Magazine

Marking the trailhead of a Wildlife Refuge next to the Minnesota River, the new Rapids Lake Education and Visitor Center constantly reinforces the natural beauty of its surroundings through strategically placed openings framing the landscape. Architects Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle...

As sustainability continues to take hold in the architectural profession, the most desirable projects enable designers to express green features, making them educational devices to the clients and users. Chicago firm Ross Barney Architects has done such a thing to great effect at the...

This eleven-story loft building stands out in its Philadelphia locale, not only for its height and articulated façade, but for the way it meets the sky and the ground; the former is capped by a cantilevered roof and the building is raised above the latter on angled pilotis. Winka...

Faculty, undergraduate, and graduate studens from four Virginia Tech colleges—Architecture and Urban Studies, Engineering, Business, Liberal Arts and Human Sciences—beat out 16 other teams in this year’s Solar Decathlon Europe, a 10-day competition held in June. Faculty...

As if another excuse is needed to visit the “off-centered” Dogfish Head Brewery, the latest addition to their Delaware home is an angular addition in wood and glass fronted by a Steampunk Treehouse. Philadelphia’s DIGSAU answered some questions about their design for the...

Brick and wood overlap in the curves that give this Midwestern house its moniker. Kansas City’s Hufft Projects crafted these and other materials—in many cases doing the fabrication themselves—into an embracing, sustainable modern residence. The architects answered some...

Additions to existing buildings are faced with the difficulty of balancing historical respect with contemporary values and expression. Rarely is it pulled off as sensitively and carefully as the University of Pennsylvania’s new Music Building. Ann Beha Architects answered some questions...

Located in the "hidden canyon" of LA's Glassell Park neighborhood, the Hidden House by Standard embodies the best of that cities residential architecture. It recalls the houses of R.M. Schindler and other European expatriates who embraced the landscape with their expressions of...

Studio 804 is a design/build program directed by Dan Rockhill at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Planning in Lawrence, Kansas, in which fifth-year students design, develop and build an affordable house in the area. They answered some questions about their latest highly...

The design of industrial buildings is far-too-often relegated to engineers and contractors, but the occasional high-profile structure of the type includes an architect's involvement. Chicago's Murphy/Jahn have created a stunning example of such at the University of Chicago on the...

The desert metropolis of Phoenix is known for its insatiable thirst for land and water, an unsustainable trend in need of reconsideration. While small, this project by local architects WEDDLE GILMORE black rock studio could have a big impact towards reorienting how residents think about the...

Fougeron Architecture acknowledges the influence of chain bookstores in their design of the Ingleside Branch Library, surprising but appropriate at a time of flux in the use and design of libraries. The architects answered some questions about the recently completed library.

Urban living is usually not enough for people buying apartments in US downtowns, so developers pack their projects with amenities. In this striking L-shaped building in New Orleans, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple made these amenities the heart of the project and an integral part of the design’s...

Reusing shipping containers-those modular and affordable products of international trade-has become an architectural phenomenon in recent years. Mahiar Behrooz answered some questions about his design of an artist studio and viewing space on Long Island built from two containers.

The Frank Sinatra School for the Arts was founded in 2001 by singer Tony Bennett and his wife Susan Benedetto. Eight years later the school moved into its permanent home across from the Museum of the Moving Image. Susan T. Rodriguez of Polshek Partnership Architects answered some questions about...

San Francisco's Ogrydziak/Prillinger Architects answered some questions about their Gallery House in the same city. The unique program, melding a residence and art gallery, presents itself publicly in a steel screen based on old algorithms and new technologies.

Yazdani Studio of Cannon Design contributed a striking addition to CSU's Northridge campus, making movement an integral part of the building's expression. The architects answered some question about their design of Chaparral Science Hall.

Citygarden is a new "urban oasis" in downtown St. Louis, on axis with that city's popular Gateway Arch. A hybrid between a sculpture garden, botanic garden and city park, the design was spearheaded by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, with two buildings designed by local...

San Francisco-based Anderson Anderson Architecture answered some questions about their unassuming but highly innovative modular, re-locatable child care facility for Harvard University.

KPF answered some questions about their One Jackson Square project in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, described by the architects as "a ‘found' object, like a rock in a rushing stream that influences the shape and form of the water flowing over it."

Like a building within a building, Anmahian Winton's design for the Joukowsky Institute at Brown University presents an exterior "façade" to an interiors project. The architects answered some questions about the design.

Good design means giving even the smallest of commissions a strong presence. workshop/apd answered some questions about their façade and lobby renovation carried out in Tribeca's landmark district.

IwamotoScott Architecture answered some questions about their design of a speculative house in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. Befitting the city's conservative architectural demeanor, the design was presented and approved by two neighborhood associations: the North Beach...

Slow Food's focus on local food and culinary tradition has been embraced all over the world since the organization's founding in Italy over twenty years ago. Architects Sagan Piechota answered some questions about their design of a pavilion for Slow Food that embodies the...

A failing economy has decided the fate of 21 Monitor Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. SoftLab answered some questions about their recent installation in the now-vacant three-story house.

Dramatic views greet visitors to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook above Los Angeles. Safdie Rabines Architects answered some questions about the building completed last year.

Spread across 22 buildings in Chicago's South Loop, Columbia College Chicago considers itself "the largest and most diverse private arts and media college in the nation." One of the school's three new buildings in its 2010 Master Plan is the Media Production Center (MPC). Studio...

New York City-based Hangar Design Group answered some questions about their design of a small Security Kiosk on the northern edge of the Pratt Institute's campus. It is a small but important element in the school's northward expansion.

This tiny retreat in Tennessee garnered Sanders Pace Architects a local AIA award. The architects answered some questions about the well-crafted structure.

Gentrification can occasionally foster good design rather than vulgar excess. As the humble cottages on narrow lots in Venice rise past the $1 million mark, the challenge for architects is to satisfy the expectations of new buyers without destroying the character of the community. Inevitably,...