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AIA GREEN TOP TEN
Located at the edge of Oakland, California's downtown Chinatown neighborhood, a colorful new affordable senior housing project transformed an abandoned site near a busy freeway into a community resource for disadvantaged and formerly homeless senior citizens while also exemplifying good universal and sustainable design.
The six-story Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments, designed by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, was certified at the Platinum level under a LEED for Homes Mid-Rise pilot program. — Published 2013.0424
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SAINSBURY LABORATORY - STIRLING PRIZE
A stately temple of science has recently been added to the University of Cambridge campus. The limestone-clad Sainsbury Laboratory, a major plant science research center in Cambridge, England, has received the Stirling Prize for 2012 from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Rooted in Darwin's Garden — Published 2012.1024
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MASTERS PLAN FOR MABLETON
"The only viable way to accept the gift and meet the challenge of longevity is to match the dramatic transformation of the 20th century that made it possible to grow old, with an equally dramatic and fundamentally new way of being old." — Kathryn Lawler, welcoming the Lifelong Communities Charrette Team, February 2009 — Published 2012.0822
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HERMAN HERTZBERGER RIBA GOLD MEDAL
When Dutch architect and architectural theorist Herman Hertzberger was named the winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects' 2012 Gold Medal, he lamented the fact that architects don't garner the respect they did just a generation ago, and that their status in the construction industry has been downgraded, a reflection of the fact that they are not the master builders they once were. "We're not buried next to the king anymore," he observed. — Published 2012.0704
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ART WATTS
In harnessing solar energy, the usual approach is to bolt an array of panels onto the roof of a building and plug it in. But recent advances such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) allow designers to incorporate solar cells seamlessly into a building's exterior.
Canadian glass artist Sarah Hall is taking this idea in a novel direction by using solar technology to create a striking contemporary version of stained glass that illuminates the aesthetic potential of PV. — Published 2012.0606
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GREEN TOP TEN - BUILDINGS FOR EDUCATION
In Newberg, Oregon, southwest of Portland, the first building has been built on a new 15-acre (6-hectare) campus for Portland Community College (PCC). The structure's distinctive forms provide a visual clue about the strategies — including passive cooling and extensive daylighting — that were used to achieve its goal of zero net energy use. — Published 2012.0516
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DESIGN WITH ENTERPRISE
I wasn't always fascinated with architecture and design. I'm not an architect, but I have come to realize how important good design is as an ingredient to better human health and well-being. And how important business skills are to successful practice. — Published 2012.0425
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CINCINNATI STUDENT CENTER BY MOORE RUBLE YUDELL
As architects, we generally consider how a building meets the ground — in essence, we design a base that holds the building in place. But we seldom have to design this base while traversing a change in grade some 50 feet (15 meters) along nearly 500 feet (150 meters) of a building's length. — Published 2012.0222
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AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE AWARDS 2011
On a tiny site measuring only seven by six meters (23 by 20 feet), a compact new home rises four and a half stories amidst the urban fabric of Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, Australia.
Designing for himself and his partner, Sue Bassett, architect Domenic Alvaro achieved an unexpected sense of expansiveness within this small space through the use of large precast concrete panels and plate-glass windows, with minimal additional interior detailing. — Published 2012.0125
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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
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