Update: The AIA has expressed their support for Gehry Technologies’ strategic alliance (reported last night on ArchDaily).  “We applaud this enterprise by Gehry Technologies and the Board who are comprised of many AIA members because it is estimated that as much as 30% to as much as 50% of all time, money, materials and resources that go into a construction project do not add value to the final product,” said AIA President, Clark Manus, FAIA. “The AIA has long been advocating for tools such as Business Information Modeling and methodologies like Integrated Project Delivery that can help reduce the inefficiencies in construction projects. We are anxious to see the progress though this effort that will be beneficial for both the industry and clients.”

Today Frank Gehry, co-founder and chairman of Gehry Technologies (GT), announced plans to further his vision to ‘transform the building industry and the practice of design’. In an effort to redirect the profession back to solving both clients’ and communities’ problems Gehry has gathered together some of the world’s most prominent designers: David Childs, Massimo Colomban, Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn, Laurie Olin, Wolf D. Prix, David Rockwell, Moshe Safdie, Matthias Schuler, Patrik Schumacher, Ben van Berkel, and Richard Saul Wurman to serve on Gehry Technologies’ board of advisors.

“I am dedicated to giving architects better control of the process so they can deliver the fruits of their imagination, which is what our clients expect. I have gathered a group of my friends together who believe in this mission as much as I do and who can help me find the solutions that will ultimately lead to better buildings throughout the world,” stated Gehry.

GRAPHISOFT recently released an innovative, interactive BIM communication tool for architects. The add-on for ArchiCAD 15, BIMx, is an easy-to-use mobile design demonstration tool for exploring, communicating and sharing building concepts.

Through BIMx, ArchiCAD 15 users gain unprecedented ability to share entire BIM models with anyone through an interactive community on Facebook or through iOS devices. BIMx demonstrations can be executed on a desktop computer or laptop as well. More information and some images after the break.

The BMW Guggenheim Lab recently dismantled its mobile laboratory in New York City, and after two exciting months it is vital to reflect on the conversations and ideas that were sparked by its discussions, lectures, workshops and screenings. This impromptu laboratory / forum / classroom, free and open to the public, was situated on the corner of Houston Street and 2nd Avenue in a sliver of a lot in First Park in the Lower East Side of Downtown Manhattan. Since August 3rd it has hosted charged discussions focused on architecture, urban studies, environmental concerns and community participation.

On October 5th, the lab hosted the screening of The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream (2004), directed by Gregory Greene and produced by Barry Silverthorn. With brutal honesty it presents the threats of our current lifestyle, particularly the suburban lifestyle, and the displacement of the long established tradition of “American Dream” by way of its ecological ramifications.

Read on for more on the documentary!

What do we know about designing for individuals with autism? Those concerned with sensory issues are split on some issues. Some say we should limit daylight and exterior views, keep ceiling heights low and spatial volumes small, use restrained details, subdued colors, and reduce acoustical levels. Others advocate for high ceiling heights, large spatial volumes, and high levels of daylight with plenty of views to the outside. Still others disagree with catering to sensory needs altogether. They point out that individuals with autism struggle generalizing skills, and designing sensory heavens can do more harm than good. Thus they argue for autism classrooms, schools, and homes that mimic all the colors, sounds, lighting, and spatial volumes of “neuro-typical” environments. So who is right?

Pritzker Prize architect Frank Gehry’s designs are not shy to controversy, however the monumental significance of this design has raised the Gehry debate to an even higher level. The winning design of the GSA Design Excellence Program competition that began in 2008, Gehry Partners were chosen from forty-four design firms, then narrowed down to four finalists at which time the panel evaluated previous work, conducted interviews, and responses to the memorial’s pre-design program.

Upon selection Gehry Partners provided 3 options for the Eisenhower Memorial Commission to choose from and the final design was unanimously selected in March 2010 and featured here on ArchDaily. However since the initial design was revealed it has been met with debate, including a competition hosted by the National Civic Art Society this past spring inviting classical architects to submit alternative designs for the Eisenhower Memorial.

Update: Eisenhower’s grandson David, a commissioner for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, has not publicly voiced support for or against the Gehry/Wilson design.

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An Open Call for five temporary urban interventions has just been launched for Guimarães 2012 – European Capital of Culture. Performance Architecture is an international ideas competition curated by Pedro Gadanho. It will offer kick-start prizes of 12.000€ to promote the appropriation of controversial public spaces by city inhabitants. The competition invites multidisciplinary teams of artists, architects, designers, and others to reactivate performance art strategies and participative architectures within the urban realm. Members of the juri include Santiago Cirugeda, Didier Fiuza Faustino, A77, Raumlabor, and Office for Subversive Architecture. Proposals may be submitted online until the 6th January 2012. More info and regulation available here.

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Architecture has taken over the month of October (or, should we say Archtober) in New York as the city’s Architecture and Design Month provides scores of activities, programs and exhibitions throughout the month. The program, which runs out of The Center for Architecture, seeks to raise awareness about the important role of design in our daily lives, and to celebrate New York’s richness of such a built environment. This week on Archtober’s calendar of events, we are looking forward to the beginning of the Architecture & Design Film Festival at Tribeca Cinema (featuring 31 varied films!) and Architecture for Humanity’s Design Like You Give a Damn lecture later in the week. National Design week starts up on Sunday and there’s an interesting lecture about the history of urban waterfronts next Thursday. Plus, be sure to check out a walking tour of the September 11 and Irish Hunger Memorials on Sunday, the 30, and to round out the month, how about a Halloween parade at the Center for Architecture. In addition to the events, every day of the month has an associated “Building of the Day”. We spotted some ArchDaily favorites on the list that you may want to tour such as 41 Cooper Square (October 20); The Highline (October 22); New Amsterdam Pavilion (October 23); Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center (October 25); and The Standard Hotel (October 28).

The New Taipei City Museum of Art proposal by Volkan Alkanoglu | DESIGN seeks to educate and motivate lifestyles through art and culture; thus promoting artistic creations as a moment in a time greater than none. The design incorporates a well planned program distribution emphasizing the important relationship of art as lifestyle and lifestyle as art. More images and architects’ description after the break.

In the end who will save mankind from the Zombie Apocalypse? It is our belief that artists, designers, and architects will need to weigh in heavily to provide Safe Houses that can stand an assault on civilization. Don’t be caught unprepared, now is our chance to vote from over 12 countries, 700 registers, and 200 entries. This may be our last hope! You can vote for as many as you like here until October 20th!

Recently announced were the winners of the New Taipei City Museum of Art competition. The main objective of this competition was to build a world-class museum of art through a conceptual design. It was to be creative and its visionary schemes are sought in order to give the New Taipei City Museum of Art a fresh look and versatile art exhibition space. The design teams from all over the world were invited to challenge their imagination, pursue new possibilities for modern art museums and help New Taipei City create an artistic icon for the new century! The team of Peter Boronski and Jean-Loup Baldacci was named the first prize winners while Kengo Kuma & Associatesand Federico Soriano Pelaez followed with the second and third place awards. More information on the award winning designs after the break.

Five amazing green roof projects from earlier this year. Check them all after the break.

Sky Garden House / Guz Architects This house is located on a new housing estate on the island of Sentosa adjacent to Singapore. The plots are not large and neighbouring buildings are built close to the sides of each house. Thus our strategy was to build a solid wall to each side neighbor to provide privacy where possible, while creating a central light and stair well which would funnel the sea breeze through the centre of the building (read more…)

Quality may be as much about perception as it is about reality. It could be that the idea behind the design is less important than the public’s opinion of the design. If you’re trying to appeal to a wide market; if you’re trying to reach an affluent demographic; If you want your work to catch-on; to scale; to go viral? Well, It’s all about how you pitch the idea, right? It’s not just about the elegance of the work, it’s about the strength of the perception. And, it all starts with a good slogan. Architect’s still need a good slogan.

*lights dim and powerpoint presentation begins*

A team consisting of Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter, Leth & Gori Architects, Marianne Levinsen Landscape with Henrik Larsen and Jørgen Nielsen engineers have won the competition for Marthagården day care centre in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen.

The project includes the renovation and transformation of two existing buildings and an extension facilitating groups of children and workshops. Furthermore the project offers a remodeling of the exterior landscape and playground. More information and complete architect’s description after the break.

Slowly, but surely, Hamburg’s beautiful Elbe Philharmonic Hall is nearing completion (according to the Philharmonic’s construction website, the roof construction that seals the large concert hall has just been completed!). We shared some photos of the concert hall’s innovative and iconic skin system when we visited Hamburg earlier this year, and recently, Jose Campos shared his latest set with us.

Check out Campos’ photos and learn more about the completed ceiling construction after the break.

The project proposal for the new Terme Olimia wellness spa, designed by Enota, is located in the very center of a well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora in Slovenia. With rethinking the local building characteristics completely, the new spa building exhibits attractive design and despite its distinctive and extensive program maintains the town’s unified look. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The arbor, designed by Shamsudin Kerimov Architects, is a living space project meant to accommodate a family of about 15 people. The design’s floor plan consists of a semantic differentiation on three zones which they conditionally named “kitchen-furnace”, “dining room-drawing room” and “terrace-scene”. More images and architects’ description after the break.

On view until Marcg 25th and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the installation for California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way” Exhibition is created by the Hodgetts + Fung Design and Architecture Studio, which is also responsible for a number of Los Angeles landmarks, including the renovated Hollywood Bowl and Egyptian Theater. The design for the exhibition is inspired by California’s unique style, with lithe, sensuous lines carried throughout the installation, including the display cases and a helical construction that soars through the center of the space. Hodgetts + Fung also collaborated with curators Wendy Kaplan and Bobbye Tigerman to bring the re-creation of the Eames living room to life. More information on the design and exhibition after the break.

The AIA has recently updated its 2030 Commitment Reporting Tool, a tool that assists in providing firms a method to track the predicted energy use of their complete design portfolios. Since buildings are the largest contributor to the production of greenhouse gases and represent nearly half of the total annual production, this tool provides an avenue to address and exercise our responsibility in the creation of the built environment.

In order to increase the relevance and better suit the needs of firms, the AIA has expanded the toolset to include additional building types, additional code equivalents, distinctions between new construction/renovation and interior work, and a mixed use calculator.

Here are five really interesting projects you may have missed from last week. Check them all and join the discussion in their comments after the break.

Dresden’s Military History Museum / Daniel Libeskind A decade after Daniel Libeskind’s iconic Jewish Museum opened in Berlin another Libeskind-designed German museum will open – Dresden’s Military History Museum. The projects are more alike than they appear. Both juxtapose aggressively avant-garde design and decidedly pre-modernist structures. Both demand a renewed emotional and intellectual focus on history. Both attempt to make sense of the seemingly senseless – of war, violence, destruction and hatred (read more…)

Campbell Sports Center designed by Steven Holl Architects began construction over the weekend. Complimenting the existing Baker Athletics Complex, the Campbell Sports Center will create a necessary and inviting new gateway to Columbia University’s complex at its location on the corner of West 218th street and Broadway. The five-story, 48,000 sqf facility will include an auditorium, strength training and conditioning rooms, offices for varsity sports, a hospitality suite, and student-athlete study rooms. Led by Steven Holl and Chris McVoy, the Campbell sports Center is scheduled to open in fall 2012.

Steven Holl shared, “We are honored to collaborate with Dianne Murphy and Columbia Facilities in creating this new state of the art athletics facility. Its inviting architecture indicates the invigorating presence and future of intercollegiate athletics at Columbia University.”

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C+S Associati shared with us their first prize winning proposal in the competition for Area Parolini in Bassano Del Grappa, Italy. The project was done in association with landscape architects Land Srl. Every project needs to cope with the characteristics and values which are deposited in the specific site: particularly each project needs to look at these values as potentialities to be brought into the contemporary. In this way the park they designed has a strategic value, both in environmental terms and in terms of potentiality: the park is, in fact, conceived as part of a larger system ‘the green ring’, originated by the historic void spaces of the three beautiful squares of Bassano city centre. More images and architects’ description after the break.

FORMA Architectural Studio’s concept of the restaurant located 10 km south of Kiev is built on two contrast symbols where a hangar-shaped hall houses a private brewery, a kitchen and restaurant rooms while a flying-high space accommodating 23 hotel rooms gives visitors a feeling of home thanks to its cozy placement under a gable roof. More images and architects’ description after the break.

CityVision, in collaboration with FARM, is proud to announce a new international competition called PFFF, an architecture competition dedicated to architects, designers, students and engineers focused on the design and realization of an inflatable mobile pavilion of 50sqm that can embody the spirit of the FARM project.