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The article features architects Monica Ponce de Leon and Nader Tehrani, founders of the Office dA. Their firm, known for its precision of presentation and methods of design and construction, employs digital modeling and computer numerical control (CNC) milling, together with hand drawing. According to Tehrani, he and Ponce de Leon used to draw everything before discussing with their team.

The article reports that the industrial coatings business of PPG Industries Inc. has published an eight-page white paper that compares the environmental, economical, and performance advantages associated with the application of liquid and powder coatings on architectural aluminum. The white paper provides a review of historical factors that have made liquid coatings the choice of architects in North America and powder coatings the prevailing option in Europe.

Looks at the plans for the presentation of documents pertaining regarding the work of 20th century architects to the Library of Congress by I.M. Pei. Information on the presentation; Information on Pei; Details on some of Pei's designs.

The article discusses the factors to consider when applying water-resistant barriers (WRB). The problems associated with the code language for WRB are mentioned. The three basic methods to achieve a double of WRB are explained. Also explored are the responsibilities of a contractor, architect or a consultant when applying or installing WRB.

The article presents an interview with Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. Ban discusses his work with disaster-stricken areas, how he selects which disaster-torn area to work with, and what inspired him to take on relief work. Ban also discusses his work with nongovernmental organizations and offers advice to architects who wish to become involved with relief efforts.

Despite its name, Son-O-House is not a house but a permanent public artwork that is both a pavilion and sound installation. Located on the outskirts of Son en Breugel in the Netherlands, it represents the second joint venture by NOX Architects and Dutch composer and media artist Edwin van der Heide. NOX, headed by Lars Spuybroek, first collaborated with Van der Heide on the FreshH20 eXPO pavilion on the island of Neeltje Jans, in the Netherlands. Visitors to the 3,229-square-foot, interactive Son-O-House must not only stoop to enter some areas of the building, they must also watch out for the uneven concrete floor.

Archiving project information was once merely a matter of collecting, organizing, and filing away paper drawings, each one created anew as design progressed. Chicago, Illlinois based architect Kristine Fallon, president of Kristine Fallon Associates, heads the project, which involves a team of architects, academics, museum curators, and technology experts who are reviewing the challenges of maintaining digital archives and will ultimately provide recommendations for best practices. To combat obsolescence of archival documents, a proposed global registry could alert architects to digital file types that are in danger of disappearing and provide a way for architects to reformat their files.

The article provides information on upcoming exhibitions in Los Angeles. The first exhibition, "Views of Planet City," presented by the Southern California Institute of Architecture, imagines a future where all of humanity lives in a single city, leaving the rest of the Earth for rewilding. The second exhibition, "Thom Mayne: Shaping Accident," showcases a new body of work by architect Thom Mayne that explores how technology can influence the art-making process. The article also includes information on new products in the fields of interior finishes, furnishings, specialty products, doors, and windows. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the work of architect Christian Unverzagt of the architectural and graphic design studio M1/dtw in Detroit, Michigan. His education at the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning is discusses as is his work on the "Michigan Architecture Papers" (MAP) journal. His interdisciplinary approach to architecture, graphic design, and typography is discussed.

This article reports that Japanese architect Shigeru Ban shared plans for a temporary museum on a historic West Side pier in New York City. The Nomadic Museum, opening in spring 2005, is designed to be easily transportable. It will display the photographic works of Gregory Colbert, whose show, Ashes and Snow, features large-scale photography and film projections on the subject of nature and man. The first museum of its kind, the Nomadic Museum's perimeter will be composed of 148 steel cargo containers constructed in a checkerboard pattern. Waterproof paper tubes will create roof and trusses. The museum's content will be able to be broken down and shipped in 37 cargo containers, while the remaining containers will be borrowed at the museum's future locations.

Several stellar Japanese architects recently converged on Manhattan, New York, for a symposium at the Japan Society called "Technology and Tradition in Contemporary Japanese Architecture," co-organized by the periodical "Architectural Record." The conference was launched with a lecture by Fumihiko Maki, recently appointed architect for a new United Nations building and a tower at Ground Zero. The focus then passed to younger architects, including Ware Kishi , Kengo Kuma, and the ebullient Jun Aoki. Aoki, Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima are rising architects. Each has built or is about to build in Manhattan: Aoki's work for Vuitton on Fifth Avenue, Ban's Paper Arch at the Museum of Modern Art in 2000, and Sejima's New Museum envisaged for the Bowery.

Hewlett-Packard Co. has aimed new line of color printers at companies that occasionally need to print large-format documents but can't justify the cost of purchasing a machine. The DesignJet 100 model is a color multiformat printer targeted to the AEC market. It can print 4-color documents ranging from letter-size to D-size (24 inches by 36 inches), at a speed of up to 11 pages per minute for letter-size paper in draft mode. Though it is targeted to the graphic-design market, architects who need to print highly accurate color renderings and presentation photographs will find it useful.

On July 20, the developer of the World Trade Center's planned 1,776-ft-tall Freedom Tower filed papers in opposition to a motion by Studio Daniel Libeskind, in which the architect claims it is owed $843,750 in design fees for the tower. In the papers, Silverstein Properties Inc. requests a court order for the parties to mediate the fee dispute. Daniel Libeskind is WTC master planner and design collaborator for the Freedom Tower. Before being sued, Silverstein had thought SDL had agreed to mediation, according to its spokesman, Howard J. Rubenstein.

This article presents information on Technology in Construction conference in Orlando, Florida, in January 2004. designers posed that question to each other about building information modeling (BIM), long billed as the technological sine qua non for efficient and cost-effective design and construction. But most designers, it seems, are taking a wait-and-see attitude about BIM--interested in its benefits, but hesitant to adopt it unless assured of Building information modeling (BIM) is the latest rebranding of a 25-year-old idea that architects should create intelligent 3D models instead of paper drawings to communicate design ideas and guide construction.

The article focuses on a pen design project of Cleto Munari in collaboration with architects and designers. Munari has invited architects Toyo Ito, Alessandro Mendini, Álvaro Siza Vieira and Oscar Tusquets to design a pen dedicated to any Nobel Laureate in Literature awardee. As part of the project's promotional campaign, a purchase of any limited-edition fountain or roller ball pen comes with the book "The Book of the 5 Pens," which shows the bond that writers and designers share with their use of ink.

The article presents an interview with architect Frank Gehry regarding his Cloud Lamps. Gehry discussed the inspiration for his first lighting line. He described the construction of each fixture. He explained future options for the Cloud. Also, Gehry disclosed his plans to design a line of furniture for children.

The article discusses commitment of architects to designing sustainable buildings that contribute to waste minimization and the zero waste philosophy. Topics explored include the municipal solid waste generation in the U.S. based on the U.S. Environmental Protection and Agency (EPA) data, the climate change mitigation and waste reduction targets of various U.S. cities, and the infrastructure-related strategies that allow waste recovery for recycling or reuse.

The look of natural stone, weathered oxidized steel, and even simulated wood grain were big trends among the Spanish ceramic tile showcased at the annual Cevisima trade forum in Valencia, Spain. More than 1,500 exhibitors attracted over 86,000 visitors from 140 countries to view a wide array of tile for commercial and residential use. Uchi from Saloni is inspired by the texture of Japanese rice paper. This ceramic tile series encompasses coordinating wall and floor tiles. The wall tile is produced in a 12" x 24" format, while the floor tile comes in 12" squares. Uchi offers light tones of ivory, cream, and gray. The series is complemented by a woven-rattan relief tile named Tatami, offered in 12" x 12" and 3" x 12" formats. Saloni, San Juan de Moro, Spain. www.saloni.com CIRCLE 206

The article presents information on the flexible document holder, DokuMount, from Innovative Office Products Inc. The document holder is the first of its kind to help engineers, architects and industrial designers liberate their workspace from oversized blueprints and drawings. It features a floating radial arm that suspends large documents above the desk, freeing up desk space.

The article explains that finishing process is the secret in achieving great walls and ceilings after decoration. It was noted that the use of drywall is an opportunity to create a subtle to dramatic looking finish. The technique to minimize the effect of critical lighting and gloss paints is reportedly to finish the drywall with joint treatment that will prepare the substrate for the desired decoration of the architect or building owner. The "Recommended Levels of Gypsum Board Finish," by the Gypsum Association published in 1990 was also mentioned.

Focuses on the capabilities and skills of architect Nicholas Olsberg of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a museum and study center. Career developments; Efforts of Olsberg in improvising the museum; Provisions of exhibitions from various architectural firm.

The article covers the journal's 12th annual Innovation Conference, held October 9, 2014 in New York City, in which the focus was on how architects find inspiration.

The article offers information on the levels of finish for gypsum wallboard walls and ceilings. They are referred by the author as the steps or procedures to finishing gypsum wallboard. A common confusion in the industry is the joint banding issue, says the author. He offers background on the issue and the cause of confusion among the ceiling and walling industry players. The author also discusses Level 5 finish and the confusion faced by architects, builders, owners and contractors with regard to variations in the Level 5 finish.

The article profiles architect Alejandro Villareal, who founded the architectural firm Hierve Diseñeria. Villareal previously worked and studied at The Instituto Technologico Autonomo de Mexico, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Central Saint Martins College of Arts in London.

This article describes the work of architect Steven Holl. Some of his sketches were on display at the China International Gallery Exposition while other are contained at New York's Museum of Modern Art. His sketches offer Holl a way to get ideas down on paper. They may or may not be incorporated into his work but he enjoys the process.

The article describes the architectural design of Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. The airport's importance to the city's economy and culture inspired Wellington Reiter, an architect and dean of Arizona State University's College of Design, to sketch out a vision of its future. The architect conceived the highway pipeline into the airport as both a sort of utopian entry and a darker surveillance system.

The article focuses on the legacy of the hand drawings and sketches made by American architect Michael Graves in the early 1960s at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. It asserts the Grave's works best help the creative mind to analyze and conceptualize architecture. It describes the aesthetics of Grave's drawing of the 4th century Basilica of Maxentius.

The article comments on designs of products unveiled at the 2005 Milan Furniture Fair. Many products displayed a penchant for perforation. Vibrant colors and adventurous shapes again stood out from the standard Minimalist fare. Architects also climbed aboard the furniture-design bandwagon.

This article presents an interview with Daniel Libeskind, the World Trade Center master planner. Answering a question Libeskind said, " I think all of it is quite literally around. The Freedom Tower reaches to 1,776 feet. It has a garden. It is shaped to be part of an ascending spiral of skyscrapers. It fits into the master plan. The same is true for the memorial. The site goes 35 feet below street level; it has the slurry wall as an important design element; it has a waterfall and possesses space for cultural buildings.

The article discusses the lack of information available regarding how buildings designed with sustainability in mind actually perform. It is suggested that post-occupancy evaluation (POE) could be a powerful tool for gathering such information. Gathering data on resource consumption, lighting levels, acoustics, and occupant surveys could identify things that work or need refinement.

The article features architectural designers from Madrid, Spain, César Jiménez de Tejada Benavides and brother and sister María and José María Hurtado de Mendoza Wahrolen. Representing their estudio entresitio, they built a complex program in Daimiel where they used a series of long parallel terraces as their own designs. Entresitio's approach is said to be anticontextual wherein the work of the firm aims to stand out rather than blend in.

The article discusses the adoption of interactive envelope systems or small robots that patrol building facades, regulating energy usage and indoor conditions, in architectural projects. While these systems are fashionable and possibly advantageous, its adoption has been slow. Primary concerns of skeptical architects include worrying that operable components are magnets for value-engineering or foreseeing them being unplugged and later stripped off their buildings due to poor performance of deficient maintenance. Still there are supporters of the technology. First is that it would be easy for architects to analyze an operable shade with daylight analysis tools. Another is the solid performance of photosensors, lighting controls and solar-tracking devices.

The article focuses on the dependence of architects and researchers on building process to manage the flood of products, materials, and options. Building process usually refers to the methodology, often inventive and personal, that the architect relies on to steer a project from concept to completion. Associate professor John E. Fernandez argues that our knowledge base must be expanded to include advances in materials science and engineering.

The article discusses the recognition and importance given to young architects and designers employed in big architectural firms. The democratic business strategy employed by most large firms with their projects, was defined. Architecture firm annex5 benefited from hiring young architects. Young architects interviewed for the article are: Ross Wimer of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Ko Makabe of Kohn Pedersen Fox, Benjamin Ward from Gensler and Mark McVay from SmithGroup.

The article provides information on architectural firm King Roselli Architetti, formed by principals Jeremy King, Andrea Ricci and Riccardo Roselli based in Rome, Italy. The work they did for ES Hotel was a significant decision for their position in Roman architecture. The firm has designed and redesigned other hotels for international resort companies.

This article discusses the use of build-design by architects and clients. Design-build proponents say changes have occurred largely because many more clients and industry members came to feel that the design-bid-build's enforced separation fostered conflicts among the various parties holding separate contracts with the client, thus fueling litigation and increasing overall costs. One of the biggest fears architects have about leading a design-build project is the increased risk associated with construction. While the tasks traditionally associated with architecture are insurable, work occurring on a construction site is not.

This article describes how clients impact the outcome of museum architecture. The article begins by identifying several factors involved in the proliferation of museum architect. Next, the author presents several examples to illustrate what a difference a client can make concerning the outcome of museum architecture.

This article focuses on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the green-building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Today, LEED has virtually become a household word. More and more projects have been registered, and LEED ratings increasingly find their way into marketing brochures distributed by developers, building owners, architects, and contractors. The rating system is divided into six categories. Now that LEED has been available in one form or another for some five years, it's appropriate that the system has been reviewed externally and internally for various purposes.

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.

This article discusses various issues related to architectural technology, and reports that by using the latest high-technology tools, preservation architects find the right balance between celebrating a building's treasured history and allowing it to live on into the future. Preservation architects clearly walk a fine line between the realities of the past and the needs of the present, all the while establishing reasoned and consistent justification for their actions for future generations who will one day inherit these cultural legacies. The article further focuses on architectural renovation of San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers.

The article informs that splendor of the Pantheon in Rome, attributed to Emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus Hadrian, lies in both its architectural form and its engineering virtuosity: a rational domed cylinder of reinforced concrete that soars to a height that equals its diameter, reaching 143 feet at its oculus. Thanks to Joseph Aspdin's invention of portland cement in 1824 and Joseph Monier's introduction of the reinforcing bar in 1867, the 20th century was an era of intense technological progress in both concrete and steel. Trial-and-error engineering no longer takes place on-site or requires knowledge of precedent. So extensive is the innovation in concrete that now a discussion of the material requires a new vocabulary of modifiers. INSET: Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete.

The article discusses the trade of exporting architecture jobs. The practice of paying less-expensive workers located beyond the borders of the U.S. to do tasks once done here by architects and interns is extremely controversial. A representative of a U.S.-owned drafting service that sends some of its work abroad spoke extensively to the periodical about the practice, but several days later asked that the company not be named in this article. Other offshore providers were willing to speak about the practice, but said they could not reveal the names of the architecture firms for whom they work. To be fair, U.S. architects have made millions selling their services abroad for decades. INSET: ARCHITECTURAL RECORD'S Offshoring Questionnaire.

Focuses on the changes in the architectural profession during its transition from a paper profession to a digital one. Generation gap which emerged between senior architects and junior staff; Concerns on the failure of younger architects to experience designing and drawing buildings by hand.

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.

This article presents information on the design of a building in 497 Greenwich Street of New York City. Using bent glass and a fluid approach to geometry, architect Winka Dubbeldam created a curtain wall with depth, a street front that envelopes space as much as it separates inside from out. Set on the western edge of SoHo, which had retained a gritty industrial demeanor until recently, the building at 497 Greenwich Street injects a rousing dose of 21st-century Modernism while engaging the past. The new structure rises alongside and then extends over its six-story, 19th-century neighbor to the south, drawing the older brick building into an architectural tango. While Now York City developers have been riding a booming residential market over the past several years, almost all of the apartment towers they've built have been numbingly formulaic in terms of floor plans and exterior design. By inserting a new building on the street and incorporating the empty six-story warehouse next door, the architect could create 23 living units and provide space on the ground floor for an art gallery or stores, as well as a small fitness center and meeting room for the residents. Although the curtain wall faces west, laminated glass, UV film, and exterior metal fins reduce the impact of the sun.

Recent discussions about innovations in prefabrication and modular or unitized construction methods generally focus on the aesthetics and economics of the final product. The process, or rather processes, of reaching the end tend to be described generically, as if all programs can be addressed the same way. The terms also describe a range of building products, such as the production of structural insulated panels and exterior insulation and finish systems, both of which are ubiquitous in commercial and residential building. The projects here can be described as component-based design, a term that lacks the preconceived notions associated with prefabrication. With the wealth of materials at hand, and the vision of what they can do, the editing skills of an architect in making material design decisions is very important. It is not the materials that are new. Aluminum has been around since 1807, glass since 4,000 B.C. It is the understanding of these components and the consideration of how they can be used together that opens up the design.

Optical reciprocities between ball and bleachers overwhelmingly determine the design of sports buildings. Architects typically derive the diagram for arenas from wrapping walls around optimal lines of sight to generate a box of a bowl. At Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois however, Boston architect Benjamin Wood, Carlos Zapata working with Lohan Caprile Goettsch as the master planner, recently broke free of convention, scoring an end run into new precedent. When architects Wood and Zapata received the commission to update Soldier Field as a $385 million state-of-the-art venue for the Chicago Bears football team, the architects faced the challenge of fitting a new, 62,000-seat bowl within the old one.

Viennese architect Georg Driendl likes to name the houses he designs after the sun. His Solar Box, for instance, combines an orthogonal, glazed section with a 19th-century home. Solar Deck, a concrete-and-glass structure, has wraparound balconies on two levels. The Solar Tube House, in the northwest outskirts of Vienna, Austria, stands out as the most inventive and visually intriguing of the series. Rising to a metal-clad, glass-fronted tubular form, the building is like a telescope topping an amply glazed rectangular volume. Neither its name nor form are frivolous. Driendl was inspired by the humble tubular skylight, a device that channels sunlight indoors by means of a rooftop collector, reflective pipe, and diffuser. His novelty was to envision the entire house as a solar collector, one that needs little heating, cooling, or electric illumination.

For a new generation of American architects, stymied by the vagaries of the domestic economy, China represents potential salvation, a constantly expanding marketplace that welcomes their expertise, with projects challenging conventional experience and scale. The overall market is enormous, consider that in 2003, China leaped from fourth to third place among construction economies, leading hungry architects to yearn for room at the Chinese banquet. For eight days, the author tagged along as firm chairman Bradford Perkins, who, in a 30-year career, has engaged clients throughout the world, made the rounds of clients in Nanjing, Shanghai, and Beijing. Brad Perkins, a sometimes contributor to this magazine, has written suggestions for other architects interested in working in China. INSET: Brad Perkins's 10 Tips for China.