Michael Graves & Associates (MGA) has been given the commission to design massive renovations to the on-campus Louis Brown Athletic Center -- which houses both the Rutgers men's and women's basketball teams -- according to a release sent out by the Rutgers athletic department today.

Although mum on specifics, the release said that the renovations will include "the addition of a state-of-the-art practice facility for mens and womens basketball; new strength & conditioning, training, and equipment rooms and offices for the athletic department; improved fan experience including a Rutgers Hall of Fame and seating bowl reconfiguration with premium seating; and building improvements including systems upgrades and a new entrance faade.

The construction of state-of-the-art practice facilities and the overall modernization of the RAC is the highest facilities priority for Rutgers Athletics," athletic director Tim Pernetti said in the statement. "Michael Graves and Tom Rowe have a clear vision for the project, and I am confident the new RAC will have a great benefit to the student-athletes in 19 of our 24 sports, help to generate new revenues through premium services, and be a source of pride for the entire Rutgers University community.

MGA will partner with Heery International, an Atlanta-based architecture firm specializing in sports facility design.

No start date or timetable was provided in the release. The RAC was constructed in 1977.

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Rutgers selects architects for 'multiphase renovation and expansion' of RAC

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is one step closer to finally creating a museum dedicated to the movies in Los Angeles. The Academy announced Wednesday that it has picked the two architects who will design the museum.

Award-winning architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali were hired to create the design. Both are acclaimed architects who have handled big projects in the past.

In 1998, Piano won the Pritzker Prize, the highest honor in the architecture world. He is the founder of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, which has offices in Paris, Geno and New York. Some of his major designs include the New York Times headquarters, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Central St. Giles Court in London. The Los Angeles Times reports that Piano also worked on the LACMA, remaking the western half of the museums campus.

Pali is a Los Angeles native who co-founded the Studio Pali Fekete architects firm. The firm has won numerous LA awards and Pali oversaw the restorations of several LA landmarks such as the the Gibson Amphitheatre and the Pantages Theatre.

Renzos track record of creating iconic cultural landmarks combined with Zoltans success in transforming historically-significant buildings is a perfect marriage for a museum that celebrates the history and the future of the movies, Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO, said.

In October of last year, it was reported that the Academy would work with LACMA to create a museum using the old May Co. building what was known as LACMA West. The iconic art-deco style building will now be home to a museum dedicated to the film industry.

The Academy made the decision after abandoning a pricey 2005 plan to work with French architect Christian de Portzamparc to create a museum from scratch.

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Academy hires architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali to design movie museum

Award-winning architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali will design the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science announced Wednesday.

The movie museum will be located in the May Company building, part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

"Renzos track record of creating iconic cultural landmarks combined with Zoltans success in transforming historically-significant buildings is a perfect marriage for a museum that celebrates the history and the future of the movies," said Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO.

Piano, who won architectures highest honor, the Pritzker Prize, in 1998, is the founder of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop. His design accomplishments include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Central St. Giles Court in London, the Kansai International Airport Terminal in Osaka and the Menil Collection in Houston. Piano also designed the expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Pali, a Los Angeles native, is the design principal and co-founder of Studio Pali Fekete architects. He is known for his Los Angeles-area restorations of the Greek Theatre, the Gibson Amphitheatre and the Pantages Theatre.

The Museum Committee is composed of Academy governors Craig Barron, Jim Bissell, Gale Anne Hurd, Rob Friedman and Robert Rehme; Academy members Kathleen Kennedy, former president Sid Ganis and Academy President Tom Sherak.

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Academy Taps Renzo Piano, Zoltan Pali to Design Movie Museum

BOSTON, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --GRAPHISOFT, the global leader in Building Information Modeling (BIM) solutions for architects, has been selected as the winner in the desktop category of Architosh's Best of Show awards for software presented at the 2012 AIA National Convention & Exposition recently held in Washington, DC.

Architosh is an Internet magazine dedicated to Mac and iOS CAD and 3D software applications led bySenior Associate Editor, Pete Evans, AIA and Editor-in-Chief Anthony Frausto-Robledo, AIA, LEED, AP. Evans and Frausto-Robledo selected the best software items in two categories: desktop and iOS mobile.

"ArchiCAD 16 introduces powerful, new direct-modeling technology," Frausto-Robledo stated, "and explicit modeling has beenclearly identified in BIM market researchas a need, includingArchitosh's 2010 BIM report. In addition, the integration of GRAPHISOFT's EcoDesigner into ArchiCAD 16 encourages architects to design buildings with the environment in mind."

"GRAPHISOFT is committed to bringing products and services to market that add value to the design process and extend the reach of the architecture building information model," said Steve Benford, GRAPHISOFT North America managing director. "We are pleased and honored ArchiCAD 16 was selected by the Architosh editors for a Best of Show award."

About GRAPHISOFT GRAPHISOFT ignited the BIM revolution with ArchiCAD, the industry first BIM software for architects. GRAPHISOFT continues to lead the industry with innovative solutions such as the revolutionary GRAPHISOFT BIM Server, the world's first real-time BIM collaboration environment, and the GRAPHISOFT EcoDesigner, the world's first fully integrated building energy modeling application. GRAPHISOFT's innovative solutions have fundamentally changed the way architects around the world design and collaborate. GRAPHISOFT has been a part of theNemetschek Group since its acquisition in 2007.

http://www.graphisoft.com

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GRAPHISOFT's ArchiCAD 16 Recognized by Architosh as AIA 2012 Best of Show

The phone call from China came out of the blue in 2009, just after Williams + Paddon Architects + Planners won a prestigious Gold Nugget award for the design of a clubhouse on California's Central Coast.

Terry Green, a principal with the Roseville firm, fielded the call from a consultant whose clients were interested in using a Western architect for similar work.

"I spent a year-plus sending brochures and proposals, and then we arranged a business trip where we went out there to China and we went all over the country ... and we landed two really good clients," Green said.

In two years, those "really good clients" names are confidential agreed to work that makes up almost 40 percent of Williams + Paddon's billings. Increasingly, small architectural firms from Heller Manus Architects in San Francisco to Goettsch Partners in Chicago are booming with demand from China where they find clients who are adventurous with design and have money to spend.

"Budget's not an issue," said Green, a Sacramento native who attended Mira Loma High School. "They want the right design for the right project."

Williams + Paddon had been cultivating deals in South America and the Caribbean before the call from China, but funding for those projects is pending. In the meantime, the firm has begun work on everything from teahouses to golf clubhouses to a 100,000-square-foot exhibition hall in China.

Foreign business interests also came calling on Jim Schraith, but this query arrived via a form at his small startup's website, http://www.boardevals.com.

Dozens of corporations and nonprofit organizations use the online questionnaires at BoardEvals.com to assess the performance of their boards of directors, exposure to risk and more. On average, clients pay annual fees of $6,000 to $8,000.

"Our largest customers are literally multibillion-dollar organizations," said Schraith, a director for BloodSource and Folsom's SynapSense, among others. "Our smallest customer is a three-person board of a private company."

Schraith expects to add 400 director accounts this year to a base of 600. Directors log in from any computer to rate the board, company management and processes. It cuts down on paperwork or oral interviews and, because it's anonymous, often leads to franker assessments.

See the article here:
Cathie Anderson: Roseville architects land big China contracts

May 31, 2012 15:12

Metallers also speak about the departure of guitarist Tim Hillier-Brook

Photo: Ross Gilmore/NME

Architects have have said that fan reactions to them on Twitter and Facebook are causing a "culture of relentless negativity" and "put a cloud over reality".

The Brighton metallers, who released their fifth album 'Daybreaker' on Monday (May 28), said they found the online reaction to their new record bemusing and can't understand why so many people feel the need to criticise them via Twitter and Facebook.

Speaking to NME, singer Sam Carter said: "Everyone thinks they're a journalist now. Everyone thinks they're working for a magazine or for fucking BBC News. They all feel like they can comment and say what they want to thousands of people. It gets to me, it's like we live in this culture of relentless negativity."

Guitarist Tom Searle went further, adding: "The culture today is so critical, we live in a very strange culture, where even people who love an album will find a problem with it and they'll let you know. This didn't exist when we were kids. It pisses me off when its kids you've met and been nice to suddenly start talking about how shit you are."

He continued: "I sometimes think about removing myself from all that, because when you go out and play a show, none of that shit matters. Social networks put a cloud over reality. If we believed the internet; we'd have been done after our last album."

The band also spoke about the departure of guitarist Tim Hillier-Brook, who left earlier this month. Hillier-Brook had been in the band since they formed in 2004 and has been replaced by Sylosis frontman Josh Middleton on a temporary basis.

Speaking about his departure, singer Sam Carter said: "We didn't know during the making of the album, but on the tour that followed it became pretty obvious that it was coming. He kept himself to himself on the last couple of tours. It's not thrown anything off in the way we sound, we're playing the same as we ever were."

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Architects: 'We live in a culture of relentless online negativity'

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has picked Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali as the architects charged with transforming the old May Co. building at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue into the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The Italian-born Piano, who was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1998, is behind the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Central St. Giles Court in London, and the headquarters of the New York Times. Piano also designed the expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which he began working on in 2003.

The building that will house the film museum sits next to, and is owned by, LACMA.

Pali, a Los Angeles native, has been responsible for the restorations of Los Angeles' Greek Theatre, the Gibson Amphitheatre and the Pantages Theatre. He worked on the renovation and expansion of the Getty Villa museum and is designing the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, which will open in fall 2013.

"Renzo's track record of creating iconic cultural landmarks combined with Zoltan's success in transforming historically significant buildings is a perfect marriage for a museum that celebrates the history and future of the movies," said Dawn Hudson, the academy's chief executive.

[Updated 11:54 a.m., May 30: Hudson, in a conference call with the duo, said the organization chose them because "we actually responded to and fell in love with both architects." The architects spoke from Genoa, Italy, where they are already working on plans for the L.A. site.

Pali and Piano have never worked together but have known each other for a long time. "Obviously, Renzo is a hero for me," Pali said. "It's an incredible honor to team up with his team."

Both men intend to work closely together on the project's interior design. "The idea is that we don't divide the work," Piano said. "Creativity has no limit, no boundaries."

Hudson added that she and the museum committee, which includes some academy governors, current President Tom Sherak and former President Sid Ganis, still need to hire a firm to design the specific exhibits.

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Academy chooses architects for its movie museum project at LACMA

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds (CJUF) recently closed all-cash on the acquisition of a 32-acre parcel located in Miamis Flagler Corridor. CJUF plans to develop the property a dormant former golf course into a 235,000 square-foot neighborhood shopping center called Fontainebleau Park Plaza, which will be anchored by a Walmart supercenter with full service grocery and general merchandise.

The site, which enjoys an unusually high amount of frontage on the main thoroughfare of West Flagler Street at the intersection of SW 92nd Avenue, is located in the heart of a diverse neighborhood with extremely high density. Nearly 400,000 residents live within five miles of the site, and more than 250,000 employees work within the same radius.

The Fontainebleau site is one of the last remaining parcels in the Flagler Corridor that is entitled for retail development. The project will meet existing demand for services in a community that traditionally has been under-served from a retail perspective.

When you consider the population density and low retail vacancy rate in this corridor, its clear there is a significant supply and demand imbalance that needs to be addressed in this submarket, said Canyon-Johnson CEO and Managing Partner Bobby Turner. We believe in Miami and know the area well, and we are thrilled to contribute to the continued growth and revitalization of the area. Fontainebleau is exactly the kind of project we like to invest in.

Canyon-Johnson is focused on creating job opportunities and revitalizing urban America, said Canyon-Johnson Partner, Earvin Magic Johnson. We are thrilled to be back in Miami, and to breathe new life into a piece of land that has been underutilized for too long.

National and local retailers have shown significant interest in the remaining available space in the center. Leasing for the project is being handled by Rod Castan at the Courtelis Company. Construction for the development of the project is expected to commence in the second half of 2012.

The market fundamentals are currently very strong for retail investments in Miami, and the Fontainebleau project fits directly into our urban retail strategy, said CJUF Principal Jonathan Roth. I am confident that Miami-Dade will remain a target market for further CJUF investments.

About Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds

The Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund is one of the countrys largest private real estate funds focused on the development of urban properties in underserved neighborhoods. Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Earvin Magic Johnsons Magic Johnson Enterprises joined forces to raise a series of funds to identify, enhance and capture value through the development and redevelopment of real estate in densely populated, ethnically diverse urban communities. Fundamental to Canyon-Johnsons investment thesis is its commitment to a triple bottom line philosophy of achieving superior financial results, fostering opportunities within urban communities, and embracing environmental responsibility. With nearly $2 billion in committed equity capital, the funds are positioned to facilitate more than $8 billion in development and revitalization in major U.S. metropolitan areas. Canyon Capital Realty Advisors is the real estate direct investing arm of Canyon Partners. Canyon and its affiliates are investment management firms and registered investment advisors headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with approximately $18.5 billion in assets under management. For more information, visit http://www.cjuf.com.

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Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds Invests in Miami Retail Development

Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 3:30 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 12:16 a.m.

TUSCALOOSA | An apartment and retail development for University Boulevard was approved unanimously Tuesday night by the Tuscaloosa City Council.

Planned for the current site of Broad Street Apartments, owner Phil Weaver intends to demolish the existing buildings and replace them with two buildings one will be four stories and the other will be three that will have commercial space on the bottom floors and living spaces above.

It's not like it's something new, Weaver said. You have 34 units already there, but this is going to be quite an upgrade for that area, and it's going to be a big plus for that area of town.

The new buildings will contain 85 bedrooms in one-, two- and three-bedroom units, and each of the two buildings will have three commercial spots each for a combined 7,500-square feet of retail space.

Weaver already had won approval in October to have the location at the corner of University Boulevard and 20th Avenue rezoned in order to accommodate the mixed-use development. Tuesday's vote was in order to comply with the rigors of the downtown overlay district, which regulates several areas of downtown construction including screened parking requirements and building material standards.

Councilman Bobby Howard, who represents this area as part of District 1, reiterated his opinion from last year that he believes this development will be a benefit for downtown as well as his entire district.

I think it's going to be great, Howard said, noting that it replaces blighted buildings with new ones while adding a retail component. It's a welcomed investment.

Weaver said he anticipates that the three-story building, which faces University Boulevard, will be complete within six months. The four-story structure facing 20th Avenue should be complete within 10 months.

I think it's going to be something very, very positive down there, Weaver said. And I think it will help retailers in that area by putting more people in that part of town.

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Council OKs downtown retail, apartment project

A THREE-deck car park and shopping space, underpinned by Target as an anchor tenant, will be built in Wangaratta within two years.

The $25million development will create 346 parking spots and 4000 square metres of retail and commercial space over a potholed car park adjacent to the Co-Store, on the corner of Reid and Ovens Streets.

The undercover parking will cost $1 an hour, double the present rate of ticketed parking in the citys CBD.

A new style of Target store, smaller than the Wodonga and Albury outlets, will occupy more than three quarters of the floor space.

It is expected to create 20 to 25 full-time jobs once open and 100 jobs during construction.

More than 600 square metres of floor space will be dedicated to a medical centre.

James Scremin, a partner in Prudential Commercial Investments, who owns the Co-Store, and one of the partners who promised a Wodonga cinema almost five years ago, said construction would start in October.

We hope to have it open for Easter 2014, he said.

This has been something we have been working on for the past four or five years.

We hope that with everything else we have in the Co-Store the cinema, shopping, bowling alley and plans for underground mini-golf this will become a shopping destination for the region, not just Wangaratta.

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Target to lead city’s $25m mall, car park