Architectural Record | Technology

Tech Book Review
Three new books offer inspiration and practical advice for integrated, high-performance design.

Acoustics in school building moves toward the head of the class
From cacophony in the schoolyard and tense quiet during finals to the social jungle of the cafeteria and the read-out-loud of Roald Dahl: Maybe no acoustic environment is expected to perform in such a variety of ways as the contemporary school.

Photo ©Jon Linkins

Guggenheim face-lift retains original wrinkles
Architects, engineers, and consultants restoring Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim grapple with the meaning of "authenticity.”

Photo © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation/David Heald

BAM’s Next Wave: A Forward-Looking Institution Updates Its Own Look with a Nod to the Past
Since the 1970s, Hugh Hardy’s work for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) has run the gamut, spanning new cinemas and a café for the experimental film and performing arts venue to, most recently, a faithful restoration of the 1908 facade of its historic Peter Jay Sharp Building.

Pictured: Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); Photo © Peter Mauss/Esto

Crimps, Facets, and Folds
An ingenious Y-shaped mullion supports a quartz-like facade on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.

Pictured: Spertus Insitute of Jewish Studies in Chicago, Illinois; Photo © William Zbaren

Groups advance two sets of high-performance building standards
In the not-too-distant future, there could be two U.S. standards for green buildings.

Pictured: Chandler Airport Commerce Center in Chandler, Arizona; Photo courtesy Green Building Initiative

Aiming at super-tall market, Mitsubishi opens record-breaking elevator testing tower
Inazawa City, Japan, is the home of Mitsubishi Electric’s elevator division, and accordingly, the city skyline includes six small peaks—all towers that the company uses to test its product.

Photo courtesy Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Microalloy promises better steel structures
The U.S. Army, in conjunction with private industry, is involved in a multiyear research project that could yield stronger, lighter, and longer-span structures, for both civil and military applications. The research is examining the benefits of adding vanadium to steel.

Photo courtesy Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Book Reviews
We review two recently published books: One tracks the relationship between the practice of medicine and architecture from ancient times to the present, while the other discusses the urgent need to reinvent medical facilities so they are better for patients and the environment.

Behind SANAA’s illusion of weightlessness
Now that the New Museum on Manhattan’s Lower East Side is complete, and its structure enclosed, there is little evidence of the system that supports the seven-story building that seems to be made up of nothing heavier than precariously stacked cardboard boxes.

Diagrams courtesy Guy Nordenson and Associates

Multifaceted structure supports audaciously sculptural BMW Welt
The 172,000-square-foot roof that seems to hover over Coop Himmelb(l)au’s BMW Welt in Munich does more than keep out the elements.

Photo © Duccio Malagamba

A base-isolated makeover for Pasadena's historic City Hall
Structural base isolation—effectively "floating" a building on rubber pads to safely ride out an earthquake—is nothing new in California.

Photo © Victor Muschetto

California hospitals get a seismic reprieve
The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) moved in December 2007 to allow the reclassification of potentially hundreds of seismically questionable hospitals in the state to avoid possible closure due to code noncompliance.

Fashioning an aural architecture
How do you protect a concert hall from extreme desert heat and noise generated by planes flying overhead? We examine how Barton Myers Associates and Architekton solved this problem in their roof design for the Tempe Center for the Arts.

Photo © John Edward Linden

Hanging Loose
Perhaps the most famous cantilever in America is one of the shortest: Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1935 design for the exterior concrete terraces at Fallingwater, the longest of which extends a mere 15 feet to hover over the rush of Pennsylvania’s Bear Run stream.

Owners tout operational advantages, but dual LEED certification is slow to catch on
Since the launch of LEED for Existing Buildings (EB) three years ago, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has seen modest participation in its program focused on encouraging best practices in the ongoing operations and maintenance of already constructed buildings.

ASLA green roof yields impressive benefits
Earlier this fall, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) released performance data for the green roof planted on its Washington, D.C., headquarters.

Photo: Courtesy ASLA

Conference examines a single material’s properties and its inherent ironies If there were a prize for the project most often mentioned during the conference “Engineered Transparency: Glass in Architecture and Structural Engineering,” it would go to the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, in Ohio, designed by SANAA.

A structural riff in Norway: Snøhetta’s Tubaloon band shell
Now hear this. For a giant, cochlear band shell called Tubaloon, which hovered over Norway’s annual Kongsberg Jazz Festival this past summer, the designers of Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta caught an echo from architectural history.

Book Reviews
We seem to have two camps emerging in the nascent field of sustainable design: an informed one that remains sensitive to the high aims of architecture, ecology, and site, and then one we might call “design services 2.0,” a kind of appliqué of green technologies onto the leftover bin of expired architecture.

09/07		Technicalities: A Prague stairwell’s DNA structure revealed

07/07		To create Seattle's Olympic Sculpture Park, the design team shaped the land, reinforced a fragile seawall, and restored the shoreline's ecosystem

05/07		Simple and bright, heliostats tap sunlight for lighting outdoor and, increasingly, indoor spaces Green program developers embrace life-cycle assessments to gauge building performance

04/07		As prefabrication sheds its off-the-rack image, automation via 3D printing threatens to transform conventional construction A super-small house achieves an ideal state of design integration

03/07		Following carbon footprints leads architects and consultants to their own doorsteps On the greenhouse gas trail, one engineer aims beyond "carbon neutral" Adobe launches a new Web-based conferencing platform and a fine-tuned version of Acrobat SmartGeometry conference marries form with function (digitally, that is) A new Web site simplifies finding green architects, builders Digitizing on the fly

02/07		Vertical and verdant, living wall systems sprout on two buildings, in Paris and Vancouver An innovative vacuum-formed facade provides a sober enclosure for museum

01/07		Green Building Council hones rating system as a tool for combating carbon emissions Second Life and Google Earth are transforming the idea of architectural collaboration

11/06		Zoomy Mercedes-Benz Museum ties curvy structure with complex spatial configuration

10/06		New airport security technology is slow to be implemented, but developments abound LEED, green initiatives find widespread favor in energy-intensive airport terminals

09/06		Composite wood industry watches developments in California Open-access digital archive of international archaeological sites set to launch Report touts benefits of integrated design and tackles obstacles hindering adoption
07/06		Proposed LEED changes intensify debate over recognition of wood certification systems To architects, building information modeling is still primarily a visualization tool Mayors move to halt climate change with goals for carbon neutral buildings

03/06		Stretching the digital imagination

02/06		Unity Temple will use geothermal energy after its first major restoration A Santa Fe architect calls for carbon-neutral buildings in the next quarter century

11/05		Sixteen years later, engineers fix leaks and overheating at Eisenman’s Wexner Center

10/05		Damaged buildings and widespread environmental hazards remain in Katrina’s aftermath

09/05		In France, another Pompidou Center takes shape Document and manage your designs WTC investigators’ recommendations set agenda for change, but provide few answers Unique assembly makes a new mural possible

08/05		Seismic framing technology and smart siting aid a California community college

07/05		Breathing room: Arup's new London headquarters celebrates its mechanical systems In Berlin, meticulous sitework and off-site production help piece together a sober memorial

06/05		Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), Troy, New York Design tools, presentation devices, and more Channel glass and reflective aluminum brighten the Shaw Center A planetarium’s curves hint at the mysteries of the cosmos For one hospital owner, familiarity in design breeds success

05/05		In Osaka, an iconic entry and sculpture mark the spot of a mostly underground museum GSA asks for guidance on using digital building models for design and construction

04/05		New rating systems for green houses draw both interest and conflicts

03/05		José Vasconcelos Library of Mexico – Zoom In Updates for 3D CAD, collaboration tools – Tech Products Questions about materials strain the fabric of USGBC’s big tent Facade restoration for a New York City landmark is nearly complete

02/05		In Seattle, a footbridge symbolizes a company’s mission and solves siting and engineering issues.

01/05		Virtual reality and digital modeling go on trial for a federal courtroom design

12/04		Updates for 3D CAD, collaboration tools Need a lift? New York firm designs a high-tech car-transport system This London Bridge doesn’t fall down—it does a backbend

10/04		From balloon frame to CAD-tailored: Japanese precut framing technology comes to the U.S.

09/04		Why building information modeling isn’t working ... yet From mark-up to practice management –Tech Products New graduate program will explore innovations in design, fabrication, and construction methods

08/04		Studies of their health impact heat up debate over halogenated flame retardants

07/04		Investigation into collapse of Terminal 2E concourse continues

06/04		Energy tool, CAD updates, a mini-PC California tests conventional and "green"products for emissions Building industry professionals gather to pledge commitment to interoperability

05/04		The Art Institute of Chicago examines how best to archive digital design data In the lab, paint makes NOx gases harmless—but can field trials make the same claim?

04/04		Nanometers? Tiny sensors embedded in concrete will collect physical and chemical data Companies can build a power plant for free right in your backyard … if the price is right

03/04		Six new tools for today’s architects –Tech Products The Times banks on a mock-up to try out systems for its new building For improving indoor air quality, is UV treatment the light at the end of the duct? Don’t blow off steam—microturbines make cheap, clean energy from waste heat

12/03		Tools for managing, learning, designing – Digital Products Fall conference presents new case studies in digital collaboration Nonprofiter seeks to help designers take on rapid prototyping Housing complex under construction in Manhattan boasts high-tech accoutrements

09/03		CAD upgrades, new hardware, and more –Digital Products Software interoperability makes strides, but hurdles still remain

03/03		From rendering tools to reading on the fly – Digital Products In Graz, Austria, a new arts center will speak its own digital language Project team relied heavily on digital collaboration to rebuild the Winter Garden quickly

03/02		Objects to See vies to become standard object technology for CAD Extranet use among architecture firms is hampered by skepticism Autodesk puts "design" back into CAD –Digital Product Reviews