Landscaping

Cutler Bay, South Miami. The brand-new South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center rises out of the flat Florida landscape in a dynamic crescendo of geometric forms that pierce the sky. Its presence offers a penetrating counterpoint to the dull and monotonous Southland Mall and parking lot it faces. Designed by Arquitectonica, the famed Miami-based architectural firm led by Laurinda Spear and Bernardo Fort-Brescia, the Cultural Arts Center delights in movement and flow, circulation and performance, geometry and color.

Very much in keeping with Dallas' official “Live Large, Think Big” slogan comes a wonderful urban expression of the exuberance of this huge Texas city. The 400'-high Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge (MHH Bridge), designed by Santiago Calatrava, will span the Trinity River, connecting Dallas to West Dallas, and is expected to be complete in the spring of 2012, after 14 years of planning, design, budget cuts, redesign, and construction. The Trinity River Corridor Project, backed by a $245 million bond passed by Dallas voters in 2005, brought Calatrava to town to design three bridges over the Trinity River. Calatrava's bridges will provide an architectural signature for the Trinity River Corridor Project and hopefully will become a symbol of Dallas, nationally and internationally.

Architects, engineers, and contractors streamline their process to ensure a quick delivery of the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ new home, Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Along the western edge of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, lies the historic Haymarket District. An industrial and commercial area in use since the 1870s, the district had nevertheless become blighted and run-down. In the 1980s, the Haymarket District began to attract some mixed-use development, including art galleries, coffee houses, and residences. In more recent years, rehabilitation efforts have extended westward, and an official redevelopment plan was established.

The bathroom is one area of the home that is extremely vulnerable to water damage. Showers, tubs, toilets, and vanities provide hundreds of gallons of water on demand every day. In addition, evaporating water and steam from baths and showers significantly increase indoor humidity. Properly designed bathrooms should incorporate substrate materials under surface finishes that effectively manage water and moisture to prevent structural problems and resist mold growth.

As the well known John Donne poem "Meditation XVII" states, "No man is an island." Neither are colleges and universities. Long gone are the days when an institution of higher learning could operate without considering the surrounding community. University presidents now understand that the success of their institutions depends on the health of their cities and towns. The “town and gown” relationship has not always been a healthy one in many communities, but it has improved significantly in recent years as competition for students and faculty has increased. When these relationships work well, they can have a tremendous impact on the community and university.

Although developers are often regarded by architects as roadblocks to the creative process, Robert Wennett has set himself apart from this stereotype. Not your typical developer by any stretch, Wennett purchased property on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach and engaged Herzog & de Meuron to create what is surely the most amazing parking garage you’ve ever seen.

Brain-storming about urban revitalization commonly results in a myriad of creative proposals, from cultural centers and renovation projects to expansive parks. Rarely does this type of planning involve a futuristic complex of massive proportions within the city itself.

However, Valencia’s homegrown architectural prodigy, Santiago Calatrava, has managed to achieve something that can only be classified as architectural glory – The City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias).

Constructing children’s playgrounds in antiquated industrial parks may not seem like the best idea. But this is Madrid – and taking advantage of any and every available square meter has become an art form in the Spanish capital. Ecopolis Plaza is yet another example of creative urban reusability, but its focus on education makes it truly unique. A public nursery school is located at the heart of the plaza, which is designed to bring together community, sustainability, and education in one very brightly colored building.

As Harvard University celebrates the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification of 50 campus buildings, the world of higher education has come just a bit closer to embracing a sustainable future. This well known institution is the first to incorporate such a large number of certified new and existing buildings into the fabric of its campus. An additional 39 buildings are currently being planned or awaiting certification as well. The current spread of certified buildings covers a total of 1.5 million sq. ft. and will reach over 4 million sq. ft. when all plans are carried through to completion. Anyone familiar with the LEED certification process understands that this framework includes a set of regulatory measures that incorporate building performance, energy standards, building materials, and operation and maintenance practices through a rigorous assessment process requiring an incredible amount of planning and critique.

Mounting concerns over the U.S. federal budget deficit as well as a slower economy may have led some legislators to reconsider their support of President Barack Obama’s campaign to develop high-speed rail (HSR) systems across the United States. The Republican-led House of Representatives has clearly expressed its concerns with allocating government funds for high-speed rail development. The High-Speed Rail Strategic Plan released in April 2009 would have provided $8 billion for HSR development but this plan is now being questioned, and all of its budget money could potentially be cut.

In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of a cottage located near federally protected land, David Jameson Architect, Inc., quite literally reduced the building’s footprint. When a Washington, D.C., couple purchased their Church Creek, Maryland, property, it was equipped with an existing cottage, but Hurricane Isabel damaged that structure in 2003, and erecting a new building on the site became controversial.

Having constraints can actually lead to creativity. This assumption has been confirmed by research into human psychology and can be empirically observed in many creative disciplines. Constraints were plentiful in the international design competition for the University of Baltimore’s (UB's) new John and Frances Angelos Law Center. The winning design, by Behnisch Architekten, is now under construction on the UB campus.