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And this years rankings are in…

In it’s 12th year of publication in DesignIntelligence, James Cramer and the Greenway Group have compiled the 2011 America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools ranking. Cornell University repeated as the No.1 Undergraduate Architecture program. The most significant switch among the universities this year, the University of Michigan Graduate program grabbing the No.1 spot, nudging out Harvard (No.2) who had consecutively held the top position for the last six years.

James Cramer answered the ever popular question, why rank schools, “At university, students’ experiences can significantly enhance or diminish their interests as well as their likelihood for future success. This gives schools both tremendous opportunity and huge responsibility, since what happens in them has the potential to change the careers of individuals as well as the architecture profession as a whole.”

Cramer continues, “Another answer is given by the architecture firms that employ recent graduates. If the purpose of a professional degree is to prepare students for professional practice, then how well are degree-granting institutions performing the task? Ongoing research by the Design Futures Council and Greenway Group shows that architecture firms and related professional practice careers are being deconstructed and reinvented at an accelerated pace. Beyond the economy, for example, the profession is being shaped by profound changes in technology, such as building information modeling. Can educational institutions keep pace with the changing needs of 21st-century practices? And so we ask in our survey, “In your firm’s hiring experience in the past five years, which schools are best preparing students for success in the architecture profession?”

After the break you can find the complete rankings divided into the following categories: analysis and planning, communication, computer applications, construction methods and materials, design, research and theory and sustainable design practices and principles as seen at Architectural Record.

Since 2000, the MoMA and the P.S.1 have been running a competition under their Young Architects Program, each year inviting a group of emerging architects to experiment with new shapes and materials, resulting in a summer installation at the P.S.1. Past winners include WORK ac (P.F.1. Public Farm 1), MOS (Afterparty) and SO-IL (Pole Dance). Architects Newspaper recently announced the short list for the 2011 summer installation, which includes Interboro Partners (NY), FormlessFinder (NY), Matter Architecture Practice (NY) MASS Design Group (Boston) and IJP Corporation Architects (London). Matter Architecture practice was already invited to the 2008 competition, which also happened to MOS back in 2007, then winners in 2009. As usual expect a complete coverage here at ArchDaily, we look forward to see all the projects!

This summer, C.F. Møller Architects informed us of their shared first prize for a competition to design a new Opera and Culture Center in Norway. The firm just shared with us that the jury has recently selected C. F. Møller Architects as the final winner (Norwegian firm Space Group in collaboration with the London firm Brisac Gonzales was the other first place contestant). As we’ve previously featured, the new center will create a vibrate cultural community for opera, dance, plus educational and mixed programs. The winning proposal, entitled Kulturkvartalet, forms an entire cultural district where the “light and lively facades create an ever-changing play of light and shadow.” Set to be inaugurated in 2014, the center will connect the various activities with a network of pedestrian streets, squares, and a nearby park. The project will abide by the environmental standard BREEAM.

More images after the break.

Our newest addition to the site, our AD Classics, highlight impressive and innovative buildings spanning the course of history. While we are continually fascinated by Kahn’s National Assembly Building of Bangladesh (1982) or SOM’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (1963), what about works that date even farther back….before Corbusier’s Unite d’ Habitation (1952) and Mies’ Farnsworth House (1951); before the Eames House (1945) and Wright’s Unity Temple (1905). Dating back to the 1880s, Antoni Gaudí devoted over a decade of his life to one of Barcelona’s, and the architecture world’s, most prized structures, la Sagrada Família. The cathedral has remained under construction for hundreds of years as debates concerning whether or not its current state is too far from the original vision continually spark controversy. Yet, this Sunday, as the NY Times reported, Pope Benedict XVI visited the cathedral to consecrate the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família. The visit spurred hundreds of workers to prepare the church in an effort to highlight the newest “ latest architectural and artistic features”.

More after the break.

This past Tuesday marked the much anticipated 2010 midterm elections in the United States. In a switch of power the Republic party gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives while the Democrats maintained control of the U.S. Senate. You may be asking yourself what do the results of these recent political changes have to do with me? Well here is the scoop:

For the most part lawmakers who have previous backed design-related policies survived.  This includes the Congressional High Performance Building Caucus chairpersons, Judy Biggert (R-IL and Russ Carnahan (D-MO).

A supporter for the tax incentive of green buildings, Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) was re-elected. Previously assisting the AIA to expand access to credit, Reps. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) and Mike Coffman (R-CO) won their races. Livability champion Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Hon. AIA (D-OR) and Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) – author of the GREEN Act for green affordable housing and the Livable Communities Act – and Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), a leader on green buildings and historic preservation, all won re-election.

Follow the break for more results.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, the Architecture + Design Museum is launching its latest exhibition – a retrospective honoring Stephen Kanner. Kanner, in addition to being the founder and president of the A+D, was also a third generation architect and principal of Kanner Architects. Some of his most notable projects include PUMA retail stores worldwide, in addition to his contributions to his native LA environment. The exhibit, which will run from November 4th through January 16th, will display sketches and models of his work. As Sam Lubell reported for the AN Blog, “Many will be surprised by the depth of Kanner’s talents—he could sketch almost any building or neighborhood with exact precision, his cartoons were artful and hilarious, and he excelled at painting, model-making, and even carpet design— or even the breadth of his architecture, so this show is a must-see.” The museum is set to establish a Stephen Kanner Memorial Fund to ensure the future of the museum. A+D explained, “Kanner envisioned a museum dedicated to progressive architecture and design, celebrating not only the design breakthroughs of the city but also the accomplishments of the national and international design scenes.”

171 Students from around the world attended the one-week workshop at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. In association with the AA summer school and sponsored by Gehry Technologies the workshop taught students how to generate, parametrically control, and fabricate complex geometry.

After the break, you can see a few projects from the 37 Advanced Design studio students which Daniel Gillen co taught with Xu Feng, Nikolaus Wabnitz, Rob Stuart-Smith, Raymond Lau, Xiaowei Tong, and Zhang Xiaoyi.

Images and more information after the break.

Currently on view at the MoMa, the Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement exhibition has provided an exciting and successful glimpse into how architecture can serve the greater needs of society. The museum just shared with us their latest news that starting in November and running through May, the Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries will hosting Building Collections: Recent Acquisitions of Architecture. This exhibit will highlight the great variety of important acquisitions made by the Department of Architecture and Design since 2005, juxtaposing, in several cases, newly acquired material with works long held in the collection in order to underscore the rationale and motives behind collecting architecture at MoMA. Some of the featured pieces include models by Corbusier and sketches by Sullivan.

More about the exhibition, including images of some of the acquired pieces after the break.

Sun-Young Park, an architecture PhD student at Harvard shared with us a review on the Typology Redux Conference at Northeastern University in Boston. Read the complete review after the break.

Talk about a great public space, the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center seems to have it all. A sudden and much welcomed break from the chaotic streets and hectic bustle of city life, Caesar Pelli’s amazing garden slows down the pace of a passerby’s day for just a second as one may steal a glance of the river, read under palm trees or relax on the grand marble stairs. This space is so meaningful that it was one of the first things rebuilt after the attack on the World Trade Center back in 2001. Yet, according to the New York Observer, Brookfield Properties, the owner of the World Financial Center, has proposed a redesign of the winter garden, including the removal of the beloved steps.

More about the proposal after the break.

Each issue collects essays, projects and photographs from contributors from all over the world to a given topic. Thus MONU examines topics that are important to the future of our cities and urban regions from a variety of perspectives.

They have just released their latest issue on the topic of “Most Valuable Urbanism”. You can see more about the articles on their official website. Also, you can browse the entire issue YouTube (video after the break).

Last month we shared with you the six designs from the shortlisted group for the future Victoria & Albert Museum in Scotland:

Delugan Meissl Associated Architects / Kengo Kuma & Associates / REX / Snøhetta / Steven Holl Architects / Sutherland Hussey Architects

The six designs are now on exhibition at the library of Abertay University on Bell Street in Dundee until November 4th.

We now have more photographs and a short description of each proposal plus a video after the break.

We’ve featured quite elaborate projects on AD where project budgets that reach the millions seem almost normal. Yet, this is something we haven’t seen: a house – yes, one house – priced at $1 billion dollars. With a price tag like that, India’s richest man, and Forbes’s fourth richest man, Mukesh Ambani, along with his wife and three childen, will be calling the world’s most expensive residence “home.”

More about the house after the break.

To promote their Power Smart month of October, BC Hydro has launched an interesting public campaign for energy efficiency by converting two shipping containers into live experimental spaces in Vancouver. For fours day, actors will live in the 3×6 meter containers “to showcase how – and how not – to live and work in an energy-efficient manner.” The two containers are meant to depict the extreme opposites of energy consumption and show the simple steps people can take to increase their efficiency. As the containers are fully glazed on one side, passersby can see how the actors go about their daily routines – one completely wasteful with a constantly blasting television and all the lights on, while the other actor uses natural daylight for illumination and adds extra layers of clothing for warmth. Displays are fixed to the exterior of each container to provide simulated consumption readings, allowing the public to see the difference in the energy use when comparing energy-efficient living to inefficient and wasteful behavior.

More about the experiment after the break.

If you find yourself in Manhattan for the weekend of October 14-17, be sure to check out the Architecture and Design Film Festival on Varick Street in Tribeca. Films running anywhere from a quick 2 minutes to 80 minutes will feature popular pieces such as Citizen Architect about Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio, to a film about the Kimbell Museum, an interview with Oscar Niemeyer and even a film about dumpster pools. The event will also include discussions with some of the filmmakers and architects about the design process. As this will be the first film festival celebrating the creative spirit of architecture and design in the United States, be sure not to miss it!

Candidates may be nominated by IFLA Member Associations, delegates, individual members and allied organizations, as well as independent sources.

In the next six years, a new collaboration between the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the BMW Group is seeking to explore various issues of urban life. Three labs, which will be assigned a theme, an architect, and a graphic designer, will be placed in major cities that will engage the public, bringing people together to discuss and experiment with new ideas. Traveling across the globe, the labs will interact with people from all different backgrounds and cultures with the intention to shed light upon a broad spectrum of issues.

More about the exhibition after the break.

The Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles and Kanner Architects (see their projects here) present a retrospective and official public memorial service for Stephen Kanner, FAIA, on November 4, 2010, from 7-10 pm. The show continues until Jan 16, 2011.

With his passing on July 2, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer, the Los Angeles architectural and design community loses one of its most prominent advocates. A thirdgeneration architect and principal of Kanner Architects, Stephen was a native Angelino known for his reinterpretation of Southern Californian modernism and for his unique imprint on LA’s urban landscape.

His contributions to the Los Angeles built environment reach from Santa Monica to East Los Angeles, as his firm completed more than 150 projects throughout the city. In addition, Kanner earned national and international stature with residential projects across the US and, most notably, PUMA retail stores worldwide.

Full press release after the break.