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Highlights the design of the National Studio for Contemporary Arts in Tourcoing, France. Who designed the building; Physical description of the structure; Details on renovation efforts.

Focuses on how buildings and building owners make money from advertising. Construction of towers that incorporate advertising; Brief history of outdoor advertising; Development of electronic ink.

The article looks at several green building product certification protocols. There are a few ASTM standards that act as umbrellas for sustainability, such as the ASTM E2129-05 Standard Practice for Data Collection for Sustainability Assessment of Building Products and ASTM E2432-05 Standard Guide for General Principles of Sustainability Relative to Buildings. In 2007, the most recognizable of the multi-attribute certifications is McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry's Cradle to Cradle program.

This article informs that when architect Aldo Celoria began designing a home for his sister in Castel San Pictro, within the Swiss canton of Ticino, he was still a student at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Although the 3,770-square-foot house would look completely unlike the neo-Tuscan home next door, town authorities apparently recognized the merit of Celoria's scheme, and accepted it over a din of protest. Castel San Pietro — near the Italian border and not far from Mendrisio, where Celoria was born in 1969 — is a sleepy town with a population of 1,800.

The article focuses on environmental aspects of wiring in buildings. Architects generally, do not pay attention to this aspect of building. The term wire refers to an individual strand of material that conducts electrical current, whereas cable refers to two or more wires twisted together. Virtually all wire and cable used in buildings is wrapped in plastic insulation, and most of these components are made by bundling multiple insulated wires together, sheathing them in an additional outer jacket. In general terms, power cables in commercial buildings must be either sheathed in metal armor or protected within metal conduit. INSETS: The Fluorine Debate;Greener Wiring: A Checklist for Action.

In the early 1990s, architects and engineers at the forefront of the preservation movement were troubled by the problems still faced by historic buildings, particularly historic house museums. Unfamiliar with the dynamics of old construction and eager to satisfy a range of often conflicting requirements for artifacts and occupants, many well-intended owners and designers unwittingly undermined historic fabric when they inserted new systems into existing buildings. While this approach should be applied to any historic project, the complexity will be different for each building, depending on its construction and function. By starting with what the building delivers and intervening only to eliminate the extremes, those buildings that do require additional adjustments will be subjected to less stress and the mechanical equipment will be smaller that will be an advantage in old buildings, which typically have little service space to spare.

This article describes how economics, politics, ambition and architecture finally converged at Columbus Circle in New York, New York state to create a $2.2 billion AOL-Time Warner Center building. The prominence of the site and its unique shape challenge city planners, the developer and architects. Steve Ross, the chief executive officer of the real estate development firm The Related Companies, is building the Center. The Municipal Arts Society and other groups sued to stop the project, charging its overwhelming scale would exacerbate existing traffic and pollution problems at Columbus Circle.

Reports the benefits of natural ventilation over air conditions systems in buildings in Great Britain. Use of computer and modeling techniques to refine the physics of heating, cooling and ventilation; Architectural elements for harnessing pressure; Dependence of natural ventilation on building program and type.

Looks at Hanid Rashid and Lise Anne Couture of Asymptote Architecture's design for the New Stock Exchange building in New York City. Application of tectonic qualities to the Three-Dimensional Trading Floor (3DTF); Streamlined command center designed to accommodate speficic current technology; Monitoring the trading floor through the virtual technology.

Features the architectural lighting design of Music television online in Time Square, New York City. Collaboration of architects, Laszlo Kiss, Todd Zwigard and Barbara Horton; Design and illumination of lights; Description of lighting levels.

This article reports that a series of revisions to New York City's building code, based partly on lessons learned from the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, are coming up for legislative and mayoral approval this summer. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, for instance, is analyzing stair enclosures, building hardening, new products and elevator enclosures without concrete or concrete block that could affect structural loads.

The article focuses on lessons architects can learn from the impact and destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy in New York City in 2012. The article discusses the Resiliency Task Force, led by the Urban Green Council (UGC) and created by the city of New York to make recommendations for adapting buildings to better withstand the changing climate. The article also discusses building that fared well in the storm by using sandbags and being built on higher street levels.

The author comments on the Stata Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts designed by architect Frank Gehry. According to the author, the design of the building worked as its problems were appreciated by people who love solving problems. The author states that Stata professors, researchers, students and staff members like the building.

This article presents information on several architecture or buildings and their designer. In creating the Peace Center, a permanent exhibition venue in Oslo, architect David Adjaye draws on a richly eclectic mix of materials and geometries to transform an old rail station--and alter the visitors' perceptions visually, spatially, intellectually, and perhaps even emotionally. At Tadao Ando's Morimoto restaurant, in New York City, lighting and transparency also play key space-altering roles. When you put your head back for a shampoo at Jun Aoki's Xel-Ha beauty salon, in Tokyo, your sense of depth is challenged by a view of the swirling and translucently luminous ceiling that seems to float cloudlike above.

Known for his spare, austere forms, Dutch architect Wiel Arets's work has been referred to as" industrial poetry." Lensvelt, the Dutch manufacturer of office furniture dedicated to contemporary design and production methods, enlisted Arets to design both its headquarters and a new product line. Echoing the rigid geometric forms of his buildings, the Stealth collection incorporates conference furniture, storage, and benches. The storage system was specifically designed to divide space while maintaining acoustic integrity to the open plan.

A decade has now passed since the 1992 Federal Energy Policy Act mandated that all states upgrade their energy codes to meet the standard put forth by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). One of the biggest changes in the new codes may be coverage. Codes adhering to ASHRAE would apply not just to new buildings but also to minor upgrades and renovations previously outside the reach of such standards. While a variety of exemptions are suggested, watch for this type of change in your state's revised energy code. INSET: Online resources for energy-code changes.

Reports the estimated cost for the damaged architectures and buildings in Germany and Czech Republic. Cause of the destruction from massive floods; Examination of the greatest architecture loss; Percentage of loss in the architectural archives.

Opinion. Talks about the importance of designing safer buildings. Discussion on tools and technologies available for the design of safer buildings; Information on the National Architectural Accrediting Board's guidelines for accrediting architecture schools; Developments in safety systems in buildings.