Turner Team Wins $448M Contract to Build Army Campus in Maryland

Oct. 11, 2007

Having submitted a bid as part of a joint venture, Turner Construction Co. has been selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to handle design-build responsibilities for a new high-tech office and laboratory complex at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Md. The contract for the 1 million-square-foot project is valued at $447.5 million.

Trump Announces International Strategy with New Hotel Collection

Oct. 11, 2007

The world is Donald Trump's oyster, and he has found the pearl in the growing international hospitality market.

CURRENTS: MATERIALS; From Architecture Students, A Sculptural Structure of Polycarbonate

By ELAINE LOUIE
Published: September 28, 2006

Last month, architecture students at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, led by their professor, Nader Tehrani, top right, installed a transparent, undulating, sometimes gleaming, sometimes misty polycarbonate structure, top, outside the school's architecture building. The $70,000 installation was the result of a year's research by the students on transforming flat polycarbonate into three-dimensional structures.

''It's a sheet material, but because of its pliability, it has the ability to bend and twist,'' said Mr. Tehrani, a partner at Office dA, a design firm in Boston. He and the students started with a seat, he said, and ''grew the structure out of that.'' At its base, top left, the piece, which is held together by small rivets, looks like stacked horizontal ribbons and functions as a bench. As it rises, right, the ribbons twist into a series of four-sided openings before coming together to rest on top of an existing concrete beam that helps frame the entrance to the building. ''It rotates out and creates this bubbly effect, almost like it fizzles open,'' Mr. Tehrani said.

''It's a physically inert object, but it's incredibly dynamic,'' said Chris Jarrett, the acting director of the university's architecture program. ''On a bright, sunshiny day, it becomes lighter and more reflective,'' and if someone wearing a red sweater stands near it, ''a little bit of it looks pink.'' The institute is at 247 Fourth Street in Atlanta; coa.gatech.edu/arch.

Opening October 12th 6-9pm
part of the Silver Lake Art Crawl X.
Music to be spun by Steve Nalepa

Opening October 12, 2007, an “extreme cantilever” built from aluminum and polypropylene rope will hover over the courtyard of Materials & Applications (M&A) in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. This structure is an outdoor installation created by Sci-Arc professors Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu, called Density Fields. Defying classification as either sculpture or architecture, the piece will flex with a gesture that extends imaginary lines of force beyond the small courtyard, seeming to pierce buildings and features in the neighborhood.

The primary structural question Oyler-Wu Collaborative asked is, "What makes the idea of using lines different in terms of their structural properties?" The idea addresses tensile properties, thereby limiting the structural possibilities, but also allows for a more specific way of designing that exploits tensile strength. This line of inquiry led them to a structural principle that utilizes a dense field of lines. The installation consists of two basic materials: (1) an aluminum frame extending up from the ground and out into the space, and (2) a series of fine, tensioned cables pulling the cantilever in the opposite direction -- forcing it to hover above the ground.

The development of this piece began with the imaginary violent attack of the bristling sculpture on the neighboring buildings, then with careful editing of the geometrical elements, the sculpture retracted back to its tensed position in the M&A courtyard. Oyler-Wu Collaborative's goal is to negotiate the structural ideas, the programmatic needs of the space, and the desire to use basic geometries to create a rich spatial experience within the space itself. With the help of engineer Bruce Danziger from Arup LA and many volunteers, the piece will be another traffic-stopper in the Silver Lake neighborhood.

Artists

Density Fields is designed by Oyler Wu Collaborative (Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu) and engineered by Bruce Danziger of ARUP.

Extra special thanks to all the skilled volunteers already involved and all the rest who will join in the coming weeks, if you would like to join, contact us.
Astrid Diehl, Nick Blake, Nico Machida, Ji Byeon, Peri Shefik, Libby Mcinerny, Glen Kinoshita, Jim Rosenthal, Orn Sveinsson, Taylor Arneson, Paul Adam, Daniel Mas, Nick Pardowski, Martin Chow, Chris Crotty, Joshua Tremblay, Oliver Liao, Paul Macherey, Cory Hill, Jian Huang, Harold Portillo, Sky Milner, Justin Oh, Janica Ley, Joenna Kim, Abbey Chong, Jordan Su, Jon Wimmel, Adam Grove, Scott Chung, Elizabeth Marley, Emmanuel Gonzalez, Josh Avina, Todd Davis, Sven Altmetz, Daniela Morales, Luke M Stepleton, Grace Wu, Julia Dole, Sharon Ko, Nicole D. Garcia

Solar house takes on a temporary resident to test its livability

1/30/2007 - A house powered entirely by solar panels in the Commonwealth of Virginia has a new temporary resident: a state senator. State Sen. Frank Wagner, Virginia Beach-R, moved in on January...

Some home builders shifting towards more energy efficient homes

10/3/2007 - Demand for homes built with an eco-friendly design is steadily growing, according to architect Michelle Kaufmann, founder of home design company Michelle Kaufmann Designs (MKD). MKD, founded...

AMB Moves into London Market with Purchase of 320,000SF Industrial Project

Oct. 05, 2007

San Francisco-based AMB Property Corp. has just made its first foray into the United Kingdom. with the acquisition of a 320,000-square-foot industrial development in London. The two-building property, AMB East London Distribution Park just reached completion.

341 NEW LOOK 2002

On the corner of Oxford Street and Portman Street, double height yellow glass panels are opened to reveal the entrance into New Look’s flagship store. An elegant stainless steel stair leads you to a dramatic warehouse space on the first floor, framed by pink tinted windows. A coloured and reflective caterpillar of light divides the store between an extravagant gallery area with seating and café and a more densely arranged retail space. Suspended figure drops display the latest fashions and a series of white perspex cubes contain a volume of merchandise. Completion Contract Value Area Client Structural Engineer Services Engineer Quantity Surveyor Contractor 2003 £2.4 million 2000m² New Look Techniker Ernest Griffiths + Son Faithfull + Gould TTS Interiors