Over 70 contributions from 50 of the world's top architects and designers are being auctioned. Proceeds will support Architecture for Humanity. Help us reach our fundraising goal of $150,000 by June 30. — architectureforhumanity.org

Andrew Ferren traveled to Turkey on an architectural pilgrimage, to learn more about the work of a 16th-century architect and engineer named Sinan. VanillaBrice commented "The Sokollu Pasha Mosque is an incredible study of fitting an impressive religious building in a neighborhood setting. The scale and way he controlled the sloping site display his mastery."

Zaha Hadid emerged this week as the favourite to buy the Design Museum in London after impressing with her plans to turn it into an architecture museum. — bdonline.co.uk

Energetic duo Andreas G. Gjertsen and Yashar Hanstad, partners of TYIN tegnestue Architects from Norway live by Finnish architect and writer Juhani Pallasmaa’s saying, “Architecture is about the understanding of the world and turning it into a more meaningful and humane place.“ — nst.com.my

It has transformed the London skyline, but the giant Shard faced hostility all the way. Its Italian architect Renzo Piano meets Steve Rose on the eighth floor – and answers his critics — guardian.co.uk

The Marcel Breuer Digital Archive represents a collaborative effort headed by Syracuse University Library to digitize over 30,000 drawings, photographs, letters and other materials related to the career of Marcel Breuer, one of the most influential architects and furniture designers of the twentieth century. — breuer.syr.edu

“What we’re going for is a building that fits in and reflects the general character of the historic district, that expresses the period of the American Revolution but in a fresh new way for the 21st century,” Mr. Stern said. — NYT

We are interested in connecting architecture with the social — The Architectural League

Almost twenty-five years to the day after Dominique de Menil and architect Renzo Piano celebrated the opening of the central museum building of the Menil Collection, Director Josef Helfenstein announced that the Board of Trustees has unanimously chosen the Los Angeles -based architecture firm Johnston Marklee to design the Menil Drawing Institute, the first major building project to be initiated under an ambitious plan for the institution’s future. — yourhoustonnews.com

To create symmetry, he placed doors in the center of those colonnades. But inside the mosque, the doors meant worshipers now came and went from the middle of the room rather than from the back. “A sacred space meant for prayer and contemplation became a passageway,” Sinan the guide explained. “It was a mistake he would never repeat.” — NYT

Sinan was “the Euclid of his day,” said Dogan Kuban, author of more than 70 books on Islamic architecture. “At St. Peter’s in Rome, your eye is drawn to the dome itself,” he said in a recent conversation. “Sinan’s shallow domes, however, with their abstract painted decoration, seem to magically float overhead. Instead of the structure, you contemplate the space.” — NYT

The embattled Eisenhower Memorial in Washington has drawn the interest of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who will be reviewing the designs by architect Frank Gehry. The request could result in yet another delay for the project, which has already been plagued by a number of disagreements. — latimes.com