Ai Weiwei has never set foot inside the [Bird's Nest].

He told NPR that the stadium has become entirely divorced from ordinary people.

"We love this building, but we don't like the content they have put in, the kind of propaganda. They dissociated this building [from] citizens' celebration or happiness, [it's] not integrated with the city's life," Ai said. "So I told them I will never go to this building." — npr.org

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel and Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua today launched the adAPT NYC Competition, a pilot program to develop a new housing model for the City’s growing small-household population. adAPT NYC seeks to create additional choices within New York City’s housing market to accommodate the city’s changing demographics. — NYC.gov

Don't let your summer get stuck in the rough—combine your love for the building arts with a putter, ball, and one-of-a-kind mini-golf course designed and built by some of the leading architects, landscape architects, and contractors in the Washington area. — nbm.org

The creation of architect Harold J. Bissner Jr., the dome house has been sitting atop a 150-foot conical hill of volcanic fragments since 1968 and is now for sale, at $750,000. The 1,800-square-foot home—guarded by two caretakers whose faces have been sculpted by desertic whim—and its adjoining 60 acres belong to Huell Howser, the host of California’s Gold, the travel show for PBS affiliate KCET that highlights places of interest in California, often along remote paths. — vegasseven.com

"The internationally-renowned director Wim Wenders devotes his new film to Graubünden architect Peter Zumthor. Work on the project will take several years to complete. A taste of the film will be available August at the Venice Biennale." — Suedostschweiz

...Sandra Burga, the project’s client and coordinator, gave an introduction on the scope of the design project, discussed her background in Peru, t... and the project directives to be accomplished within the time period for the design charette and the duration of the project (projected to be completed around 2014, 2015)... 'provide sustainable, innovative, and transformational development to various areas in need, building structures, in which people live, work, learn, heal, and gather…' — UrbDeZine

California has grabbed a golden opportunity to build the nation’s first high-speed rail system, create the backbone of a new, clean 21st century transportation system and support our future economic growth. — Washington Post

French design collective FERPECT has shared with us their project DUNE, winner of Forme Publique 2011, the Biennale of Street Furniture Design at the futuristic business district La Défense near Paris. DUNE is being exhibited from March 28 until December 31 on the La Défense square. — bustler.net

The canopy can look like a lot of architecture for such a small project, but that’s partly its value: to put Cazucá on the map and create a de facto town square beside the school (made of shipping containers, serving a population in which a quarter of the children are malnourished, I was told by the school’s principal). Now children play soccer under the canopy and clean up the square every day, and there’s a vegetable garden with tomatoes and herbs. — nytimes.com

The Battery Conservancy invites students and professionals from the Americas (North, Central, South and the Caribbean), to design an iconic moveable outdoor seating element. The winning design will be fabricated for use in The Battery, the 25-acre park at the tip of Manhattan, which annually welcomes six million visitors. — The Battery Conservancy

It's curious how much the ethos of the adventure playground chimes with the language of a new era of design today: a "participatory" process, recycled materials, an adaptive product. It doesn't sound like the 1940s. But equally valuable is the zone of exception that the adventure playground represents in the city — Guardian

"Apple's state-of-the art campus brings at least $100 million dollars in investment to California and generates no additional greenhouse gas emissions," Brown said in a statement to this newspaper, listing two of the requirements Apple had met to qualify under the law. "On-site fuel cells and 650,000 square feet of solar panels will provide clean, renewable energy for more than 12,000 Apple employees on the new campus." — siliconvalley.com

"The [Butaro] project has a high relevance, since it can be applied as a solution to similar regions with limited opportunities and high risks of infection. [...] Also remarkable is the excellent quality of the buildings that were built exclusively with local workers.” — Zumtobel Group Award