The new academic building was glamorous...a statement about just how far the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art had come, from its 19th-century origins as a charity for the poor to one of the most selective colleges in the nation. But that was before market convulsions shook the school’s finances, and before the truth about its dire budgetary situation came to light — New York Times

Two preservationist groups have dropped a lawsuit challenging the City of Chicago’s decision to deny landmark status to the old Prentice Women’s Hospital.

Northwestern University plans to demolish the building in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood to make way for a new biomedical research facility. The decision to drop the lawsuit clears the way for Northwestern to carry through on it plans. — chicagotribune.com

London’s Serpentine Gallery has selected Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto to design the 2013 Serpentine Pavilion, a temporary structure open for four months starting in June. Fujimoto’s proposal for the Kensington Gardens site continues the architect’s exploration of transparent and organically generated forms with a cloud-like structure composed of 20-mm steel poles that intersect and form a delicate linear latticework to shelter a cafe and events space below. — blogs.artinfo.com

Another way to phrase it is that hard decisions need to be made to cope with rising waters and severe weather. Notwithstanding the obvious difference between a group of farmers on a Dutch polder and communities in the Rockaways or Coney Island, good government makes those decisions while giving affected residents adequate knowledge and agency: the ability to make choices, and the responsibility to live by them. — New York Times

The long, rancorous debate over the fate of the Orange County Government Center ended abruptly Wednesday, as a group of Republican lawmakers sided with Democrats to pass a proposal to renovate the 43-year-old complex. — recordonline.com

In its most far-reaching aspects, container urbanism proposes to take the fundamental organic/architectural condition of containment further by exploring how a boundary might be better coordinated, even merged with the flow of material/ideas. Can containment equate more closely with transmission and, in so doing, position architecture and urbanism more in line with societal mobility and change? — Places Journal

Treasured for its storied collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, esplanades and soaring fountain, Florida Southern College is making room for six more structures inspired by the famed architect.

These new structures will be small — only about 5 feet high and 3 feet wide. Unlike other Wright designs, they are not meant for humans.

Rather, the six domiciles built mostly of custom-made concrete blocks will provide shelter for almost 100 feral cats living on the Lakeland campus. — theledger.com

Interdisciplinary teams will focus on the planning, design, construction and retrofitting of urban environments for the 21st century. — cau.mit.edu

“I’ve seen Kelly Ripa there. Two little kids were playing with Legos on the treadmill next to her, and there was nobody else.” — NYT

The Windows of New York project is a weekly illustrated fix for an obsession that has increasingly grown in me since chance put me in this town. A product of countless steps of journey through the city streets, this is a collection of windows that somehow have caught my restless eye out from the never-ending buzz of the city. This project is part an ode to architecture and part a self-challenge to never stop looking up. — windowsofnewyork.com

Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, Zaha Hadid, Robert A.M. Stern, Margaret McCurry, and Stanley Tigerman have designed rugs for Arzu Studio Hope’s new Masters collection. However, Arzu’s mission is about much more than making beautiful carpets—the Chicago-based not-for-profit organization is dedicated to improving the lives of Afghan women weavers and their families, based on a model of social entrepreneurship. — architecturaldigest.com

Designed by the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1955 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, the Gerald B. and Beverley Tonkens House was listed for the first time ever this week, with an asking price of $1.788M. — curbed.com