RENZO PIANO'S NEW YORK TIMES BUILDING Ask most architects to name the most elemental ingredients of great architecture, and chances are they will say "space and light." But these are not necessarily the first two words that come to mind when thinking about skyscrapers, especially tall buildings in New York City. — Published 2008.0416
	COOP HIMMELB(L)AU'S BMW WORLD Like its competitors, BMW knows that cool sells. And there is no doubt that BMW Welt — the German motor company's new sales, exhibition, and event center in Munich — is cool. — Published 2008.0416
	PHOTOVOLTAIC HOME SYSTEM Installing a full-scale intertie photovoltaic (PV) system on a home is the king of solar investments. To allow good time for decision-making, expect the entire process to take 90 days or more. With a really serious focus on conserving and altering energy consumption patterns, expect the process to take six months. Here's a list of the things that need to be done: — Published 2008.0220
	LEED GOLD RESURRECTION To visit the RiverEast Center in Portland, Oregon, is to stand at a major crossroads. The newly renovated former warehouse building sits along the Willamette River, just across from downtown, at the base of the Hawthorne Bridge. This location affords unobstructed views of boats and cars streaming by in the foreground with the classic downtown Portland skyline behind. The RiverEast Center also sits beside a massive freeway bridge and overpass to the west and a railroad track busy with freight and occasional passenger trains to the east. — Published 2008.0109
	REBUILDING BEAUFORT Just north of London, off the M25 highway, a single large wind turbine reaches into the air and turns steadily above the bucolic English countryside. The turbine serves to generate power, and also as an emblem of the headquarters of the wind energy company Renewable Energy Systems (RES), set among the hedge rows and rolling hills of Hertfordshire. — Published 2008.0116
	HOUSING TANGO Eight vibrantly colored steel and glass towers dance around a landscaped courtyard, exposing most of the living rooms to the outdoors, with a wall of bedrooms wrapped around three sides of the block. Each of the 27 apartments has a unique character, the block is self-sufficient in energy, and many functions — from heating to door locks — can be individually controlled by personal computer. — Published 2007.0425
	SWEETWATER CREEK Like many other buildings that receive the coveted Platinum-level LEED certification, the Sweetwater Creek State Park Visitors Center, near Lithia Springs, Georgia, features numerous energy conservation measures and has a roof full of photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. — Published 2007.0418
	HOUSE ON RED HILL The abstract expressionist painter Robert Motherwell once said, "Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it." Those words convey the inspiration behind much of the work of Christopher Harty and Chris Botterill. — Published 2007.0411
	TEACHING CLIMATE On February 20, 2007, architects and students worldwide demonstrated en masse that they are ready to go to work to stop global climate change. Their "gathering" was virtual, however, as schools, firms, and individuals from 47 countries tuned in to the 2010 Imperative Teach-In webcast. During several hours, a panel of three experts from different disciplines discussed the building sector's impact on global warming. Their presentations are available online. — Published 2007.0314
	BUILDING POTENTIAL In the rolling hills just east of Austin, Texas, a small compound of experimental buildings makes up the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (CMPBS). Here, Pliny Fisk III, his partner Gail Vittori, and a cadre of researchers and interns explore the depths of sustainable building. — Published 2007.0131

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