ULM MÜNSTERPLATZ Just over 100 miles (170 kilometers) from Freiburg, Germany, the city of Ulm straddles the banks of the Danube River, and although the two cities' cathedral squares — Münsterplätze — have slightly different birthdates, they are virtual twins. They grew up over the same five-and-a-half centuries, only to be laid low in the same bombing raids of 1944. — Published 2010.0929
	DEMOLITION THREAT AT CONEY ISLAND Coney Island, New York, an area once known for its vibrant and exciting rides, restaurants, and games, is today marred by blocks of blighted buildings. Although some important revitalization has created the new Luna Park and the Brooklyn Cyclones MCU Park and saved landmarks such as the Parachute Jump and Child's Restaurant on the boardwalk, the landscape is still dotted with fast food joints and convenience stores that are a far cry from what Coney Island once was. — Published 2010.0915
	MAKI'S MIT MEDIA LAB For an academic unit that produces such forward-thinking projects as electronic ink, humanoid robots, and a digital opera, one might expect an edgy, geometrically wild building by Zaha Hadid or Coop Himmelb(l)au. But for the new building for the MIT Media Lab, Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki designed a serene example of classic modernism — a glass-and-steel form wrapped in an elegant aluminum screen. — Published 2010.0602
	HOUSING ON RUE DES VIGNOLES Eden Bio can be difficult to find. One might think it would be hard to conceal almost 100 new public housing units in this part of Paris's 20th arrondissement, but local architect Édouard François has managed to do so, inserting rows of low-rise apartments, duplexes, and small houses into the middle of a city block while presenting a minimal, modest face to the street on three sides. — Published 2010.0317
	AIA NATIONAL DESIGN AWARDS 2010 Among the brick buildings and live oaks at Rice University in Houston stands the Brochstein Pavilion, a cleanly patterned, rhythmic composition of glass and metal. With indoor and outdoor seating shaded from the Texas sun, this structure by Thomas Phifer and Partners offers a casual gathering space in the central quad, inviting activity while blending into the existing campus fabric. The pavilion was among the 28 projects recognized by the American Institute of Architects in its 2010 AIA Institute Honor Awards. — Published 2010.0210
	HOLL'S LINKED HYBRID China's recent willinginess to be an architectural testing ground has left it with a fair share of question marks dotting urban horizons, but in Linked Hybrid the gamble may have paid off. The bold, high-end residential complex in Beijing, by Steven Holl Architects, offers a more pervasive and open sense of neighborhood than most other modern high-rise housing in the city. — Published 2010.0120
	COLLEGE IN COPENHAGEN From the outside, Ørestad College in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a simple five-story cuboid. But the conventional exterior form conceals a radical open-plan interior. Designed by Danish architects 3XN, the experimental secondary school seems to embody all kinds of things that a school typically isn't. — Published 2009.0930
	CHURCH OF BOOKS Though surely not as great a source of significant contemporary architecture as cultural institutions, places of worship — in one form or another — continue to generate invention and cutting-edge design. The reuse of places of religion for other purposes sometimes poses the problem of deconsecration, with the reticence some users may have when asked to dine or party in a former church. — Published 2009.0916
	PIANO IN CHICAGO Renzo Piano is known for his finely tuned designs, especially for a refined talent in dovetailing elegant new architecture with an existing context, playing on contextual strengths without duplicating the neighbors. He has achieved this feat once again at the Art Institute of Chicago, where a light-studded new museum wing by Piano opened in May 2009. The Art Institute's new addition is laudable in its intelligent siting, sensitive scale, urban presence, and manipulation of light. — Published 2009.0805
	PRESERVATION IN PORTLAND The recent threat of demolition to Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon, one of the city's most visible architectural landmarks, galvanized local architects and historic preservation advocates. But the city's record on historic preservation, in terms of both involvement and actually preserving buildings, is spotty. — Published 2009.0729

Cafes and Restaurants page: [prev] | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | [next]