Via Spontaneous Interventions

The U.S. Pavilion at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale has announced their theme Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good with the launch of a new website dedicated to share information about the exhibition as well as broaden the call for projects to be considered for inclusion. Organized by the Institute for Urban Design, Spontaneous Interventions will “examine the nascent movement of architects, designers, planners, artists and everyday community members initiating their own projects to bring positive change to the urban realm – from temporary architecture and crowd sourced urban planning to guerilla bike lanes and urban farms.” Those who have realized an intervention in a U.S. city, both tangible and digital, are encouraged to submit their projects by February 6 in order to be reviewed in time for the next curators’ meeting. Visit the Spontaneous Interventions website for more information.

© Jeff Goldberg/Esto

Architect: Ennead Architects
Architect of Record: GSBS Architects
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Jeff Goldberg/Esto, Stuart Ruckman, Ben Lowry

read more »

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected thirteen recipients to receive the 2012 AIA Young Architects Award. Defined as professionals who have been licensed ten years or fewer, the Young Architects will be honored for making significant contributions to the profession and providing exceptional leadership. The recipients will be presented the award at the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington, D.C.

Continue reading for the complete list of the 2012 Young Architects. read more »

© John Edward Linden

Architects: Brooks + Scarpa, Clearscapes
Location of Project: 409 W. Martin St., Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Project Team: Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA; Steve Schuster, FAIA, Mark Buckland and Jon Zellweger, AIA-Project Architects, Angela Brooks, AIA, Brad Buter, Silke Clemens, Daniel Carper, Jordon Gearhart, Ching Luk, Matthew Majack, Sarah Dickerson, Brandy Thompson , AIA, Fred Belledin , AIA, Christian Karkow, John Reese, AIA, Thomas Sayre, Michael Dosier, Jedidiah Gant.
Client/Owner: Contemporary Art Museum
Project Area: 22,300 sqf (900 SF new entry lobby)
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: John Edward Linden, Nick Pironio

read more »

© Will Austin

Architect: Coop15 Architecture
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Project Area: 2430 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Will Austin 

read more »

The Lens © Michael Maltzan Architecture

The Lens, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture, has been selected as winner of the international competition to redesign the St. Petersburg Pier in Florida. After over a month of debate, a jury of three architects and two elected officials selected the proposal, believing it to be the most practical and cost-effective design. The jury’s decision was consistent with the public’s opinion, as 68% of the public comments supported The Lens, 42% liked The Wave, while only 17% backed the Eye. Next, the St. Petersburg City Council will vote on February 2nd to decide whether or not they will approve the design. If the concept is accepted, the next year will be dedicated to involve the public in the creation of the final design.

Follow this link to watch the pier jury ranking. Find more information on the final proposal here.

Reference: WTSP 10 News, City of St. Petersburg

© John Edward Linden

Architects: Brooks + Scarpa
Location: Eight locations along 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica
Client/Owner: Tina Rodriguez, Project Manager – tina.rodriguez@smgov.net
Project Team: Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA – Principal-in-Charge, Angela Brooks, AIA, Omar Barcena, Mark Buckland, Brad Buter, Silke Clemens, Stephanie Ericson, AIA, Jordon Gearhart, Chris Ghatak, Luis Gomez, Emily Hodgdon, Ching Luk, Matt Majack, Gwynne Pugh, Sri Sumantri 
Architect of Record: Taylor Fierce Orne Architects
Project Area: 2,071,139 sqf
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: John Edward Linden

read more »

© David Wakely

Architects: HMC Architects
Location: California, USA
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: David Wakely

read more »

The United States Green Building Council‘s (USGBC) Center for Green Schools, started by the Georgia Chapter, is behind the transformation of the educational system in this country through the introduction of high performance schools and facilities. It all starts with providing an environment for learning focusing on health, education and the responsible use of funds, which are “the three major concerns that the school system struggles with”, says Laura Turdel Seydel – Chair of the Captain Planet Foundation.  The fundamentals are simple and are the typical goals of the Board of Education.  But this initiative, which is a coalition between some of the top educational and environmental associations in the country, does this by focusing on where students are learning and that means updating the technology of our schools.

Join us after the break for more. read more »

© Tim Griffith

Architect: Swatt | Miers Architects
Location: Silicon Valley, California, USA
Project Team: Robert Swatt FAIA (Principal Designer), Steven Stept AIA (Project Architect), Shira Czarny, Ivan Olds, Leila Bijan Kuehr, Jeanie Fan, Connie Wong (interiors)
Structural Engineer: Yu Strandberg Engineering
Civil Engineer: Lea & Braze Engineering
Landscape Architect: Ron Herman Landscape Architect
Lighting: Architectural: Lighting Design 
Contractor: Lencioni Construction
Design / Completion : 2006 / 2010
Photographs: Tim Griffith

read more »

© Hoachlander Davis Photography

Architects: Moore Architects
Location: Falls church, Virginia, USA
Landscape Architect: Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architecture
General Contractor: GN Contracting
Size: 4900 sf
Project Year: 2011
Photographer: Hoachlander Davis Photography

   
read more »

Evening exterior view - Outdoor art installation “Ailanthus” by Stefano Arienti (right) © Nic Lehoux / Renzo Piano Building Workshop

The newly constructed wing for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, opens to the public today with a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony accompanied by the City of Boston’s Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Designed to preserve the 1902 historic building, the 70,000 square-foot addition will offer purpose-built spaces for concerts, exhibitions and classes, along with enhanced visitor amenities. The museum will also be kicking off an inaugural season of exhibitions, performances and events that will highlight the buildings wide range of programming.

“This new wing is an extraordinarily elegant workshop, a bustling counterpoint to the historic building’s serenity. Here, the thinking and the work of the Museum is performed, so that the Palace, which had been put to uses for which it was not equipped, can once again give visitors the experience Isabella Stewart Gardner intended: a personal confrontation with art,” said Anne Hawley, Norma Jean Calderwood Director of the Museum.

Continue reading for more images and information.

read more »

© JWest Productions

Architect: Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee
Location: Wilson, North Carolina, USA
Client: Barton College
Project Team: Jeffrey Lee, Irvin Pearce, Rob Harkey, Henry Newell
Project Area: 12,000 SF/200 seats
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: JWest Productions, Mark Herboth

read more »

© Tim Griffith

Architect: Swatt Miers Architects
Location: Silicon Valley, California
Project Team: Robert Swatt FAIA, Steven Stept AIA, Ivan Olds, Connie Wong (interiors), Jeanie Fan, Hiromi Ogawa
Structural Engineering: Yu Strandberg Engineering
Contractor: Neto Construction
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Tim Griffith

read more »

The Partners of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) have announced their plans for a new design studio in Los Angeles to join their West Coast practice. With a commitment to urban, environmental and social sustainability in Southern California, the studio will be lead by three former SOM architects – Michael Mann, FAIA; Paul Danna, AIA; and Jose Luis Palacios, AIA.

Craig Hartman, FAIA, the Design Partner in SOM’s San Francisco office, stated, “We want to be part of the dialogue in LA – a tremendously important cultural and talent hub and a diverse design-centric city. With Michael, Paul and Jose leading our studio,” Hartman continued, “we will be part of the conversation and be able to collaborate meaningfully with colleagues and institutions that we’ve known for years.

New commissions include UCLA’s new Medical Education Building that will become a entry point for the campus and the Medical School, a new mix-use project at UC Santa Barbara and a new courthouse for the Superior Court of California in San Diego, which will be the largest in the state. Find more information here.

Courtesy of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

Rather than trying to compete with the sublime landscape of Utah, New York City based Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects chose to create a building that framed the views and contained a perspective from which to appreciate the alpine landscape.  This design is one of five proposals for the transformation of the Kimball Art Center in Park City.

More on this proposal after the break.

read more »

Courtesy of Will Bruder and Partners

The Kimball Art Center design proposal by Will Bruder+PARTNERS focuses on the nature of “exhibition” in the context of history. Taking a cue from the “colorful prehistoric petroglyphs and pictographs” of Utah’s canyons along with its abundance of formally expressive Victorian architecture, the proposal takes on the role of expression and education through color and craft. This sensitivity to the history and propogation of exhibition is instantly understood with the facade walls of Main and Heber Streets.

Follow us after the break for more…

read more »

Courtesy of Sparano + Mooney Architecture

The Kimball Art Center in Park City, Utah is hosting a competition for a transformation of the “non-profit center for the arts in the heart of Park City’s historic and vibrant art community”. The list of architects competing to transform this cultural space is selective.  Among them is Sparano + Mooney Architecture, an internationally recognized firm with offices in Park City, Utah and Los Angeles, California.   The competition submissions for Stage II will be presented on February 2nd, but until then here is a preview of Sporano + Mooney’s Proposal!

Follow us after the break for more…

read more »

Courtesy of WA Design Inc

Architects: WA Design Inc
Location: Marin, California, USA
Client: Stacia Cronin and David Stark Wilson
Size: 1400 square feet
Design Team: David Stark Wilson, Frank Eyerly, Eoi Takagi
Consultants: Kenneth Hughes (engineering); PCD Engineering (mechanical)
Photographs: Courtesy of WA Design Inc

read more »

© PLY Architecture

Architects: PLY Architecture
Location: Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Construction: 2009 – 2010
Square fotage: 1100 sf
Design: Craig Borum + Karl Daubmann (Principals) Mike Ezban, Marshal Prado, Alex Timmer
Photographs: PLY Architecture

   
read more »