BROAD CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has traditionally been known for two things: its status as the largest encyclopedic art museum in the western United States, and its schizophrenic campus. Bolstering the former and addressing the latter, LACMA has unveiled a long-awaited free-standing addition to its collection: the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM), designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop in conjunction with executive architect Gensler. — Published 2008.0507
	PIANO TONE The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia now bears the signatures of two living masters. Richard Meier designed the original in 1983; the expansion by Renzo Piano opened in November, 2005. The new addition reinforces Piano's reputation as a designer of cultural palaces that are distinctive without being ostentatious — and spare without an overly minimalist chill. — Published 2005.1130
	SOUTHERNNESS IN ARCHITECTURE If John F. Kennedy did indeed call Washington, D.C., "a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm," it was a statement characterized less by its deadly accuracy and double-edged sharpness than by the startling lack of ambiguity that went with it. The American North is prized for its efficiency and the opulence of its progress. The American South is seen to lack those qualities and to rely instead on more leisurely (and more charming) ways. — Published 2004.0901
	JUVARRA IN TURIN The Duke of Savoy was in search of an architect to help him transform the city of Turin in the Italian Piedmont. The duke wanted his capital to be a modern, successful city of his Late Baroque period, that would show that the powerful House of Savoy stood at the forefront of world architecture. — Published 2003.1029
	MOSHE SAFDIE PEABODY ESSEX ADDITION Moshe Safdie's architecture continues to intrigue. Buildings such as the National Gallery in Ottawa, the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, Exploration Place Science Center and Children's Museum in Wichita, Kansas, and the Vancouver Public Library in Canada each exhibit the Israeli-born architect's passion for complex geometries, elegant materials, and urban place-making. The new $125 million addition to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, is no exception. — Published 2003.0820
	LEBANON'S MASTER ARCHITECT Pierre El Khoury is one of the best known of Lebanese architects. His career of over five decades has produced some 200 diverse projects. While it is not easy to find a single theory to illuminate his body of work, one can understand it and distinguish it from that of his contemporaries simply through observation. — Published 2002.0710
	SAVING VENICE One of the most visited tourist centers in the world is today threatened by the very element that makes it famous. The canals of Venice can no longer hold back the rise of the tidal waters. Of major architectural significance in the sinking city and one of the lowest areas of the island is the Piazza San Marco. The plaza now becomes fully immersed during the highest tides of autumn and winter. — Published 2001.0815
	DOWNTOWN DROP-IN CENTER Several blocks along San Julian Street in downtown Los Angeles are home to many of the city's homeless. One would expect a sense of hopelessness to pervade that stretch of road, but instead it is vibrant and lively. This is due to the presence of the Downtown Drop-In Center, a facility designed by Michael Lehrer, AIA of Lehrer Architects and operated by Volunteers of America, an offshoot of the Salvation Army. — Published 2001.0411

Plazas and Piazzas