In today’s brutal business climate for architects, even a small edge that can help a firm stand out and secure new business becomes extremely valuable. With a prescient purchase 16 years ago, architect Thomas Bollay, AIA acquired for a few dollars a big marketing advantage that could be worth tens—or, in his view, even hundreds of thousands of dollars: the architect.com domain name. 

Photo courtesy Thomas Bollay

Design consultants for the controversial Park51 Muslim community center and worship space in Lower Manhattan, Michel Abboud’s firm SOMA Architects recently unveiled designs for the new 15-story building. Abboud sat down in the firm's new Midtown office to answer questions about Park51, its design, SOMA's history, and the controversy that has been swirling almost since plans for the project were announced.

Image courtesy SOMA Architects

Some years back the Chicago-based playwright and filmmaker June Finfer discovered stories about architecture to be packed with drama, and increasingly focused on this topic in her work. Her play, The Glass House, a quasi-fictional account of the story behind Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, had a sold-out run in New York City this summer. We recently spoke to Finfer about her research process, her current projects, and her fascination with Mies.

Photo © Patrick McMullan Co.

Swiss-born, London-based pop philosopher Alain de Botton discusses the Living Architecture project. The British nonprofit aims to bring high design to the masses by constructing affordable vacation rentals by noted architects.

Photo © Vincent Starr

Following a four-month international search, the Storefront for Art and Architecture has named Eva Franch i Gilabert its new director. A Catalan architect, researcher, and teacher, Franch i Gilabert, 31, is founder of the solo practice OOAA (office of architectural affairs).

Photo courtesy Eva Franch i Gilabert

Bill Moggridge -- the designer, thinker, and IDEO founder -- takes on an entirely new role as director of the Cooper-Hewitt.

Photo courtesy of IDEO / Nicolas Zurcher