building

Why Design Now?: Norwegian National Opera and Ballet Why? The first purpose-built home of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet is both a bridge and anchor for the Oslo community. As part of the first phase of an extensive transformation of the waterfront, the Opera is a monumental gateway to the harbor. Its most distinctive feature is a white marble roof that serves as a public plaza on which visitors can experience the building without going inside. Norwegian Opera house, Oslo, Norway, monument, Architecture, building, theater, marble, Why Design Now, Exhibition
Why Design Now?: California Academy of Sciences Why? Buildings in the United States produce the largest share of the worlds carbon-dioxide emissions. All aspects of the recently completed California Academy of Sciences, a natural-history museum, were designed for maximum environmental performance. The indigenous plantcovered, contoured roof design is a key component of the buildings overall ecological system, making it one of todays most sustainable buildings. California Academy of Sciences, environmental design, building, plant covered, contoured, roof, sustainable, Why Design Now, Exhibition
2010 National Design Awards: U.S. Green Building Council The 2010 National Design Award for Corporate and Institutional Achievement goes to the U.S. Green Building Council. The U.S. Green Building Council promotes a sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. National Design Awards, 2010, US Green Building Council, LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, building, sustainability, Richard Fedrizzi, David Kohler, Corporate and Institutional Achievement
Ascendant Public Architecture Public architecture in South America put North America to shame. There’s something about the emerging Latin American countries that promotes viable, scalable, building projects that can transform a neighborhood, even a city – for everyone. Design for the Other 90% Cities, Exhibition, Architecture, public, South America, Latin America, resources, Medellin, Colombia, instititutional, building, Santiago, Chile, housing, social, Elemental
Pure Blend / Puras Misturi Centrally located in the Ibirapuera city park the city government has established a new Brazilian Cultures Hall (Pavilhão das Culturas Brasileiras). I visited the space in April, a week before the installation began, and was entranced not only this new design collection, but also by the architecture. Brazil, Brasil, popular design, artifacts, resourcefulness, Puras Misturi, Pure Blend, Exhibition, Museu da Casa Brasileira, Pavilhão das Culturas Brasileiras, Brazilian Cultures Hall, Ibirapuera, Oscar Niemeyer, architect, building, renovation, crafts, artisans, Lina Bardi, Carlos Motta, cultural, indigenous, diversity, Adélia Borges, curator, Brazilian Design Biennial, Bienal Brasileira de Design, 2010, Curitiba
At Home from Roof to Basement Yes, I’m starting to feel at home at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, having started work here this week. On the first day Angela Hall, who looks after everyone’s well being here, gave me a complete tour of the place. museum, tour, Angela Hall, building, Green, roof, Central Park, reservoir, Guggenheim, spiral, basement, historical, features, Andrew Carnegie, Mansion, coal, boilers, fuel, railcar, cast iron, materials, functionality, infrastructure
Meier 75 Personally, I am partial to Richard Meier’s approach to architecture. According to Meier, a building is an act of “willful artificiality;” a “man-made” spatial construct that functions as a receptacle for experiencing the world of nature. Richard Meier, Architecture, artificiality, man-made, white walls, nature, Frank Lloyd Wright, influences, building, natural, landscape, stage, Display, separation, art, modernist, Le Corbusier, machine, silversmith, Jean Puiforcat, theory, unity, harmony, Modular, system, scale, proportions, drawings, lines, Getty Center, Los Angeles, gift, collection, contemporary, Tod Williams Billie Tsien, Museum of American Folk Art, Alvaro Siza, Galician Center of Contemporary Art, Santiago de Compostela, spain, sketches, museum
National Design Awards + Summer in NYC If you happen to be in New York this summer (one day it will stop raining, I promise), be sure to check out these design destinations, all featuring previous National Design Award winners. New York City, NYC, summer, destinations, National Design Award, winners, museum, Fashion Institute of Technology, FIT, retrospective, Toledo Studio, fashion design, Michelle Obama, dress, Inauguration Day, Ruben Toledo, Isabel Toledo, mannequins, High Line, park, Chelsea, Cooper Union, building, Morphosis, Thom Mayne, Pentagram, East Village, vertical campus, public space, atrium, student
Voûte Nubienne Affordable Housing In sub-Saharan Africa, traditional building techniques are no longer feasible; due to increased deforestation use of timber for roofing and posts is not viable Africa, sub-Sahara, building, architectural techniques, traditional, deforestation, feasible, materials, timber, local, roofing, posts, adaptation, Sudan, Asia, West Africa, affordable, low-cost, housing, alternative, Voute Nubienne, Nubian Vault, mud, bricks, sun, construction, vaulted, communities, Earth Roofs in the Sahel, Association La Voûte Nubienne, option, imports, Burkina Faso, training, entrepreneurs, apprentice, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Ivory Coast