Project Portfolio

Size matters. But small can be as challenging for an architect as big, presenting its own set of design problems in terms of context, materials, structure, and budget. The projects featured in this issue range in size from a 70-square-foot water-research station hovering above a river in Nebraska to supertall towers rising more than 1,300 feet and containing millions of square feet of space. What links them all is American ingenuity, a can-do attitude that practitioners are applying to all scales of building. Whether the job is to convert a trio of rooftop sheds into a light-filled “project space” for an art foundation or to create the world's tallest building, American architects continue to push the boundaries of design. Sometimes they do that in places like Hennessey, Oklahoma, and other times they export their skills to Asia and the Middle East. Looking at extremes in size offers us the chance to examine how architects use similar sets of skills to solve problems of vastly different dimensions. Fasten your seat belts as we take you on a ride from tiny to towering. — Clifford A. Pearson