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Today's News - August 2, 2006

Three experts discuss why construction projects fail. -- Badly built buildings waste money: companies must "push energy efficiency up the business agenda." -- A study of a small corner of British suburbia may help spark a suburban renaissance. -- Hawthorne applauds prefab - but offers a much-needed reality check. -- Two voices - for and against - Atlantic Yards mega-project in Brooklyn. -- Bath Spa finally ready for its Bilbao moment (and a slide show we couldn't resist). -- Is the new National Museum of the Marine Corps really all that it can be? -- Good news for Sullivan house; and Chicago launches "Louis Sullivan at 150" website for citywide celebration. -- Back from the brink: Paddington station span saved from demolition. -- What's to be done with a "quirky" school in Canberra filled with quiet nooks and crannies? -- Beijing's Forbidden City forbidden no more. -- Also in China, a biomedical research institute will be a cell in 3-D. -- IFDA survey reveals design industry professionals' radically changing views of their industry. -- Berkeley Prize Essay Competition winners announced (and well worth a read).

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Why Do Construction Projects Fail? Inspections of Boston's Big Dig reveal hundreds of bolts that need to be reinforced....What keeps houses, bridges and tunnels from falling apart?- National Public Radio (NPR)

Badly-built offices 'costing companies millions' according to research released by Gensler...Spiralling energy costs have pushed energy efficiency up the business agenda...- 24dash.com (UK)

The street where happiness is three bedrooms, a steady job - and a shed: There is still a corner of suburbia where people just mow their lawns and don't get divorced: ...findings may provide some comfort for the Government, which aims to instigate a suburban renaissance and increase housing density...- The Times (UK)

Such a deal? Prefab can be pricey these days, as this Ocean Park home reveals: ...the last thing the fledgling prefab movement needs at this point is aggressive marketing or more hype. What it needs is a reality check. By Christopher Hawthorne -- Ray Kappe [images]- Los Angeles Times

Opposing Atlantic Yards: "Fails to Accomplish a Delicate Balance": The president of the Municipal Art Society challenges residents to hold out for the high standards of planning, design, housing -- and democratic public process -- the city deserves. By Kent Barwick- City Limits (NYC)

Supporting Atlantic Yards: "Simply not enough housing in Brooklyn": The executive director of NY ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] argues that the plan’s superior affordable housing provisions require citizens "to take yes for an answer." By Bertha Lewis- City Limits (NYC)

Five years late, £30m overspent, mired in legal rows. Finally, Bath Spa opens" Its backers hope it will boost Bath's dwindling tourism industry and bring the 'Bilbao effect' - the transformative effect of iconic architecture - to one of Britain's most historic cities. -- Grimshaw- Observer (UK)

In Pictures: Bath's spa unveiled -- Grimshaw [images, links]- BBC (UK)

Next Exit Marine Land: Along I-95, [National Museum of the Marine Corps] Goes Up -- And Up: This may be the biggest challenge for today's museum architects: How do you make impressive buildings that must function like small amusement parks or a Halloween haunted house? By Philip Kennicott -- Fentress Bradburn Architects- Washington Post

No condos: Sullivan house to remain a home: Known as the George M. Harvey House...the house is thought to be the only remaining wood-frame house designed by Adler & Sullivan. By Blair Kamin- Chicago Tribune

Chicago History Museum launches "Louis Sullivan at 150" website for citywide celebration from early September through October 15, 2006.- Chicago History Museum

Paddington station span saved from demolition: If it had gone ahead it would have been the most extensive destruction of a Grade I structure since listing began. -- Isambard Kingdom Brunel- Guardian (UK)

Doomed school deserves better, says architect: Giralang Primary School...quirky, open-plan design...courtyards, high ceilings, quiet nooks and crannies to work in and stepped seating in all classrooms...designed specifically to reinforce an educational idea... -- Enrico Taglietti (1974) [image]- City News (Canberra City, Australia)

Restored, an Emperor’s Lair Will Be Forbidden No More: The refurbishment of the Forbidden City is part of Beijing’s selective preservation work in advance of the 2008 Olympics. -- World Monuments Fund [slide show]- New York Times

Two from MIT conceive cell-shaped building: ...will house a new biomedical research institute in Chengdu, China...an unusual crossdisciplinary collaboration between Shuguang Zhang, a world-renowned bioengineer and scientist at MIT, and his former student, architecture major Sloan Kulper... [images]- Archinect

IFDA comparative surveys reveal design industry professionals' radically changing views of the design industry and global marketing [pdf]- International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA)

Winners of the 8th Annual Berkeley Prize Essay Competition announced; "Children and the City" dedicated to UNESCO’s Growing Up In Cities Programme- Berkeley Prize

Northwest Expansion: Portland Art Museum: Sensitive historic restoration combined with contemporary design expands a museum into a dynamic new art center. -- Ann Beha Architects; SERA Architects [images]- ArchNewsNow

-- Competition winner: LAB architecture studio, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Newcastle, NSW Australia
-- Schwartz/Silver Architects: Shaw Center for the Arts, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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