ENDANGERED HISTORIC U.S. PLACES 2009 Unity Temple, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for his own Unitarian congregation in Oak Park, Illinois, remains an icon of early modern architecture, with its geometric design, strong massing, characteristic detailing, and use of exposed concrete. — Published 2009.0513
	GREEN SYNAGOGUE When the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston, Illinois, set out to build a new synagogue, they found the goal of achieving LEED Platinum certification arising naturally from the spiritual context. "The Torah teaches us that the earth does not belong to us, that we are but stewards of God's creation," says Rabbi Brant Rosen. "Building the most sustainable facility possible was for us a religious act." — Published 2009.0415
	OLSON SUNDBERG KUNDIG ALLEN AIA FIRM AWARD Since Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects was founded, the Seattle firm has sought to integrate contemporary architectural forms into the natural settings of the Pacific Northwest, employing a combination of sensitivity and efficiency that can be recognized as sustainable design. — Published 2009.0225
	NEWSEUM BY POLSHEK The Newseum building by Polshek Partnership Architects adds vitality and a sense of time and place to Pennsylvania Avenue, a street that, like so many important streets in Washington, D.C., had been devoid of movement and three-dimensionality in massing. A museum about news, the aptly named Newseum moved from across the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, where it had outgrown its space. Its parent organization, the Freedom Forum, sought a location more heavily frequented by tourists. — Published 2008.0903
	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
	AIA PORTLAND DESIGN AWARDS 2007 Portland, Oregon, has traditionally kept a low architectural style profile compared to other West Coast cities of the United States, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, with their array of landmarks by star architects. But this river city is becoming a hot commodity. Numerous publications have christened Portland as America's greenest city. There are more LEED-registered building projects in Portland than any other city in the country. — Published 2008.0507
	AIA HONORS LEERS WEINZAPFEL AND VIETNAM MEMORIAL The American Institute of Architects has announced the recipients of two of its highest honors. The 2007 AIA Architecture Firm Award has gone to the Boston-based Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects (LWA) in recognition of their history of design excellence. And the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., by designer Maya Lin, was selected to receive the 2007 AIA Twenty-five Year Award. — Published 2007.0124
	POSTCARD FROM BAGAN Dear ArchitectureWeek, In an expanse of land almost as arid as a desert, lies a relatively unknown architectural jewel — one that is well worth investigating further for those with a spirit of adventure. This region of 16 square miles (40 square kilometers) was once filled with over 13,000 stupas, temples, and pagodas, and some 2000 or so remain today. Bagan, in the center of Myanmar (formerly Burma), can be thought of as a sister of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, though here tourists are fewer, and the most common form of transport is the horse cart. — Published 2006.0315
	PALLADIO AWARDS 2006 Despite the prevalence of jagged edges or curvy surfaces in contemporary architecture, there survives a passion among some architects for traditional values and classical ideals. This is revealed not only in the careful restoration of historic buildings but in the detailing and forms of some new construction. — Published 2006.0315
	CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM Designers of the new Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario could have merely created a protective envelope for Canada's wartime artifacts. Instead they designed a monumental structure to inspire a nation by integrating artistic symbolism with pragmatic innovation. — Published 2006.0125

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