Oct 7, 2012 - 11:00

Image Caption: Herzog & de Meuron built this football stadium in Munich. (AFP)

byGhania Adamo, swissinfo.ch

Le Corbusier, Herzog & De Meuron, Mario Botta and Peter Zumthor - to mention only the most prominent names - have put Swiss architecture on the world map. The younger generation has not yet achieved the same celebrity, but it is striking out in new directions of its own. For the 125th anniversary of the birth of Le Corbusier, swissinfo.ch talked to art historian Lorette Coen about current trends in Swiss architecture.

Lorette Coen: Making that kind of distinction is the last thing I would do. Because unlike in the past, the exchanges between the linguistic regions of Switzerland today are quite intense. It used to be the case that French Swiss architects were not interested in the work of their German-speaking counterparts, and vice versa; and the Italian Swiss looked towards Milan. But times have changed. The French speakers now go off to work for a year in Zurich or Berlin, and German-speaking architects come and establish themselves in western Switzerland. Even better, several architecture buros of the younger generation are spanning the regions. So there is a lot of movement among Swiss architects.

L.C.: I would say no. In point of fact, you find similar tendencies everywhere. For example, the growing interest in a more modest architecture. Let me explain. The younger people today do not use luxury materials like stone. They go for compressed wood, concrete, sheet metal, and so on. There is a concern with economy, to which is added a concern for the environment. All our architects conform to this trend, but in different degrees. Let us say that some of them are more sparing of energy costs than others.

L.C. Yes, housing. But let me just go back for a moment. The Second World War put all architectural projects on hold throughout Europe, including Switzerland. In the post-war years (1950-1960), they started to build housing at a frenetic pace. Then this flurry of activity cooled down. Today, we see a new growth of interest in housing. Except that the young architects have learned to think about space differently the way it is occupied and lived in.

L.C. Le Corbusier certainly remains a key figure for young architects. But that does not mean that they imitate him by building towers. What counts in their work is much more the social parameters than the height of buildings. Their thinking revolves around these questions: what kind of cities do we want? what sort of mobility? what sort of accessibility? So relevance is the key element. Formerly it was virtuosity, the kind that was so typical of artists like Le Corbusier or his French counterpart Jean Nouvel, wanting to produce the perfect architectural object. If the heritage of Le Corbusier lives on, I think it remains in the art of thinking out a design project.

L.C.: One that springs to mind is the small villa built of glass and metal at Chardonne (canton Vaud) by the Geneva practice Made in Srl. It stands on a hillside in Lavaux, and reflects the terraces of the vineyards going down to the lake. Another type would be the barn (for 30 cows) at Lignires in canton Neuchtel, built by Localarchitecture, Lausanne. This same firm is also responsible for the Chapelle de Saint-Loup (Vaud), an architectural wonder designed like a work of origami and build in the grounds of a religious institution of Protestant nuns. Those would be a few examples of experimental architecture.

L.C.: Partnership between young architects from different countries is not really a new trend. If you go to Herzog & De Meuron, you will hear people speaking about 20 languages. Another example would be the team of Richter and Dahl Rocha, based in Lausanne. One is Swiss, the other an Argentinian. So working with people from abroad is a well-established practice. It has perhaps been stepped up now, because with the economic crisis, a lot of young European architects have started to enter competitions in Switzerland. Recently a Catalan firm, Estudio Barozzi Veiga, won the competition for the new cantonal fine arts museum in Lausanne. So as to have a base in Switzerland during the construction, they have linked up with Fruehauf Henry & Viladoms, who come originally from Basel but are based in Lausanne. As I said, there is a lot of movement in all directions, both within Switzerland, and between Switzerland and other countries.

Continue reading here:
“For young Swiss architects, Le Corbusier is still a key figure”

Oct 7, 2012 - 11:00

Image Caption: Herzog & de Meuron built this football stadium in Munich. (AFP)

byGhania Adamo, swissinfo.ch

Le Corbusier, Herzog & De Meuron, Mario Botta and Peter Zumthor - to mention only the most prominent names - have put Swiss architecture on the world map. The younger generation has not yet achieved the same celebrity, but it is striking out in new directions of its own. For the 125th anniversary of the birth of Le Corbusier, swissinfo.ch talked to art historian Lorette Coen about current trends in Swiss architecture.

Lorette Coen: Making that kind of distinction is the last thing I would do. Because unlike in the past, the exchanges between the linguistic regions of Switzerland today are quite intense. It used to be the case that French Swiss architects were not interested in the work of their German-speaking counterparts, and vice versa; and the Italian Swiss looked towards Milan. But times have changed. The French speakers now go off to work for a year in Zurich or Berlin, and German-speaking architects come and establish themselves in western Switzerland. Even better, several architecture buros of the younger generation are spanning the regions. So there is a lot of movement among Swiss architects.

L.C.: I would say no. In point of fact, you find similar tendencies everywhere. For example, the growing interest in a more modest architecture. Let me explain. The younger people today do not use luxury materials like stone. They go for compressed wood, concrete, sheet metal, and so on. There is a concern with economy, to which is added a concern for the environment. All our architects conform to this trend, but in different degrees. Let us say that some of them are more sparing of energy costs than others.

L.C. Yes, housing. But let me just go back for a moment. The Second World War put all architectural projects on hold throughout Europe, including Switzerland. In the post-war years (1950-1960), they started to build housing at a frenetic pace. Then this flurry of activity cooled down. Today, we see a new growth of interest in housing. Except that the young architects have learned to think about space differently the way it is occupied and lived in.

L.C. Le Corbusier certainly remains a key figure for young architects. But that does not mean that they imitate him by building towers. What counts in their work is much more the social parameters than the height of buildings. Their thinking revolves around these questions: what kind of cities do we want? what sort of mobility? what sort of accessibility? So relevance is the key element. Formerly it was virtuosity, the kind that was so typical of artists like Le Corbusier or his French counterpart Jean Nouvel, wanting to produce the perfect architectural object. If the heritage of Le Corbusier lives on, I think it remains in the art of thinking out a design project.

L.C.: One that springs to mind is the small villa built of glass and metal at Chardonne (canton Vaud) by the Geneva practice Made in Srl. It stands on a hillside in Lavaux, and reflects the terraces of the vineyards going down to the lake. Another type would be the barn (for 30 cows) at Lignires in canton Neuchtel, built by Localarchitecture, Lausanne. This same firm is also responsible for the Chapelle de Saint-Loup (Vaud), an architectural wonder designed like a work of origami and build in the grounds of a religious institution of Protestant nuns. Those would be a few examples of experimental architecture.

L.C.: Partnership between young architects from different countries is not really a new trend. If you go to Herzog & De Meuron, you will hear people speaking about 20 languages. Another example would be the team of Richter and Dahl Rocha, based in Lausanne. One is Swiss, the other an Argentinian. So working with people from abroad is a well-established practice. It has perhaps been stepped up now, because with the economic crisis, a lot of young European architects have started to enter competitions in Switzerland. Recently a Catalan firm, Estudio Barozzi Veiga, won the competition for the new cantonal fine arts museum in Lausanne. So as to have a base in Switzerland during the construction, they have linked up with Fruehauf Henry & Viladoms, who come originally from Basel but are based in Lausanne. As I said, there is a lot of movement in all directions, both within Switzerland, and between Switzerland and other countries.

Original post:
Le Corbusier still a key figure for young architects

BY KAREN BERKOWITZ | kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com October 6, 2012 3:24PM

District 113 residents listen Tuesday as architect Mark Jolicoeur, a principal at Perkins + Will, speaks to facility needs at Deerfield and Highland Park high schools.|Michael Jarecki ~ for Sun-Times Media

storyidforme: 37901973 tmspicid: 13903647 fileheaderid: 6397578

Updated: October 6, 2012 3:46PM

HIGHLAND PARK The architects hired by High School District 113 to create a Long-Term Facilities Plan are exploring each deficiency at Highland Park and Deerfield high schools from three vantage points.

Is it possible, or economically sound, to refurbish the building, the space or the mechanical system?

Would changing the facilitys function address some of the inherent drawbacks?

What would be gained by starting over and building anew?

That 3 R analysis refurbish, repurpose or rebuild has produced an exponential number of options and combinations for the dozens of items on the districts high priority list. Some of the options were mentioned Oct. 2 during the District 113 Community Engagement meeting, this one at Highland Park High School.

See the article here:
In Highland Park, architects eye school options

October 5, 2012

(JTA) Five sukkot designed by Polish architects are being displayed in a public square in Warsaw.

The Poland office of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which initiated and organized the Warsaw sukkot exhibition, had the temporary Jewish ceremonial dwellings placed at Grzybowski Square in the Polish capital.

The idea was to find a more innovative and open way to educate the general public about some Jewish customs, Karina Sokolowska, JDC country director for Poland, told JTA.

Sukkot are built as a reminder of the biblical tale of the nomadic period which the Israelites spent after their liberation from Egyptian slavery.

The exhibition, Sokolowska added, also was meant to serve as an inauguration for the Warsaw Jewish Community Center, though -- like the ancient Israelites during their desert wanderings -- that center is without a permanent address.

At this moment the JCC is still operating without walls, but hopefully will soon find its permanent location, Sokolowska said.

Piotr Lewicki, an architect from Krakow who designed one of the sukkot with his business partner Kazimierz Latak, described the structures as natural additions to Warsaws chaotic urban landscape.

Public spaces in our cities are usually ruled by mess, he told JTA, adding that Warsaws streets are no strangers to shacks and stalls.

Instead of a traditional canopy of branches, the two architects from Krakow used wicker, a common material used in traditional Polish masonry.

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Polish architects design five sukkot for display in Warsaw

Okiwa Bay House, Tennent + Brown Architects;

The annual architectural awards programme is run by the regional branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects.

Out of the 13 awards presented, Marlborough architecture scooped four:

The Brancott Estate Heritage Centre (commercial), designed by Fearon Hay Architects;

Cloudy Bay Shack (commercial), Paul Rolfe Architects and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects;

Okiwa Bay House (housing), Tennent + Brown Architects;

Wairau Valley House (housing), Parsonson Architects.

Fearon Hay interior designer Rufus Knight said that accommodating the exposed and elevated piece of land on which the Brancott Heritage Trust Centre sits in the design had been a challenge.

"The design that we were trying to get away from was placing a glass box on a hill," he said. "So, there was a lot of excavation and digging and actually stitching or inserting it into the land."

Tennent + Brown Architects design director Hugh Tennent said their company faced a similar challenge when designing Okiwa Bay House at Anakiwa in the Marlborough Sounds.

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Sound designs win awards

With rising pressure on healthcare providers to reduce costs and improve quality, Flad Architects is incorporating Lean tools and techniques into their designs as a solution for improving processes and performances.

Madison, WI (PRWEB) October 04, 2012

Instead of building new or upgrading existing facilities that carry over existing problems, healthcare organizations need to examine their idea of what a hospital should be. How can we increase patient safety and reduce wait times? How can we improve staff and patient travel times? How can we design it to be efficient and flexible? How can we do more with less?

Answering these questions and more, in Flad Architects white paper, titled "Incorporating Lean Principles in Healthcare Design," readers will gain knowledge from the experience of our architectural design teams as we highlight specific examples and lessons learned. Readers will learn how to apply Lean to facility design by understanding who should be involved, which Lean concepts to incorporate, when to initiate Lean activities, and what outcomes to expect. To view Flad's "Incorporating Lean Principles in Healthcare Design" in flipbook format, click on the link below or visit Flad's website under the Design Thinking section of Insights.

http://www.flad.com/eBrochures/Incorporating-Lean-Principles-into-Healthcare-Design/

About Flad Architects

Flad Architects (http://www.flad.com) specializes in the planning and design of innovative facilities for healthcare, higher education, and science and technology clients. With offices throughout the United States, Flad is a nationally recognized leader in serving the complex needs of knowledge-based organizations.

Mary Hirsch Flad Architects (608) 232-1275 Email Information

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Flad Architects Incorporating Lean Principles in Healthcare Design to Improve Outcomes

Flad Architects is working on four higher education projects to enhance students experiences and promote sustainability. By employing the tenets of sustainable architecture, each project strives to reduce the use of non-renewable resources, minimize environmental impact, and relate people with their natural environment.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 04, 2012

These projects are especially rewarding for me because they are platforms for education. They are each designed to enhance students experiences, to engage with a broader community, to uplift and inspire a whole new generation, says Stevens Williams, Principal Designer of the projects. These structures are not only efficient in their use of resources; they are emblematic of their mission and reflective of their campus contexts. These buildings are designed to have a minimal impact on the environment and an extraordinary impact on the individual.

Merritt College Center for Science and Allied Health is designed to be a safe, accessible, and inspiring environment for learning; it will be further enhanced by sustainable approaches to acoustics, lighting, indoor air quality, daylight, and views. These elements will not only improve learning outcomes, they will underscore science as a means of promoting human health.

San Francisco State University Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies conducts research and offers instruction in marine biology, oceanography, wetlands ecology, and evolutionary genetics. Situated on 35-acre former naval station, extensive renovation, selective new construction, and site restoration will meet an institutional commitment to excellence in education as well as carbon neutrality.

California State University Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Center will be the backdrop for a new educational paradigm. With welcoming public areas that introduce students to an engaging, highly interactive learning environment, and dynamic visual connections between activities, the Center for STEM Education will not only cultivate a new generation of innovators, it ushers in an exciting new era for the university.

The California Maritime Academy Dining Commons replaces an existing food service facility, while adding programs that contribute to the quality of student life and support community outreach. Bounded by a steep slope, service access, and neighboring buildings, the dining commons occupies most of the available site area. The design addresses these conditions in a manner that is both economical and aesthetically coherent, using building materials that were selected for durability, economy, and compatibility with the campus context.

Flad Architects project portfolio, titled "Enhancing, Engaging, and Inspiring Campus Community," summarizes each of these projects in detail. To view the projects in a flipbook format, click on the link below or visit Flad's website under the Design Thinking section of Insights.

http://www.flad.com/insights/files/itemFiles/ePubs/4-In-Progress/

About Flad Architects

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Flad Architects Working on Higher Education Projects to Enhance, Engage, and Inspire the Campus Community

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The business mantra "bigger is better" isn't always right. Custom software development company Amadeus Consulting's co-founder and CIO John Bassos newly released book, Micro-Corps: Rise of the Idea Architects (self-published, 2012) explains the significant role Micro-Corps play in todays economy. Citing their best practices, strategies, and mindsets, Bassos book offers practical information to position even the smallest companies as thought-leaders and significant revenue generators.

As Basso explains in his book, Micro-Corps are run by people who are very passionate about their ideas. Micro-Corp owners are more enthusiastic about these ideas than they are about the corporate structure that contains them. This book is about those Idea Architects and how they bring their ideas to life through Micro-Corps.

Topics Basso addresses in Micro-Corps: Rise of the Idea Architects include:

As small and large businesses struggle to stay afloat in today's unstable economic climate, Bassos book empowers those who may be stuck in a rut to break out of the constructs of traditional business management systems and learn how they can make more focused, intelligent decisions about resource acquisition, labor, and investments in a sustainable, practical manner. For a review copy or to request an interview with John Basso, please contact Michelle Francis 720-254-1288 or michelle.francis@2020strategyinc.com.

About John Basso

As the co-founder and CIO of Amadeus Consulting, John Basso has worked at the intersection of business and technology for more than 17 years. He has worked with hundreds of companies, some large, some small and many Micro-Corps. His first passion is technology; Basso has always worked hard to improve his business and the businesses of his clients. His second passion is sustainability, not only concerning the environment but in creating sustainable, viable businesses. One day he hopes to create a Micro-Corp that combines both of his passions. For good karma, he currently acts as a free mentor consulting other businesses making their businesses more sustainable. For more information about John Basso, visit http://www.amadeusconsulting.com, http://www.johnbasso.com, or http://www.blastnetwork.org.

About Amadeus Consulting

Amadeus Consultingis a complete technology solutions provider, leveraging the appropriate technology - via the web, PC, and a broad arrange of mobile devices - to deliver successful business results to each client. The company features enterprise development, creative and business consulting services, conversion analytics and digital marketing expertise and expert technical staffing. Amadeus Consulting solutions utilize a variety of business processes to meet clients unique business and technology challenges.

Amadeus Consulting was honored as a 2011 Colorado Company to Watch, named the Top Mobile Developer in its region since 2010 from the BCBR, and has placed on the Inc. 5000 list since 2006.For more information, visit http://www.amadeusconsulting.com.

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Newly-Published Micro-Corps: Rise of the Idea Architects (A New Generation of Entrepreneurs) Poises “The Little Guy ...

The architects behind the Reitz Union renovations are going to bring students opinions to their drawing board.

Students can meet with the architects today from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Reitz Union first floor lobby. They were there at the same time Monday.

The architects will take student opinions into account and begin diagramming the expansions over the next month, said Roland Lemke, an architect with Cannon Design, which is working on the renovations.

Students can also tweet their opinions to @MakingItReitz.

The blueprints should be ready by January, Lemke said.

This is when were really looking for the students voice to come out, he said.

The architects will be back Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 to talk with students again and to share ideas students came up with this week, Lemke said.

We have no preconceptions, he said. Theres nothing drawn.

Poster boards will be available today for students to explain what they want for the expansion and renovations, which are scheduled to be done by the 2015 school year.

Quiet space for small groups to study with outlets! one student wrote.

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Architects to talk, tweet with students about Reitz Union plans

Jessie Eccles Quinney Center For Dance in Salt Lake City, being designed by HKS Architects. Courtesy HKS Architects

Call them "starchitects" rock stars of architecture.

Anticipation is running high after the announcement that high-profile HKS Architects Inc. and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects will design the $110 million Utah Performing Arts Center slated for 137 S.Main St.

Utah Performing Arts Center public input

City officials and architects of the new downtown theater are seeking public input on the project at a workshop 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, in the fourth floor conference room at the Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 E. 400 South. To sign up for the workshop, visit http://www.utahperformingartscenter.org/oct-workshop.

The 2,500-seat playhouse which will be fashioned for touring Broadway shows as well as concerts and plays is being billed as the centerpiece of the capital citys performing arts venues. Salt Lake City officials say when it opens in March 2016 it will spark new vitality downtown.

Pressure to perform? Well, maybe a little, concedes Michael Vela, managing partner for HKS in Salt Lake City. But he prefers to view it as an exciting challenge.

"People know what great architecture is, even if they cant verbalize it," he said. "There is a sense of Wow, this makes me feel great. I want to come back here. "

The Dallas-based HKS has offices in a slew of U.S. and foreign cities and boasts a combined staff of about 900.

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Top architects raise anticipation for Utah Performing Arts Center