METAL STUD PRECAST Although precast concrete is an outstanding architectural material, its heavy weight can limit where and how it's used. A recently completed project demonstrates how a relatively new type of lighter-weight hybrid wall system combining cold-formed metal studs and precast concrete can expand opportunities to apply precast technologies. — Published 2006.0712
	SERENITY ON A BUDGET A "not-so-big" house is not necessarily an inexpensive house. But if you keep the size of the house small and stick with common materials, basic construction methods, and simple details, you can indeed build or remodel on a limited budget. — Published 2006.0412
	POSTCARD FROM ROME Dear ArchitectureWeek, In April 2006, the new Ara Pacis Museum in Rome, designed by Richard Meier & Partners, is scheduled to officially open. But as I found on my recent visit, there's still a bit of work left to be done, and much of the museum is still under wraps. — Published 2006.0329
	TEN YEAR HOUSE Any telephone user knows how frustrating it is to be "on hold." When an entire design project is put on hold, however, the challenges multiply. Building codes may change, and the architects may develop new design approaches. When the Santa Monica, California firm of Pugh + Scarpa saw a residential design process stretch out to ten years, they treated it, finally, as an opportunity to inject an old project with new ideas. — Published 2006.0315
	ENGINEERING KOOLHAAS To support the rapid expansion of China Central Television (CCTV), an international design competition was launched in 2002 for a centralized headquarters building in Beijing. Winning the commission was Rem Koolhaas (Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA), teamed with engineering firm Arup and the East China Architecture and Design Institute as both architect and engineer of record. Koolhaas imagined a building whose three dimensional form brings CCTV's staff and functions into a "continuous tube." This is part of the story of the engineering challenge. — Editor — Published 2006.0111
	INNOVATION AT IRVINE For residents of Los Angeles, California, the county line to the south is often referred to as "the orange curtain." Stereotypes of Orange County depict a different world politically and architecturally: "red" versus "blue," suburban versus urban, predictable versus vivacious. The orange groves after which the county is named have all but disappeared, replaced by office parks and subdivisions of million-dollar houses. — Published 2005.0518
	PSYCHOLOGICALLY ACCESSIBLE Any visit to a hospital or clinic can seem frightening, all the more so for children afflicted with autism. The slightest distraction, even something as seemingly benign as a water fountain or a beam of sunlight, can trigger a "meltdown," in which autistic patients are overcome with anxiety. — Published 2005.0119
	INDOOR AIR QUALITY FOR THE EPA The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Research Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is the new home to one of the largest multidisciplinary groups of environmental scientists in the world. Designing and building this 1.1 million-square-foot (100,000-square-meter) campus presented the agency with an opportunity to demonstrate its environmental ethics. — Published 2003.0416
	UPSTAIRS ATRIUM The Amgen Headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California, designed by Los Angeles architects Johnson Fain Partners, was already under construction when the firm Pei Partnership Architects was invited to redesign the fourth and fifth floors for the client's executives. — Published 2003.0305
	PIANO'S HERMÈS TOKYO There is a new landmark in Ginza, one of the leading shopping and business districts of Tokyo. Designed by the Italian architecture firm, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the building is the corporate headquarters and store of Hermès Japan, a company famous for its handmade leather bags and apparel. — Published 2002.0911

In a Warm Temperate Climate page: [prev] | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | [next]