GREENBUILD REPORT 2009 "Almost 40 percent of the global warming pollution in our country comes from old, inefficient, leaky buildings that don't have to be that way." So said former Vice President Al Gore as he opened Greenbuild 2009. — Published 2009.1209
	PARKING GARAGE: GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE As we face up to the needs of climate protection over the next few years, we'll see that the decades-long trend of steadily increasing automobile vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. will be reversed for decades to come. Contemplating a nation, and ultimately a world, with declining total VMT, it's increasingly clear that henceforth, most construction of new auto infrastructure — almost any new lane-miles of highway, for instance — represents soon-stranded investment, at best. The parking garage may be an outstanding exception. As U.S. communities transition toward the more mixed-use, closer-in, denser development patterns that will support our restless lifestyles with less driving, "structured parking" can help finesse the fact that most of us will still be using cars for many years to come. — Published 2009.1202
	PUGH + SCARPA STEP UP Walking or driving past the new Step Up on Fifth project in downtown Santa Monica, California, one could mistake the colorful building — with its front facade of yellow, white, and purple metal panels — for a contemporary art center or a fashionable condominium. The mixed-use residential building in the heart of this affluent, picturesque city was actually built to serve people suffering from mental illness and homelessness. — Published 2009.1202
	CONNECTICUT SCIENCE CENTER BY PELLI The Connecticut Science Center is a new architectural showpiece in the city of Hartford, Connecticut, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. The design expresses themes that have been part of Cesar Pelli's oeuvre for many years: the importance of public space and its role in the city. — Published 2009.1028
	HIGH TENSION OVER BIG TIMBER Late in 2007, storm-driven rains in southwestern Washington sent floodwater, mud, and tons of logging debris crashing into homes and farmland downstream of the Chehalis River. Numerous landslides destroyed wide swaths of mountain habitat, caused hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, and downed an estimated 140,000 truckloads of timber — much of it on land owned by the Weyerhaeuser Company, the state's largest private timberland owner. — Published 2009.1021
	MAGGIE'S CENTRE GETS 2009 STIRLING PRIZE On a difficult corner site along a busy street, Maggie's Centre in London provides an uplifting sanctuary in which cancer patients and their families and friends can receive support and information. The building's bold orange masonry wall beckons visitors into daylit spaces shielded from the street beneath a floating roof canopy. This humane health support facility designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has received the Stirling Prize for 2009. — Published 2009.1021
	PORTOLA VALLEY TOWN CENTER When Portola Valley, California sought an updated, seismically safer civic complex, the existing mid-20th-century wood-and-concrete-block campus was deconstructed and its parts repurposed, along with other salvaged components, to create a sustainable new facility on another portion of the site. The resulting Portola Valley Town Center is targeted for LEED Platinum certification and was named one of the Top Ten Green Projects for 2009 by the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE). — Published 2009.1007
	AIA EDUCATION AWARDS On a former farm outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Indian Community School aims to connect Native American students with their cultural heritage through both curriculum and setting. Antoine Predock Architect PC designed a building to both foster and exemplify that cultural and environmental awareness. — Published 2009.0923
	HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA The overwhelming cultural and architectural diversity of the African continent is united by the shared experience of wholesale exploitation and colonization by outside forces. Though many world regions grapple with the complications of post-colonialism, this problem is especially acute in sub-Saharan Africa, where this legacy pervades all contemporary experiences, including heritage conservation. — Published 2009.0916
	GREEN HOUSE IN GEORGIA In the American South, a region that tends to laud its heritage, modern can be a hard sell. A residential client often hears neighborhood fears that a new modern dwelling will look "chilly" and won't fit in. RainShine House by architect Robert M. Cain answers those concerns. Built near downtown Decatur, Georgia, part of metro Atlanta, the LEED Platinum-certified home is bright, welcoming, treads lightly on its site, and respects its neighbors. — Published 2009.0909

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