Installing or replacing a kitchen faucet is a job any homeowner can do. As with any home improvement project, a little planning to ensure that you have the proper faucet type and the right tools on hand will make for a smooth job.
There are two common sayings about Madrid -- “Madrid me mata” ("Madrid kills me") and “De Madrid al cielo” ("From Madrid to Heaven"). Both adages are appropriate ways to describe Madrid’s polarization between the calm and the chaotic. From the city’s breakneck traffic to its streets filled with animated Madrileños, rosemary-laden gypsies, and gawking tourists, the city of Madrid moves at a nauseating rhythm. Somewhere, deep within this traditional chaos, it’s possible to find hidden corners of both modernization and tranquility. Strolling along the Paseo de Prado’s tree-lined avenue, you will come across Patrick Blanc’s vertical garden lurking in one of these corners.
At first glance, Cincinnati, Ohio, appears to be a typical Midwestern city. A closer look reveals a sophisticated community of architectural trendsetters. Beginning in large part with a transformative vision for the University of Cincinnati campus in the late 1980s, Cincinnati is now home to a major concentration of signature contemporary architecture. One of the architectural treasures of Cincinnati is the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, home of the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC). Designed by Pritzker Prize award winner Zaha Hadid and opened in 2003, the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art allows CAC to serve its organizational mission to unite art and people in a provocative architectural environment.
A once quiet valley, about a half mile northeast of downtown Bentonville, Arkansas, is the scene of intense construction. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, designed by Moshe Safdie, has arisen from the ground, and its buildings are taking shape. Once complete, the museum will become a major tourist attraction in northwest Arkansas.
As our world becomes more urbanized, and our cities continue to grow, we are replacing the natural environment with buildings, pavement, and asphalt. This causes a phenomenon called urban heat island effect, in which the proximity of urban buildings makes cities several degrees warmer than rural areas. We are starting to realize that we need to counteract this harmful effect and that cooling the roof is one of the best ways of doing so. Many roofing options will accomplish the goal of combating urban heat island effect, including reflective roofs and roof gardens.
Recently unveiled are plans for a new building to house the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA Cleveland). London-based Foreign Office Architects (FOA) is the design firm for the project, and Westlake Reed Leskosky acted as the architect of record. Currently the museum is tucked away on the second story of the Cleveland Play House complex; the new facility will give MOCA Cleveland 44% more space as well as a commanding presence at a prominent intersection in University Circle.
As the old saw goes, the proper tools make the job; this applies to painting as well. Purchase quality tools and materials. DIYers save on labor costs and can easily justify paying the price of quality tools. Tool quality and price vary widely, but you can find good quality at a medium price. The right tools will help you to achieve your goals of increased quality and decreased work time.
Ninety-nine percent of construction work is completed within the allotted time. Getting a project closed out -- the other one percent -- seems to take just as much time. Why does this process take so long? A seemingly endless series of punch list and paperwork items must be completed before the project can be considered complete.
Zach Kent is a stormwater engineer for Modular Wetlands in Oceanside, California. We learned about Modular Wetlands’ urban wetland unit in our case study, “Water Quality Retrofit and Retaining Wall Remediation.” We've partnered with Kent to provide a perspective on some dynamics within the stormwater management industry over the last decade, including new processes and technologies designed to meet higher regulatory standards.
For more than ten years now the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has been transforming the way we build through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. This transformation has been driven by local, state, and federal government, as well as institutions. However, the past two years have seen an increasing number of private LEED projects; this trend has sparked interest in the return on investment (ROI) of LEED certification.
New York City's lively Union Square is known for its green market, but it is briefly playing host to another set of organic structures -- an ephemeral village of sukkahs. Sukkot, the seven-day-long Jewish holiday, is celebrated by building these temporary forms, reminiscent of those that the Israelites inhabited in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt.
Previously in our series on painting, we looked at set-up and interior painting tips, as well as exterior paint failure due to moisture. Although most homeowners will want to leave exterior painting to the professionals, we will discuss exterior painting work that DIYers can perform. At the least, gaining an understanding of exterior painting will benefit homeowners when they're making decisions about home maintenance and improvement.
