Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Mr. Cobbs notable projects included the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles (1989), long that citys tallest; the World Trade Center Barcelona (1999), inspired by a boat; and the Torre Espacio (2008), a Madrid skyscraper that resembles a rocket.

In 2009, he completed the Goldman Sachs headquarters, at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, which was widely praised for its discreet elegance, and a dormitory complex at Princeton University, known as Butler College, which replicates the intimacy of the campuss gothic dormitories but in modernist form. (In recent decades, Mr. Cobb shared design credit with several of the firms younger partners.)

Mr. Cobb did not have the high profile of contemporaries like Frank Gehry or Mr. Pei. He called them formgivers and himself a problem-solver. Yet he was an architect of immense creativity, Mr. Goldberger wrote, and a major influence on the profession as an educator and mentor. Mr. Campbell said that Mr. Cobbs great intelligence and great integrity which he wielded with a gentlemanly manner were as important to his status as the buildings he designed.

Henry Nichols Cobb was born on April 8, 1926, the second of three sons of Charles Kane Cobb, an investment counselor, and Elsie Quincy (Nichols) Cobb. He traced his roots to another Henry Cobb, who was born in Kent, England, in 1596 and landed on Cape Cod in 1626. But his family wasnt wealthy, Mr. Cobb, said, and his mother went to work during the Depression to help support the family.

Still, his parents managed to take him to Europe when he was 9 a trip, he said, that began his lifelong fascination with architecture. Nine, he said, is the perfect age: You are mature enough to take a lot in, but not yet preoccupied with yourself, the way you become very shortly thereafter.

Mr. Cobb graduated from Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1944, had an accelerated undergraduate education at Harvard College, graduating in 1947, and then studied at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. As an undergraduate he joined the naval R.O.T.C. on campus.

More here:
Henry Cobb, Courtly Architect of Bostons Hancock Tower, Dies at 93 - The New York Times

A British critic calls two green icons, rammed earth and Passivhaus, "architectural trickery at its most cynical."

UPDATE: Critic Phineas Harper raises serious issues about the importance of embodied carbon, or as I prefer to call it, upfront carbon emissions. When I wrote this post I reacted to his paragraph linking of Passivhaus to "greenwash" and titled the post "Passivhaus is not a cult," when he did not actually call it that.

There are many buildings and architects that we have accused of being "greenwash" over the years, the poster child being the integrated wind turbines in London's Strata tower, where the developer actually wanted to put motors on them to make them turn and look like they were doing something. We have complained about the silliness of LEED certified airports and parking garages.

Harper writes that "seeing through specious gestures like living walls and tower-top wind turbines is getting easier." It's true that almost all the building-integrated turbines are pretty much useless; we have been calling them folly for a decade. I have also questioned the contribution to sustainability of living walls, but then that's just me thinking that you should keep mud and water off walls, not build it into them.

With rammed earth, Harper complains that much of it is made with a binder, calling it "a steel-reinforced earth composite with barely less cement than concrete." Harper insists that "there is no need to build rammed earth with cement." And it is true that you can build a rammed earth wall without it. But many building codes don't allow it; water can cause it to disintegrate and it doesn't hold together in earthquakes.

Rammed earth walls also use less cement than concrete walls, as little as 5 percent, and the other 95 percent is good old local dirt instead of sand and aggregate that has been dragged for miles. I suspect also that, now that people are finally getting concerned about embodied carbon or upfront carbon emissions, they will start using other binders like lime or volcanic ash (pozzolana). Like anything else in this world, it is not black and white, but a matter of degree.

Here, Harper writes:

This is an issue we have been discussing on TreeHugger for years, even complaining that they should change the standard to take upfront carbon emissions (UCE) into account. (See the Elrond Standard.) It is also true that Passivhaus buildings were often foamy, using lots of insulations with lots of UCE.

However, to be fair, concern and understanding of UCE is a relatively recent phenomenon, and many in the business are just beginning to wrap their brain around it. None of the green building standards really take it seriously; even the toughest, the Living Building Challenge, just demands carbon offsets. Even the brand new Canadian Net Zero standard just kind of says, "Measure it, and we will figure out what to do about it later."

But while Passivhaus is an operating energy standard, developed before people understood the implications of upfront carbon, many of the architects using Passivhaus are thinking seriously about UCE. Architype is a good example; I have suggested that their thatch-covered Enterprise Centre may be the world's greenest building because of its obsession with embodied carbon.

George Mikurcik of Architype writes in response to Harper's article, acknowledging that the Passivhaus standard has been historically "agnostic about what materials are used (the embodied carbon). It could be timber, concrete, steel, foam or marshmallow." But Architype has been a pioneer in building Passivhaus buildings with low UCE materials like wood and straw.

As a practice we love working with timber and other bio-based materials. They are healthy, renewable and have small embodied energy. They are also easy to reuse or recycle at the end of their life.

He concludes:

As Greta says, Our house is on fire, and we dont have enough time to mess around with reinventing the wheel. The Passivhaus community is one that personifies the opposite of greenwashing, and it works for operational energy, comfort, build quality and closing the performance gap. So lets combine Passivhaus with an intelligent use of low impact materials to make a real difference.

Architype isn't alone in this; many architects and builders are on the embodied carbon case, and plug-ins are being developed for the big PHPP spreadsheet. As I wrote in an article for the Passivehouse Accelerator, you have to start somewhere, and I believe you need Passivhaus first.

Passivhaus First is the best shot we have at decarbonizing in a hurry. Its not perfect (I think it should measure upfront carbon emissions, and measure carbon emissions instead of energy consumption, but this takes time) but its the best weve got.

Passivhaus is not a cult, and it is not ignoring embodied carbon. People get this now.

A British critic calls two green icons, rammed earth and Passivhaus, "architectural trickery at its most cynical."

See more here:
Architects have to deal with the "wicked problem of embodied carbon." - Treehugger

Since Construction Dive began taking the pulse of offsite construction, this column has been inundated with praise for the method from self-identified modular builders.

Modular-focused firms are putting together vertically integrated business models, handing over keys to turnkey buildings and even calling the movement disruptive.

But modular builders likely cant move the needle on their own, so the focus is different for this month's column: modulars other stakeholders.

While there are over 200 modular builders in the U.S., according to the Modular Building Institute, commercial modular building only accounts for about 4% of the market.It would take sweeping buy-in from traditional contractors, designers, owners and all applicable trade professionals for modular to be defined as an industry disruption, or a major disturbance in the way things are done, as Ivan Rupnik, an associate professor at Northeastern University's School of Architecture, puts it.

Ownersmay be the most pivotal, because they conceive and fund projects, and if a build is going to be modular, it has to be modular before shovels hit the dirt, according to Laurie Robert, LEED AP and vice president of modular building specialist NRB Inc.in Canada.

While Robert also expressed the common sentiment that lack of education among owners often inhibits modular's takeoff, it's important to note that there seems to be a certain threshold for a tipping point:Once owners are convinced, they go out and actively championit.

But what about architects, construction managers and subcontractor groups such as erectors and building enclosure trades? What do they seem to agree on, and where do they differ?

To that end, Dodge Data & Analytics recently released a report that culled together thought leadership on modular and prefabrication, such as the observation from Rupnik, and recorded results from a survey on modular construction that elicited responses from more 600 AEC professionals ranging from designers to steel fabricators.

To participate, respondents had to have worked on at least one project that involved prefabrication elements or full modular construction in the last three years. Of that pool, only 15 identified as modular builders or manufacturers, and their answers were recorded separately.

As a publication thats trying to shine light on the industrys more comprehensive and often varied views of modular, it's refreshing for Construction Dive to see a vast array of tangential stakeholders weigh in on the topic.

Answers were broken out by three professions.

Who's chiming in?

Analysis shows how much they dovetail on myriad sentiments and also some of the ways in which they contrast.

General contractors that responded, for example, overwhelmingly showed support for offsite building methods. That may not be a total surprise, considering that last month we heardheavyweights that have made their name in traditional stick building, such as Mortenson and DPR, talk about benefits theyve had with offsite construction.

But its important to consider where GCs stance fits among other stakeholders in the built environment.

For one, this was the group that most forecasted increased use of full-volumetric permanent modular construction.A slight majority predicted only 25% or less of their projects being composed of mostly flat-packed or 3D modules built offsite in the next three years. But more importantly, aquarter of that group said theyll be using the method on more than half of their projects. Only 13% anticipated no involvement at all.

Out of 14 market segments, GCs found medical facilities the most promising for modular construction. Forty-one percent selected healthcare as being in the top 10 most-promising sectors, which represents a higher volume than any other category.Respondents were going out on a limb on their healthcare predictions, because that number is double the percentage of firms that ranked it as one of the top building types theyd done through modular means in the past three years.

Healthcare ranked similarly for the 219 trades representatives that responded. Like the GCs rankings, it also came in as the subs strongest category for modular growth, with 56% crowning it in their top 10 despite only 31% putting it in that class when looking back.

But the consensus of contractors and subs differ from that of designers, who stand behind multifamily as the strongest contender for increasing modular inroads. Half of the more than 200 architects and engineers polled ranked it in one of the top spots, despite only 16% saying its been one of the most prominent categories in recent years.

Multifamily is perhaps the biggest enigma of the report. Design firms, for instance, according to co-authors Stephen Jones and Donna Laquidara-Carr, are extremely positive about the role of modular on multifamily projects going forward, and the numbers back that up.

Trades, on the other hand,more frequently ranked it as being significant in the last three years yet not nearly as likely to hold such importance in the next three. GCs take seems to be that it will taper slightly but remain about the same, with only 33% saying it has been and will continue to be one of the top building types for modular.

GCs and trades are also more optimistic about modular in the hospitality segment, with it coming in second and third in that same index, respectively, for the next three years. Designers, on the contrary,anticipate the sectors use of modular slowing.

For all groups, the desire to increase productivity reigned as the most important factor influencing the move to offsite in the past three years, according to Laquidara-Carr and her teams findings, though builders and subs ranked productivity gains even higher than designers, likely because of how it impacts their workflow.

"Remaining competitive was the second-most influential factor among all three, and even more so for subs.

Interestingly, the report notes, design firms report having been most highly motivated by seeking improved cost performances (58%) out[pacing] both GCs/CMs (49%) and trades (50%).

This, the findings continue, [indicates] that architects and engineers understand both prefabrication and modular construction can have a positive influence on cost control and should lead to more development of design solutions that consciously enable both.

The rub, however, is that designers forecasted the lowest overall percentage of prefabricated assemblies usage in the coming three years. Only 16% anticipated use of prefab components such as behind-the-wall plumbing assemblies for headwalls or multi-trade assemblies such as above-the-ceiling corridor racks in hospitals, as opposed to full-volumetric room modules.

This means, the authors wrote, that designers need "to become more engaged with designing in a way that enables contractors to implement prefabrication."

Getting on the same page in the development of both prefabricated assemblies-based and module designs takes teamwork, and the culture needs to change, NRB's Robert said. "The formation of your team, including the owner, the architect, the general contractor, the modular builder and all other stakeholders," she continued, "is certainly the most important aspect of a modular project's success."

"Design firms and GCs most highly value expertise, but design firms are far more influenced by owners on their modular supplier decisions than GCs."

Donna Laquidara-Carr

Industry Insights research director, Dodge Data & Analytics

Luckily, for the sake of modular's advancement, there are many things to agree on.All three groups leaned into the idea that modular construction improves project schedule performance, with that factor resonating as the biggest driver for growth. Around half of each groups respondents believed modular reduces project costs enough to consider it a highly influential factor in stirring up demand.

But GCs didnt agree with most subs and designers on modulars penchant for improved quality as being a top driver. Only 34% believed it will play an important role, whereas half of the designers and half the subs said itd have an increasingly high level of influence.

Another area in which all groups aligned included their take on whats inhibiting modular growth the most. Owners, as noted, are still one of the biggest influencers on whether industry players toying with offsite tactics actually employ them on projects or not and thats true for all groups, with each ranking lack of owner interest a top obstacle.

KendraHalliwell, associate principal of the women-owned Icon Architecture,also previously expressed the fact that availability of modular factories, or lack thereof, can be a big determinant in whether a modular project gets greenlit. Thats even more evident for designers, according to the report, with half of that group ranking it as a huge setback to growth and GCs trailing slightly in that opinion.

"One thing I want to emphasize is, if you're doing a modular project, to visit the factory at least once a week while it's being constructed," the AIA and LEED AP architect said during a case study presentation of her firm's first modular build, the 171-unit, 129-module The Graphic Lofts, Boston's largest modular multifamily development. "We didn't plan for that, and we ended up having to make up for that. We did, however, meet three times a week sometimes through virtual meetings with the architect, contractor and modular manufacturer." Proximity to the factory is key, she said.

Trade contractors, however, dont see availability in the same light. Only about 23% considered it a problem, but that could be because trades are not as involved in sourcing suppliers, according to the report.

How players select modular construction services is another eye-opener.Design firms and GCs most highly value expertise, the report found, but design firms are far more influenced by owners on their modular supplier decisions than GCs.

Joe Beeton / Construction Dive, data courtesy of Dodge Data & Analytics

Price, however, is not a highly influential factor for selection of a modular construction supplier, for any groups using full-volume modular builds,the authors found, noting that it will likely be more of a factor as more and more suppliers enter the market.

But that's different from what respondents had to say about the supply of prefabricated components and services. "This contrasts with prefabrication, where it ranked second overall on this same list of six factors and was cited as the primary influencer by 20% of GCs/CMs," the report noted. "This may reflect the different maturity levels between these two markets, where because there are more suppliers available for prefabrication, price can be more readily used for competitive evaluation."

Yet a different take is that some builds involve a combination of both full-module rooms and single- or multi-trade prefabricated assemblies, or combine those offsite elements with traditional methods, otherwise known as hybrid builds. Robert, concurring with another common perception, espoused the value of hybrid models.

And its in hybrid or prefab work where many subs shine. While they are involved in full-volume modularization jobs as well, they often are the most heavily invested when it comes to any other jobs that require at least partial panelization or prefab components.

The study notes that trades can often make the decision to prefabricate their part of the work without significantly impacting or involving other trades." Subs seemed both the most well-versed in prefabrication when looking back at the past three years and also the most enthusiastic about the next three.

Subcontractors often have to put their workers necks on the line, so modulars purported safety benefits hold a lot of water for subs. Safety scores far higher with trade contractors because of its direct impact on their workforce, the report said.

Stay tuned to this monthly column as it takes a deeper, nuanced and sometimes more critical look at the modular movement, and feel free to email meyour thoughts, concerns and ideas on topics to cover in this series.

The Modular Monitor series is brought to you by The Modular Building Institute (MBI), the voice of commercial modular construction.

MBI presents World of Modular, modular constructions premier international event, in Orlando, March 9-12.Register today.

MBI has no influence over Construction Dive's coverage within this column or other articles, and its content does not reflect the views or opinions of MBI or its employees.

Read the original here:
Modular Monitor: How GCs, trades and architects view offsite construction, by the numbers - Construction Dive

To Be a Good Architect You Have to Be Fearless: In Conversation with John Ronan

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John Ronan (b. 1963, Grand Rapids, Michigan) is known for his sensual atmospheric buildings that tend to unfold layer by layer their spatial complexity, as one moves through them. His focus is on the use of materiality in ways that reinvent architecture. Ronan holds a Master of Architecture degree with distinction from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (1991) and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan (1985). He has been teaching architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology since 1992. John Ronan Architects was established in Chicago in 1999, the year Ronan won the Townhouse Revisited Competition sponsored by the Graham Foundation. In 2006, the firm was featured in the Architectural League of New Yorks Emerging Voices and the Young Chicago exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2007, the architect was selected to build the prestigious Poetry Foundation in Chicago, out of a pool of 50 international contenders. His monograph Explorations: The Architecture of John Ronan was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2010. In 2016, the firm was named one of seven international finalists for the Obama Presidential Library. The following interview is a condensed version of our conversation at the architects studio in Chicago.

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Vladimir Belogolovsky: Your architecture seems to be quite reserved. Would you agree and would you say this reflects who you are as a person?

John Ronan: Yes. I would agree with that, to some degree. It comes from inside, but it is also imposed from the outside. Yes, I am more introspective, contemplative type, and personally, I am shy and that is reflected in my architecture. The imposed outside part is the influence of the place where I practice in Chicago. Every place has its own DNA. At the root of Chicago genetic code is a kind of hardcore brutal pragmatism. There is no accident that, for example, Mies van der Rohe succeeded in establishing his career here. There was a perfect match in the DNA of the person and that of the place. And if you look at the list of people who succeeded here, they were those who understood this genetic code well, the severity of Chicagos pragmatism, but also, those who could transcend it at the same time and turn it into poetry. Again, Mies would be a perfect example of that. His work here seems almost straight forward, yet very essential and very poetic. Back in my school years, my work was more exuberant and form-driven. I sometimes wonder why? That is because I am influenced by place but also by time. The clients here are very different from, lets say, New York or Los Angeles. Look at the industries based here insurance, financial services, which are very low risk, very conservative. Design, fashion, and media companies are not based here. This attitude is reflected in our skyline. This place is very pragmatic at its core, and my work is informed by that.

VB: Yet, this is not your hometown. You came here by choice, right?

JR: I came here because I felt a connection with Chicago that I did not feel with either Los Angeles or New York. I came here because I like Chicagos culture and I felt that I would fit in here. I sensed that this is the place where I could succeed.

VB: After earning your bachelors degree at the University of Michigan and before going to Harvard for your masters you worked for Stanley Tigerman for a couple of years. Did he represent this Chicago DNA or its character?

JR: First, he did not represent anything. There was nothing typical about Stanley. He became known for protesting against Miesian orthodoxy that was dominating the architectural discourse at that time by forming so-called Chicago Seven, a group of first-generation Post-Modern architects here. They offered a critique of what by then has become an unquestioned mode of practicing architecture. I decided to work for him because he was the most well-known architect in Chicago. I applied to a number of architects and he was the first to respond and hired me on the spot. I was just 21. But after two years of working for Stanley, I knew I didnt want to do Post-Modernism, which was quite prevalent at the time almost everybody in Chicago was doing Post-Modernism, one way or another. There was not really much of a choice then; if you came to Chicago at that point you would be some strain of Post-Modernism, basically. That was the time when Chicago Public Library designed by Tom Beeby was being built. I did not like nostalgia and was drawn to the rational. At the time, Harvard was one of the few schools that was still focused on Modernism, so thats where I went.

VB: What did you learn from Tigerman?

JR: I learned how to be an architect from Stanley because that was my first job. What I learned most from him was that it is the architects job to make a project. What I mean by that is that is part of your job as an architect to see the possibilities which reside in the brief, even if your client initially doesnt. For example, the brief for the Gary Comer Youth Center in Chicagos South Side, a rough neighborhood, was about the most pragmatic training facility; the Owner wanted brick and the building users asked for no windows, because there were too many drive-by shootings in the neighborhood. If I merely listened to my client, it would be just another mediocre building. But I proposed one idea, then another idea. I said, What if we did this or that? And Gary is a kind of person who would listen to you and then say, Thats great, but what if we do this? and he would challenge me to do something even more inventive than what I initially proposed. Thats the story of that building; it became something that went completely beyond the initial brief.

I also learned from Stanley how to thrive on conflict. What I mean is that he was fearless. He didnt back down. Perhaps thats the main thing I learned from him to be a good architect you have to be fearless. You have to be tough and persevere, because there are so many things working against you. To achieve a good building, you have to push people to do things that they may not want to do or are not accustomed to doing at the level you demand. To get a good result you have to be tough. It is about forming an argument and standing by your principles. Thats a problem with architecture today there is often no argument and the result is arbitrary, and mostly about willful form making. There are so many stakeholders in even a small building, and the role of the architect is not simply to say yes to everybody. Architecture is about persuasion; as an architect, you have to persuade people and bring them along with you, so they feel invested in the project ideas and feel a sense of ownership.

VB: How would you describe what you do as an architect to a lay person? What are the main intentions of your architecture?

JR: My architecture is primarily about space and materiality, and less about form; I try to create buildings which are formally simple but spatially complex. I am interested in the experience of a building rather than the image of a building. I feel there is too much of architecture now about one heroic image and how it can be propagated in the media to sell something; its transactional. I see my work as more of a spatial narrative; I like to explore how buildings unfold and how one moves through them. Thats what architecture is all about, for me. Im not denying that there is a formal red line which runs through my work, but I dont have an a priori formal agenda Im trying to fill. I want my buildings to look different, one from the next, rather than developing a signature style.

I also search for authenticity and attempt to make every project site-specific and culture-specific. I feel that so much of contemporary architecture could be picked up and plopped down somewhere else and you would never know the difference. There is too much contemporary architecture thats placeless or arbitrary. I abhor arbitrariness. Im rational and have to have a reason why I do things.

VB: You designed your Poetry Foundation as a building that you said, unfolds like a poem line by line. Could you talk about this idea of spatial unfolding?

JR: That building is composed of layers of different materials a layer of birch wood wraps the interior and extends from the library on end to the performance space on the other. Outboard of that, there is a layer of glass that shifts in and out to compress and expand the exterior and interior spaces. The outermost layer of zinc wraps the whole thing and becomes perforated to reveal the garden which mediates between the street and building interior. The different layers which comprise the building compress and expand, which you feel as you move through the building. It is a manipulation of these layers that creates spatial sequences. Thats what I mean by spatial narrative. The idea is that you, as a visitor, cant consume the building in a single glance, you dont comprehend it immediately, you have to experience it to understand it. The second objective is that every time you come back you see something else, something new, like a good book you go back to, over and over again. The kind of architecture I like is one of formal simplicity but spatial complexity, which I think the Poetry Foundation achieves, or, as a cab driver once explained to me, its simple, but its complex. The buildings I like are ones where I dont know whats around the corner, where the story is not given away all at once. I tell my clients, I aim to design a building not to be noticed, but to be remembered.

VB: Who or what would you credit as far as making an influence on your thinking?

JR: Im inspired by literature. I think of every building as a book. I studied English literature in college. Thats why every time I start a new building, I think about it as if I were writing a book. Some of the characters might carry over, but the plot is never the same. As far as influential buildings that made an impression on me, I would name the Alhambra in Granada, John Soanes house [now museum] in London, Louis Kahns Salk Institute in La Jolla, Sigurd Lewerentzs churches in Sweden, and Gunnar Asplund & Lewerentzs Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm. All of these are spatial narratives.

VB: You often work with humble materials to achieve very special quality. Could you talk about that? For example, you said that the way you use concrete you aim at achieving the kind of concrete that no one has ever seen before.

JR: What I attempt to do is to make the ordinary special. We carefully choose the ingredients. We experiment with the way the materials are produced and finished. I would compare what I do to the job of a chef; chefs all use the same ingredients but the way they are combined and transformed makes all the difference. So, it is about starting with something ordinary to achieve something thats very special. It is about transformation, not about picking expensive ready-mades, as if design is nothing more than a process of selection. I would further compare the process of architectural design to how poets use ordinary words to produce poetry. It is how ordinary words are selected and sequenced that makes it memorable, makes it poetry. Likewise, there is no poetry in an architect merely selecting expensive materials; anyone can do it. There is no transformation there. What Herzog de Meuron did, in their early work, was take ordinary materials such as asphalt shingles, cement board, and plywood, and assemble it in the most novel ways to make something new.

VB: Could you talk more about materiality in your architecture? Is it materiality that gives you the notion of subjectivity? Thats your contribution, right?

JR: Yes, thats the consistent and recurring theme in my workto find inventive ways in how materials can be used to engender space. I dont believe architects invent new materialsand I would be suspicious of any architect making this claimbut architects can invent new spatial relationships using materials. Ultimately, its about space, rather than materiality for its own sake. My objective is to build a kind of space that makes people say, My God, I have never been in a space like this before, so I would say it is a spatial invention that Im after, rather than material invention. I feel quite confident in my ability to use materials, but still have some work to do on the spatial aspects. If I can achieve that, then I will feel like I have done something.

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To Be a Good Architect You Have to Be Fearless: In Conversation with John Ronan - ArchDaily

Spread over two floors at the Allia Future Business Centre, a previous Saunders Boston Architects project, more than 130 leaders in sustainable innovation attended Saunders Boston Architects event, SBA100: Looking Forward, to gain insights into how innovations in technology may shape the architecture industry and support sustainable living in the future. The evening consisted of a range of thought-provoking presentations and an interactive workshop, which was conducted by the Saunders Boston Architects team and guest speakers from the University of Cambridge, Allia Ltd, Polysolar Limited and Sika AG.

Led by Margherita Cesca, Senior Architect at Saunders Boston Architects, one of the first presentations focused on education, schools of the future and green technology. Representatives from the University of Cambridge presented research on plant generated electricity and autonomous vehicles, discussing the roles they could play in future education building design. Hamish Watson, CEO of Polysolar Limited, a leader in solar innovation, also joined the presentation; exploring how buildings can become sources of power when architects collaborate with solar energy specialists.

Saunders Boston Architects Director, Darren Heffer, and Allia Future Business Centre CEO, Martin Clark, joined forces to present innovative ideas on adaptable living and care housing; specifically discussing the role that technology will play in shaping human habitats in the future, and how architects can innovate to design smart buildings that better serve the needs of residents.

Focusing specifically on sustainability and self-sufficiency in the future, Saunders Boston Architects Director, Nick Green, presented on the future of the Fen, a vision for self-sustaining settlements in unique environmental contexts. Under the same theme, Nick Jackson, Architectural Assistant at Saunders Boston Architects, led a presentation on material and energy flow in the 21st century, which explored the growing need for a circular economy for sustainable development.

The final presentation at the event was conducted by Henri Villanueva, Project Architect at Saunders Boston Architects, and Maxime Liard, of Sika AG, who discussed additive manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing, and the role that they will play in the future of construction. Running in parallel with all of the presentations was a futuristic and interactive workshop that utilised VR technology to envision living underground as a possible solution to climate change and overpopulation.

The SBA100: Looking Forward event marked the end of a series of fantastic celebrations for the company. We have enjoyed looking back at our history and legacy both in Cambridge and further afield, and future gazing to how we will innovate as a practice over the next 100 years; using architecture and design to lead innovation in sustainable solutions.

The event was a culmination of centenary celebrations for the practice, which has marked 100 years since inception and 50 years in Cambridge. The festivities included a series of architectural walks through its past projects, a 110km bike ride from its original office in London to its current headquarters in Cambridge, and a centenary event that launched the practices new branding at the Fisher Building in St Johns College, Cambridge - a project delivered by Saunders Boston Architects in 1989.

Link:
Saunders Boston Architects shape the future of architecture with sustainable innovation - World Architecture News

Henry N. Cobb, the bold Modernist architect responsible for the designs of a wide range of iconic buildings through his work with Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners, has passed away at age 93.

Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic forThe New York Times, broke the news Tuesday evening via Twitter. Word of Cobbs passing was confirmed to Archinect by members of Pei, Cobb Freed & Partners.

In 1955, Cobb was one of three co-founders, along with I.M. Pei and Eason H. Leonard, of the now-storied Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners architecture practice, based in New York City. Originally, the firm was named solely after Pei (I.M. Pei & Associates), but was renamed in 1989 to include Cobb's name. Cobb was educated at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he served as Department of Architecture chair between 1980 and 1985. In 1992, Cobb was the Architect in Residence at the American Academy in Rome.

Over a long and illustrious career, Cobb, alongside Pei and an ever-growing roster of designers, helped give life to the skylines of several American (and international) cities during the latter half of the 20th century through his work as a lead designer for a range of projects that include the Place Ville Marie towers in Montreal (1962), the John Hancock Tower in Boston (1971), ARCO Tower in Dallas (1983), The Library Tower in Los Angeles (1989), Torre Espacio in Spain (2008), and most recently, 7 Bryant Park (2019).

The projects, bold experiments that fused platonic shapes at a super-sized scale, earned the firm a special place in architectural history as purveyors of some of the most iconic (and tallest) towers of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Henry N. Cobb, Res Publica from Princeton School of Architecture on Vimeo.

Cobb's work extended beyond high-rises, however, as he was also one of the lead designers behind the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston, the Anderson School of Management complex at the University of California, Los Angeles, the United States Courthouse in Hammond, Indiana, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City complex, and the International African American Museum on Charleston,South Carolina, among several other notable cultural and civic commissions.

Over the decades, Cobb won a slew of awards, including five American Institute of Architects National Honor Awards and an AIA Twenty-five Year Award for the design of the John HancockTower. Just last year, two Pei, Cobb, Freed &Partners-designed towersthe Library (Now US Bank) Tower in Los Angeles and Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong) were listed among the 50 Most Influential Tall Buildings of the Last 50 Years by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Cobb was the last surviving namesake partner at Pei, Cobb, Freed &Partners; I.M. Pei passed away in 2019 at age 102, while James Ingo Freed passed away at age 75 in 2005.

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Henry Cobb, the architect behind some of America's most iconic skyscrapers, has passed away - Archinect

Updated at 6:45 p.m.: Revised to include information about the tower collapsing.

Ann Spillman and her sister Jane Spillman Wansley walked out into the field by the Leaning Tower of Dallas and marveled at what they saw.

The dusty, gray remains of the building stood tilted against the skyline with its crumbled exterior after it was partially imploded Feb. 16. In the days since the failed implosion, the towers slow demolition has become the subject of memes and cheeky marketing strategies, solidifying its status as an accidental Dallas icon.

But the former Affiliated Computer Services building isnt just a meme or a questionable landmark to Spillman and Wansley. The concrete core they watched being slowly torn apart in front of them was partially designed by their father, Pat Y. Spillman of Fisher and Spillman Architects.

He was a very determined person, Wansley said. In his office, he had a quote that said: Fall down seven times, get up eight ... I always liked that one.

Pat Y. Spillman died in 2016. The celebrated architects firm designed the Dallas Central Library and several buildings on the UT Southwestern Medical School campus.

The Leaning Tower, which was first owned by the Southland Corporation, was built in 1972. According to Dallas Morning News archives, the structure was built from the inside-out. The core was put together using a slip method, in which concrete was poured floor by floor until the structure stood 11 stories tall. The tower rose 6 inches an hour as builders worked around the clock, The News reported.

Once the buildings interior was at its full height, workers installed steel bars and the exterior was built around it. The Feb. 16 implosion demolished those steel bars, leaving just the concrete core. A wrecking ball had to be brought in to whack away at the concrete.

In the video you see online, its a little bitty wrecking ball and a great big building, Spillman said. The wrecking ball looked like a little pearl necklace.

On Monday afternoon, that pearl-like wrecking ball hit the tower for the last time, causing it to finally fall to the ground.

Its 15 minutes (or days) of fame are over, Spillman said via text message.

Their brother, Pat Spillman Jr. of Washington, D.C., learned about the Leaning Tower as most people did: through the internet. But he didnt know that his father had designed the building until he was contacted by The News.

I didn't focus on it and see that not only was this my dad's design, but I actually worked there, he said. And I immediately called my sister.

Pat Spillman made $5 an hour working on a landscaping project during the summer of 1978, years after the building was fully constructed. He said his father helped him apply for the construction job to build character, perhaps to eventually be tough, like the part of the building that stood until Monday.

They designed buildings to last, Pat Spillman Jr. said. The fact that this building refuses to go down without a fight kind of shows that.

Dallas resident George Gimarc shared in a Facebook post that his father and three brothers worked on the site from 1972 to 1973. One picture he shared shows workers hoisting large slabs of concrete onto the building. Another image shows what the building looked like when it was finished.

Yeah, we build things tough, he said in the post of his familys handiwork.

His father, Johnny Gimarc, who died in 2007, worked for Robert E. McKee General Contractors and was the construction superintendent on the project. He also helped build Dallas City Hall and the Statler Hotel.

My dad would think this was hilarious, George Gimarc said. He would find enormous amusement in this.

His brother, Alex Gimarc, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, said he couldnt recall much of the sweltering summer he spent on the site between his junior and senior years at Texas A&M University, but there was one detail he was certain of.

There was a lot of concrete used on the building, he said. ... just a whole bunch of concrete on the darn thing.

Continue reading here:
'Yeah, we build things tough': Children of Leaning Tower of Dallas architect, contractor say of dads' work - The Dallas Morning News

By: Sebastian Morris 7:30 am on March 6, 2020

Construction is nearing completion at 730 Hicks Street, a three-story condominium development in Red Hook, Brooklyn. From developer Shiraz Sanjana, the building comprises 16,000 square feet and will contain 15 residences.

Designed by Marin Architects, the condominiums will average approximately 1,600 square feet apiece and are expected to debut before the close of 2020. When complete, the development will also include ten parking spaces, cellar-level storage, and gardens surrounding the property. The exterior is meant to evoke the industrial history of the Red Hook neighborhood and is comprised of dark brick and large windows similar to those installed at warehouse buildings.

Current view of 730 Hicks Street Marin Architects

Current view of faade at 730 Hicks Street Marin Architects

Rendering of 730 Hicks Street Marin Architects

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Condominium Building Nears Completion At 730 Hicks Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn - New York YIMBY

Architecture has lost a great visionary. Budapest-born French architect Yona Friedman died at age 96 on Feb. 20.

Friedman left us with a lot to remember. Some obituaries commemorated his pioneering work some of it with UNESCO on self-sufficiency, empowerment and do-it-yourself architecture. Others have restated the influence his emblematic Spatial City (Ville Spatiale) a three-dimensional grid floating above urban and natural territories and populated by mobile dwellings had on an entire generation of architectural experimentation.

Others yet have recognized his bold theories about social transformation and the necessity of fluid mobility in buildings and cities or recalled his experiments using computers to help inhabitants plan the Spatial City when architects were only just beginning to explore using computers.

Perhaps Friedmans most remarkable feat was the presentation of bold visions about the future of cities, human societies and how to allocate environmental resources, with a level of detail that made them appear like imminently realizable scenarios. His realizable utopias as he called them moved between a sober plan and a daring dream.

As a scholar of architectural computing, I have been studying Friedmans work for several years with interest and intrigue. My aim has been to uncover historical and critical insights that his work can offer to contemporary visions of digital architecture and computational design.

Friedmans ideas about ethical interventions of technology on peoples design choices can enrich contemporary discussions about open source architecture and how non-architects can be empowered to design.

At the same time, Friedmans discussion of technology as an infrastructure that sets limits on permissible choices was a prophetic metaphor for design processes that are now tied with computers and computational methods.

For example, Friedman imagined the Spatial City as a three-dimensional grid where each cell was a building block and inhabitants could recombine these building blocks to produce different spatial configurations.

Defining design as a process of combining and configuring discrete entities is common in contemporary discussions of digital architecture. However, there is also growing critique to this Lego-like approach to design, which may clash with both practical realities of building and limit how we understand creativity.

In my research, I have also examined how Friedman used visual representation as a way to move between mathematical and architectural ideas.

Around 1964, at the peak of his fame with the Spatial City, Friedman decided he would not draw another line. Instead, he would try to justify that his architectural ideas were a product of careful reasoning.

He pursued visiting scholar appointments in North American universities. There, he came in contact with an emerging genre of research that positioned mathematics and logic as the foundation of architecture and planning. Friedman published several articles that mathematically described the mechanisms by which the Spatial City would function.

Friedman began to represent architecture through mathematical diagrams of discrete elements, such as rooms, and their relationships. These graphs, as the diagrams were called, also showed how people moved through a space for example, as seen in Friedmans 1978 plans for designing David dAngers Lyce in Angers, France.

Graph representations of floor plans and of human activities were not new. They had appeared in building science in the early 1960s. But Friedman was key in expanding their uses beyond the practical problem of designing efficient buildings. Instead, he used them as the basis of a new theory of scientific architecture.

Among other things, the book proposed a speculative computer system, the FLATWRITER, that would automate the production of floor plans based on a future users habitual activities. Journalist and critic Michel Ragon, co-founder with Friedman of an influential art and architecture group, urged French planners to take Friedmans ideas seriously.

Friedmans mathematical theories, he argued, would inform work on the so-called evolutionary dwelling (habitat evolutif). This was a form of flexible social housing that architects and planners were experimenting with for the design of new towns in the late 1960s.

In the United States, Friedmans work aligned with emerging developments in computer-aided design. Around 1973, MITs Architecture Machine Group invited Friedman as a visiting researcher in a project called Architecture By Yourself. The project included the development of a computer system called YONA (Your Own Native Architect) that would enable non-architects to design their own houses.

In 2012, I interviewed Friedman in his Paris apartment and asked him why he had adopted graphs. He recalled that he first encountered graphs through the eminent mathematician Frank Harary, who was also known as Mr. Graph Theory.

Harary promoted the visual and esthetic aspects of graph representations. Graphs could be drawn with pencil and paper and were intuitive to interpret. Friedman reported being attracted by that quality.

What Friedman did not talk about, however, was that the drawings of graphs points and lines spoke the same skeletal language as drawings of the spatial citys nodes and rods. Friedmans mathematical explorations then, show a unique capacity to use visual similarity and a consistent language of representation as a way to build bridges between concrete architectures and their mathematical abstractions.

As architects continue to grapple with such abstractions in the context of computational design, Friedmans work has a staying power. Friedman moved between mathematical abstractions, algorithmic ideas and architectural proposals poetically and evocatively. The outcome was one of perhaps the most prescient cultural commentaries on what skeletal structures real and conceptual, physical and mathematical could mean for architecture.

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How architect Yona Friedman used math to design utopian cities of the future - The Conversation CA

If you're curious to learn how an unfinished basement could become a rentable self-contained in-law suite or if you're throwing in the towel after years of fighting your dysfunctional kitchen, here's a suggestion: Check out the 13 just-improved dwellings in the Portland area's Tour of Remodeled Homes on Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15.

The top PRO remodelers with the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland will be on hand to answer questions, from taking down a wall to open up a room to making the best of underused space. In a condo on the tour, a bedroom closet became a storage-centric butler's pantry off the kitchen.

AFTER Oregon Homeworks

Tickets ($30, remodeltourportland.com) allow you to see the homes at your own pace from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

All styles, from classic to contemporary, and budgets are on view.

After seeing the latest trends and color palette to clever design techniques to make a home more livable, tour goers may be inspired to launch a big or small home improvement project.

AFTER Oregon Homeworks

This year, theres another reason to check out the Tour of Remodeled Homes: One of the stops is a glass-walled midcentury modern homes built by Robert Rummer.

Eric Thompson of Oregon Homeworkshas completed a remodel, from the slab-on-grade concrete floor to the steeply pitched roof, in Beaverton's Oak Hills Historic District.

The 1967 dwelling, with a see-through interior atrium that leads to a living room with a vaulted, wood-planked ceiling, has all the swank of the Mad Men era as well as modern upgrades.

AFTER Oregon Homeworks

Who would appreciate seeing this home on the tour? Anyone who loves modern and midcentury architecture, says Thompson, who has restored four Rummers, as the homes are called, including his own residence."And anyone contemplating a remodel of their own home."

Thompson says the dwelling's inventive design endures after half a century because single-level living, open floor plans and simple cabinetry and fixtures continue to be duplicated in new homes.

AFTER Oregon Homeworks

The house is based on architect A. Quincy Jones' iconic Double Gable roof design built by prolific California tract developer Joseph Eichler.

Floor-to-ceiling windows rising to soaring ceilings and sliding glass doors draw in natural light and ease the boundaries between inside and out.

Two rear-facing windows were added in the dining room to frame the views of the backyard and beyond.

Thompson said the original floor plan was kept mostly intact, but he did remove a wall that divided the kitchen and family room from the dining room to improve the flow of the house.

AFTER Oregon Homeworks

The hobby room off the garage was converted into a mudroom, second master closet and home office. The original layout of the hall bath and laundry closet was also altered to maximize functionality, he says.

AFTER Oregon Homeworks

To improve energy efficiency, Thompson installed new windows, insulation, heating and air conditioning systems and drywall as well as plumbing and wiring.

Read more: Oregon's coolest midcentury modern houses: Builder Bob Rummer's enduring legacy (photos)

BEFORE Oregon Homeworks

BEFORE

Tour of Remodeled Homes map

Choose your own route: Here are the stops on the Tour of Remodeled Homesfrom 10 a.m to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15.

AFTER C&K Custom Remodeling

Whole house remodel: A couple bought a house in Beaverton's Bronson Creek Estates knowing they would need to remodel it completely for their growing family.

The renovations by C&K Custom Remodeling Inc. spanned the entire house, from the new, welcoming entry to an office and five bathrooms.

The two redesigned living rooms have natural stone and new gas fireplaces.

Without altering the square footage, the kitchen is more efficient and feels more spacious with an improved layout.

A self-contain apartment with a living area, bedroom suite and laundry was created out of underused existing space.

The dated heavy texturing and millwork throughout the house has been replaced with a more modern aesthetics and smooth wall finishes. There is new lighting, paint and a water filtration system.

The garage is now set up to be a pottery studio with custom cabinetry, upgraded electrical and epoxy floor.

C&K Custom Remodeling

[BEFOREThe kitchen was dated with gingerbread styling and out-of-date finishes. The layout did not flow well. Improvements were made within the existing square footage.]

AFTER Cooper Design Build

Whole house remodel: The once claustrophobic kitchen in the single-level Portland home now expands into the dining room. Cooper Design Build also installed a large skylight and picture window to draw in natural light.

Cooper Design Build

BEFORE

AFTER Photo by Brian Pierce/Pierce Pixels

First floor and basement remodel: A wall was removed between the dining room and kitchen. Creekstone Design + Remodel found a way to accommodate a built-in deep refrigerator and the fronts of new pantry cabinets have practical magnetic chalkboards.

The basement is now a self-contained in-law unit with a kitchenette, master suite, closet, laundry, walk-in tile shower and heated bath floors.

Creekstone Design + Remodel

BEFORE

AFTER Kraft Custom Construction

Condo remodel: A dark condo is now a more open space that showcases the owner's original artwork.

Kraft Custom Construction removed walls to open up the kitchen and installed cabinets that are white gloss and matte bright blue. An underused bedroom closet is now a butler's pantry.

The new master bathroom was designed to accommodate aging in place with a curb-less shower, removable shower seat, grab bars and ample lighting.

There is also a wall-mounted Washlet toilet and sink faucet, floating vanity with strip lighting underneath, quartz counters and large-format porcelain tile.

A pink sink faucet is near an art niche.

Kraft Custom Construction

BEFORE

AFTER Petrina Construction

Master bedroom remodel: Petrina Construction added space to the second floor of a house in Portland's Laurelhurst neighborhood to upgrade the master bedroom and incorporate a bathroom without having to go into the hall.

AFTER Photo by Brian Pierce/Pierce Pixels

Kitchen remodel: Creekstone Design + Remodel removed a 16-foot-long fireplace wall to open the kitchen to adjoining rooms. The new kitchen has navy cabinets and mosaic backsplashes as well as a wine fridge and microwave concealed in the island.

Creekstone Design + Remodel

BEFORE

AFTER Brian Pierce/Pierce Pixels

Kitchen remodel: To open up the confined kitchen, Creekstone Design + Remodel exposed the existing coffered ceiling and added windows as was as LED wafer lighting to the vaulted ceiling.

Creekstone Design + Remodel

BEFORE

AFTER Wiedly Construction

Whole house remodel: A 1970s Mediterranean-style house in Lake Oswego needed to be upgraded and updated from its Old World style to a contemporary one with new cabinets, countertops, staircases and light fixtures.

Wieldy Construction created a new ceiling structure supported by two large beams. Interior arches mirror outside colonnade arches.

A covered porch and two large windows face a forest area. Inside, seven skylights and four large windows maximize natural lighting. The lower floor now has an entertainment area and sunroom.

Wiedly Construction

BEFORE

AFTER Cooper Design Build

Whole house remodel: Cooper Design Build restored the natural character of a Craftsman-style house in Lake Oswego while modernizing its systems and layout, including creating an expanded master bathroom with a soaking tub, shower and double vanity.

The unfinished basement is now a suite of separate, flexible spaces and off of the kitchen is a large deck that connects to a new two-car garage.

Cooper Design Build

BEFORE

AFTER Brian Schmidt Builder

Whole house remodel: A 1915 bungalow walking distance to Oswego Lake received foundation work, a reconfigured, open floor plan and second floor addition by Brian Schmidt Builder.

Brian Schmidt Builder

BEFORE

AFTER Metke Remodeling & Luxury Homes

Main floor remodel: Metke Remodeling & Luxury Homes opened the kitchen-living-dining space to enhance the home's view of Lake Oswego. The kitchen was also made more functional for entertaining.

A large masonry fireplace and chimney were removed to draw in more light and expand the kitchen and add a bar. The master bathroom now has a steam shower, double vanity and soaking tub.

Metke Remodeling & Luxury Homes

BEFORE

AFTER NVHolden Photography

Whole house remodel: Mountainwood Homes renovated a house in West Linn's Ashdown Woods neighborhood to function better and enhance its style.

The sunken living room was raised to eliminate steps and stained hardwood floors were installed throughout the main level.

The kitchen was reconfigured and the cooktop was relocated to make the hood the focal point of the back wall.

The master bathroom was enlarged and a jetted tub was replaced with a sculptural, freestanding tub that has a view of the courtyard.

Mountainwood Homes

BEFORE

--Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

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Tour a restored Robert Rummer-built midcentury modern and 12 other remodeled homes (before, after photos) - OregonLive