American architect Thomas H. Beeby has been named the recipient of the 2013 Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame. Beeby has designed an array of cultural, academic, religious, residential, and commercial buildings. — bustler.net

For the latest in the Student Works series Archinect featured The Petropolis of Tomorrow: Drift & Drive...a proposed solution for Petrobras...to relocate workers offshore...Thayer-D was curious "What kind of job do students who do this kind of work expect to do?" and amphibious agreed "For me, the real problem with this project is its weakness in experimentation, substance, and form. What is radical here really?"

"... If history has taught us that the realization of a utopia is necessarily its destruction, Can we regard this process as a continuously failing attempt of architectural hallucinations? Or is it a way to promote escapism from an inevitable dystopic reality? ..." — www.zawia.co

Colquhoun (1921-2012) was credited with inspiring a generation of architects who he taught at the Architectural Association between 1957 and 64.

He studied at the Edinburgh College of Art and AA before working for the London County Council in the 1950s.

He started Colquhoun & Miller, a partnership with architect John Miller, in 1961. — architectsjournal.co.uk

For the latest in the Showcase series Archinect featured Villa Solaire by JKA + FUGA as well as Folkwang Library by Max Dudler. The Folkwang Library took advantage of a special photographic/glazing technique to create the illusion of the facade being fashioned from the stone material itself. Save Western pointed out "It looks like the original proposal was for actual marble, which came back astronomically expensive, so they VE'd to curtain wall instead."

Creators of an online petition opposed to the change say the new logo "loses the prestige and elegance of the current seal." They want the 10-campus system to use the traditional circular medallion that shows an open book, the motto “Let There Be Light” and the 1868 date of UC’s founding. Or find a dignified alternative. The petition had more than 39,000 supporters so far. — latimesblogs.latimes.com

the recent october 12, 2012 installation at sci-arc with zaha hadid partner patrik schumacher, demonstrated trying to emulate thin shell construction with sticks. it can be done, but not like what was built in the sci-arc museum demonstration space recently.
thin shell depends upon significant warpage of surfaces. the ambitious shapes sought were a confused mess, reduced to sculpture with no inherent structure. in one instant relying on connecting into the museum space wall to brace itself. — small@large

The winners of the 2012 RIBA President’s Medals were announced this week at a special ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. Dating back to 1836, the prestigious RIBA President's Medals reward talent and excellence in the study of architecture. — bustler.net

The university believes this to be the first design-build competition for an art museum in this country.

Each team gets four months to design a museum and prepare a bid for the museum. — bizjournals.com

There is a growing movement afoot in design. It has assumed many names over the years, all of which emphasize the public good and the engagement of too-often marginalized voices. Of late, we've seen life-saving products, more dignifying environments, and more efficient systems, all designed for the betterment of all. — PublicInterestDesign.org

b3tadine[sutures] concurred "i love it. that work of this complexity and beauty is being built in Dallas, let alone the US, is testament to Mayne and Morphosis being one of the premiere firms in the world”. However, some like accesskb argued "beautiful forms and spaces... ugly and cold choice of materials and colours".

After several years of planning, design and construction, a team of students from The New School and Stevens Institute of Technology who participated in the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon celebrated the completion of Empowerhouse, an innovative model for affordable, energy efficient green housing located in the Deanwood neighborhood of Washington. — The New School

Twelve students barricaded themselves inside an eighth-floor room at the top of the Cooper Union Foundation Building at noon on Monday to urge the school not to begin charging tuition to undergraduates.

The school has not made a decision on charging tuition for undergraduates. But in April, it decided to begin charging tuition to graduate students for the first time in its 110-year history. — cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com