Courtesy of University of Pennsylvania School of Design

Just last month, University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design announced their lecture series for Spring 2012. All lectures are held at 6PM in Meyerson Hall and free and open to the public unless otherwise noted with continuing education credits available. The series began on January 17th and concludes on April 28th. More information on the upcoming events after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture

Known for drawing in a diverse background of well-known architects, Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture‘s spring 2012 lecture series began January 23rd with Jesse Seppi and concludes with Tatiana Bilbao on April 23rd. All events will take place at the Carnegie Museum complex and the series is co-sponsored by the Heinz Archiectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art. A schedule of the lecture series can be viewed after the break. read more »

© Weiss/Manfredi. Aerial Perspective

Our friends from Weiss/Manfredi have shared their Portal to the Point Design Ideas Exploration proposal, a project exploring the connection between city and the environment for Point State Park in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Currently, Point State Park, which is located at the geographic epicenter of Pittsburgh, does not take advantage of its potential to bridge the city, which is built on industrial accomplishments, with the river banks of the Allegheny and the Monogahela, both of which have granted Pittsburgh a prosperous ecological history. Weiss/Manfredi’s proposal attempts to stitch the city and its river banks together with a new brigde typology, a Mobius Pathway that is “not about the singular act of connecting two disparate parts, but about the comprehensive connectivity of a larger network.”

More about the Mobius Pathway after the break. read more »

Portal to the Point is a design project initiated to honor the completion of renovations to Pittsburgh’s most visible National Historic Landmark, Point State Park. wHY Architecture is one of five finalists selected to redefine the space beneath the Portal Bridge that leads into 36-acre park.

Continue reading for more project information and renderings.

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© Halkin Photography

Architects: SMP Architects
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Project Team: Susan Maxman, David Ade, Scott Ritchie, Amy Owen
Client: Germantown Friends School
Project Year: 2009
Project Area: 16,400 sqf
Photographs: Halkin Photography LLC.

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landscape view from quad

Spillman Farmer Architects’ proposal for the Dickinson College Kline Sports Facility takes advantage of the existing features, while striving to introduce more transparency and connectivity as well as making the building’s sustainability evident. The new three-level addition transforms the Kline Center into a dynamic campus gateway, a marquee building with bold daytime and nighttime presence. The addition is placed along the eastern side of the existing building, reaching east to Cherry Street and south to High Street and integrated with the existing topography. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Spillman Farmer Architects

Architect: Spillman Farmer Architects
Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Project Team: Barry Pell, AIA, Managing Principal; Joseph N. Biondo, AIA, Design Principal; Michael Metzger, AIA, Project Architect; William Deegan, Senior Designer; Wayne Stitt, AIA; Christa Kraftician, AIA, LEED AP; Charles Shoemaker, AIA; Salvatore Verrastro, AIA, FCSI; Brian Brandis, AIA; Joanne Titcomb IIDA; Deirdre Kwiatek PhD; Randy Galiotto; Patrick Ruggerio; Sierra Krause; Joseph Balsamo; Clint Newton; Deborah Innis; Mark Piell; Elliot Nolter; Chris Connors; Mike Savage.
Client: ArtsQuest
Photographs: Courtesy of Spillman Farmer Architects

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Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

Architect: Spillman Farmer Architects
Location: Lake Winola, Pennsylvania, USA
Photographs: Courtesy of Joseph N. Biondo

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© Ed Massery

Architect: EDGE Studio
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Project Team: Anne Chen AIA LEED AP, Jonathan Eggert AIA, Amanda Markovic, Stephen Mrdjenovich, Matthew Manzo
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Ed Massery

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© Carl Bergamini, Pfaffmann & Associates

Architect: EDGE Studio, Pfaffmann & Associates
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
EDGE Studio Design Team: Gary Carlough AIA, Jonathan Golli, Matt Fineout AIA, Stephen Mrdjenovich
Pfaffmann & Associates Design Team: Rob Pfaffmann AIA, Carl Bergamini RA, Erik Hokanson
Completion Date: 2011
Photography: Carl Bergamini, Pfaffmann & Associates

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© Joshua Franzos

Architect: Perkins+Will
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
General Contractor: Turner Construction Company
Civil Engineer: ATS Chester Engineers
Lighting: Studio i
Acoustics: ArupAcoustics
Project Area: 64,500 gsf
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Steinkamp Photography, VEKA Marketing, Joshua Franzos Photography

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© Ed Massery

Architect: EDGE Studio, Nbbj
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Project Team EDGE Studio: Gary Carlough AIA, Jeff King AIA, Mick McNutt AIA, Stephen Mrdjenovich
Project Team Nbbj: Doug Parris AIA, A.J. Montero AIA, Kathy Kelly AIA
Project Area: 22,000sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Ed Massery

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© OLIN

This impressive, LEED-certified, fifty-six-story office tower is Philadelphia’s newest and tallest. The Comcast Center’s stateliness and elegance are carried through to OLIN’s plaza at its base. However, the plaza is more than merely a suitable platform for the building—it is a vibrant, well-used, civic space, wholly connected to the city. It serves as a new destination for residents and workers, and as a principal entry to the regional rail lines, markets, and food court located beneath the site. The plaza elements are conceived as a series of vertical and horizontal layers.

Landscape Architect: OLIN
Architect: Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Project Team: Lucinda Sanders, FASLA, Yue Li
Consultants: Atelier Ten, Ballinger, Bartlett Tree Experts, Jonathan Borofsky, Kendall/Heaton Associates,
L.F. Driscoll Company, Lynch & Associates Ltd., Nancy Rosen, Parker Interior Plantscape, Paul H. Yeomans, Pennoni Associates, Quentin Thomas Associates, Thornton Tomasetti Group, Two Twelve Associates, WET Design
Project Area: 2 acres
Year: 2008
Photographs: OLIN

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© Peter Kubilus

Architect: Erdy McHenry Architecture
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Structural Engineer: The Harman Group
Mechanical Engineer: PHY Consulting Engineers
Civil Engineer: Pennoni Associates, Inc.
General Contractor: Intech Construction
Project Area: 170,000sqf
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Peter Kubilus, Roger Swingle, Tommy Holt

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© Gensler

Architect: Gensler
Location, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Structural Engineer: Astorino
Sustainability Consultant: Paladino & Company
Contractor: P.J. Dick
Project Area: 750,000sqf
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Gensler

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rendering

The OLIN team’s award-winning submission to the Living City Design Competition responded to ambitious standards of sustainable development within the historically rich yet socially and ecologically underserved neighborhoods of Brewerytown and North Central in Philadelphia. Working closely with architects and urban planners Digsau and Interface Studio, OLIN explored how sustainable design can be implemented within an existing urban framework by utilizing local resources, community engagement, and respect for the vernacular culture and architecture.

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© Gensler

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., currently the sixth largest bank in the United States, is a leader in green design, currently possessing over 100 green buildings. PNC was an early adopter of sustainable design, opening its first green building in 2000. PNC and Gensler have recently announced plans to design and construct the world’s most environmentally friendly skyscraper at PNC’s headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. More information and images after the break. read more »

Pittsburgh Skyline, Photo by esherman - http://www.flickr.com/photos/esher27/

Director Christopher Nolan is preparing to shoot his third and final Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises,” which promises to bring the events of its blockbuster predecessors full circle. The filmmaker will experience new ground with the conclusion to his trilogy by shooting a portion of the film in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Shooting locations for Nolan’s Batman installments are shot all over the world, in places such as, India, Iceland, Romania, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and now Pittsburgh. Each location offers unique elements of architecture to create the look and feel of Gotham City and Batman’s world. More information after the break. read more »

© Robert Ruschak - Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Voted the most important building of the 20th century in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater this month celebrates its 75th anniversary. This residential mountain retreat masterpiece by Wright was designed in 1935 for legendary Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar Kaufmann Sr. and his family. Drawing crowds of 160,000 visitors a year to Western Pennsylvania’s picturesque Laurel Highlands, Fallingwater redefined the relationship between man, architecture, and nature with Wright’s integrated design of the existing waterfall and the house itself.  Commemorating the anniversary, Rizzoli has published a 382 page book entitled Fallingwater complete with specially commissioned photography just for this book.

© David Joseph

Architects: EDGE Studio
Location: Erie, PA, USA
Design Team: Anne Chen, AIA LEED AP Matt Fineout, AIA Jonathan Golli, Stephen Mrdjenovich, Matthew Manzo
Project area: 57,000 sq. ft.
Project year: 2010
Photographs: David Joseph

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