solution are flying out the window. — Published 2006.1115
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LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design page: [
