RENOVATING FAY JONES While the work of a master painter or sculptor might be nurtured in climate-controlled galleries for centuries, the works of master architects are often lived in, worked in, enjoyed by crowds, exposed to the weather, and vulnerable to owners' whims. Architecture lovers can hope that their favorite structures are cared for by conscientious stewards, but aside from the use of preservation easements, there are few real guarantees. — Published 2012.0523
	PASSIVE HOUSE DIVIDED Passive House-certified buildings may take next to nothing to heat. But conflict between the German creators of the Passive House energy performance standard and their U.S. affiliate continues to generate energy months after it spilled into public view. The Passivhaus Institut (PHI) of Darmstadt, Germany, severed ties with the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) of Urbana, Illinois, in an open letter released on August 17, 2011. — Published 2012.0111
	BEST OF BUILD BOSTON Build Boston, the largest regional conference and trade show for the design and construction industry in the United States, recently demonstrated again why it has earned such preeminence. More than 14,000 architects, designers, construction and facility managers, and owners attended the 27th Build Boston conference, hosted by the Boston Society of Architects in November 2011. The trade show floor boasted some 300 vendors — up 6% over last year — who plied their products with the usual vigor. — Published 2012.0111
	WILLIAM WURSTER - HOUSES Thinking back, an image that most endures in my mind is the white tower and compound of William Wurster's Gregory House (1929) in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Gregory Farmhouse, as it's usually referenced, is a misnomer: it is a country retreat designed and built between 1927 and 1929, a place of the soul, no doubt, for a very sophisticated San Francisco family. — Published 2011.1130
	AIA EDUCATION DESIGN AWARDS When Canada's Royal Conservatory of Music set about expanding its midtown Toronto campus, a careful balancing act was required. The project combined construction of the new Telus Centre for Performance and Learning with the progressive restoration of historic McMaster Hall. The conservatory also sought to energize a new cultural district for the city in conjunction with major cultural facilities nearby, such as the Royal Ontario Museum and Gardiner Museum. — Published 2011.1116
	NEW WOOD WORK Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life,— no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground,— my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space,— all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. — Published 2011.1102
	PREDOCK'S CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS "You never know, even if you think you do, where you're going." —Antoine Predock The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is intended to be an educational museum of ideas rather than objects, where we can "explore the subject of human rights, with special but not exclusive reference to Canada," according to the museum's web site. — Published 2011.0803
	TOYO ITO IN JAPAN C.B. Liddell for ArchitectureWeek: A very simple question to start with. Maybe the answer will be complicated. How do you feel about being awarded the 2010 Praemium Imperiale? — Published 2011.0302
	POSTCARD FROM PASSIVE HOUSE PORTLAND Dear ArchitectureWeek, There were 345 attendees (including me) at the North American Passive House Conference in Portland, Oregon, held from November 4 to 7, 2010. Twenty-six sessions focused on all aspects of the Passive House building energy-efficiency certification system, ranging from detailed conceptual overviews led by Passivhaus cofounder Dr. Wolfgang Feist to technical sessions about specific aspects of certification in our region. — Published 2011.0119
	HOUSE AT STONE CREEK CAMP The remote Stone Creek Camp compound near Bigfork, Montana, is entered gradually by descending a narrow gravel road through the deep vegetation of a northern primordial forest. About a mile into the pilgrimage, the forest opens to a dramatic expanse of land, sky, and water. Flathead Lake reaches into the distance. — Published 2010.0825

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