February 2009 – Page 3 – News – What’s New at AIANY and the Center for Architecture.

From Cave Art to Art Cave

Event: Lascaux: “The Sistine Ceiling of Prehistory”: The Complex Story of an Ice Age Sanctuary
Location: Center for Architecture, 01.30.09
Speaker: Randall White — Professor of Anthropology, New York University
Respondents: Simon Carr — Painter; Terrence Moran — NYU Professor of Culture and Communication, NYU; James McCullar, FAIA — Immediate Past President, AIANY; David Bennett, FAIA — Representative, International Tunneling and Underground Space Association
Organizers: AIANY Architectural Dialogue Committee; American Society of Landscape Architects; Les Maison Française, NYU

Hall of Bulls, Lascaux Cave, Montignac, France.

Courtesy AIANY

The flame created by burning animal fat and juniper twigs in a small clay lamp would flicker across the contours of the cave, bringing to life about 2,100 realistic paintings animals ranging from a 16-foot-long bull to tiny 18-inch-long horses. Since the complex of prehistoric caves with 17,000-year-old paintings were accidentally discovered in 1940, anthropologists, archaeologist, and art historians have marveled at the abilities of the artists to create depth, mix unnatural colors, and build scaffolds to tell stories that are indecipherable to this day.

In the subterranean gallery of the Center for Architecture, which is about one-third the size of Lascaux, NYU Professor of Anthropology Randall White, one of the world’s leading specialists in the study of Paleolithic art, discussed the 30 years of research he has conducted in the Dordogne region of France, where the caves are located. “Lascaux is not an island,” says White, “it’s part of a collection of caves.” In his opinion, Lascaux has been out of fashion for the last 20 or so years since other discoveries as old as 33,000 years have been found in the region. They are “not quite the same, but as impressive,” he says.

So why is Lascaux continually intriguing? In addition to the paintings themselves, there are stories about overzealous archeologists, mismanagement of the site by bureaucrats, and shady dealings by the locals. But today’s headline reads that Lascaux is in crisis mode — fighting for its life, and Mother Nature seems to be against it. In brief, the caves were opened to tourists after World War II, and the influx of thousands of people disturbed the cave’s natural equilibrium. After being plagued by fungi and bacteria then by re-crystallization of the rock itself, the caves were closed to the public in 1963. That year an air recirculation system was installed to mimic the cave’s natural currents. When in 2000 it was decided that the caves needed a new air conditioning system, authorities hired a company from the region that had experience doing supermarkets, not pre-historic caves.

The last time White visited Lascaux in 2001, he studied mold instead of the paintings themselves. “We’ve created a monster,” he says. “Lascaux has been turned into a laboratory.” Today, only a few scientific experts are allowed to work inside the cave and just for a few days a month. To satisfy the public and local economy, Lascaux II, a replica of two of the cave halls — the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery — was opened in 1983, 200 meters from the original. In addition, reproductions of other Lascaux artwork can be seen at the Centre of Prehistoric Art at Le Thot, France.

This brings us the Art Cave, an award winning project designed by Brooklyn-based architecture firm Bade Stageberg Cox. The Art Cave was built for private art collectors to house works they owned by contemporary artists such as Donald Judd, Richard Serra, and Vito Acconci. Instead of disturbing the natural beauty of the landscape on the 17-acre site in Napa Valley, the architects reverted to the idea of the primitive cave to shelter and showcase the works of art. The cave’s presence is articulated by weathering steel entry portals incised into the hillside. This modern cave satisfies local building codes. The design takes advantage of tunneling construction techniques developed for the wine industry to create a column-free interior volume. Like the original Lascaux Caves, the Art Cave is not open to the public, but unlike Lascaux, it has ever changing exhibitions to showcase the owner’s collections.

Libeskind Sweeps Museum Architecture

Event: Films and Conversations with the Architects: Daniel Libeskind: Denver Art Museum: Frederic C. Hamilton Building. Producer: Edgar B. Howard; Director: Muffie Dunn
Location: Center for Architecture 01.29.09
Speakers: Daniel Libeskind, AIA — Principal Design Architect, Studio Daniel Libeskind; Suzanne Stephens — Deputy Editor, Architectural Record
Organizers: Checkerboard Film Foundation; AIANY
Sponsors: Benjamin Moore

The titanium-clad exterior of the Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Building.

Courtesy Denver Art Museum

After being recognized for many of his museum designs in Europe, the Frederic C. Hamilton Building, an extension to the Denver Art Museum, is the first built work in the U.S. by Daniel Libeskind, AIA. Using inspiration from the Rocky Mountains, Libeskind’s museum is like a crystal cantilevered from a central point. The sharp angles and sculptural form create new forms while keeping the building in an open dialogue with the existing environment.

Libeskind uses this form to produce an ever-changing experience that stays true to Denver. Outside, the titanium cladding picks up light and creates shifts in color; the structural folds invite natural light and sweeping vistas of the mountains. The variety of walls and spaces inside allow artists to come up with innovative ways of displaying their art. But for the visitor, it is the journey through these varied spaces and the experience of the plaza outside that is important.

Libeskind’s other recent endeavors include the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco; Tangent in Seoul; Westside in Brünnen, Switzerland; Zlota 44 in Warsaw; and Fiera, Milan. Each uses his design language and expresses his desire for challenge, celebrating the impossible.

The next Films and Conversations with the Architects event is this coming Thursday, 02.12.09, featuring Peter Eisenman, FAIA. Click here for more information.

Melissa Simonetti is an architectural designer at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and a new contributor to e-OCULUS.

common room Takes Uncommon Approach to Design

Event: New Practices New York 2008, common room: 5 Obstructions (for Architecture)
Location: Häfele New York Showroom, 01.22.09
Speakers: Todd Rouhe, Maria Ibanez, & Lars Fischer — Principals, common room
Organizer: AIA New Practices Committee

NYFA Offices.

common room

The New Practices New York Winners Symposium last October left me wondering if common room, did, in fact, practice architecture (See “New Practices Preview: Six New Firms in Five Slides,” e-Oculus, 02.28.08). It turns out they DO practice architecture. Firm principals Todd Rouhe, Maria Ibanez, and Lars Fischer discussed the firm’s work, philosophy, and interests. Their presentation was structured by a series of five statements that summarize their practice:

1) Appropriate the Everyday
Before beginning design, common room carefully evaluates the daily routines of future users. In the case of office space for the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), common room noticed that workers were using potted plants to form privacy screens. In their design they provided built-in planters and an open framework for hanging plants and climbing vines.

2) Never Finish
Common room sees architecture as an interconnected process where ideas blend from one project to the next. One example: the podium they designed for the New Practices New York exhibition at the Center for Architecture was adapted for their exhibition at the Häfele Showroom.

3) Share Space
Because NYC forces people to share close quarters, common room creates “hybrid spaces.” In the design for CANADA, a gallery in the Lower East Side, a simple table acts as a mediator between public display and functional workspace. Gallerists did not want a typical “white box” gallery, so common room chose to expose the gallery’s operations, making them “as important as the display of art.” True to their name, the large table in common room’s own office allows everyone to participate on one level in everything that happens in the firm.

4) Include Difference
When programming 30,000-square-foot floor plates of the Lehigh Liberty Center, an eight-story warehouse in Newark, common room had to consolidate two divergent programs on the same floor. Storage facilities are situated at the center with flexible office space lining the perimeter. It is an efficient and profitable layout for the owner.

5) Don’t be New
While “innovation” is a key word that comes to mind with New Practices, common room argues that designers shouldn’t “be new for the sake of the new.” At NYFA, common room reused existing light fixtures as a money-saving precaution. While this limited the plan, they were still able to achieve special moments such as the aforementioned screens and planters.

Common room looks to historical examples for organization, values, and ideals — not just form. And while technology is often a driver of modern form, the firm is, instead, “interested in the boundaries of institutional space.” This is evident in their presentation, which lacked digital renderings. They portray their work through simple, rational program diagrams and photos of built projects.

The next NPNY lecture, given by David Wallance Architect, will be 02.12.09. Go to the AIANY calendar for more information.

Murrye Bernard, LEED AP, is a designer with TEK Architects and has written for Architectural Record, Architecture Boston, and Architectural Lighting.

MAD: A Slice of Life

Event: New Works: Brad Cloepfil and Allied Works Architecture
Location: Museum of Arts and Design, 01.22.09
Speaker: Brad Cloepfil, AIA — Principal, Allied Works Architecture
Organizer: Museum of Arts and Design

Installation view of the “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary” exhibition at the MAD Museum.

Photo Richard Barnes, courtesy MAD Museum

The Museum of Arts and Design’s new home at 2 Columbus Circle has been fraught with controversy. Preservationists decried the changes by Allied Works Architecture (AWA) to Edward Durell Stone’s Venetian-style building; some architecture critics looked at the new renovation as not going far enough toward making a bold design gesture.

In a recent talk, AWA principal Brad Cloepfil, AIA, revealed his perspective on the renovation of the museum, which opened in its new location last September. He showed no particular preoccupation with making a grand architectural statement — instead, his focus was on opening up the building to its surroundings and creating a space that feels vibrant, alive, and integrally connected with the fabric of the city.

One early scheme involved using art vitrines as “columns of light” that would penetrate vertically through the various levels and tempt visitors to explore. That idea proved impractical, Cloepfil said, but its spirit remains in a system of glassy slits that cut through the floors, allowing museumgoers to glimpse the shadows of artworks or visitors on other levels. The façade is also slitted, both horizontally and vertically, yielding views of the city to MAD visitors and allowing glimpses of the museum’s collection to people outside.

Other AWA museum projects reveal a similar concern with fostering a connection with the urban surroundings. The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis features ribbons of concrete that intersect and overlap, creating “a bounded place” that is still “intimately connected with the city,” according to Cloepfil. At the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the firm designed a soon-to-open addition that’s elevated off the ground so that “people could move through the building physically, see into the building, see through the building, and it would become a kind of filter for the activity of the campus,” he said.

As attendees wandered about after the talk, the lights of cars and buildings glowed through the strategically placed slits and windows, demonstrating the way the museum welcomes its surroundings. The architects have given a nod to the art and the design of the city.

Lisa Delgado is a freelance journalist who has written for Oculus, The Architect’s Newspaper, Blueprint, and Wired, among other publications.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Debuts at ABNY

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at ABNY.

Rick Bell

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand opened by thanking the Association for a Better New York (ABNY) and its chair, William Rudin, for the opportunity to address a large crowd of civic leaders, elected officials, NYC commissioners, health care professionals, labor leaders, and builders. She pointed out that many in the room did not know her well, since her political ascent as an upstart and upstate member of Congress dates back only to 2006. Her speech, however, showed her political skills, referencing not only her grandmother (well-known in NYS Democratic circles), but former Senator Hillary Clinton’s speech in Beijing. Sen. Gillibrand said that it inspired her to ask herself, “What am I doing to impact this world, what am I doing to make a difference?” She added that to follow in the footsteps of the Secretary of State is an enormous honor, while attributing her job preparation at Davis & Polk as a securities lawyer and at HUD as special counsel to former HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo.

She quickly got to the heart of the matter: the economic stimulus package, and the differences between the Senate and House versions of the Recovery Act. Saying that solutions must come out of Washington, but also from the private sector, the newest Senator spoke of the need for short-term relief for the communities that need it the most. She added that long-term investment in early childhood education and for college tuition relief through expansion of Pell grants and tax credits was also needed and part of the package.

Among the other topics that the AIA brought to Capitol Hill last week during the Grassroots lobbying effort, Sen. Gillibrand addressed the stimulus package’s Senate-version sums for alternative energy ($42 billion), mass transit ($8.4 billion), and public housing ($5 billion). She said that the planned expansion of AmeriCorps aided “long-term programs that make a difference, that represent who we are.”

Echoing concerns expressed by architects last week at the VIA AIA! Leadership and Legislative Conference in DC, she noted that “the real problem is that the banks don’t want to lend,” and added, “The world is watching America right now — we need to bring ideas to the table that have a short-term and a long-term impact.” As founder of the high-tech caucus in the House, Sen. Gillibrand was cogent about the job creation possibilities in the high-tech and energy sectors, and spoke of green jobs and manufacturing opportunities for New York.

In the press conference afterwards she was open to questions about her evolving positions on guns and same-sex marriage, noting the difference between representing an upstate Congressional District where hunting is a tradition, and now being the Junior Senator for the entire state. She quoted Eleanor Roosevelt about the travails and scrutiny occasioned by her appointment: “A woman is like a teabag, you don’t know how strong she is until she’s in hot water.” From the back rows of the Hilton, she seemed strong enough to represent New York.

ARE Candidates Compromise Licensure for All

With NCARB’s launch of Version 4.0 of the Architect Registration Exams (ARE), designers seeking licensure are turning more and more to online discussion groups and chat rooms for advice from recent test takers. While it is worth celebrating all means of communication used to prepare future architects, a recent breach of the exam’s “Confidentiality Agreement” prohibiting dissemination of exam content, as well as violations of the U.S. Copyright Act, has created a rift in the system.

Several ARE candidates have been accused of posting exam questions and answers to online forums. Some of the individuals have received warnings, while others have been referred to the NCARB Committee on Professional Conduct (PCC). According to the NCARB website, “Depending on the severity of the disclosure, these candidates may have their exam score cancelled and/or all of their eligibilities suspended for six months to three years or more.”

Other than punishments awaiting the individuals, the violations are impeding the ARE process overall. NCARB and Prometric are undertaking quality control checks. This is delaying the process to alert candidates whether or not they have passed their exams. I know of someone who took an exam last November and has yet to hear if she passed. Also, NCARB is threatening to extend the six-month wait period to retake a failed division to protect the pool of questions (a test taker should never see the same version of a division). The organization may increase test costs to make up increased development and operational costs. It may even stop delivering entire divisions for a “significant period of time” to protect the tests’ content if it determines that too much information was released.

NCARB acknowledges the fine line between “helping” and “cheating.” In a profession that prides itself on responsibility and morality, I find it extremely disappointing that the line has been crossed. Surely, we are better than that.

To read the official statement made by Erica Brown, AIA, ARE Director at NCARB, click here.

In this issue:
· The Dutch are Coming!
· Religion Goes Green
· Kids Are Happy at the Blue School
· Coney Island Puts On the Glitz
· Performing Arts Center is Shell Shocked
· New York Designer Renews Florida Westin
· Hotel/Spa/Wine Center Flowers in Alsace

The Dutch are Coming!

New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion.

Courtesy Handel Architects

At a recent press conference with Dutch officials, Mayor Bloomberg announced plans for the Dutch-American celebration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s arrival in New York Harbor. Peter Minuit Plaza at The Battery will become the site of a new 5,000-square-foot New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion, to be designed by Dutch firm UNStudio in collaboration with Handel Architects. The site will be designed as an “outdoor living room” for spontaneous and scheduled activities as well as an intermodal transportation hub, where bicycles, buses, subway, and water transportation intersect with the cultural offerings.

Walkways will feature engraved quotations from Russell Shorto’s book The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America. A carved stone map of the Castello Plan, a circa 1660 map of Lower Manhattan, will grace the entrance. The open space will draw visitors with UNStudio-designed seating and tables. The pavilion will have an undulating roofline and curving walls intended to evoke an opening flower, and the façade will be equipped with LEDs allowing for a constantly changing light show at night. The site will also feature berms and perennial gardens, designed by NYC Parks & Recreation using the color palette of Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, who created The Battery Bosque Gardens and the Gardens of Remembrance. The project is made possible by a major grant from the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to The Battery Conservancy as part of the NY400 celebration and in honor of the enduring relationship between New York and Holland.

Religion Goes Green

Convent for The Community of the Holy Spirit.

BKSK Architects

Out of 14 firms invited to submit proposals, BKSK Architects has been selected to design a new, 13,000-square-foot green convent for The Community of the Holy Spirit, a contemplative order of Episcopalian nuns in Morningside Heights. Design inspiration came from the nuns’ desire to connect more profoundly with the natural world and live in an environmentally friendly manner. Spaces are intended to inspire quiet contemplation, both individually and collectively. The presence of natural light and falling water are brought into sanctuaries as symbols of a divine presence. The convent will include dual rooftop gardens, rainwater collection, and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems. Also on the boards at BKSK is a green synagogue in Brooklyn.

Kids Are Happy at the Blue School

Double classroom at the Blue School.

Hudson Studio Architects

Hudson Studio Architects has completed a new preschool/kindergarten for the Blue Man Group on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The brainchild of the three original partners of the successful theater, their latest production, the Blue School, takes the approach that art and creativity are central to education. The space itself is transformed through light and sound in ways that the students can control. The school features a versatile padded space called the Wonder Room. The padding lifts up to reveal a digital interactive floor system used for learning through light, color, and movement. The space also has a climbing wall, and is used for yoga/movement sessions. Similar to the stage show, the school has talk tubes that allow the kids to communicate between rooms and the students can use UV-sensitive paint to create a mural that can be seen when the hallway lights switch from full spectrum to black light.

Coney Island Puts On the Glitz

Coney Island.

Courtesy NYC Department of City Planning

City Planning Commissioner Amanda M. Burden, Hon. AIANY, announced the launch of a public review for a comprehensive rezoning plan that would re-establish Coney Island as a year-round destination and bring new economic opportunities to the area. The plan would foster a total of some 6.8 million square feet of new development, and the proposed 19-block zone would create an open and accessible 27-acre indoor and outdoor amusement and entertainment district. Under the proposed rezoning, an estimated 1.1 million square feet of amusement and entertainment-related uses — such as dark rides, virtual reality, water parks, IMAX theaters, circuses, and restaurants and catering facilities — and 800 hotel rooms could be developed in the district, creating year-round job opportunities. The rezoning would also catalyze redevelopment of vacant and underutilized land for mixed-income housing and neighborhood retail and services. The plan is the culmination of an interagency planning effort led by the Department of City Planning and the Economic Development Corporation.

Performing Arts Center is Shell Shocked

Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center.

Holzman Moss Architecture

Ground has been broken on the new Holzman Moss Architecture-designed $32.8 million, 68,000-square-foot Performing Arts Center at Francis Marion University (FMU) in Florence, SC. The 900-seat multipurpose hall features adjustable acoustics and staging options to accommodate a broad scope of music programs from solo performances to 80-person orchestra ensembles. A fly tower and orchestra pit also allow for music, dance, and theater productions. The firm designed a built-in, single-piece, automated orchestra shell enclosure that in minutes transforms the stage and fly loft from a tuned musical environment to an open and flexible stage house for theatrical events at the push of a button. The customized, patent-pending Actuated Stage Shell extends into the interior of the room, enveloping both the stage and audience in a single cohesive enclosure. A series of large roller wheels distribute the weight of the 20-ton shell to move easily along the surface of the stage floor. The complex also contains a 100-seat black box theater, and an academic wing for offices, classrooms, and support spaces. The facility is expected to be completed in the fall of 2010.

New York Designer Renews Florida Westin
New York-based hospitality design firm Therese Virserius Design recently completed the renovation of 120,000 square feet of hotel space for Westin Hotel and Resorts in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The resort-style hotel’s rejuvenation included the renovation of 300 guest rooms and suites, meeting facilities, common areas, ballrooms, five pre-function rooms, and boardrooms. The new look was achieved by using custom carpeting, crown molding, contemporary lighting, natural light, bold patterns, green foliage, and blue and brown hues throughout.

Hotel/Spa/Wine Center Flowers in Alsace

Loisium SAS.

Steven Holl Architects

Steven Holl Architects, in collaboration with Swiss firm Rüssli Architects, has been commissioned to realize a new 100-room destination hotel, spa, and wine center for Loisium SAS in a forest overlooking vineyards in Alsace, France. The concrete frame structure sheathed in blackened wood siding is designed to emulate nearby red cliffs and the forest landscape. The design uses this concept of “arborescence” to influence the order and space of the building. Exterior spaces are divided, providing privacy for the spa while inviting the public into the restaurant. The flower-like center pavilion is made with red weathered steel, similar to the cliffs, and colored glass in different shades of red, and will house a wine gallery and a gathering space with chapel-like acoustics for concerts and special events. It can also be a place for silence and reflection, connecting the site with the adjacent 11th-century Marbach Abbey, located on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route.

In this issue:
· AIA’s Stance on Stimulus Plan
· AIA CCD Selects 10 Communities for Technical Assistance
· NCARB Explores Effects of IPD and BIM
· City Launches CareerLink

AIA’s Stance on Stimulus Plan
“The Senate compromise tells millions of workers in the design and construction industry that they don’t deserve to be a part of the economic recovery,” said Marvin Malecha, FAIA, AIA President. “Eliminating funds for school modernization and cutting investments in energy efficient federal buildings means more than 500,000 Americans lose the opportunity to find a job that could help our economy emerge from this recession.

“Nearly one million jobs have been lost in this vital sector — which accounts for one in 10 dollars of GDP — over the past two years. A study conducted by the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University states that each $1 million in construction spending supports 28.5 full-time jobs. The Senate’s action only slows the momentum of jobs creation that will get the economy moving again.

“In an economic crisis as grave as this, we need to do everything we can to stimulate the economy and rebuild our communities. What better way to do so than to invest in our children. We are going to fight to make sure that as the bill goes to conference, these funds are restored to the bill.”

For more information on the AIA economic stimulus plan visit the Rebuild and Renew website.

AIA CCD Selects 10 Communities for Technical Assistance
The AIA Center for Communities by Design (CCD) has selected Los Angeles; Cleveland; Indianapolis; SE Tennessee Valley; Virginia Beach; Orange, MA; Port Angeles, WA; Hilo, HI; Beatrice, NB; and Eagle River Valley, CO, as 10 communities to receive technical assistance under the Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) program in 2009. The collaborative SDAT brings together architects and other professionals assembled from across the country to provide a roadmap for communities seeking to improve their sustainability — as defined by a community’s ability to meet the environmental, economic, and social equity needs of today without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

An architect-led team of professionals including planners, hydrologists, economic development specialists, and others will be selected based on their credentials and the specific needs of each community. The SDAT will work in conjunction with local stakeholders to help shape the community’s strategy to increase sustainability.

To learn more about the program visit: http://www.aia.org/liv_sdat

NCARB Explores Effects of IPD and BIM
In October 2008, the National Council of Architectural Registrations Boards (NCARB) held a hearing on Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Arlington, VA. The hearing brought together a group of industry experts to comment on how the IPD process and BIM technology may affect responsible control by architects.

Overall, presenters at the hearing affirmed that responsible control by architects over building design was critical to the public’s safety. They also agreed that this regulatory responsibility could be exercised in a way that facilitated project delivery methods that continue to evolve. The task force has recommended modifications to NCARB’s Legislative Guidelines and Model Law to the Board of Directors to more explicitly address responsible control and its relationship to IPD and BIM technologies. NCARB’s Member Boards will vote on the proposed changes in the form of resolutions at the 2009 Annual Meeting and Conference in Chicago in June.

City Launches CareerLink
Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber, NYC Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC) President, Seth W. Pinsky, SBS Commissioner Robert W. Walsh, and the NYC Workforce Investment Board announced the launch of CareerLinkNYC, a website devoted to providing New Yorkers with essential resources for those who have recently lost a job, are looking for a new job, want to start a business, or are thinking about continuing education options in NYC. While it is geared toward members of the financial services and information technology sectors, the information provided is relevant to any entry- to mid-level professional impacted by the current economic climate.

New Forum Lets Architects Look to Future with 20/20 Vision

A new online forum has been developed to imagine a collective vision of the future of the built environment. The project/online exhibition, Vision 2020, collects perspectives from architects, critics, students, leaders, and the public with the intention to provide a clear and holistic picture of what an architect needs to be, think, act, and do to be relevant in the future. Vision 2020 was developed by Andrew Caruso, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, and Tony Vanky, Assoc. AIA, who both served as president and vice president of the American Institute of Architecture Students in 2007-2008. They grew frustrated with the lack of long-range visioning of the architecture discipline and envisioned the project as a means to create a holistic understanding of the problems and opportunities facing humanity because of the built environment.

The AIA Long Island Chapter’s 44th Annual Archi Award winners include, in the following categories: Un-Built, 245 Tenth Avenue by Goshow Architects; Commendation, Bucharest Medical Center & Hotel Campus and Interior Architecture Commendation, Mason Capitol Management and Commercial/ Mercantile Commendation, Long Island Headquarters, all by Spector Group; Private Residence and Small Projects (Under $200,000) Archi, Private Bathroom by Murdock Young Architects; Archi, Hofstra Performing Arts Center by Wank Adams Slavin Associates (WASA); Sustainable Design Commendation, Ossining Public Library by Beatty, Harvey & Associates Architects; and Commendation, Plumm Shoppes by Allen & Killcoyne Architects…

Syracuse University unveiled the winners of its design competition, “From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes,” including NY-based ARO/Della Valle Bernheimer and Cook + Fox… The Forum for Urban Design selected H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, teamed with Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates, as one of six finalists culled from over 250 international entrants for its Red Hook Bicycle Competition… The winner of the 2009 MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program is MOS; finalists included Bade Stageberg Cox, L.E.F.T. architects, and PARA-project…

The 2009 P/A Award winners include Stan Allen and Carlos Arnaiz of Stan Allen Architect for the Taipei Waterfront; Charles Renfro, AIA, Ricardo Scofidio, AIA, and Elizabeth Diller of Diller Scofidio + Renfro for Alice Tully Hall; Sylvia Smith, FAIA, of FXFOWLE Architects, also for Alice Tully Hall; James Vira, AIA, and Jason Cadorette of Viraline for the Rapidly Depolyable Inflatable Container disaster housing; and Stephen Apking, FAIA, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for Inland Steel Building Restoration… The National Association of Home Builders 2009 Pillars of the Industry Award Finalists include Handel Architects, which won two awards: Best Mid-Rise Condominium Community, 505 Greenwich, and Best High-Rise Condominium Community, Millennium Tower Residences…

Steven Holl, FAIA, has been awarded the first BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Arts Category… Matthew Bremer, AIA, of Architecture In Formation, is one the eight recipients of the 2009 AIA Young Architects Award…

The Center for Civil and Human Rights has selected five firms to compete to design a new $125 million center in downtown Atlanta, including NY-based firms Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Huff + Gooden Architects; and Polshek Partnership Architects… The Smithsonian has announced the selection of six firms who will participate in a two-month design competition that will determine which firm will submit a formal proposal for the new National Museum of African American History and Culture, including Devrouax & Purnell Architects/Planners and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects (joint venture); and Diller Scofidio + Renfro in association with KlingStubbins…

RMJM announced the formation of a Global Health Studio (GHS)… openhousenewyork has appointed Renée Schacht executive director… The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance announced Cortney Worrall as the new Director of Programs… Cannon Design named Dale Greenwald Associate Principal… Gensler announces the appointment of Leslie Jabs, AIA, as Principal…