GLENN MURCUTT GOLD MEDAL In locations from the far reaches of the Northern Territory to suburban New South Wales, Australian architect Glenn Murcutt has created modernist houses remarkable for their supreme sensitivity to climate, surroundings, and environment. A true sole practitioner, Murcutt chooses mostly to design single-family dwellings, and only in Australia. The resulting structures attest to the depth of attention he affords each project. — Published 2009.0114
	PREDOCK'S ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL In New Mexico, sandstone walls, granite boulders cracked by tree roots, and time-blurred ruins of past civilizations all rise against a cold cobalt sky — variegated results of sun, wind, culture, and geology. Architect Antoine Predock cites such elements of the U.S. Southwest as influences on his design of the University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Architecture and Planning in Albuquerque. — Published 2008.1210
	NEWSEUM BY POLSHEK The Newseum building by Polshek Partnership Architects adds vitality and a sense of time and place to Pennsylvania Avenue, a street that, like so many important streets in Washington, D.C., had been devoid of movement and three-dimensionality in massing. A museum about news, the aptly named Newseum moved from across the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, where it had outgrown its space. Its parent organization, the Freedom Forum, sought a location more heavily frequented by tourists. — Published 2008.0903
	DESERT MUSEUMS IN PLATINUM Another building type shattered the dual-glazed, low-e glass ceiling in April 2008 when the U.S. Green Building Council first awarded LEED Platinum certification to a museum complex. — Published 2008.0813
	LIVING STEEL 2008 For its third annual steel housing competition, Living Steel challenged architects to design affordable, energy-efficient housing prototypes for Cherepovets, Russia, where temperatures can climb to 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer and dive as low as -49 degrees Celsius (-56 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter. — Published 2008.0716
	APPALACHIAN SUNCATCHER Nestled into a hillside near Asheville, North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center is projected to use 75 percent less energy than a comparable conventionally designed facility. Trombe walls, a planted roof, bioswales, daylighting, a high-efficiency mechanical energy-recovery system, and other "green" features add up to make this National Park Service facility a contender for LEED Gold certification. — Published 2008.0521
	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

Solar Design page: [prev] | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | [next]