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Today's News - November 29, 2005

A look at the condo-conversion craze. -- We lose the mastermind behind the starchitect-studded Sagaponac development. -- Reports from the Gulf Coast recovery front. -- Sprawl silently threatening every stream in the country. -- The riots in Paris banlieues "don't condemn Le Corbusier; they condemn the governments that failed to follow his vision." -- Donald Schmitt's take on sprawl and livable cities. -- An architect and a critic debate an urban design project in Johannesburg. -- An Egyptian architect reflects on what might have been. -- Austin, TX, has high hopes for new rules to put people back on the streets. -- Study shows green roofs keep things warm in winter and take root in Kansas City. -- Vision and frustration for C2C housing. -- Study shows people can't tell from the outside what a building is on the inside. -- London's next tallest building and a new community for Manchester - if those pesky preservationists and politicians don't get in the way. -- New African American Cultural Center destined to be crown jewel in Pittsburgh's cultural district. -- The man designing the tallest buildings ("Adrian who?"). -- Wind turbines instead of minarets planned for giant mosque near London's Olympic stadium.

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INSIGHT: Condos Breathe New Life into Old Offices: Historic office buildings are increasingly being reinvented as condominiums in CBDs (central business districts) across the country. By Mark Harbick, AIA- ArchNewsNow

Obituary: Harry Joe (Coco) Brown Jr., 71, Innovative Developer: ...pizazz he generated by enlisting 34 leading architects to design one house each for a Hamptons residential development... Sagaponac -- Meier; Johnson; Graves; Rogers; Smith-Miller Hawkinson- New York Times

Gulf States Recovery: Reports from the Front -- AIA; APA; Architecture for Humanity; Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN); Congress for New Urbanism; Urban Land Institute; Regional Plan Association- e-Oculus

Silent Streams: Sprawl is threatening almost every stream in the country. But a rising citizens movement is trying to save one of our most important natural resources before it's too late- Washington Post

No Fault: Don't Blame Le Corbusier for the French Riots: ...Not only do the banlieues--which were built without his input--look nothing like what he intended, but those "machines for living" he did construct are today considered some of the finest, most sought-after addresses in France... By Clay Risen- The New Republic

Designing Livable Cities: An Interview With Donald Schmitt...about sprawl, two-way streets, and the role citizens play in ensuring good architecture. -- Diamond and Schmitt Architects- Raise the Hammer.org (Hamilton, Canada)

Designs should reflect Jo'burg's diversity: One of the central tenets of Fanuel Motsepe's design for the Gauteng government precinct is that overlaying Johannesburg's modernist city grid with "tribal space-making" devices and motifs...will contribute to dismantling apartheid's "spatial imbalances"...in my view, highly problematic for a number of reasons. By Lindsey Bremner- The Sunday Independent (South Africa)

Jo'burg does not accommodate African cultural essences: ...Nor is my plan to eliminate vestiges of the past. What is true is that the "footprint" of the square...debilitates the urban economic potential of the city. The other element...seeks to rectify the exclusionary basis of the area's design. By Fanuel Motsepe- The Sunday Independent (South Africa)

A Dream of Cairo Reborn: An Architect Reflects on What Could Have Been in Egypt...Abdelhalim I. Abdelhalim...is a man of many, sometimes conflicting worlds.- Washington Post

Austin panel sees spiffier city ahead: If the rules work...they will not only beautify big chain stores but also gradually change Austin's feel by adding sidewalks and shade and by better linking stores to compel more people to walk and bike.- Austin American-Statesman (Texas)

Green Roofs In Winter: Hot Design For A Cold Climate: University of Toronto researcher has delivered the first-ever analysis of green roofs’ ability to keep buildings warm in winter.- ScienceDaily

‘Green roofs’ seen as top-flight idea: The design feature is growing on Kansas City-area buildings -- Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company- Kansas City Star

1st C2C [Cradle to Cradle] house nears construction: Building an environmentally friendly house has been an experiment in frustration...vision has slammed up against the real world... -- Smith-Lewis; William McDonough- Roanoke Times (Virginia)

For Many Buildings, Form Doesn't Follow Function: When you look at the exterior of a building, can you tell whether the building is a city hall, an art museum, a library, or a live theater? Most people can’t, according to a new study. [images]- Newswise

Livingstone backs plans for City's tallest tower: London's mayor has defended plans for the tallest ever skyscraper in the City amid fears that English Heritage...will attempt to block the development. -- Helmut Jahn; KPF/Kohn Pedersen Fox- Financial Times (UK)

City champion goes to school: The founder of Urban Splash [Tom Bloxham] has a new vision, but politics gets in the way...latest project, a brand new district of Manchester, to be called 'New Islington'... -- Will Alsop- Observer (UK)

Putting African culture on the map: ...$35 million African American Cultural Center...poised to become the crown jewel of the Cultural District. -- Allison Williams/Perkins + Will- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The man of steel: ...what Trump Tower and Burj Dubai mainly share is their principal architect: Adrian Smith of the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Adrian who? By Kevin Nance- Chicago Sun-Times

Giant mosque for 40,000 may be built at London Olympics: ...futuristic design features wind turbines instead of the traditional minarets... -- Ali Mangera- The Sunday Times (UK)

-- Competition winner: Steven Holl Architects: Herning Center of the Arts, Herning, Denmark
-- Rafael Viñoly: Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

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