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BOTTANICAL SPA
The Tschuggen Bergoase spa, nestled in the mountains near St. Moritz, Switzerland, takes on a cathedral-like quality. It was designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta who is renowned for his museums and sacred spaces. In contrast to the neighboring Tschuggen Hotel, the spa wears a sleek, timeless design that signals a shift into an interior space of natural quiet. Published 2007.0207
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BARNES GOLD MEDAL
Only five times in the 100-year history of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gold Medal has the AIA's highest honor been awarded posthumously. Renowned 20th-century architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, FAIA has now joined the ranks of the others — Thomas Jefferson, Eero Saarinen, Richard Neutra, William Caudill, and Samuel Mockbee — who did not live long enough to enjoy this well deserved symbol of professional recognition. Published 2007.0117
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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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DE LA WARR PAVILION
Located in the British town of Bexhill-on-Sea, the De La Warr Pavilion is a striking example of international modernism. It was built in 1935 by celebrated architects Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff and has recently reopened following a renovation that rescued it from decades of neglect and damage. Published 2006.1129
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REJUVENATING BOOMERS
An article in the New York Times late in 2005 reported on the escalating demise of brutalist buildings designed and constructed during the post-war years — the hard-edged, unforgiving, sterile, and often-humorless creations of modernism's aging gurus and, especially, their uninspired copyists. Published 2006.1108
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BERLIN CENTRAL STATION
The new Berlin Hauptbahnhof designed by von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) is Europe's largest and newest train station — a large "cathedral" of glass and steel. Linking major lines from all directions, the Berlin Central Station has been on the boards for 11 years, but with typical German efficiency, was completed within two weeks of the 2006 World Cup games. Yet one could say that the station had been in the planning stages for nearly a century. Published 2006.1108
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PRIMARY PREFAB
Having provided the United Kingdom's educational system with new school building design concepts throughout the 1950s and 60s, Southwest London has once again become a proving ground for a new type of educational construction. Published 2006.0906
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HOW BOTTA BUILDS
Creating an edifice draws on an almost mystical process of imagining and materializing something from nothing, of developing original thought forms and manifesting them in the physical environment. Swiss-born Mario Botta provides a unique perspective on this creative process. He is best known in the United States for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is considered one of the world's foremost architects for churches and museums. Published 2006.0830
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HUGH STUBBINS, MODERN TOWER
On New York City's Lexington Avenue at 53rd Street, Citicorp Center (built 1976 to 1978) reaches into the sky like a giant sheathed in aluminum and glass. Its designer, architect Hugh Stubbins, Jr., who challenged modern skyscraper orthodoxy of the time, died July 5, 2006 at the age of 94. Published 2006.0809
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HOUSE BY SCHINDLER
In his 1926 article, "Care of the Body," in the Los Angeles Times, Rudolf Schindler describes the house of the future: "Our rooms will descend close to the ground, and the garden will become an integral part of the house. The distinction between the indoors and the out-of-doors will disappear. The walls will be few, thin, and removable. All rooms will become parts of an organic unit instead of being small separate boxes with peep-holes." Published 2006.0802
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